按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
by the side of their camels， and carry amber beads in their hands； of the King of the Mountains of the Moon， who is as black as ebony， and worships a large crystal； of the great green snake that sleeps in a palm…tree， and has twenty priests to feed it with honey…cakes； and of the pygmies who sail over a big lake on large flat leaves， and are always at war with the butterflies。
“Dear little Swallow，” said the Prince， “you tell me of marvellous things， but more marvellous than anything is the suffering of men and of women。 There is no Mystery so great as Misery。 Fly over my city， little Swallow， and tell me what you see there。”
So the Swallow flew over the great city， and saw the rich making merry in their beautiful houses， while the beggars were sitting at the gates。 He flew into dark lanes， and saw the white faces of starving children looking out listlessly at the black streets。 Under the archway of a bridge two little boys were lying in one another’s arms to try and keep themselves warm。 “How hungry we are！” they said。 “You must not lie here，” shouted the Watchman， and they wandered out into the rain。
Then he flew back and told the Prince what he had seen。
“I am covered with fine gold，” said the Prince， “you must take it off， leaf by leaf， and give it to my poor； the living always think that gold can make them happy。”
Leaf after leaf of the fine gold the Swallow picked off， till the Happy Prince looked quite dull and grey。 Leaf after leaf of the fine gold he brought to the poor， and the children’s faces grew rosier， and they laughed and played games in the street。 “We have bread now！” they cried。
Then the snow came， and after the snow came the frost。 The streets looked as if they were made of silver， they were so bright and glistening； long icicles like crystal daggers hung down from the eaves of the houses， everybody went about in furs， and the little boys wore scarlet caps and skated on the ice。
The poor little Swallow grew colder and colder， but he would not leave the Prince， he loved him too well。 He picked up crumbs outside the baker’s door when the baker was not looking and tried to keep himself warm by flapping his wings。
But at last he knew that he was going to die。 He had just strength to fly up to the Prince’s shoulder once more。 “Good…bye， dear Prince！” he murmured， “will you let me kiss your hand？”
“I am glad that you are going to Egypt at last， little Swallow，” said the Prince， “you have stayed too long here； but you must kiss me on the lips， for I love you。”
“It is not to Egypt that I am going，” said the Swallow。 “I am going to the House of Death。 Death is the brother of Sleep， is he not？”
And he kissed the Happy Prince on the lips， and fell down dead at his feet。
At that moment a curious crack sounded inside the statue， as if something had broken。 The fact is that the leaden heart had snapped right in two。 It certainly was a dreadfully hard frost。
Early the next morning the Mayor was walking in the square below in pany with the Town Councillors。 As they passed the column he looked up at the statue： “Dear me！ how shabby the Happy Prince looks！” he said。
“How shabby indeed！” cried the Town Councillors， who always agreed with the Mayor； and they went up to look at it。
“The ruby has fallen out of his sword， his eyes are gone， and he is golden no longer，” said the Mayor， “in fact he is litttle beter than a beggar！”
“Little better than a beggar，” said the Town Councillors。
“And here is actually a dead bird at his feet！” continued the Mayor。 “We must really issue a proclamation that birds are not to be allowed to die here。” And the Town Clerk made a note of the suggestion。
So they pulled down the statue of the Happy Prince。 “As he is no longer beautiful he is no longer useful，” said the Art Professor at the University。
Then they melted the statue in a furnace， and the Mayor held a meeting of the Corporation to decide what was to be done with the metal。 “We must have another statue， of course，” he said， “and it shall be a statue of myself。”
“Of myself，” said each of the Town Councillors， and they quarrelled。 When I last heard of them they were quarrelling still。
“What a strange thing！” said the overseer of the workmen at the foundry。 “This broken lead heart will not melt in the furnace。 We must throw it away。” So they threw it on a dust…heap where the dead Swallow was also lying。
“Bring me the two most precious things in the city，” said God to one of His Angels； and the Angel brought Him the leaden heart and the dead bird。
“You have rightly chosen，” said God， “for in my garden of Paradise this little bird shall sing for evermore， and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me。”
★、The Selfish Giant
Every afternoon， as they were ing from school， the children used to go and play in the Giant’s garden。
It was a large lovely garden， with soft green grass。 Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars， and there were twelve peach…trees that in the spring…time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl， and in the autumn bore rich fruit。 The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them。 “How happy we are here！” they cried to each other。
One day the Giant came back。 He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre， and had stayed with him for seven years。 After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say， for his conversation was limited， and he determined to return to his own castle。 When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden。
“What are you doing here？” he cried in a very gruff voice， and the children ran away。
“My own garden is my own garden，” said the Giant； “any one can understand that， and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself。” So he built a high wall all round it， and put up a notice…board。
TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTEDHe was a very selfish Giant。
The poor children had now nowhere to play。 They tried to play on the road， but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones， and they did not like it。 They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over， and talk about the beautiful garden inside。 “How happy we were there，” they said to each other。
Then the Spring came， and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds。 Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter。 The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children， and the trees forgot to blossom。 Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass， but when it saw the notice…board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again， and went off to sleep。 The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost。 “Spring has forgotten this garden，” they cried， “so we will live here all the year round。” The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak， and the Frost painted all the trees silver。 Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them， and he came。 He was wrapped in furs， and he roared all day about the garden， and blew the chimney…pots down。 “This is a delightful spot，” he said， “we must ask the Hail on a visit。” So the Hail came。 Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates， and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go。 He was dressed in grey， and his breath was like ice。
“I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in ing，” said the Selfish Giant， as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden； “I hope there will be a change in the weather。”
But the Spring never came， nor the Summer。 The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden， but to the Giant’s garden she gave none。 “He is too selfish，” she said。 So it was always Winter there， and the North Wind， and the Hail， and the Frost， and the Snow danced about through the trees。
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music。 It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King’s musicians passing by。 It was really only a