The Happy Prince, and Other Tales

High above a bustling city a gilded statue glitters on a tall column, its golden surface and sapphire eyes catching every passerby’s admiration. The townsfolk speak of the statue with reverence, calling it beautiful yet useless, while children dream of angels perched among the clouds. One chilly night a lone swallow, delayed in his migration, seeks shelter beside the monument and discovers that the once‑happy prince who now stands there is weeping silver tears.

The prince, once a carefree soul in a palace where sorrow never entered, now feels the city's suffering for the first time. Moved by his pain, the compassionate swallow offers his warmth, and together they begin to notice the poverty and need that surround them. Their unlikely partnership sparks the first small acts of generosity, turning the statue’s glittering façade into a beacon of hope for those below.