English Original
'What, is he not solid gold?' said the Swallow to himself. He was too polite to make any personal remarks out loud.
'Far away,' continued the statue in a low musical voice,'far away in a little street there is a poor house. One of the windows is open, and through it I can see a woman seated at a table. Her face is thin and worn, and she has coarse, red hands, all pricked by the needle, for she is a seamstress. She is embroidering passion-flowers on a satin gown for the loveliest of the Queen's maids-of-honour to wear at the next Court-ball. In a bed in the corner of the room her little boy is lying ill. He has a fever, and is asking for oranges. His mother has nothing to give him but river water, so he is crying. Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow, will you not bring her the ruby out of my sword-hilt? My feet are fastened to this pedestal and I cannot move.'
'I am waited for in Egypt,' said the Swallow. 'My friends are flying up and down the Nile, and talking to the large lotus flowers. Soon they will go to sleep in the tomb of the great King. The King is there himself in his painted coffin. He is wrapped in yellow linen, and embalmed with spices. Round his neck is a chain of pale green jade, and his hands are like withered leaves.'
'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' said the Prince,'will you not stay with me for one night, and be my messenger? The boy is so thirsty, and the mother so sad.'
'I don't think I like boys,' answered the Swallow. 'Last summer, when I was staying on the river, there were two rude boys, the miller's sons, who were always throwing stones at me. They never hit me, of course; we swallows fly far too well for that, and besides, I come of a family famous for its agility; but still, it was a mark of disrespect.'
But the Happy Prince looked so sad that the little Swallow was sorry. 'It is very cold here,' he said 'but I will stay with you for one night, and be your messenger.'
'Thank you, little Swallow,' said the Prince.
So the Swallow picked out the great ruby from the Prince's sword, and flew away with it in his beak over the roofs of the town.
He passed by the cathedral tower, where the white marble angels were sculptured. He passed by the palace and heard the sound of dancing. A beautiful girl came out on the balcony with her lover. 'How wonderful the stars are,' he said to her,'and how wonderful is the power of love!' 'I hope my dress will be ready in time for the State-ball,' she answered; 'I have ordered passion-flowers to be embroidered on it; but the seamstresses are so lazy.'
He passed over the river, and saw the lanterns hanging to the masts of the ships. He passed over the Ghetto, and saw the old Jews bargaining with each other, and weighing out money in copper scales. At last he came to the poor house and looked in. The boy was tossing feverishly on his bed, and the mother had fallen asleep, she was so tired. In he hopped, and laid the great ruby on the table beside the woman's thimble. Then he flew gently round the bed, fanning the boy's forehead with his wings. 'How cool I feel,' said the boy, 'I must be getting better;' and he sank into a delicious slumber.
Then the Swallow flew back to the Happy Prince, and told him what he had done. 'It is curious,' he remarked, 'but I feel quite warm now, although it is so cold.'
'That is because you have done a good action,' said the Prince. And the little Swallow began to think, and then he fell asleep. Thinking always made him sleepy.
When day broke he flew down to the river and had a bath.
'What a remarkable phenomenon,' said the Professor of Ornithology as he was passing over the bridge. 'A swallow in winter!' And he wrote a long letter about it to the local newspaper. Every one quoted it, it was full of so many words that they could not understand.
'To-night I go to Egypt,' said the Swallow, and he was in high spirits at the prospect. He visited all the public monuments, and sat a long time on top of the church steeple. Wherever he went the Sparrows chirruped, and said to each other, 'What a distinguished stranger!' so he enjoyed himself very much.
When the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince. 'Have you any commissions for Egypt?' he cried; 'I am just starting.'
'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' said the Prince, 'will you not stay with me one night longer?'
'I am waited for in Egypt,' answered the Swallow. 'To-morrow my friends will fly up to the Second Cataract. The river-horse couches there among the bulrushes, and on a great granite throne sits the God Memnon. All night long he watches the stars, and when the morning star shines he utters one cry of joy, and then he is silent. At noon the yellow lions come down to the water's edge to drink. They have eyes like green beryls, and their roar is louder than the roar of the cataract.'
