The Happy Prince and other Tales

The Happy Prince The next morning the Mayor looks at the statue and says, Oh, dear! The Happy Prince is really ugly24! The ruby, the eyes and the gold are not there! the Mayor says, He s like a beggar! And there s a dead bird at his feet! a Councillor25 says. We must destroy the statue of the Happy Prince. It isn t beautiful and it isn t useful! an Art Professor says. Then they melt26 the statue in a furnace27, and the Mayor says, We must build a new statue with this metal, a statue of me! What a strange thing! the supervisor of the furnace says. This heart of lead doesn t melt. We must throw it away. And so they throw the heart in the rubbish28, where there is also the dead Swallow. In Paradise God says to an Angel, Bring me two precious things from the city. And the Angel brings him the heart of lead and the dead bird. Good choice, God says, in my garden this little bird will sing for ever, and in my city of gold the Happy Prince will praise29 me. 24. ugly: opposite of beautiful. 25. Councillor: a member of a local government. 26. melt: to make something become liquid. 27. furnace: big oven to heat metal at high temperatures. 28. rubbish: things that you throw away. 29. praise: honour. 15