The Happy Prince - That Day
That day, the world did not change.
Only what could be seen changed.
Chapter 1: The Prince Who Was Happy
The prince was happy.
The high walls blocked the wind,
and they blocked the voices of the people, too.
Music echoed through the palace,
and there was laughter there.
The world outside the castle
was far away.
The prince
did not know.
He was simply happy.
Chapter 2: Just One Night
As autumn was coming to an end,
a swallow landed on the statue's shoulder.
His companions were already heading south.
If he did not hurry, winter would come.
The prince said,
"I want you to deliver this jewel to that house."
It was supposed to be just a short rest for its wings.
Chapter 3: High Places
On the way back from delivering the jewel.
The swallow saw it.
It had seen it.
The cold room.
The weeping mother.
The child burning with fever.
The prince, too,
was gazing down at the city from his high perch.
Chapter 4: Winter
It thought it could fly south the next morning.
That is what it had thought.
One more night.
One more person.
Just one more time.
The prince kept asking.
The swallow kept carrying.
The jewels were gone.
The gold leaf had peeled away as well.
Winter was,
just around the corner.
The swallow,
did not fly south.
Chapter 5: The Happy Prince
Spring had come.
The people of the town,
tore down the old statue.
At its feet,
a small swallow lay.
No one stopped.
No one knew its name.
The prince,
and the swallow,
were nobodies.
Even so, people,
called that prince,
the Happy Prince.