The Happy Prince Page #2

								


“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “will you not stay
with me for one night, and be my messenger?  The boy is so thirsty, and
the mother so sad.”

“I don’t think I like boys,” answered the Swallow.  “Last summer, when I
was staying on the river, there were two rude boys, the miller’s sons,
who were always throwing stones at me.  They never hit me, of course; we
swallows fly far too well for that, and besides, I come of a family
famous for its agility; but still, it was a mark of disrespect.”

But the Happy Prince looked so sad that the little Swallow was sorry.
“It is very cold here,” he said; “but I will stay with you for one night,
and be your messenger.”

“Thank you, little Swallow,” said the Prince.

So the Swallow picked out the great ruby from the Prince’s sword, and
flew away with it in his beak over the roofs of the town.

He passed by the cathedral tower, where the white marble angels were
sculptured.  He passed by the palace and heard the sound of dancing.  A
beautiful girl came out on the balcony with her lover.  “How wonderful
the stars are,” he said to her, “and how wonderful is the power of love!”

“I hope my dress will be ready in time for the State-ball,” she answered;
“I have ordered passion-flowers to be embroidered on it; but the
seamstresses are so lazy.”

He passed over the river, and saw the lanterns hanging to the masts of
the ships.  He passed over the Ghetto, and saw the old Jews bargaining
with each other, and weighing out money in copper scales.  At last he
came to the poor house and looked in.  The boy was tossing feverishly on
his bed, and the mother had fallen asleep, she was so tired.  In he
hopped, and laid the great ruby on the table beside the woman’s thimble.
Then he flew gently round the bed, fanning the boy’s forehead with his
wings.  “How cool I feel,” said the boy, “I must be getting better”; and
he sank into a delicious slumber.

Then the Swallow flew back to the Happy Prince, and told him what he had
done.  “It is curious,” he remarked, “but I feel quite warm now, although
it is so cold.”

“That is because you have done a good action,” said the Prince.  And the
little Swallow began to think, and then he fell asleep.  Thinking always
made him sleepy.

When day broke he flew down to the river and had a bath.  “What a
remarkable phenomenon,” said the Professor of Ornithology as he was
passing over the bridge.  “A swallow in winter!”  And he wrote a long
letter about it to the local newspaper.  Every one quoted it, it was full
of so many words that they could not understand.

“To-night I go to Egypt,” said the Swallow, and he was in high spirits at
the prospect.  He visited all the public monuments, and sat a long time
on top of the church steeple.  Wherever he went the Sparrows chirruped,
and said to each other, “What a distinguished stranger!” so he enjoyed
himself very much.

When the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince.  “Have you any
commissions for Egypt?” he cried; “I am just starting.”
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