Get complete UP Board Class 9 notes of The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde, including summary, word meanings and exam-oriented questions with simple answers.
About the Lesson
The Happy Prince is a touching short story that teaches us the values of kindness, sacrifice, and true happiness. The lesson shows how real beauty lies not in outer appearance but in helping others. It highlights social inequality and the pain of the poor. The story encourages students to feel sympathy for others and to share what they have with the needy.
About the Author – Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde was a famous Irish writer, poet, and playwright. He was born in 1854 in Dublin. He was known for his beautiful language and deep moral ideas. His stories often show social problems and human emotions. The Happy Prince is one of his most popular stories for students. His writing style is simple, emotional, and meaningful.
Summary of the Lesson
The story The Happy Prince is about a statue and a little swallow. The statue of the Happy Prince stands on a tall column in the city. It is covered with gold leaves. Its eyes are made of blue sapphires, and a red ruby is fixed on the hilt of its sword. People admire the statue and think it is very beautiful and happy.
When the Prince was alive, he lived in a palace called the Palace of Sans-Souci. He never knew sorrow or suffering because he lived a comfortable life. But after death, his statue is placed high above the city. From there, he can see all the misery and poverty of the people. This makes him very sad, and he starts crying, though people cannot see his tears.
One night, a swallow stops near the statue. The swallow is on his way to Egypt to join his friends. He plans to rest for the night. While resting, he feels drops of water on him. He thinks it is rain, but it is the tears of the Happy Prince.
The Prince talks to the swallow and tells him about the sufferings of the poor people in the city. He asks the swallow to help him. First, the Prince asks the swallow to take the ruby from his sword to a poor seamstress. Her son is ill, and she has no money to buy food or medicine. The swallow agrees and delivers the ruby.
The next day, the Prince asks the swallow to stay one more night and help again. He requests the swallow to take one sapphire from his eye to a poor writer. The writer is cold and hungry and cannot complete his work. The swallow obeys and gives the sapphire to the writer.
Then, the Prince asks for the second sapphire to be taken to a poor match-girl. She has dropped her matches and fears her father’s anger. The swallow hesitates because the Prince will become blind, but finally agrees.
Now the Prince cannot see anything. He asks the swallow to remove the gold leaves from his body and give them to the poor. The swallow does this happily. The city becomes richer in kindness, while the statue loses its beauty.
Winter comes, and the swallow feels very cold. He decides to stay with the Prince forever. One day, the swallow dies at the feet of the statue. At the same time, the lead heart of the statue breaks into two.
The city officials later remove the statue because it looks ugly now. They melt it, but the broken heart does not melt. It is thrown away with the dead swallow.
In heaven, God asks His angels to bring the two most precious things from the city. They bring the broken heart and the dead swallow. God declares them truly precious because they showed love and sacrifice. The Prince and the swallow are rewarded with eternal happiness.
50 Difficult Words with Meanings
(Format: Word – Pronunciation – Meaning in Hindi)
- Statue – स्टैच्यू – मूर्ति
- Gilded – गिल्डेड – सोने से मढ़ा
- Sapphire – सैफायर – नीलम
- Ruby – रूबी – माणिक
- Misery – मिज़री – दुःख
- Poverty – पॉवर्टी – गरीबी
- Seamstress – सीमस्ट्रेस – दर्जिन
- Sorrow – सॉरो – शोक
- Palace – पैलेस – महल
- Column – कॉलम – स्तंभ
- Compassion – कम्पैशन – करुणा
- Sacrifice – सैक्रिफाइस – त्याग
- Hunger – हंगर – भूख
- Illness – इलनेस – बीमारी
- Writer – राइटर – लेखक
- Charity – चैरिटी – दान
- Cold – कोल्ड – ठंडा
- Poor – पुअर – गरीब
- Tear – टियर – आँसू
- Sword – स्वॉर्ड – तलवार
- Beggar – बेगर – भिखारी
- Gold leaf – गोल्ड लीफ – सोने की परत
- Match-girl – मैच गर्ल – माचिस बेचने वाली लड़की
- Fear – फियर – डर
- Father – फादर – पिता
- Obey – ओबे – आज्ञा मानना
- Blind – ब्लाइंड – अंधा
- Winter – विंटर – सर्दी
- Weak – वीक – कमजोर
- Die – डाई – मरना
- Heart – हार्ट – दिल
- Melt – मेल्ट – पिघलना
- Ugly – अग्ली – बदसूरत
- Mayor – मेयर – नगराध्यक्ष
- Angel – एंजल – देवदूत
- Heaven – हेवन – स्वर्ग
- Precious – प्रेशस – कीमती
- Reward – रिवॉर्ड – इनाम
- Eternal – इटर्नल – शाश्वत
- Happiness – हैप्पीनेस – खुशी
- Suffering – सफरिंग – पीड़ा
- Wealth – वेल्थ – धन
- Love – लव – प्रेम
- Kindness – काइंडनेस – दया
- Duty – ड्यूटी – कर्तव्य
- Help – हेल्प – मदद
- Tears – टियर्स – आँसू
- Statue-maker – स्टैच्यू मेकर – मूर्तिकार
- City – सिटी – शहर
- Soul – सोल – आत्मा
Short Answer Questions – The Happy Prince
1. Where was the statue of the Happy Prince situated?
The statue of the Happy Prince was situated on a tall column in the centre of the city. From that high place, the Prince could see all parts of the city, including the houses of the rich and the poor people.
