The Happy Prince Class 9 Worksheet English Moments Chapter 5

Multiple Choice

Questions

Q1: Who came to live with the Prince in the story, The Happy Prince?
(a) A sparrow
(b) A stork
(c) A swallow
(d) A swan
Ans:  (c)
Sol: One night a little swallow flew over the city of the Happy Prince, he was travelling to Egypt and needed a place to rest so he took shelter under the Prince's statue.

Q2: What did the swallow notice while flying over the city?
(a) Many waste things
(b) Many poor people
(c) Many people and their plight
(d) The plight of the poor and greed of the rich
Ans:  (d)

Q3: Who noticed the dull state of the Prince's statue in the story, The Happy Prince?
(a) The Art Professor
(b) The Town Clerk
(c) The Town Councillor
(d) The bird
Ans:  (d)

Q4: What did the Prince tell the swallow to give to the seamstress In the story, The Happy Prince?
(a) The ruby of his sword's hilt
(b) The thin leaves of gold from his body
(c) The lead from his heart
(d) The sapphire eyes of his
Ans:  (a)
Sol: The seamstress was penniless and didn't have any money to buy oranges for her son, who was very ill. She was left only with river water. Looking at the helpless state of the seamstress,  the Prince told the swallow to give her the ruby from his sword's hilt.

Q5: The colour of the lips of the writer was red like ________.
(a) Cherry
(b) Rose
(c) Apple
(d) Pomegranate
Ans:  (d)

Q6: What was the profession of the woman who was sitting in her cottage with prickled hands?
(a) Charwoman
(b) Cake-making
(c) Seamstress
(d) None of these
Ans:  (c)

Q7: What moved Swallow’s heart?
(a) Happy Prince
(b) Happy Prince’s kindness
(c) All of these
(d) Happy Prince’s assets
Ans:  (b)

Q8: The little swallow got the ________ bedroom.
(a) diamond
(b) silver
(c) muddy
(d) gold
Ans:  (d)

Q9: Shining sapphire stones were placed in the ________ of the happy prince.
(a) nose
(b) forehead
(c) sword
(d) eyes
Ans:  (d)

Q10: What was the Prince gilded over with In the story, The Happy Prince?
(a) Thin leaves of silver
(b) Thin leaves of copper
(c) Thin leaves of lead
(d) Thin leaves of gold
Ans:  (d)
Sol: The Happy Prince was gilded all over with gold.

Very Short Answer

Questions

Q 1: Describe the statue of the Happy Prince.
Ans: The statue stood high above the city on a tall column. The Happy Prince statue is adorned with gold leaf, precious stones, and sapphire eyes, symbolizing opulence. Despite its grand appearance, it becomes a symbol of compassion and selflessness in the story.

Q2: Did the swallow belong to the city? How can you tell? Where was it going?

Ans: The swallow did not belong to the city; this is evident from its initial dialogue with the Prince where it mentions that it is on its way to Egypt for the winter. The swallow was going to Egypt for the winter, indicating its migratory nature and its lack of belonging to any particular place.

Q3: Where did the bird decide to stay for the night? Why?
Ans: The bird decided to stay near the statue of the prince, because it was located on a tall column and the bird felt he would get plenty of fresh air there.

Q4: Why did the swallow agree to deliver the ruby even though he wanted to join his friends in Egypt?
Ans: The Prince looked so sad that the little swallow felt sorry for him and agreed to stay one night and be his messenger.

Q5: What were the things that the swallow saw on his journey to deliver the ruby?
Ans: During his journey, the swallow saw scenes of poverty, including a hungry playwright, a sick matchgirl, a poor seamstress, and a starving child, motivating him to aid those in need with the Happy Prince's treasures.

Short Answer Questions

Q 1: Why did the bird think he had a ‘golden bedroom’?
Ans: 

The bird thought he had a "golden bedroom" because he found shelter inside the hollow of the Happy Prince's gold-covered body. The gold leaf from the statue's body provided a warm and luxurious shelter for the swallow during the cold nights.

Q 2: Why was the bird not able to sleep peacefully that first night?
Ans: Just as the bird was about to sleep, he was disturbed by three tear drops that fell from the eyes of the statue. When he saw the tears running down the cheeks of the statue, he looked so beautiful in the moonlight that the bird was filled with pity and could not sleep.

