INDIAN SCHOOL AL WADI AL KABIR

QUESTION BANK- THE HAPPY PRINCE (2023-24)

Class: IX Subject: ENGLISH

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN BRIEF

1. Why did the Happy Prince send a ruby to the seamstress?

Ans. The Happy Prince was very kind. He saw the ugliness and misery of his city. He saw a
small house. In this house there lived a poor woman. She was a seamstress. Her face was thin.
She looked tired. Her hands were rough. There were needle marks on them. She was
embroidering flowers on a satin gown. Her son was ill. He wanted to get oranges. But the
woman was very poor. She could not give him anything except the river water. She could not
leave the gown incomplete as the Queen’s maid had to wear it at the next court ball. The
Happy Prince felt pity for the poor woman and her son. He wanted to help them. So, he sent a
ruby to her.

2. Why did the Happy Prince request the swallow to stay for another day?
Ans. The Happy Prince was on a tall column. From there he could see the miseries of people.
He wanted to help the poor. But he could not move. The Prince wanted to help a poor
seamstress. He sent a ruby to her through the swallow. Then the Prince saw a playwright. He
was leaning on his desk. He was very handsome. His hair was brown and crisp. He was trying
to finish a play. But he was feeling very cold. He had no firewood to keep himself warm. The
Prince wanted to help him. He wanted to send one of the sapphires of his eyes to the young
man. So, he requested the swallow to stay for another day.

3. When and how did the Happy Prince realise the true meaning of life? What did this
realisation prompt him to do?
Ans: The Happy Prince had lived a very comfortable life and had not known any sorrow when
he was alive. In fact, sorrow was not allowed to enter the palace where he lived. Thus, he was
called the ‘Happy Prince’ by his ministers. However, after his death, his gold and jewel-
studded statue was put up on a high column in the city. From here, the Happy Prince, like a
statue, got to see the pain and miseries of the people. He then realised that ugliness and
sufferings are the true faces of life. He felt that the misery suffered by humans was the greatest
mystery and the plight of men and women were more marvellous than the grandeurs of riches.
He then started giving away his riches to the needy and tried to relieve them of the pain of
poverty.

4. Describe the sufferings of poor people in the city. How did The Happy Prince help
them?

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Ans. The poor people in the city were miserable. The Happy Prince saw their sorrows and
sufferings. There was a poor seamstress. She was sad and tired. But she had nothing to give
him except the river water. In another house, there lived a poor playwright. He had no wood to
keep himself warm. There was a little match girl. She had no shoes or stockings. The Prince
also saw the homeless and starving children. They were shivering with cold. The Prince felt
pity for them. He sent the ruby to the poor woman. He sent one sapphire each to the young
man and the match girl. He sent all the gold of his body to these children. Now they could buy
bread and be happy. Thus, the Happy Prince helped the poor and sad people of his city.

5. What happened to the statue of the Prince and the swallow in the end?
Ans. The swallow and the Happy Prince became friends. The swallow loved the Prince for his
kindness. He decided not to go away. The Prince sent his ruby and the sapphires of his eyes to
the poor people. He sent the gold of his body to the poor children. Now he was blind and ugly.
Then winter came. The little swallow felt very cold. But he did not leave the Prince. One day,
the swallow died. The leaden heart of the Prince broke into two. The next day, the statue was
pulled down. It was melted in a furnace. But leaden heart did not melt. It was thrown into a
heap. The dead body of the swallow was also lying there. God sent his angel to bring the two
most precious things from the city. The angel brought him the leaden heart of the Prince and
the dead body of the swallow.

6. Draw a brief character sketch of the Happy Prince.

Ans. The Happy Prince was a statue. He stood on a tall pillar. He had two sapphires for his
eyes. His body was covered with leaves of gold. There was a ruby in his sword hilt. When he
was alive, he was very happy. He did not know any sorrow or misery. People called him the
Happy Prince. After his death, he was set on a high pillar. Now he could see poverty and
misery all around him. His heart was filled with pity. He tried to help poor people. He sent the
ruby to the poor seamstress. He sent the sapphires of his eyes to the playwright and the match
girl. He sent the gold of his body to the poor and hungry children. He loved the swallow.
When the swallow died his heart broke. Thus, the Happy Prince was a kind and loving man.

