THE
PRINCE AND THE SWALLOW
EX
A1.
Q1.
A1.
The statue of the happy prince stood on a tall column.The exterior
was covered with thin leaves of fine gold, the eyes were two bright
sapphires and there was a large red ruby on the handle of his sword.
He looked very attractive.
Q2.
A2.The
little swallow was alone in the city because the other swallows had
flown to Egypt. He had not gone as he had fallen in love with a reed.
Q3.
A3.
It seems that the swallow did not really love the reed because very
soon he got tired of her. This can be concluded from the line. “ He
felt lonely and began to tire his lady love” When the reed did not
agree to go with him, he flew away to Egypt leaving her behind.
Q4.
A4.
The statue was sad because ,from the height of the tall column, he
could see the ugliness and the miseries prevailing in the city. He
was crying because he could see the son of a poor seamstress,lying
ill on a bed and asking for oranges which his mother could not afford
to buy for him and instead was giving him river water.
Q5.
A5.
The statue wanted the swallow to take the red ruby from his
sword-hilt and give it to the seamstress to enable her to buy the
oranges. He told the swallow that he could not do so himself as his
feet were fastened to the pedestal.
Q6.
A6.
The swallow did not agree at once to help the statue. He said that
his friends had flown away to Egypt and he wanted to join them
without wasting anymore time.Secondly,he said that he did not like
boys because they were rude and always troubled him.But then the
prince looked so terribly sad, the swallow felt sorry for him and
agreed to stay for one night and help him
Q7.
A7.On
the way to the poor boy's house,the swallow saw many things. He saw
the cathedral tower with white marble angels on it. He passed the
palace where he heard the sound of dancing and saw a beautiful girl
on the balcony with her companion.He also saw ships lit by lanterns
on the river.
EX
A2.
1.
a)It
was said by one of the Town Councillors.
b)He
said these words because he wished to gain a reputation for having
artistic tastes.
c)The
Councillor then added that the statue was not as useful as the
weathercock because he was a practical man.
2.
a)The
swallow said this.
b)He
thought the thing to be curious as there were no clouds in the sky
yet a large drop of water had fallen on him.
c)The
eyes of the Happy Prince were filled with tears, and tears were
running down his golden cheeks.
3.
a)The
statue of the Happy Prince cannot choose but weep.
b)Standing
on a pedestal the statue of the Happy Prince can see the misery
around him. He can see the ill son of a poor seamstress, who wants to
have oranges, but his mother is too poor to buy them.
c)When
he was alive he had never seen misery or been unhappy.He lived in the
Palace of Sans-Souci where sorrow was not allowed to enter.During the
daytime, he played with his companions and in the evening he led the
dance in the Great Hall.
4.
a)The
girl's companion said to her.
b)The
listner was more worried whether her new dress would be ready for the
State Ball or not.She was moaning to her companion about her petty
grievances,ignoring the fact that he was talking about beauty and
love.
c)The
line reveals the cold-heartedness of the girl with no sympathy for
the poor seamstress.Through this line the author portrays the
indifferent attitude of people in general.
