Class 9 Moments Supplementary Reader Chapter 5 Question Answers - The Happy Prince

In  English Class 9 syllabus, "The Happy Prince" is a popular story that revolves around a prince who always maintained his happiness by keeping sadness away from his palace. He lived a contented life and even died happily. But after his death, the story sheds light on the significant injustice and inequality that exists in society. Let's see some Short Answer Type Questions of the chapter.

Q1. Describe the statue of the Happy Prince. 

• The statue of the Happy Prince stood on a tall pillar. He was covered with gold.
• He had sapphires for his eyes. He had a large ruby on the hilt of his sword.

Q2. What made the statue of the Happy Prince cry? 

• The statue of the Happy Prince cried because it could see the misery and suffering of people from its high position.
• When it saw a seamstress who had nothing to give her sick son except for river water, the Happy Prince was moved to tears.

Q3. Why was the statue called the Happy Prince? 

• The statue was called the Happy Prince because it was a likeness of a prince who had lived a life free from sorrow and tears. 
• He had lived in a palace and died happy, hence earning the name Happy Prince.

Q4.  Why did the Happy Prince request the swallow to stay with him for the night? 

• The Happy Prince requested the swallow to stay with him for the night because he wished to send the ruby from his sword hilt to the seamstress to help her and her sick son. 
• However, he was unable to do so as he was just a statue, and the swallow could help him by carrying the ruby to the seamstress.

Q5. How did the swallow give comfort to the son of the seamstress? 

• The swallow gave comfort to the son of the seamstress by fanning him with its wings, soothing his fever, and helping him fall asleep. 

• The swallow did this out of kindness and compassion, moved by the plight of the boy and his mother.

Q6. What was the last wish of the swallow? 

• The swallow knew that her end had come. He flew on to the shoulder of the Happy Prince and said, “wish to kiss your hand.” 
• The Happy Prince asked him to kiss him on the lips. He kissed on his lips and then died.

Q7. Describe the statue of the Happy Prince as depicted at the beginning of the story. 

• The statue of the Happy Prince was mounted on a tall column high above the city. It had thin leaves of fine gold-gilded all over. 
• Two bright sapphires were its eyes and a large red ruby glowed on its sword hilt.

Q8. Where was the swallow going? Why did he decide not to go there? 

• The swallow was going to Egypt to join his friends who had already reached there six weeks ago. Initially, he had stopped by only for a night to break his long journey but later got so attached to the Happy Prince that he could not bear to see him crying. 
• He stayed back to be his messenger.

Q9. Why did the swallow stop in the city? Where did he put up for the night? 

• The swallow stopped at the city to break his long journey to Egypt. His friends had already reached there. 
• He alighted between the feet of the statue of the Happy Prince for a night’s stay.

Q10. What happened when the little swallow was getting ready to sleep? 

• A large drop of water fell on the little swallow when he was getting ready to sleep. 
• He considered it a curious thing because it was a clear, bright, starlit, and cloudless night with no indication of rain.

Q11. What were the drops of rain actually? Why did they fall? 

• The drops of rain were actually the tears that rolled down the Happy Prince’s sapphire eyes. 
• The Prince’s sapphire eyes shed them because he was sad to see the poverty and misery of the city dwellers.

Q12. What made the statue of the Happy Prince cry?

• The Happy Prince had never seen or experienced sorrow all his life. 
• But after his death, his statue was put up on a high pedestal from where he could see the ugliness and misery of his land. This made him cry with sorrow.

Q13. When did the Prince first ask the swallow to stay on? Why? 

• The Prince first asked the swallow to stay on for the night when he had seen the poor seamstress and her sick son. 
• The Prince’s feet were fastened to the pedestal and he could not move. 
• So, he needed the help of swallow in bringing relief and joy to the seamstress and her hungry and sick son.

Q14. Why did the swallow refuse to carry ruby to the seamstress? Why did he finally agree to do it? 

• The swallow first refused to carry the ruby to the seamstress because he wanted to be with his friends who were in Egypt. 
• Moreover, when the Happy Prince expected help for the little boy of the seamstress, the bird said that he did not like boys. 
• However, he agreed to stay for the night on seeing the Happy Prince in such a sorrowful state.

Q15. How did the swallow reach the seamstress’s house? 

• The swallow flew over roofs of the town and passed the cathedral tower with white marbled angels sculptured on it. 
• He flew over the palace and the river before he finally reached the seamstress’s house.

