English Original
'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' said the Prince, 'far away across the city I see a young man in a **garret**. He is leaning over a desk covered with papers, and in a tumbler by his side there is a bunch of **withered** violets. His hair is brown and crisp, and his lips are red as a **pomegranate**, and he has large and dreamy eyes. He is trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre, but he is too cold to write any more. There is no fire in the grate, and hunger has made him faint.'
'I will wait with you one night longer,' said the Swallow, who really had a good heart. 'Shall I take him another **ruby**?'
'**Alas**! I have no ruby now,' said the Prince; 'my eyes are all that I have left. They are made of rare **sapphires**, which were brought out of India a thousand years ago. Pluck out one of them and take it to him. He will sell it to the jeweller, and buy food and firewood, and finish his play.'
'Dear Prince,' said the Swallow, 'I cannot do that;' and he began to weep.
'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' said the Prince, 'do as I command you.'
So the Swallow plucked out the Prince's eye, and flew away to the student's garret. It was easy enough to get in, as there was a hole in the roof. Through this he **darted**, and came into the room. The young man had his head buried in his hands, so he did not hear the flutter of the bird's wings, and when he looked up he found the beautiful **sapphire** lying on the withered violets.
'I am beginning to be appreciated,' he cried; 'this is from some great admirer. Now I can finish my play,' and he looked quite happy.
The next day the Swallow flew down to the harbour. He sat on the mast of a large **vessel** and watched the sailors hauling big chests out of the hold with ropes. 'Heave a-hoy!' they shouted as each chest came up. 'I am going to Egypt!' cried the Swallow, but nobody minded, and when the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince.
'I am come to bid you good-bye,' he cried.
'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' said the Prince, 'will you not stay with me one night longer?'
'It is winter,' answered the Swallow, 'and the chill snow will soon be here. In Egypt the sun is warm on the green palm-trees, and the crocodiles lie in the mud and look lazily about them. My companions are building a nest in the Temple of Baalbec, and the pink and white doves are watching them, and cooing to each other. Dear Prince, I must leave you, but I will never forget you, and next spring I will bring you back two beautiful jewels in place of those you have given away. The ruby shall be redder than a red rose, and the sapphire shall be as blue as the great sea.'
'In the square below,' said the Happy Prince, 'there stands a little match-girl. She has let her matches fall in the **gutter**, and they are all spoiled. Her father will beat her if she does not bring home some money, and she is crying. She has no shoes or stockings, and her little head is bare. Pluck out my other eye, and give it to her, and her father will not beat her.'
'I will stay with you one night longer,' said the Swallow, 'but I cannot pluck out your eye. You would be quite blind then.'
'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' said the Prince, 'do as I command you.'
So he plucked out the Prince's other eye, and darted down with it. He **swooped** past the match-girl, and slipped the jewel into the palm of her hand. 'What a lovely bit of glass,' cried the little girl; and she ran home, laughing.
Then the Swallow came back to the Prince. 'You are blind now,' he said, 'so I will stay with you always.'
'No, little Swallow,' said the poor Prince, 'you must go away to Egypt.'
'I will stay with you always,' said the Swallow, and he slept at the Prince's feet.
All the next day he sat on the Prince's shoulder, and told him stories of what he had seen in strange lands. He told him of the red **ibises**, who stand in long rows on the banks of the Nile, and catch gold fish in their **beaks**; of the Sphinx, who is as old as the world itself, and lives in the desert, and knows everything; of the merchants, who walk slowly by the side of their camels, and carry **amber beads** in their hands; of the King of the Mountains of the Moon, who is as black as ebony, and worships a large crystal; of the great green snake that sleeps in a palm-tree, and has twenty priests to feed it with honey-cakes; and of the pygmies who sail over a big lake on large flat leaves, and are always at war with the butterflies.
'Dear little Swallow,' said the Prince, 'you tell me of marvellous things, but more marvellous than anything is the suffering of men and of women. There is no Mystery so great as **Misery**. Fly over my city, little Swallow, and tell me what you see there.'
So the Swallow flew over the great city, and saw the rich making merry in their beautiful houses, while the beggars were sitting at the gates. He flew into dark lanes, and saw the white faces of starving children looking out listlessly at the black streets. Under the **archway** of a bridge two little boys were lying in one another's arms to try and keep themselves warm. 'How hungry we are!' they said. 'You must not lie here,' shouted the Watchman, and they wandered out into the rain.
