The living always think that gold can make them happy

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The golden statue of The Happy Prince stands gleaming in a city blighted by poverty. As Winter comes, he befriends a swallow and asks it to stay with him and strip him of his beautiful gilded exterior to help those in need. The harsh cold and selfless exertion of the swallow in helping the prince leads to its death, which breaks the prince's heart.

His bare statue is torn down, leaving only his lead heart and dead swallow, which ascend to paradise as they are the two most precious things in the city of God. The story weaves delicately between devotion, wealth and charity, giving us a timeless parable on the value of altruism and friendship.

Read the full text of the happy prince

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