The Happy Prince

The Happy Prince is a story for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. The message conveyed through the story is that the meaning of life lies in dedication rather than what we get.

Synopsis: In a town, a swallow sees a statue of the late "Happy Prince", who in reality has never experienced true happiness. Viewing people suffering in poverty, the Happy Prince asks the swallow to take the ruby from his hilt, the sapphires from his eyes, and the gold leaf covering his body to give to the poor. As winter comes and the Happy Prince is stripped of all of his beauty, his lead heart breaks when the swallow dies as a result of his selfless deeds and severe cold. The statue is then torn down and melted, leaving behind the statue’s broken heart and the dead swallow. An angel takes these to heaven, where God deems them to be the two most precious things in the city.

《快樂王子》

《快樂王子》是奧斯卡?王爾德為孩子們寫的一個故事，于1888年5月首次出版。這篇故事要傳達的思想是生命的意義在于奉獻而不是得到。

梗概：在一個鎮子里，一只燕子看到了剛剛去世的“快樂王子”的雕塑，這個王子事實上從未體驗過真正的快樂。看到人們遭受著貧窮的折磨，快樂王子請求燕子從自己的劍柄上取出紅寶石，從眼睛里取出藍寶石，并將覆蓋全身的金葉取出，去送給那些窮人。冬天來了，快樂王子的美貌蕩然無存，當他看到為他無私行為不斷奔走的燕子凍死在嚴寒中，他的鉛心也破碎了。于是這座雕塑被拆下來熔掉，最后只剩下那顆破碎的鉛心和那只燕子的尸體。一位天使將這兩樣東西帶到了天堂，上帝認為這是這座城市里最寶貴的兩樣東西。