In a bustling American city, there stands a tall statue of the Happy Prince. His whole body is covered with gold leaves, his eyes are two bright sapphires, and the hilt of his sword is inlaid with a ruby. He stands at the highest point of the city, overlooking the entire city. People all praise his beauty and nobility, and he has been standing there proudly. However, although he seems to be high above, his heart is very kind.
A little swallow fell behind during its southward migration because of being playful. As night fell, it flew into this city and saw the tall statue of the Happy Prince. The little swallow thought it could rest here, so it stopped on the prince's shoulder. At this time, the little swallow was cold and hungry, and it began to talk to the statue. The prince told the little swallow that although he stood at such a high place, what he saw was not only the prosperity of the city, but also many poor and miserable corners.
The prince asked the little swallow to help him. He wanted to give the gold leaves on his body to those poor people. At first, the little swallow was a little hesitant, but seeing the determined look in the prince's eyes, it agreed. The prince first pointed to a dilapidated hut where a poor seamstress and her sick child lived. The little swallow pecked off a gold leaf and flew to the seamstress's window and put the gold leaf on her table. The seamstress was surprised to find the gold leaf and happily took it to buy medicine for her child.
As winter approached, more and more poor people needed help. There were few gold leaves left on the prince. He then asked the little swallow to peck off one of his sapphire eyes and give it to a young man who was writing a play. The young man was so poor that he had no money to keep warm and could only create in the cold environment. The little swallow did as the prince asked and brought the sapphire to the young man. The young man was both surprised and moved when he saw this precious sapphire. He exchanged the sapphire for warm charcoal and continued to write his play.
The prince wanted the little swallow to give his other sapphire eye to a little match - girl. The little girl was shivering in the cold street, with no shoes on and not enough food. The little swallow carried the sapphire in its beak and flew to the little girl. The little girl's eyes were full of surprise when she saw the glittering sapphire. She exchanged the sapphire for a lot of things and had a warm night.
By this time, the prince's statue had become dull and colorless. Without the gold leaves and sapphire eyes, only a shabby lead heart was left. But his heart was still full of sympathy and love for the poor. The little swallow looked at the prince like this and was full of admiration in its heart. It decided not to fly south any more and to stay with the prince all the time.
Winter became colder and colder. Eventually, the little swallow died at the prince's feet because of cold and hunger. And the prince's lead heart also broke into two halves because of sadness. God saw all this and was moved by the kindness of the prince and the little swallow. So, God let the angel take the prince's lead heart and the little swallow's body to heaven. In heaven, they are together forever, and their kindness and love are also remembered by people forever.
