Class 8 Chapter 8 Solution
The Happy Prince
1. Very Short Question Answer
1. Where did the Happy Prince live?
Ans: The Happy Prince lived in the wonderful palace of Sans-Sonci.
2. What did the Happy Prince do during the day?
Ans: During the day, the Happy Prince played with his friends in the palace garden.
3. What did the Happy Prince do at night?
Ans: The Happy Prince sang and laughed at night.
4. Why was the Swallow in a hurry?
Ans: The Swallow was in a hurry because all his friends had left for warm Egypt.
5. Where did the Swallow want to go and why?
Ans: The Swallow wanted to go to Egypt for warmth.
6 Why was the Happy Prince crying?
Ans: The Happy Prince was crying to see the poor people and all the ugly things in his land.
7. How was the night?
Ans: It was a cold night.
8. Why did the Swallow feel warm?
Ans: The Swallow felt warm because he did something good to help someone.
9. What was the young playwright doing?
Ans: The young playwright sat holding his head in his hands.
10. How did the Prince help the little girl in the town square?
Ans: The Prince sent the sapphire to the girl in the town square.
11. Why was the boy tossing on the bed?
Ans: The boy was tossing on the bed because of fever.
12. What new law did the Mayor propose?
Ans: The Mayor proposed that no bird could die in the town square or near the Happy Prince.
13Where was the Happy Prince taken?
Ans: The Happy Prince was put on a stretcher and taken to the furnace to melt.
2. Short Question Answer
1. Why did everyone call the Prince as the Happy Prince?
Ans: Everyone called the Prince as the Happy Prince because nothing sad ever entered the door of the prince’s palace.
2. Describe the statue of the Happy Prince,
Ans: The Happy Prince is built with gold from head to foot. His eyes are made of two precious sapphires and there is a big red ruby on his sword hilt.
3. What did the mother tell the child while he was crying?
Ans: While the child was crying the mother wanted to know the reason why he could not be happy like the Happy Prince who never cried for new things.
4. Why do the Swallow think that the statue of the Happy Prince has ‘golden heart’?
Ans: The Swallow thought that Happy Prince had a ‘golden heart’ because he felt sad and his eyes were full of tears seeing the sufferings of the poor people and all the ugly things in his land about which he was not aware when he was alive.
5. Why was the bird not able to sleep peacefully that first night?
Ans: The bird thought that the golden room was a good shelter. But he was getting wet in the rain though the sky was clear. When a second drop of water had fallen, he looked up at the statue and saw the tears running down the cheeks of the statue. He was filled with pity and could not sleep.
16. Why did the Swallow agree to help the Happy Prince?
Ans: The Swallow felt sorry looking at the Happy Prince. Besides it, he could not say no to people. This is why the Swallow agreed to help the Happy Prince.
7. What made the playwright say, “Now I can finish my play”?
Ans: When the playwright discovered the sapphire by his side, he was overjoyed. He thought that someone liked his work a lot and rewarded him. He then said, “Now I can finish my play.”
8. When did the Prince first ask the Swallow to stay on? Why?
Ans: 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.
9. How did the Prince and the Swallow help the poor beggars?
Ans: The Swallow told the Prince about the misery of the poor beggars. The Prince asked the Swallow to pluck all gold from his body. He asked the Swallow to give all these to the poor.
10. Why did the Swallow decide not to leave the Prince?
Ans: 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.
11. Why did the Mayor and the Town Councillors think the statue of the Happy Prince was not beautiful anymore?
Ans: The statue of the Happy Prince did not have the ruby in his sword, the sapphires in his eyes and the golden tunic. Without all these, the statue looked no better than a beggar. This is why they thought the statue of the Happy Prince was not beautiful anymore.
12. Why did the Mayor and the Councillors want statues of themselves?
Ans: The statue of the Happy Prince was famous. Everyone loved him. As the statue was removed from the town square there was the need of a new statue. The Mayor and the Councillors wanted statues of themselves to get that honour and to be famous like the Happy Prince.
3. True And false
1.(a) F I (The Swallow) will help you (the Happy Prince).
(b) F I (The Swallow) will leave for Egypt tonight.
(c) T Little Swallow, take one of my sapphire eyes and give it to him.
(d) T I see a poor little girl in the town square. She has no shoes.
2.(i) F In this town, everyone loves the Happy Prince.
(ii) T So this was the famous statue of Happy Prince.
(iii) F… there is a big red ruby of his sword hilt.
(iv) T When he died, the town built this statue and named it the same.
(v) T It’s a cold night.
(vi) T He is writing a play for the theatre.
(vii) F Swallow, take the ruby from my sword – hilt and give it to her.
(viii) F The young playwright discovers the rich stone (sapphire) soon after the Swallow leaves.
(ix) T Little Swallow, take one of my sapphire eyes and give it to him.
(x) F... led by an important looking man in red coat and trousers. He is the Mayor of the town…