7. Give a brief Character-sketch of the swallow.

OR
The little swallow was as noble as the Happy Prince. Describe how the swallow played an
important role in helping the Happy Prince to carry out his noble deeds?

Ans. Undoubtedly, the swallow was a kind bird. He wanted to go to Egypt with his friends. At
first, when he rested between the feet of the Happy Prince, he had no feeling of helping others.
His quality becomes obvious when we noticed tears in his eyes on seeing the Happy Prince’s
heart aching. He discharged his duty with full loyalty and obedience. When he started living
with the Prince, he became more sympathetic towards others. He had a deep sense of service.
He helped the seamstress by bringing her a ruby and fanned the sick boy with his wings. He
helped the playwright and the match girl too. He rejected his idea to go to Egypt when the
Happy Prince became blind. In the end, he died and fell down at his feet.

8. The two most precious things in the city were the Happy Prince and the swallow. Do
you agree? Explain.

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Ans. The two most precious things in the city were the leaden heart of the Happy Prince and
the dead swallow. The Happy Prince had sacrificed his precious and beautiful things to serve
humanity and helped the poor. The swallow fulfilled the wishes of the happy prince. He
sacrificed his self-interest in going to Egypt. He carried gold and jewels to the suffering
people. He remained with the prince in the bad weather also. He died at the prince’s feet. So,
the angel was right when it took the leaden heart of the prince and the dead swallow to
Heaven.

9. How did the Swallow show obedience as the greatest virtue of living things?
Ans. The Swallow was a bird but he was very obedient. Whenever the Happy Prince requested
the swallow to help the people who were in miserable condition, he obeyed the prince’s order.
Gradually, he became affectionate to the prince and decided to stay with him. The Swallow
became weak during the course of helping others. As long as he was alive, he was obedient to
the Happy Prince. In fact, obedience was the greatest quality of him.

10. ‘Goodness can never be destroyed’. Do you agree? Illustrate with reference to the
story “The Happy Prince”.
Ans. Goodness is forever. The happy prince had goodness for all. He was moved by the
widespread poverty and misery. He gave his eyes, his gold and jewels to the poor. When the
swallow died at his feet, his heart was broken into two. The statue of the happy prince was no
longer useful and beautiful. It was pulled down. When the statue was melted in a furnace, the
leaden heart did not melt because goodness can never be destroyed. The prince and the
swallow both were rewarded by God by providing them with a place in heaven.

11. ‘Good deeds always pay’. Do you agree? How were the Happy Prince and the
swallow paid for their good deeds?
Ans. Yes, good deeds are ever rewarding. In other words, good deeds always pay in one’s life.
It is true that mortal life is meant to decay and death and good deeds make one immortal. In
life, we get the utmost contentment and inner pleasure by doing some charitable act or by
helping others. In the story, ‘The Happy Prince’, both the happy prince and the swallow were
rewarded for their good deeds by God. They found a permanent place in heaven. The swallow
will sing forever in the garden of paradise and the happy prince will live in the city of gold.
Thus, the story teaches us to live a meaningful life by helping those who are in need.

12. The town mayor ordered the statue of the Happy Prince to be pulled down. How does
this show the bad side of human nature and behaviour?
Ans. This is a strange world. It presents a shocking contrast. Nothing succeeds like success
here. So long you are powerful and strong you are respected and obeyed. In this dazzling
world of wealth and riches, human feelings have no relevance. The statue of the Happy Prince
was installed at the highest column in the most important square of the city. It was gilded all
over with fine gold. His eyes had two bright sapphires and a large red ruby glowed on his
sword hilt. He was a symbol of power, beauty and grandeur. The moment he lost his gold,
sapphires and the grand ruby, he became very ordinary, ugly and useless. He was to be pulled
down and melted in a furnace. The Mayor and the Town Counsellors are cruel and selfish.

