High above the city stands the statue（雕像） of the Happy Prince（王子）. He is covered with fine gold leaf（叶）. His eyes are two blue sapphires. He has a big red ruby（红宝石） on his sword（剑）. Everyone loves him. "Look at the Happy Prince," says a mother to her son, who is crying his eyes out.

  "The Happy Prince never cries. Don't you want to be like him?" "Well, at least someone is happy in this town," mutters（轻声低语） a grumpy man as he contemplates（凝视） the beautiful statue（雕像）. "He looks like an angel（天使）," say the children in the orphanage（孤儿院）. One night, a little swallow（燕子） flies over the city. He is all alone. His friends all flew away to Egypt six weeks ago. The swallow stayed behind, because he had fallen in love with the most beautiful reed（[作物] 芦苇）.

  She was tall and slender（细长的）, and she moved so gracefully in the wind. The other swallows had laughed at this romance（传奇故事）. "It's so ridiculous（可笑的）," they said. "She has no money and no steady（稳固的） job." Then autumn arrived. The other birds left for Egypt, and the little swallow began to get tired of his lover.

  "Well, yes, she is beautiful. But does she like to travel?" he wondered（想知道）. "Of course, my future wife must like to travel." So he asked the reed. "Will you come to Egypt with me? It'll be so much fun. I'll show you the pyramids." But the reed shook her head.

  "Very well. I will go alone," replied the swallow. "Good-bye." And he flew away towards the city. He arrives in the city after dark. "Now, where am I going to sleep?" he wonders. He sees the statue of the happy prince.

  "Ah, I will sleep there. The view will be magnificent（高尚的）." The swallow lands between the feet of the happy prince. He looks around himself. "Amazing! I have a golden（金色的） bedroom!" He is just about to fall asleep when, plop, a drop（ 滴） of water falls on his head.

  "What? Is it raining?" he wonders. "Strange. I don't see any clouds." Then, plop, another drop falls on him. "Blousy statue!"

  he mutters. "It can't even protect me from the rain. Maybe I should find a nice chimney instead." But then, plop, another drop falls. The swallow looks up. And what does he see? The eyes of the happy prince are filled with tears（ 眼泪）.

  Tears are streaming down his golden cheeks（面颊）. His face looks so sad in the moonlight（月光）. The little swallow is filled with pity（怜悯）. "Who are you?" he asks the statue. "I am the happy prince." "Well, why are you crying then?" asks the swallow.

  "I'm all wet." "You know, when I was alive and had a human heart, I never cried," the statue says. "I lived in Sansousi Palace. There is no sorrow at Sansousi. Every night I danced in the great hall. During the day, I played with my friends in the garden. There was a big wall around the garden.

  But I never asked what was on the other side. Why would I ask? Everything around me was so beautiful. When I was alive, everyone called me the happy prince. And yes, I was happy, if pleasure（愉快） and happiness（幸福） are the same thing. But then I died and they put me here.

  Now I can see all the sadness and ugliness of my city. My heart is made of lead（领导）, but I cannot stop crying." "What? He has a heart of lead? I thought he was solid（固体的） gold," thinks the swallow to himself. But he doesn't say it out loud. He's too polite.

  "Far from here," continues the statue. "Far from here, there is a small street. In this street, there is a small house. One of the windows is open and I can see a woman. She is sitting at a table. Her face looks tired and worried. Her hands are red and calloused（无情的）.

  She is a seamstress and she is sewing a dress for a wealthy（ 富有的） lady. Her little boy is lying（躺） on the bed, ill, with a fever（发热）. He wants oranges, but his mother does not have money to buy oranges. All she can give（做） him to drink is water from the river." So the little boy continues to cry. "Little swallow, there is a ruby on my sword. Please take it to his mother.

  I am a statue now. I can't do it myself." "I'm sorry, I can't," says the swallow. "I must fly to Egypt. My friends are waiting for me. They will be flying up and down the Nile（尼罗河） and talking to the lotus（莲花（汽车品牌）） flowers. They will be sleeping in the tomb of the great king.

  I must go too." "Little swallow," says the prince, "please be my messenger（送信者）. Just for one night. The little boy is so thirsty and his mother is so sad." "But I don't even like little boys," says the swallow. "Little boys throw stones at me. Of course, they never reach me. But who cares?

  It's very rude." But the happy prince looks sad, and the swallow feels guilty（有罪的）. "It's very cold here," he says, "but I will stay one night and help you." "Thank you, little swallow," says the prince.