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(lè)王子》

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

梗概：在一個(gè)鎮(zhèn)子里，一只燕子看到了剛剛?cè)ナ赖摹翱鞓?lè)王子”的雕塑，這個(gè)王子事實(shí)上從未體驗(yàn)過(guò)真正的快樂(lè)。看到人們?cè)馐苤毟F的折磨，快樂(lè)王子請(qǐng)求燕子從自己的劍柄上取出紅寶石，從眼睛里取出藍(lán)寶石，并將覆蓋全身的金葉取出，去送給那些窮人。冬天來(lái)了，快樂(lè)王子的美貌蕩然無(wú)存，當(dāng)他看到為他無(wú)私行為不斷奔走的燕子凍死在嚴(yán)寒中，他的鉛心也破碎了。于是這座雕塑被拆下來(lái)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?xùn)|西帶到了天堂，上帝認(rèn)為這是這座城市里最寶貴的兩樣?xùn)|西。