Q3: Why was the statue of the Happy Prince weeping?
Ans: The statue of the Happy Prince was weeping because he could see the suffering and poverty of the people in his city from his elevated position. He felt compassion for them and wanted to help alleviate their suffering, but as a statue, he was unable to do so directly.

Q4: Why did the swallow delay his departure for the second time?
Ans: The swallow delayed his departure for the second time because he saw a poor seamstress who was cold and hungry. Feeling compassion for her, he decided to stay and help her by giving her the ruby from the Happy Prince's sword hilt.

Q5: What did the Prince expect the young playwright to do with the sapphire? Did the swallow willingly agree to the Prince’s request?
Ans: The Prince expected the young playwright to sell the sapphire and use the money to buy food and firewood for his family, as they were suffering from poverty and hunger. Yes, the swallow willingly agreed to the Prince's request to take the sapphire to the playwright after hearing about the family's plight and feeling compassion for them.

Long Answer Questions

Q1: What are the two most precious things that the Angels find in the city?
Ans: The two most precious things that the Angels pick up from the city are the dead swallow and the lead heart of the Happy Prince. They picked these two because both the bird and the statue had gone beyond their selfish interest and lost their lives serving the poor and down-trodden. The bird had cancelled his plans to migrate to warmer climes for the winter, staying back to help deliver valuables as directed by the statue, to those who were in dire need.
After the statue gave away his sapphire eyes and became blind, he did not have the heart to fly away from his friend. Instead, he died in his attempt to keep him company. Similarly, the statue had selflessly given away all the valuables that covered his body to help the poor and hungry people in the city. It made him extremely sad to see their misery, so he chose to give them everything he had. When at last his friend the swallow died, he was completely broken, and his heart cracked into two. The angels valued their sacrifice and charitable acts, and chose them as the most precious things.

Q2: Comment on the title of the story. Was the prince really happy?
Ans: The title of the story, "The Happy Prince," is somewhat ironic because although the Happy Prince is adorned with gold and jewels and appears happy on the outside, he actually experiences deep sadness and compassion for the suffering of his city's inhabitants. Despite his outward appearance of happiness, his true happiness comes from his selfless acts of kindness and sacrifice to alleviate the suffering of others. So, while he may not have been happy in the conventional sense, his actions and character ultimately embody the true essence of happiness.

Q3: Why is the frost called a ‘dreadfully hard frost’?
Ans: The frost has been called hard because the snow had hardened due to the cold. Further, it also refers to the swallow who had wanted to migrate to a warmer climate in Egypt, he had stayed back, at first unwillingly, to help the poor people by delivering the ruby, sapphire and gold leaf that had covered the statue of the Prince. Later, once the Prince was left without eyes to see, he decided to stay to keep him company. In the process, he succumbed to the cold weather and lost his life. On finding his friend dead, the statue broke, revealing his leaden heart. Thus, the death of these two selfless heroes cast a gloomy atmosphere.

Q4: Why did the courtiers call the prince the ‘Happy Prince’? Was he really happy? What does he see all around him?
Ans: The prince had been called a Happy Prince when he had been alive. At that time, he lived a sheltered and privileged life, with no inkling of the suffering faced by the common people. After his death, when his statue was placed on a high column overlooking the city, he was able to see the misery and unhappiness of the people. The poverty and ugliness all around made him extremely unhappy. Therefore, with the help of the swallow, he tried to compensate for the neglect which he had shown his subjects while he had been alive. Thus, he was not happy looking at the misery of the people, but by giving away all his valuables and helping the poor people, his sadness would have been somewhat abated.

Q5: How do the councillors and Mayor react on seeing the broken statue?
Ans: The councillors and Mayor called the statue shabby because all the gold and precious stones no longer decorated it. They felt that without these embellishments, the statue looked like that of a beggar. Moreover, they felt that the dead swallow at its feet added to the shabby condition of the statue. Thus, since the statue was no longer beautiful or useful, it should be pulled down and melted in the furnace. However, its lead heart did not melt, which was finally thrown onto the garbage heap with the dead swallow’s body.