2. How was the statue? Describe it in your own words.
The statue was very beautiful. It was covered with thin leaves of gold. Its eyes were made of blue sapphires, and a large red ruby was fixed on the hilt of its sword. People admired its beauty.
3. When the Prince was alive, did he know what tears were?
No, when the Prince was alive, he did not know what tears were. He lived a happy life inside the palace. He never saw sorrow, poverty, or suffering, so he never felt sad or cried.
4. What did the Prince see in the seamstress’s room?
The Prince saw a poor seamstress sitting in a small room. Her hands were rough and red from sewing. Her little son was lying sick on a bed and crying because he was hungry and had fever.
5. How did the Happy Prince help the seamstress?
The Happy Prince helped the seamstress by giving her the ruby from his sword. He asked the swallow to take the ruby to her. With its value, she could buy food and medicine for her child.
6. It was a cold night, but why did the bird feel warm?
It was a cold night, but the bird felt warm because it was doing a kind and loving work. The warmth came from the Happy Prince’s leaden heart and from the joy of helping poor and suffering people.
7. Why could the man in the garret not complete his play?
The man in the garret could not complete his play because he was very poor. He was hungry and weak. There was no firewood to keep him warm, so his hands were frozen and he lacked strength to write.
8. How and by whom was the man in the garret helped?
The man in the garret was helped by the Happy Prince through the swallow. The Prince asked the bird to take one sapphire eye to the man. The money helped him buy food and firewood to continue his work.
9. Why was the little matchgirl crying?
The little matchgirl was crying because she had dropped her matches into the gutter. She was very poor and afraid. If she returned home without selling matches, her father would beat her badly.
10. How did she become happy?
She became happy when the swallow dropped the other sapphire eye into her hand. The shining jewel looked valuable. She felt hopeful and cheerful because she could now sell it and avoid punishment at home.
11. Who told marvellous stories to whom? What was more marvellous?
The swallow told marvellous stories to the Happy Prince about strange lands and rivers. But the Prince said that the most marvellous thing was human suffering and poverty, because it was real and touched the heart deeply.
12. How did the Happy Prince help the poor in general?
The Happy Prince helped the poor by giving away all his gold leaves, sapphires, and ruby. Through the swallow, he distributed them among the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the helpless people of the city.
13. What did the swallow see in the dark lanes?
In the dark lanes, the swallow saw poor people living in misery. He saw starving children, homeless people, and sick persons. He noticed hunger, suffering, and sadness everywhere, which made him feel pity for them.
14. What did the bird see under the archway of the bridge?
Under the archway of the bridge, the bird saw homeless people sleeping close together to keep warm. Some were lying on the ground, while others were sitting sadly. They had no shelter and lived a painful life.
15. The bird bid goodbye to the Happy Prince and asked him to let him do something. What was that?
The bird wanted to say goodbye to the Happy Prince and asked permission to fly to Egypt. Winter had started, and the swallow feared the cold weather. He wished to join his friends near the warm river Nile.
16. What did the Happy Prince ask him to do instead?
The Happy Prince asked the swallow to stay with him and help the poor people of the city. He requested the bird to take his gold leaves and give them to the needy, instead of flying away to Egypt.
17. How was the statue of the Happy Prince without gold, ruby, and sapphires described?
Without gold, ruby, and sapphires, the statue looked dull and ugly. It appeared grey and shabby. People no longer admired it. The statue lost its beauty but gained true greatness because it had helped the poor selflessly.
18. What was done to the statue?
The statue was pulled down by the city authorities. They felt it was no longer beautiful or useful. The broken statue was taken away, and its leaden heart was thrown into a furnace along with other waste metal.
19. Where were the leaden heart and the swallow found?
The leaden heart and the dead swallow were found lying together at the feet of the broken statue. The heart did not melt in the furnace, so it was thrown away, where the swallow was also lying lifeless.
20. What did God ask one of His angels to do?
God asked one of His angels to bring Him the two most precious things from the city. The angel searched everywhere and finally brought the leaden heart of the Happy Prince and the dead body of the swallow.
21. What were the two precious things?
The two precious things were the leaden heart of the Happy Prince and the dead swallow. They were precious because they showed true love, sacrifice, kindness, and compassion, which are more valuable than gold or jewels.
22. How did God reward the two things?
God rewarded the two things by giving them a place in His Paradise. He allowed the swallow to sing forever in the Garden of Paradise and let the Happy Prince live happily in His city of gold.
Long Answer Questions – The Happy Prince
1. Describe the sufferings of the poor in the city. How did the Happy Prince help them?
The poor people in the city lived a life of great suffering. They were hungry, sick, and cold. Many had no food, shelter, or money. The Happy Prince saw their pain from his high place. He helped them by giving his gold, ruby, and sapphires through the swallow.
2. Why did the Happy Prince request the swallow to stay on for another day?
The Happy Prince requested the swallow to stay for another day because he wanted to help the poor people. He had seen much suffering in the city. He needed the swallow to carry his jewels and gold to the needy, so he asked the bird to delay his journey.
3. Why did the Happy Prince send a ruby to the seamstress?
The Happy Prince sent a ruby to the seamstress because she was very poor and worried. Her child was sick and crying from hunger. She had no money for food or medicine. The Prince felt pity and sent his ruby so she could help her child.
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