Chapter 2.5 - The Happy Prince
Warming up!
1. There are different types of short stories. Use a dictionary / internet and find out what each of the following types refers to.
(a) fable :
Ans: moral bearing story with animal characters.
(b) anecdote :
Ans: short amusing account of an incident.
(c) fairytale :
Ans: having supernatural characters or a moral for children.
(d) parable :
Ans: having a religious base and a message or moral.
(e) tragedy :
Ans: serious and ends in a tragedy.
(f) humorous story :
Ans: causing laughter and amusement: comic.
(g) detective story :
Ans: the plot revolves around the investigation and solving of a crime.
(h) myth :
Ans: originated in ancient times, authorship unknown.
2. Have you heard of birds that fly from one part of the world to another in small or large flocks? They are called Migratory birds. Discuss and write down two reasons why they migrate and return.
Ans: Migratory birds migrate for food and for warmth. They return when the food supplies in their home area stabilize and winter changes to summer again.
3. Speech or dialogues can be reported in two ways – Direct and Indirect. When the exact words of the speaker are reported we call it Direct Speech. When the exact words of the speaker are not reported, but just its contents we call it Indirect Speech.
Direct Speech :
Amar said, ‘‘I shall come to meet you tomorrow, Sanket.’’
Indirect Speech :
Amar told Sanket that he would go to meet him the next day.
Note down the changes you observe in the Indirect Speech.
Ans:
(1) There are no inverted commas in Indirect Speech.
(2) The verb changes in Indirect Speech.
(3) There is a change in the adverb in Indirect Speech.
(4) The word ‘that’ is added in Indirect Speech.
In Between The Lesson
Q1. Why did people admire the statue?
Ans: The statue of the Happy Prince was covered with gold. Its eyes were bright blue jewels, and a red jewel hung from its waist. Everyone thought it was very beautiful and admired it.
Q2. What were the drops that fell on the swallow?
Ans: The drops that fell on the swallow were the tears from the eyes of the Happy Prince.
Q3. When did the Happy Prince realize about his suffering people?
Ans: After his death, the Happy Prince was made into a statue and stood high above the city. He could then see all the unhappiness of his city. That was the time he realized about the suffering of his people.
Q4. What was the first gift from the Happy Prince?
Ans: The first gift from the Happy Prince was a great red jewel from his waist.
Q5. Why was the mother forced to ignore her ailing son?
Ans: The mother was forced to ignore her ailing son as she did not have money to buy food, and could only give him water from the river. She was busy making a dress for one of the queen’s ladies. After doing this, she was so tired that she fell asleep.
Q6. Why had the Swallow felt warm?
Ans: The Swallow felt warm because he had done a good thing.
Q7. What surprised the clever man?
Ans: The clever man was surprised to see a swallow in the city in winter.
Q8. Why was the writer unable to complete his story?
Ans: The writer was very cold, weak and hungry. There was no fire in his room. Due to all these reasons, he was unable to complete his story
Q9. What did the writer conclude when he saw the blue jewel?
Ans: When the writer saw the blue jewel, he concluded that it was a gift from someone who had read and liked his books.
Q10. Why did the swallow wish to go to Egypt?
Ans: It was winter, and it would soon begin snowing. The Swallow would not be able to bear this cold weather. So, he wished to go to Egypt where the sun was warm and the leaves were green.
Q11. Why did the swallow refuse to take off the other eye?
Ans: The Swallow refused to take off the other eye because then the prince would not be able to see.
Q12. What sufferings did the Swallow discover and report to the Happy Prince?
Ans: It was winter, and it would soon begin snowing. The Swallow would not be able to bear this cold weather. So, he wished to go to Egypt where the sun was warm and the leaves were green.
Q13. In what state did the important man in the city find the statue?
Ans: The important man in the city found the statue looking dull. The red stone and the gemstones of the eyes had disappeared. The statue was not golden any longer, and looked like that of a beggar. There was also a dead swallow at the feet of the statue.