中文翻译
“什么，他不是纯金的吗？”燕子自言自语道。他很有礼貌，没有大声说出任何个人看法。
“在远方，”雕像用低沉悦耳的声音继续说道，“在远方的一条小街上，有一所破旧的房子。一扇窗户开着，透过它我能看到一个女人坐在桌旁。她的面容消瘦而憔悴，双手粗糙、通红，布满了针眼，因为她是个裁缝。她正在一件缎子长袍上绣西番莲花，这是为女王最可爱的女官参加下次宫廷舞会准备的。房间角落的床上，她的小儿子正病着。他发着烧，想吃橘子。他母亲除了河水，什么也给不了他，所以他正在哭泣。燕子，燕子，小燕子，你愿意把我剑柄上的红宝石带给她吗？我的脚被固定在这个基座上，无法移动。”
“埃及的朋友们在等我呢，”燕子说。“我的朋友们正在尼罗河上下飞翔，与巨大的莲花交谈。很快他们就要在伟大国王的陵墓里睡觉了。国王本人就在那里，躺在他彩绘的棺材里。他被包裹在黄色的亚麻布中，用香料做了防腐处理。他的脖子上戴着一串淡绿色的玉石项链，他的双手像枯萎的叶子。”
“燕子，燕子，小燕子，”王子说，“你愿意留下来陪我一个晚上，做我的信使吗？那男孩如此口渴，母亲如此悲伤。”
“我想我不太喜欢男孩子，”燕子回答。“去年夏天，我住在河边时，有两个粗鲁的男孩，磨坊主的儿子，总是朝我扔石头。当然，他们从没打中过我；我们燕子飞得太好了，而且，我出身于以敏捷闻名的家族；但这仍然是一种不尊重的表现。”
但是快乐王子看起来如此悲伤，小燕子感到难过。“这里很冷，”他说，“但我会留下来陪你一个晚上，做你的信使。”
“谢谢你，小燕子，”王子说。
于是，燕子从王子的剑上啄下那颗大红宝石，衔着它飞过城镇的屋顶。
他飞过大教堂的塔楼，那里雕刻着白色大理石的天使。他飞过宫殿，听到了跳舞的声音。一个美丽的女孩和她的情人走到阳台上。“星星多么奇妙啊，”他对她说，“爱情的力量又是多么奇妙！”“我希望我的裙子能及时做好参加国宴舞会，”她回答；“我让人在上面绣了西番莲花；但那些女裁缝太懒了。”
他飞过河流，看到船桅上悬挂的灯笼。他飞过犹太人区，看到老犹太人在彼此讨价还价，用铜秤称钱。最后他来到了那所破房子，朝里望去。男孩在床上焦躁不安地辗转反侧，母亲因为太累已经睡着了。他跳了进去，把大红宝石放在桌上女人的顶针旁边。然后他轻轻地绕着床飞，用翅膀扇着男孩的额头。“我感觉好凉快，”男孩说，“我一定是在好转了；”接着他沉入了甜美的梦乡。
然后燕子飞回快乐王子身边，告诉他自己做了什么。“真奇怪，”他说，“虽然天气这么冷，我现在却感觉很暖和。”
“那是因为你做了一件好事，”王子说。小燕子开始思考，然后睡着了。思考总是让他犯困。
天破晓时，他飞到河边洗了个澡。
“多么非凡的现象啊，”鸟类学教授过桥时说。“冬天里的燕子！”他为此给当地报纸写了一封长信。每个人都引用了它，信里充满了太多他们无法理解的词。
“今晚我要去埃及了，”燕子说，他对这个前景兴致高昂。他参观了所有的公共纪念碑，在教堂的尖塔顶上坐了很长时间。无论他走到哪里，麻雀们都叽叽喳喳，互相说，“多么尊贵的陌生人啊！”所以他玩得非常开心。
月亮升起时，他飞回快乐王子身边。“你有什么事要托我去埃及办吗？”他喊道；“我正要出发。”
“燕子，燕子，小燕子，”王子说，“你愿意再陪我多待一个晚上吗？”
“埃及的朋友们在等我呢，”燕子回答。“明天我的朋友们将飞到第二瀑布去。河马躺在芦苇丛中，巨大的花岗岩宝座上坐着门农神。他整夜注视着星星，当晨星闪耀时，他发出一声喜悦的呼喊，然后便沉默不语。中午时分，黄色的狮子会来到水边喝水。它们的眼睛像绿宝石，它们的吼声比瀑布的轰鸣还要响亮。”