High above the city stood a statue made of gold and precious stones, honouring the Happy Prince. One day a swallow flying to Egypt perched on the empty space between the statue’s feet. As he was resting, a drop of water fell on him. On looking up, he found tears streaming down the Happy Prince’s statue’s cheeks. The swallow asked the Happy Prince why he was crying; the statue replied that from his vantage point he could see the entire city and now he saw and understood the miseries of the people, particularly the poor and the homeless, their hunger, and starvation. He was distressed and sorry to see so many people in his city living in such dire straits so he asked the swallow to help these people by taking his gold covering, sapphires and ruby to them to help alleviate their circumstances because he, himself, couldn't move from his pedestal. Together they brought some happiness to those who knew none.
In this new version of this 1888 classic, it is a boy called Swallow who rests at the statue’s feet and does the Prince's bidding but when all the gold is gone, the important councillors of the city tear down the statue for it is no longer beautiful, each wishing to replace it with a statue of himself. It is cold and the kind people of the city take the little boy into their homes. Together they discuss how best to use their pieces of gold and wonder about why there are statues in the city. The boy tells them of the beautiful warm lands that he comes from, and the plants and animals. The people decide that they will build a city garden with their gold where everyone can come to grow food and enjoy the beauty of nature. Swallow plants a fruit tree to remember the sweet kindnesses of his friend, the Happy Prince.
Wilde's original tale has stood the test of time and this version retains much of the original including its strong moral message which remains relevant, but the adaptations bring it into a more modern world where the economic circumstances of the original will be familiar to many. while offering opportunities to think about how the community, including the government could and should help those who are less fortunate. Whose responsibility is it? And why, do those in power still put their own agenda before the greater good, as has happened with the Help to Buy housing scheme, as an example. Despite the original being nearly 140 years on, has anything changed?
Although students might not yet be sophisticated enough to debate the ins and outs of such plans and policies, this is an example of a story written long ago still having relevance today because of its underlying themes, and thus helping readers understand the essence of what makes a story a classic. At the same time, they could consider whether they would have read the original and understood its application to life today. Given that, it could also be an opportunity to compare the two versions and investigate the concept of zeitgeist - "the spirit of the age" reflecting the ideas, beliefs, values and culture of a particular time. In this case, how the endings vary, or perhaps even the attitude towards building statues and monuments, offering students are new layer for understanding texts. Even if the lens varies, does the core message remain?
They could also broaden their reading horizons by comparing the themes of The Happy Prince to another of Wilde's classics, The Selfish Giant to not only look for 21st century relevance in that but also how an author's beliefs can be their motivation for writing in a certain way. ---from the publisher
101 pages 978-1686814686 Ages 7-10
Keywords: anthology, fairy tales, short stories, 7 year old, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old
Recommended by Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
See more of her recommendations:
500 Hats http://500hats.edublogs.org/
The Bottom Shelf http://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/
