Hello, my dear students! Welcome to today's English lesson. I am so happy to see you all here, ready to learn something beautiful and meaningful. Today, we are going to study a very special chapter from your NCERT English Moments textbook. It is Chapter 5, and it is titled "The Happy Prince." This is a beautiful story written by a famous Irish writer named Oscar Wilde. Now, students, before we begin reading the story, let me tell you a little bit about Oscar Wilde. He lived from 1854 to 1900, and he was known for his wonderful storytelling skills. He wrote many fairy tales, and "The Happy Prince" is one of his most beloved stories. This story teaches us about compassion, sacrifice, and the true meaning of happiness. So, let's begin our journey into this magical tale.
Now, students, I want you to imagine a beautiful statue standing on top of a tall column in a city. This statue is covered with thin leaves of fine gold, and it has bright sapphire eyes, and a large red ruby on its sword. This is the Happy Prince. But wait, students, is he really happy? That's one of the first questions we need to think about as we read this story. The story begins with a little swallow who is flying over the city. His friends have already gone to Egypt, but this little swallow stayed behind, and now he wants to go to Egypt too. He is looking for a place to spend the night, and he sees the statue of the Happy Prince. "What a fine position with plenty of fresh air!" he thinks, and he decides to rest between the feet of the statue.
But then, students, something curious happens. A drop of water falls on the little swallow. He looks up and wonders, "There is not a single cloud in the sky, the stars are quite clear and bright, and yet it is raining." Then another drop falls, and another. The swallow looks up and sees that the Happy Prince is weeping. His eyes are filled with tears, and tears are running down his golden cheeks. The little swallow asks, "Who are you?" And the statue answers, "I am the Happy Prince." The swallow asks, "Why are you weeping then? You have quite drenched me."
Now, students, this is a very important part of the story. The Happy Prince tells the swallow why he is crying. He says, "When I was alive and had a human heart, I did not know what tears were, for I lived in the Palace, where sorrow is not allowed to enter. My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I am dead they have set me up here so high that I can see the ugliness and all the misery of my city, and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot choose but weep."
Students, let me explain this to you. When the Prince was alive, he lived in a palace. He was surrounded by luxury and comfort. His courtiers always told him happy things and never showed him the sadness or suffering of the world. So, he never knew what real problems looked like. He thought he was happy because he was never exposed to pain or misery. But after he died, they made a statue of him and put it on a high column. From there, he could see everything happening in the city below. He could see the poor people, the suffering, the hunger, and the sadness. And that's why he weeps now. His heart is made of lead, which is a heavy metal, and it weighs on him to see so much misery. So, students, you see, the Prince was not truly happy when he was alive. He was living in ignorance. True happiness comes from knowing about the world and trying to help others.
Now, the Happy Prince sees a poor woman in a little house. She is a seamstress, and her face is thin and worn. Her hands are red and pricked by the needle because she works so hard sewing. She is embroidering flowers on a satin gown for the Queen's maid of honour. In the corner of the room, her little boy is lying ill with a fever. He is asking for oranges, but his mother has nothing to give him but river water. The Prince asks the swallow to take the ruby from his sword hilt to help this family. The swallow initially says he wants to go to Egypt, but when he sees how sad the Prince looks, he agrees to stay and help.
The swallow takes the ruby and flies over the city. He sees many things on the way. He passes by the cathedral tower with white marble angels. He passes by the palace and hears the sound of dancing. A beautiful girl comes out on the balcony and says she hopes her dress will be ready in time for the State ball. The swallow thinks about how lazy the seamstresses must be, not knowing how hard the seamstress in the little house is working. Finally, he reaches the poor woman's house. He sees the boy tossing feverishly on his bed, and the mother has fallen asleep, she is so tired. The swallow lays the ruby on the table beside the woman's thimble. Then he fans the boy's forehead with his wings, and the boy feels cool and falls asleep.
When the swallow returns to the Happy Prince, he says, "It is curious, but I feel quite warm now, although it is so cold." The Prince tells him, "That is because you have done a good action." Students, this is such a beautiful message. When we help others, we feel warm inside, even when it is cold outside. This is something we can all experience in our own lives. When you help your parents, or your friends, or even a stranger, you feel a warmth inside your heart. This is the joy of giving.
The next day, the swallow wants to go to Egypt, but the Prince asks him to stay one more night. Then the Prince tells him about a young man in a garret. A garret, students, is a small dark room at the top of the house. This young man is a playwright. He is trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre, but he is too cold to write. There is no fire in his room, and he is faint from hunger. The Prince asks the swallow to take one of his sapphire eyes to the young man. The swallow refuses at first because he cannot bear to make the Prince blind. But the Prince insists, saying the young man needs help. So the swallow plucks out one of the Prince's sapphire eyes and takes it to the young man. The young man finds the beautiful sapphire on his withered violets and thinks it is from an admirer. He becomes happy and says he can now finish his play.
Now, students, think about this. The Prince gave away his ruby, and now he has given away one of his sapphire eyes. He is becoming less beautiful, but he is helping others. This is the theme of sacrifice. The Prince is sacrificing his beauty and his precious things to help those in need.
