NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Moments Chapter 5 The Happy Prince

THINK ABOUT IT

Question:- 1. Why do the courtiers call the prince ‘the Happy Prince’? Is he really happy? What does he see all around him?

Answer:- The courtiers used to refer to the prince as “the Happy Prince” because he didn’t know what tears were because he lived in the Palace, where grief was forbidden.  He was no longer happy. When he died  he was turned into a statue and placed at a height from which he could view the city’s ugliness and poverty that engulfs his people.

Question:- 2. Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress? What does the swallow do in the seamstress’ house?

Answer:-  Due to overwork, the seamstress was tired. She was so poor that she couldn’t afford to buy oranges for her little ill son. Her son was thirsty and was crying. The Happy Prince noticed the poor lady and her son. He felt pity for them. So, he sent a ruby of his sword hilt for her. The swallow came to the poor woman’s house and placed the ruby on the table next her. The bird fanned the boy’s forehead with its wings and flew back to the Happy Prince.

Question:- 3. For whom does the prince send the sapphires and why?

Answer:- The happy prince’s statue had two sapphires in his eye. The prince saw a playwright who was so poor that he was unable to buy food and wood. So prince sent a sapphire for a playwright so that he could finish a play for the theatre director in time. And the prince sent his second sapphire to a poor match girl. Her matches fell into the gutter and got damaged. She feared the girl that her father would beat her for the loss.

Question:- 4. What does the swallow see when it flies over the city?

Answer:- The swallow saw all categories of people when he flew over the city. He observed the rich making merry in their beautiful houses while the beggars begging sitting at the gates. He also saw two hungry children who were made to run off by the watchman.

Question:- 5. Why did the swallow not leave the prince and go to Egypt?

Answer:- The swallow did not leave the prince and go to Egypt because the prince had become blind after giving away his both sapphires to the needy people. The swallow decided to stay with the prince as he was so touched with his act of kindness.

Question:- 6. What are the precious things mentioned in the story? Why are they precious?

Answer:- These two precious things are that are mentioned in the story are the heart of the Happy Prince and the dead swallow. They are precious because they understood the suffering of others. They have also helped them and sacrificed their lives for the sake of their happiness. They thought us that the  most valuable thing in the world is to serve others.