13. True happiness is found only in making others happy. Comment with reference to the
story ‘The Happy Prince’.

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Ans. There is fun, happiness and thrill of buying things for ourselves and enjoying life on your
own but the real happiness gets from making others happy is far greater and deeper than any
happiness. We can get them by doing things for others. There is a Chinese proverb, “Fragrance
clings to the hand that gives roses”. The fragrance of happiness clings to the heart that spread
happiness to others. In the story, the happy prince could not see the misery of people. He lived
a comfortable life inside the palace and never saw the misery and ugliness of the people
around him but in the form of the statue when he witnessed the pathetic condition of the poor,
he sacrificed all his precious things to serve the suffering humanity and got everlasting
happiness in heaven.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN DETAIL

Q1. How did the swallow exhibit the values of unconditional love and devotion?
Or
The swallow was to fly away to Egypt. Why did he decide to stay on with the Happy
Prince? What does this act of his show about his character?
Ans. The swallow happened to stop by at the city where the statue of the Happy Prince was
placed. It was the sheer chance that he took shelter between the feet of the statue for just one
night on his way to Egypt, but stayed back till his last breath because he was moved by the
Prince’s selfless love, kindness and spirit of self-sacrifice. This act of the swallow shows the
qualities of compassion, understanding and helpfulness in his character. He helped the Prince
by becoming his messenger and carrying the jewels from the statue to the seamstress, the
playwright and the match girl. He became a constant companion to the Prince after both the
sapphires had been plucked out from his eye sockets. The swallow loved the Prince
unconditionally and became his eyes by flying over the city and reporting the hardships and
miseries of the people. He would faithfully follow all the orders of the Prince and carry the
gold leaves from the statue and give them to the needy. Thus, the good values of the swallow
helped him to remain a loving companion to the Prince till cold and hunger snatched away his
life.
Q2. How did the Happy Prince discover true happiness? How did he spread it?
Or
What the Happy Prince does as a statue should have been done by him when he was
alive? Discuss.
The Happy Prince had lived a very comfortable life as long as he lived. He had never seen
sorrow as it was not allowed to enter his palace. Hence his courtiers called him the ‘Happy
Prince’. However, after his death, his statue was put up on a high column and he got to see the
miseries, sorrows and sufferings of the people in his city and decided to do his bit to lessen
them. That is when he discovered true happiness and from thereon, he spread it by sacrificing
all that he had.
For instance, he had the ruby in his sword hilt sent to a poor seamstress to help her get over
poverty and buy food and medicines for her ailing son. Again, the Happy Prince sent one of
his sapphire eyes to a poor playwright in need of warmth and food so that he could complete
his play for a show. The other sapphire was sent to a matchgirl who was crying because her
matches had fallen in a gutter and she feared her father would beat her for not bringing home
any money. And whatever leaves of fine gold the Prince had were distributed among the poor
to bring them succour. Thus, the Prince donated all that he had to end misery and poverty in

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the city. This is what he, and for that matter, any prince on the earth, should have done, for the
true purpose of life is to be happy by spreading happiness.

Q3. Describe the theme or the message of the story 'The Happy Prince'.

Ans. This is a strange world. It presents shocking contrasts. Nothing succeeds like success
here. As long as you are powerful and strong you are respected and obeyed. In this dazzling
world of wealth and riches, human feelings have no relevance. The statue of the Happy Prince
was installed at the highest column in the most important square of the city. It was gilded all
over with fine gold. His eyes had two bright sapphires and at large red ruby glowed on his
sword hilt. He was a symbol of power, beauty and grandeur. The moment he lost his gold,
sapphires and the grand ruby, he became very ordinary, ugly and useless. He was to be pulled
down and melted in a furnace. The Mayor and the Town Counsellors are cruel and selfish.
On the other hand, the Prince and the Swallow are kind-hearted ready to sacrifice anything for
the poor and the sufferers. Disowned and discarded by the selfish world, the two most
'precious things in the city' were rewarded by God and found their places in the garden of
Paradise and the city of gold.