Q16. What did the swallow overhear while going to the seamstress’s house? 

• As he passed by the palace, the swallow saw a beautiful girl come out into the balcony. 
• The swallow overheard her saying that she hoped her dress would be ready for the state ball and that she had ordered flowers to be embroidered on it, but the seamstresses were a lazy lot.

Q17. Why and how did the Happy Prince help the seamstress? 

• The Happy Prince decided to help the poor seamstress who was dead tired and whose son was hungry and lay in the fever. 
• The poor woman had no money to feed her son and get him medicine. She only gave him water to drink. 
• The Prince wanted the swallow to carry the ruby from his sword hilt so that the seamstress could get rid of her poverty and buy her son food and medicine.

Q18. Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress? What does the swallow do in the seamstress’s house? (Textual) 

• The Happy Prince sends a ruby for the seamstress to help her get over her poverty so that she could buy food and medicine for her son. 
• The swallow laid the great ruby on the table beside the woman’s thimble and flew around the bed, fanning the boy’s forehead with his wings.

Q19. Why couldn’t the poor seamstress sit beside her ailing son? 

• The poor seamstress had to work endlessly to complete a gown that had to be worn by the Queen’s loveliest maid of honour at the court ball. 
• Tired and hungry, she fell off to sleep while her ailing son tossed on the bed alone.

Q20. What change came over the bird on his return from the seamstress’s house? Why? 

• After returning from the seamstress’s house, the swallow felt curious that despite the cold he was feeling quite warm. 
• The Happy Prince told him that it was so because he had done a good deed.

Q21. What did the swallow do before planning for his flight towards Egypt on the second night? 

• The swallow bathed in the river at dawn and then spent the day visiting the city’s monuments. 
• He also sat for a long time on top of the church steeple. Finally, he went to the Prince to ask him if he had any commissions for Egypt. He had gone blind. 
• The Prince would then tell him to take off the gold from his body, leaf by leaf, and give it to the poor and needy.

Q22. How did the swallow become the Prince’s eyes? 

• The swallow stayed back with the blind Prince. He would fly over the city and see its people in all their colours. 
• He would report their miseries and sufferings to the Prince. 
• Then, on the Prince’s orders, he would pluck the golden leaves from his statue and give them to the needy.

Q23. The little Swallow grew colder and colder but kept up his determination. How did the bird show his great strength and courage? 

• The bird grew cold because of the snow and the frost, but he did not leave the Happy Prince. 
• He would eat crumbs from a baker’s shop and keep himself warm by flapping his wings. 
• He showed great strength and courage by staying on beside the Happy Prince in spite of the bitter cold and the consequent risk to his life.

Q24. What did the swallow do when he realised that he was going to die? How did the Prince respond? 

• On realizing that he was going to die, the swallow gathered his remaining strength and flew up to the prince’s shoulder. 
• He bid him goodbye and sought permission to kiss his hand. The Prince thought that the swallow was going to leave for Egypt. 
• He welcomed this decision and asked the swallow to kiss him on his lips instead, as he loved him.

Q25. Why was a cracking sound heard when the swallow died?
OR
What happened when the little swallow fell down dead at the feet of the Happy Prince?

The Happy Prince loved the swallow dearly. So when the bird kissed the Prince and fell down dead at his feet, the latter’s leaden heart broke into two with a curious cracking sound.

Q26. What happened to the Prince’s heart? Why? 

• As the swallow fell dead at the Prince’s feet, the latter’s lead heart broke into two. This happened because the Prince loved the bird dearly. 
• Although it was a dreadful winter, still the heart broke, for it was deeply hurt.

Q27. What made the Happy Prince look shabby and beggarly?
OR
Why did the Mayor and Town Councillors comment that the Prince looked ‘little better than a beggar’? 

• The gold leaves that covered the statue of the Happy Prince were gradually given away in charity by him. 
• His sapphire eyes and the red ruby on the sword hilt too were given away. This made him look shabby and beggarly.

Q28. Why did the Town Councillors decide to pull down the statue of the Happy Prince?
OR
How did the Mayor and his Councillors react to seeing the statue of the Happy Prince? 

• The Mayor and the Town Councillors were shocked to see the dull-looking statue of the Happy Prince bereft of his sapphire eyes, ruby-studded sword hilt and gold leaves. 
• They decided to pull it down because it looked much too shabby and beggarly, and was no longer beautiful or useful.

Q29. What strange thing was observed by the overseer? 