中文翻译
“燕子，燕子，小燕子，”王子说，“在城市的那一边，我看见一个年轻人住在**阁楼**里。他正伏在一张堆满稿纸的书桌上，旁边的玻璃杯里插着一束**枯萎**的紫罗兰。他的头发是棕色的，卷曲着，嘴唇像**石榴**一样红，还有一双大而梦幻的眼睛。他正试图为剧院经理写完一个剧本，但他太冷了，无法继续写下去。壁炉里没有火，饥饿也让他晕眩。”
“我愿意再陪你一晚，”燕子说，他确实心地善良。“要我再给他送一颗**红宝石**去吗？”
“**唉**！我现在没有红宝石了，”王子说；“我剩下的只有我的眼睛了。它们是用稀有的**蓝宝石**做成的，是一千年前从印度带来的。啄出一颗给他送去。他会把它卖给珠宝商，买来食物和柴火，完成他的剧本。”
“亲爱的王子，”燕子说，“我不能那么做；”他开始哭泣。
“燕子，燕子，小燕子，”王子说，“照我的吩咐去做。”
于是燕子啄出了王子的一只眼睛，飞往学生的阁楼。进去很容易，因为屋顶上有个洞。他**猛地**穿过洞口，进入了房间。年轻人正把头埋在双手里，所以没有听到鸟儿翅膀的扑腾声，当他抬起头时，发现美丽的**蓝宝石**正躺在枯萎的紫罗兰上。
“我开始受到赏识了，”他喊道；“这一定是某位崇拜者送来的。现在我可以完成我的剧本了。”他看起来非常高兴。
第二天，燕子飞到港口。他停在一艘大**船**的桅杆上，看着水手们用绳子把大箱子从船舱里拖出来。“用力拉啊！”每拉上一个箱子，他们就喊道。“我要去埃及了！”燕子叫道，但没人理会他。月亮升起时，他飞回了快乐王子身边。
“我是来向你告别的，”他喊道。
“燕子，燕子，小燕子，”王子说，“你不能再陪我一个晚上吗？”
“现在是冬天了，”燕子回答说，“寒冷的雪很快就要来了。在埃及，阳光温暖地照在绿色的棕榈树上，鳄鱼躺在泥泞里，懒洋洋地四处张望。我的同伴们正在巴勒贝克神庙里筑巢，粉红色和白色的鸽子看着它们，互相咕咕叫着。亲爱的王子，我必须离开你了，但我永远不会忘记你，明年春天我会带两颗美丽的宝石回来，代替你送出去的那些。红宝石会比红玫瑰更红，蓝宝石会像大海一样蓝。”
“在下面的广场上，”快乐王子说，“站着一个小卖火柴的女孩。她把火柴掉进了**阴沟**，全都毁了。如果她不能带些钱回家，她父亲会打她的，她正在哭泣。她没有鞋袜，小脑袋光着。啄出我的另一只眼睛，给她送去，她父亲就不会打她了。”
“我愿意再陪你一晚，”燕子说，“但我不能啄出你的眼睛。那样你就完全瞎了。”
“燕子，燕子，小燕子，”王子说，“照我的吩咐去做。”
于是燕子啄出了王子的另一只眼睛，带着它**俯冲**下去。他从卖火柴的小女孩身边掠过，将宝石滑入她的掌心。“多可爱的一块玻璃啊，”小女孩叫道；她笑着跑回家了。
然后燕子回到了王子身边。“你现在瞎了，”他说，“所以我会永远陪着你。”
“不，小燕子，”可怜的王子说，“你必须去埃及。”
“我会永远陪着你，”燕子说，他在王子的脚边睡着了。
第二天一整天，他都坐在王子的肩膀上，给他讲述在异国他乡的见闻。他告诉他关于红色的**朱鹭**，它们在尼罗河岸排成长列，用**喙**捕捉金鱼；关于斯芬克斯，它和世界一样古老，住在沙漠里，知晓一切；关于商人们，他们缓慢地走在骆驼旁边，手里拿着**琥珀珠子**；关于月亮山的国王，他黑如乌木，崇拜一块巨大的水晶；关于睡在棕榈树上的大青蛇，有二十个祭司用蜂蜜蛋糕喂养它；还有关于乘着大扁叶子在大湖上航行的俾格米人，他们总是和蝴蝶打仗。
“亲爱的小燕子，”王子说，“你告诉我这些奇妙的事情，但比任何事都更奇妙的是男人和女人的苦难。没有什么奥秘比**苦难**更大了。飞过我的城市吧，小燕子，告诉我你在那里看到了什么。”
于是燕子飞过这座大城市，看到富人在他们漂亮的房子里寻欢作乐，而乞丐们却坐在大门口。他飞进黑暗的小巷，看到饥饿的孩子们苍白的脸，无精打采地望着漆黑的街道。在一座桥的**拱门**下，两个小男孩互相搂抱着，试图取暖。“我们好饿啊！”他们说。“你们不能躺在这里，”守夜人喊道，于是他们蹒跚着走进了雨中。