The next day, the swallow decides he must leave for Egypt, but the Prince asks him to stay one more night. This time, there is a little matchgirl in the square below. She has let her matches fall in the gutter, and they are all spoiled. Her father will beat her if she does not bring home some money. She has no shoes or stockings, and her little head is bare. The Prince asks the swallow to give his other sapphire eye to the matchgirl. The swallow cannot do this because the Prince would be completely blind. But the Prince commands him to do it. So the swallow plucks out the Prince's other eye and gives it to the matchgirl. She thinks it is a lovely piece of glass and runs home laughing.
Now the swallow comes back to the Prince, who is now blind. The swallow says, "You are blind now, so I will stay with you always." But the Prince tells him to go to Egypt. The swallow refuses and says he will stay with the Prince always. He sleeps at the Prince's feet.
The next day, the swallow sits on the Prince's shoulder and tells him stories of what he has seen in strange lands. The Prince then says something very meaningful. He says, "You tell me of marvellous things, but more marvellous than anything is the suffering of men and women. There is no Mystery so great as Misery." Students, this is so true. The Prince has realized that the greatest mystery in the world is human suffering. We can travel to faraway lands and see wonderful things, but the suffering of people around us is the most important thing to address.
The Prince asks the swallow to fly over the city and tell him what he sees. The swallow sees the rich making merry in their beautiful houses while the beggars sit at the gates. He sees dark lanes and starving children looking out at black streets. He sees two little boys lying in each other's arms to keep warm under a bridge, and when the watchman shouts at them, they wander out into the rain.
When the swallow returns and tells the Prince what he has seen, the Prince says, "I am covered with fine gold. You must take it off, leaf by leaf, and give it to the poor; the living always think that gold can make them happy."
Students, this is such a powerful message. The Prince is saying that gold cannot buy true happiness. The rich people in the city think they are happy because they have gold and money, but they are ignoring the suffering of the poor. The Prince wants to give his gold to the poor. So the swallow picks off leaf after leaf of fine gold from the Prince's statue and takes it to the poor. The children's faces grow rosier, and they laugh and play in the street. They have bread now!
Then the snow comes, and then the frost. The little swallow grows colder and colder, but he will not leave the Prince. He loves him too much. He picks up crumbs outside the baker's door and tries to keep warm by flapping his wings. But he knows he is going to die.
The swallow flies up to the Prince's shoulder one more time and says, "Goodbye, dear Prince! Will you let me kiss your hand?" The Prince says, "I am glad that you are going to Egypt at last, little Swallow. You have stayed too long here but you must kiss me on the lips, for I love you."
But the swallow says, "It is not to Egypt that I am going. I am going to the House of Death. Death is the brother of Sleep, is he not?" And he kisses the Happy Prince on the lips and falls down dead at his feet.
At that moment, the leaden heart of the Prince snaps right in two. It was a dreadfully hard frost.
The next morning, the Mayor and the Town Councillors walk in the square. The Mayor looks up at the statue and says, "Dear me! How shabby the Happy Prince looks!" The Town Councillors agree, as they always agree with the Mayor. They go up to look at it and see that the ruby has fallen out, the eyes are gone, and he is no longer golden. The Mayor says he is little better than a beggar. Then they notice the dead bird at the Prince's feet. They decide to issue a proclamation that birds are not allowed to die there. The Town Clerk makes a note of this suggestion.
Then they pull down the statue. The Art Professor at the University says, "As he is no longer beautiful he is no longer useful." They melt the statue in a furnace. But the leaden heart will not melt. The overseer of the workmen throws it on a dust heap where the dead swallow is lying.
Now, students, comes the most beautiful part of the story. God sends an angel to bring the two most precious things in the city. The angel brings God the leaden heart and the dead bird. God says, "You have rightly chosen, for in my garden of Paradise this little bird shall sing for evermore and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me."
Students, this is the ending that shows us the true message of the story. The leaden heart and the dead bird are the most precious things because they represent love, sacrifice, and compassion. The Prince gave away all his precious possessions to help others, and the swallow gave his life to stay with the Prince. In the end, they are rewarded with eternal life in Paradise. The story teaches us that true happiness comes from giving, not from possessing. It teaches us to care for others, especially those who are less fortunate. And it teaches us that love and sacrifice are more valuable than gold and jewels.
Now, students, let us look at the exercises at the end of the chapter. We have the "Think About It" questions, and I want you to answer each one carefully.
The first question is: "Why do the courtiers call the prince 'the Happy Prince'? Is he really happy? What does he see all around him?"
Students, the courtiers call the prince "the Happy Prince" because they lived in the palace where sorrow was not allowed to enter. They always told the Prince happy things and never showed him the suffering of the world. So, he was called the Happy Prince, and he thought he was happy because he never knew about the miseries of life. But was he really happy? No, he was not. He was living in ignorance. After he died and was placed on the high column, he could see all around him. He saw the ugliness and all the misery of his city. He saw poor people, hungry children, and suffering everywhere. That is why he started weeping. So, students, the Prince was not truly happy when he was alive. True happiness comes from understanding the world and helping others.