• The statue of the Happy Prince was pulled down and put to melt in a furnace. The overseer at the foundry noticed a strange thing at this time. 
• The broken lead heart of the Prince did not melt and had to be thrown away in the dust.

Q30. What happened to the leaden heart of the Happy Prince after it was thrown away? 

• Because it did not melt in the foundry, the Happy Prince’s lead heart was thrown away on a dust-heap where the swallow also lay dead. 
• Later on, God’s Angels chose the heart as well as the dead swallow as the two most precious things in the city.

Q31. What are the two most precious things mentioned in the story? Why are they precious?
OR
What did the Angel consider the two most precious things in the city? Why? 

• The two most precious things mentioned in the story are the kind lead-heart of the Happy Prince and the dead swallow. 
• They are precious because the Angel chooses them for their virtues and noble deeds, and God gives them a place in his garden of Paradise.

Q32. What is the moral of the story “The Happy Prince”? 

• The moral of the story is that charity and compassion can endear us to God. Love, sacrifice, and pity should be the governing virtues of mankind. 
• Outward beauty is superficial and a heart that feels for others is the noblest heart.

Q33. Describe the statue of the Happy Prince.

The statue was covered with thin leaves of fine gold. It had two bright sapphires for its eyes. There was a large red ruby on its sword-hilt.

Q34. What made the Happy Prince cry?

The Happy Prince could see all the misery of the city. He cried on seeing the sorrows of the poor people.

Q35. To whom did the prince send his ruby and why?

The prince sent his ruby to a poor seamstress. Her son was ill. He was asking for oranges. But his mother had no money. So the prince wanted to help her.

Q36. How did the prince and the swallow enable the playwright to finish his work?

The playwright was feeling very cold and hungry. He could not finish his play. The prince asked the swallow to take one of his sapphires to the playwright. Thus they helped him to finish his work.

Q37. How did the prince help the match-girl? What was the result?

The prince sent the sapphire to the match-girl. She became very happy. She ran home laughing.

Q38. Why did the swallow decide not to leave the prince?

The prince had given the sapphires from his eyes to the poor. He was now completely blind. Therefore, the swallow decided to stay with him.

Q39. How did the prince and the swallow help the poor?

• The swallow told the prince about the misery of the people. 
• The prince asked the swallow to pluck gold and jewels from his body. He asked the swallow to give all these to the poor.

Q40. What did the angel consider ‘the two most precious things in the city’?

He considered the lead heart and the dead swallow the two most precious things in the city.

Q41. When the prince was alive, he did not know what tears were. Why?

The prince lived in a palace. No sorrow was allowed to enter there. The prince never had the taste of sorrow. So he did not know what tears were.

Q42. What was the boy’s mother doing when the swallow flew into the room? Where did he put the ruby? Why did the boy feel cool?

The boy’s mother had fallen asleep. The swallow put the ruby on a table near the woman. He fanned the boy with his wings. The boy now felt cool.

Q43. What made the playwright happy?

The playwright saw a sapphire lying near him on the table. He thought it had been sent by some great admirer. This made him happy.

Q44. Describe the sufferings of poor people in the city. How did the Happy Prince help them? 

• The poor people in the city lived a miserable life. There was a poor seamstress. She had nothing to give her son, who was sick. 
• So the Happy Prince sent a ruby for her. There was a playwright who had no firewood to keep himself warm. The prince sent him a sapphire. 
• There was a match-girl who had no shoes or stockings. Her matches had fallen in the gutter. She was crying. The prince sent her his second sapphire. 
• There were hungry and homeless children. The prince sent them all the gold leaves he had on his body.

Q45. Give a brief character sketch of the Happy Prince. 

• The Happy Prince saw the misery of the poor people. His heart melted with pity for them. Their sufferings brought tears to his eyes. 
• He gave away his ruby, sapphires, and all the gold for the poor. He became blind. His body looked ugly. 
• But he was happy at heart because he had given away his all for the poor. 
• The Happy Prince came to know that real happiness lay in the service of the poor. God blessed him and kept him in his city of gold.

Q46. Give a brief character sketch of the swallow. 

• The swallow was every inch like the Happy Prince. It had a very kind heart. It saw tears in the prince’s eyes. Its heart melted with pity. 
• It wanted to help the prince. Therefore, it gave up its idea of going to Egypt. It stayed with the prince on cold nights. 
• When the prince became blind, the swallow, decided to live with him forever. It died one day. 
• But even the dead could not separate it from the prince. It was taken to heaven along with the prince.

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