Q14. What do you think, was the part of the statue which did not melt?
Ans: The part of the statue which did not melt was the heart of the Happy Prince
Q15. Why did the servants of God take the broken heart and the dead bird to God?
Ans: The servants of God took the broken heart and the dead bird to God because they were the two best things in the city.
ENGLISH WORKSHOP
1. Say whether these sentences are true or false and correct the false ones.
(a) The writer of the story is William Blake.
Ans: False
Corrected Sentence: The writer of the story is Oscar Wilde.
(b) Everyone admired the statue of the Happy Prince.
Ans: True
(c) The mother was working, when the Swallow brought the yellow jewel.
Ans: False
Corrected Sentence: The mother was sleeping when the Swallow brought the yellow Jewel.
(d) The two best things the servants brought to God were gold and jewel stones.
Ans: False
Corrected Sentence: The two best things the servants brought to God were the broken heart and the dead bird.
2. Find from the story the Homophones of the following words
(Words that sound the same, but differ in spellings and meanings.)
(a) weak
Ans: week
(b) their
Ans: there
(c) blew
Ans: blue
(d) sea
Ans: see
(e) read
Ans: red
(f) waste
Ans: waist
(g) know
Ans: no
(h) knot
Ans: not
(i) threw
Ans: through
(j) right
Ans: write
3. Answer the given questions in your own words.
(a) Where was the Happy Prince’s statue located?
Ans: The Happy Prince’s statue was located high above the city.
(b) Why did the swallow decide to stay under the statue of the Happy Prince at night?
Ans: The Swallow decided to stay under the statue of the Happy Prince at night because it was high up, and so there was plenty of fresh air.
(c) Why was the Prince sad?
Ans: The Prince was sad to see all the unhappiness of the city.
(d) What was the first task given to the Swallow?
Ans: The Happy Prince asked the Swallow to take the great red jewel from his waist and give it to a poor woman whose son was ill and hungry. This was the Swallow’s first task.
(e) To whom did the Prince gift the two gemstones of his eyes?
Ans: The prince gave a poor writer one of the two gemstones of his eyes.
(f) What decision did the Swallow finally make? Was it a wise one? Comment.
Ans: The Swallow finally decided not to go to Egypt but to remain with the Happy Prince, whom he loved very much. It may not have been a wise decision because led to the death of the Swallow: but it was a decision made from the heart, and was an emotional decision which was rewarded in heaven.
(g) Why did the Swallow finally decide not to leave the Prince ?
Ans: The Swallow finally decided not to leave the prince because he loved him very much.
(h) What message do you get from this story?
Ans: The message that we get from this story is that we should be loyal, generous and compassionate. We will not only get peace when on earth but will also get appreciation and reward in heaven.
4. Infinitives, Participles, Gerunds
(a) Infinitives
In the sentences ‘I have to study’ and ‘must study’, ‘study’ is in the infinitive form, because it does not take -s, -es or -ed after it even if the number or person of the Subject changes. Infinitives are generally preceded by ‘to’ or sometimes by a modal auxiliary.
(b) Participles
In the sentences ‘She dived into the swimming pool’ and ‘The writing table is in a mess’ ‘Swimming’ and ‘writing’ are in the verb + ing form and function as Adjectives. These are Present Participles.
In the sentences, ‘The police recovered the stolen jewels’ and ‘He bandaged his bruised arm’, stolen and bruised are in the verb + en / ed form and function as Adjectives.
(c) Gerunds
In the sentences, ‘I love swimming’ and ‘Reading is a good habit’, the verb + ing form functions as Nouns (as the Subject or Object). These are called Verbal Nouns or Gerunds.
Say whether the underlined are Infinitives / Participles (Present or Past) / Gerunds.
(1) I wish to go to Egypt.
Ans: Infinitive
(2) They liked his written stories.