The second question is: "Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress? What does the swallow do in the seamstress' house?"
The Happy Prince sends a ruby for the seamstress because he sees her suffering. She is a poor woman who works hard sewing all day. Her hands are red and pricked by the needle. Her little boy is ill with a fever and wants oranges, but she has nothing to give him but river water. The Prince wants to help her, so he asks the swallow to take the ruby from his sword hilt. The swallow flies to the seamstress' house and lays the ruby on the table beside her thimble. Then he flies gently round the bed, fanning the boy's forehead with his wings. The boy feels cool and falls asleep. The ruby will help the seamstress financially because she can sell it.
The third question is: "For whom does the prince send the sapphires and why?"
The Prince sends one sapphire to a young playwright who is living in a garret. This young man is trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre, but he is too cold to write because there is no fire in his room, and he is faint from hunger. The Prince sends the sapphire so that the young man can sell it to a jeweller and buy firewood to warm himself and finish his play. The Prince sends the other sapphire to a little matchgirl who has let her matches fall in the gutter and spoil. Her father will beat her if she does not bring home some money. She has no shoes or stockings and no hat. The Prince sends the sapphire to help her so that her father will not beat her.
The fourth question is: "What does the swallow see when it flies over the city?"
When the swallow flies over the city, he sees many things. He sees the rich making merry in their beautiful houses while the beggars sit at the gates. He flies into dark lanes and sees the white faces of starving children looking out listlessly at the black streets. Under the archway of a bridge, he sees two little boys lying in each other's arms to try and keep themselves warm. They say, "How hungry we are!" The watchman shouts at them, and they wander out into the rain. So, the swallow sees the contrast between wealth and poverty, happiness and suffering.
The fifth question is: "Why did the swallow not leave the prince and go to Egypt?"
The swallow did not leave the prince and go to Egypt because he loved the Prince very much. The Prince had given away his precious ruby and his beautiful sapphire eyes to help others. He was now blind and needed someone to be with him. The swallow could not leave him in that condition. Also, the swallow had realized the joy of helping others. When he helped the seamstress and the playwright and the matchgirl, he felt warm inside even though it was cold outside. He had developed compassion and could not abandon the Prince. So, he stayed with the Prince until he died.
The sixth question is: "What are the precious things mentioned in the story? Why are they precious?"
The precious things mentioned in the story are the ruby, the two sapphires, the fine gold leaves, the leaden heart, and the dead swallow. The ruby and sapphires are precious because they are valuable jewels. The gold is precious because it is valuable and makes the statue beautiful. But the most precious things, as the story shows us at the end, are the leaden heart and the dead bird. They are precious because they represent love, sacrifice, and compassion. The leaden heart shows that the Prince truly cared about the suffering of others, even though he was made of lead and could not move. The dead swallow shows the ultimate sacrifice - giving up one's life for someone else. These are the things that God considers most precious, and that is why He brings them to Paradise.
Now, students, we have the "Talk About It" activity. The little swallow says, "It is curious, but I feel quite warm now, although it is so cold." Have you ever had such a feeling? Share your experience with your friends.
Students, I want you to think about this. Have you ever helped someone and felt warm inside, even when it was cold or difficult? Maybe you helped your mother with household chores when you were tired. Maybe you shared your food with a friend who was hungry. Maybe you helped a younger student with their studies. When we do something good for others, we feel a warmth inside our hearts. This is the joy of giving. This is what the swallow felt. I want you to talk about your experiences with your friends and see how many of you have felt this way.
Now, students, we have covered the entire chapter. Let me give you a summary of everything we have learned today.
This story, "The Happy Prince" by Oscar Wilde, is a beautiful fairy tale that teaches us about compassion, sacrifice, and the true meaning of happiness. The Happy Prince was a statue covered with gold and precious stones. When he was alive, he lived in a palace and was never exposed to sorrow, so his courtiers called him the Happy Prince. But after he died and his statue was placed on a high column, he could see all the suffering in the city below. He saw a poor seamstress whose son was ill, a young playwright who was too cold to write, and a little matchgirl who had no money. The Prince gave away his ruby, his sapphire eyes, and finally all his gold leaves to help these poor people. A little swallow helped him by carrying the precious things to those in need. The swallow loved the Prince so much that he stayed with him even when he could have gone to Egypt. In the end, the swallow died at the Prince's feet, and the Prince's leaden heart broke. The statue was melted down, but God considered the leaden heart and the dead bird to be the most precious things in the city. He brought them to Paradise, where the bird would sing forever and the Prince would praise Him.
The story teaches us that true happiness comes from giving, not from possessing. It teaches us to care for others, especially those who are less fortunate. It teaches us that love and sacrifice are more valuable than gold and jewels. And it teaches us that when we help others, we feel a warmth inside our hearts that nothing else can provide.
Students, I hope you enjoyed this lesson. Remember the message of the Happy Prince: "The living always think that gold can make them happy, but more marvellous than anything is the suffering of men and women." Let us all try to be like the Happy Prince and the little swallow, and help those in need whenever we can. Thank you for listening, and I will see you in the next lesson. Take care, students!