REFERENCE TO CONTEXT

Q1. Then he saw the statue on the tall column. “I will put up there,” he cried. “It is a fine
position with plenty of fresh air.”
a. Who is the “I” here?
b. Whose statue was it?
c. Where was the statue put up?
d. What was special about the statue?
Ans:
a. The little swallow
b. The Happy Prince
c. The statue was put up high above the city on a tall column.
d. The statue of the happy prince was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for
eyes he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on his sword hilt.

Q2. “Why are you weeping then?” ……… ‘What! Is he not solid gold? said the swallow to
himself. He was too polite to make any personal remarks.
a. Who said this to whom?
b. What was not made of solid gold?
c. To whom was the swallow polite to make any personal remarks?
d. Who was weeping and why?

Ans:
a. The Swallow said this to the Happy Prince.
b. The heart of the Happy Prince was not made of solid gold but of lead.
c. To the Happy Prince
d. The Happy Prince was weeping as he could see the ugliness and all the misery of his
city.

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Q3. “Far away”, continued the statue in a low musical voice, “far away in a little street
there is a poor house. One of the windows is open ……. a woman seated at a table.”
a. Who said this to whom?
b. About whom was the statue talking about?
c. What was the woman doing?
d. What was bothering the woman?

Ans:
a. The statue of the Happy Prince said this to the little swallow.
b. The statue was talking about a seamstress.
c. The woman was embroidering flowers on a satin gown for the loveliest of the Queen’s
maids of honor, to wear at the next Court ball.
d. Her little boy who was lying ill due to fever was asking for oranges. She had nothing to
give him but only river water as she was poor.

Q4. “Bring me the two most precious things in the city”

a. Who said this to whom?
b. What are the two precious things in the city?
c. What was awarded to these precious things?
d. From where did the Angel found the precious things?

Ans:
a. The God said this to one of his Angels.
b. The leaden heart of the Happy Prince and the dead bird are the two precious things in
the city.
c. God said, “for in my garden of Paradise this little bird shall sing for ever more and in
my city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me.”
d. The Angel found the precious things from a dust heap.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. What did the swallow notice while flying over the city?
a) Plight of the poor and greed of the rich
b) Many people and their plight
c) Many poor people
d) Many waste things
2. What gilded over the Happy Prince?
a) Thick layer of mud
b) Silver threads
c) Thin leaves of fine gold
d) Sapphires and Rubies
3. Who flew over the city and to where was it going?
a) A myna to its nest
b) A parrot to England

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 c) A little swallow, to Egypt
d) An Eagle to the mountains
4. What did the statue of the Happy Prince have for its eyes?
a) Two bright diamonds
b) Two huge emerald stones
c) Two bright pearls
d) Two bright sapphires
5. What did the Happy Prince have on his sword-hilt?
a) Two bright sapphires
b) A large red ruby
c) Two bright rubies
d) A large emerald

6. Why did the statue weep?

a) It was hungry
b) It saw the ugliness and the misery of its city
c) It wanted to fly like the swallow bird
d) It was deeply shocked
7. The Happy Prince said that his heart was made of
a) Gold
b) Ruby
c) Sapphire
d) Lead
8. The Happy Prince gave the ruby on his sword -hilt to
a) The swallow
b) The seamstress
c) The queen
d) The queen’s maid of honor
9. The Happy Prince gave one of his rare sapphires to
a) A playwright
b) A young man
c) A seamstress
d) A little boy
10. The Happy Prince gave the remaining sapphire to
a) A little match girl
b) An old lady
c) A watchman
d) Town Councillors
11. What did the Happy Prince say was more marvellous than anything?
a) The jewels he had
b) The beauty of the swallow bird
c) The beauty of his city
d) The suffering of men and women

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