Ans: Participle (Past)
(3) He is trying to finish a story.
Ans: Infinitive
(4) Suffering is stranger than anything.
Ans: Gerund
(5) The dying swallow fell at his feet.
Ans: Participle (Present)
(6) He began to cry.
Ans: Infinitive
(7) He watched the working seamen.
Ans: Participle (Present)
5. Write the following dialogues from the story in the Indirect Speech.
(a) ‘Who are you?’ asked the bird. ‘I am the Happy Prince.’
‘Then why are you crying? I am wet with your tears.’
Ans: The bird asked the Happy Prince who he was. When he replied, the bird asked why he was crying if he was the Happy Prince and added that he, the bird, was wet with tears.
(b) The Happy Prince looked very sad, and the little Swallow was sorry for him. ‘It is very cold here,’ he said ‘but I will stay with you for one night. Tomorrow I will take the jewel.’
‘Thank you, little bird,’ said the prince.
Ans: The Happy Prince looked very sad and the little Swallow was sorry for him. He said that though it was very cold there, he would stay with the Prince for one more night. He would take the jewel the next day. The Prince then thanked the little bird.
(c) ‘Little bird, little bird,’ said the prince, ‘please will you stay with me for one more night?’
‘My friends are waiting for me,’ answered the bird.
Ans: The prince pleaded with the little bird to stay with him for one more night. The bird replied that his friends were waiting for him.
(d) Under a bridge, two little boys were lying close together to keep warm.
‘We are so hungry!’ they said. ‘You cannot lie there!’ shouted a guard.
Ans: Under a bridge, two little boys were lying close together to keep warm. They sadly remarked that they were very hungry. A guard shouted at them and told them that they could not lie there.
(e) ‘Goodbye, dear prince!’ he said.
‘I am glad that you are going to Egypt,’ said the prince. ‘You have stayed too long.‘I am not going to Egypt,’ said the Swallow. ‘I am going to the House of God’
Ans: When the Swallow bid goodbye to the prince, the prince replied that he was happy that the Swallow was going to Egypt and that he had stayed too long there. Upon which the Swallow replied that he was not going to Egypt, but was going to the house of God.
6. Divide the story into parts. Make 4 groups in your class. Each group should take one of the 4 parts to convert the story into a play and enact your part.
Ans: Students should do this on their own.
7. If you could change the end of the story i.e. after the Swallow refused to fly to Egypt, how would you change it? Summarise your idea in 10 to 12 lines.
Ans:
A MIRACLE
The Swallow, battling the bitter cold. refuses to fly to Egypt and continues to live with the prince to support him in his time of need. God sees this love and friendship among the two and decides to do something. He restores the prince to his glory. The Happy Prince becomes golden and beautiful once again, and is admired by all. The little Swallow develops extra layers of feathers to protect him from the cold, and the two continue to live with each other. The prince continues to be generous, but his wealth never diminishes. The Swallow is his messenger and informant. They become immortal. The two realize that these miracles are the work of God and they look towards heaven to thank God.
8. Think of one of your favourite stories. Fill in the following facts about the story.
Name of the story :
Ans: “The Great Adventure of Sir Edmund”
Type of story :
Ans: Adventure and Fantasy
Setting (time and place) :
Ans: The mystical kingdom of Eldoria, where knights and dragons exist.
Important characters :
Ans: Sir Edmund, Princess Isabella, Merlin the Wizard, Drake the Dragon, Dark Sorcerer Malachi
Theme / Plot :
Ans: Sir Edmund rescues Princess Isabella from Dark Sorcerer Malachi, with magical creatures, challenges, and alliances.
Conflict / Dilemma :
Ans: Sir Edmund faces his fears to rescue Princess Isabella from the evil sorcerer.
Solution :
Ans: With Merlin and Drake’s help, they defeat Malachi and save the kingdom.
End
Ans: Eldoria celebrates, and the group’s friendship endures beyond magic and race.