Moments The Happy Prince - CBSE Test Papers

CBSE Class 9 English Language and Literature
Moments Chapter-5 The Happy Prince
Test Paper-01

Read the following passages and answer the questions:

“Why are you weeping then?” asked the swallow. “You have quite drenched me?"
1. Who is the swallow talking to?
2. Why has the swallow been drenched?
3. Who was weeping and why?
4. Why did the swallow choose to rest at the feet of the statue?
“I am covered with fine gold,” said the Prince. “You must take it off, leaf by leaf, and give it to the poor ;the living always think that gold can make them happy.”
1. What did the Prince ask the swallow?
2. What was his intention?
3. What belief of the living does the Prince know?
4. What nature of the Prince is being reflected from the above extracts?

Answer the following questions in about 30 words:

Describe the statue of the Happy Prince.
How and why has the little swallow come to the statue of the Happy Prince?
Why was the swallow not ready to leave the Happy Prince ?
How did the swallow and the Prince help the poor seamstress?
Why was the Prince called the Happy Prince?
What proclamation did the Mayor decide to issue?

Answer the following questions in about 100 words:

The Angel brought the God the leaden heart and the dead bird as the most precious things in the city. Justify their preciousness.
Even though the Prince was called the Happy Prince, he was actually very sad .Write in detail the reasons for his sadness.

CBSE Class 9 English Language and Literature
Moments Chapter-5 The Happy Prince
Test Paper-01

Answers

1. The swallow is talking to the statue of the Happy Prince.
2. The swallow got drenched in the tears shed by the Happy Prince.
3. The Happy Prince was weeping to see the sadness and the grief in the city.
4. The swallow chose to rest at the feet of the statue as it felt it a comfortable place.
1. The Happy Prince asked the swallow to remove gold from his body leaf by leaf to give it to the poor.
2. He wanted to give the gold to the poor and help them remove their grief and sorrow.
3. The Prince knows the belief of the living that gold makes them happy.
4. The extract reflects the Happy Prince as very kind and generous by heart.
The beautiful statue of the Happy Prince is set up on a tall column high above the city. It was guilded all over with the thin leaves of fine gold. It had two sapphires as eyes and a large red ruby glowed on its sword’s hilt.
The little swallow wanted to fly to Egypt to save itself from bitter cold. His friends had already migrated there. At night ,after flying through all the day, he decided to take shelter at the feet of the statue where he felt airy and comfortable.
After plucking both the eyes out (two sapphires) of the Happy Prince, the little swallow felt very sympathetic for it. He knew the Prince had gone blind, so he was not ready to go away leaving the Prince .
The poor seamstress was overworked. Her son was not keeping well and asking her for oranges which unfortunately she could not provide him. The Happy Prince requested the swallow to take the ruby off his sword and give it to the poor seamstress .The little swallow did the same and helped the woman.
The Prince was called the Happy Prince because he was really away from sorrows as he stayed in the palace. He was not aware of any sadness or problems as long as he lived .
The Mayor of the city saw the miserable condition of the statue and even a dead bird at its feet .He decided to issue the proclamation that birds should not be allowed to die there.
The story ‘The Happy Prince” is a fantastic story with great message. The writer Oscar Wilde has rendered the story a heart-touching end.
A prince who lived his life only in showers of blessings and happiness, goes on helping the poor in the city. A little swallow, who was bound to Egypt to protect himself from the cold, helps him in the task. Both of them did not think of their own selfish ends at all. The statue of the Happy Prince was very beautiful and could have remained in the same way had he not helped the poor. He did not think of his own riches and valuable resources. He gave away all the precious stones and golden leaves covering his body as they were not useful to him after his death. He becomes blind in these efforts. A little swallow decides to help the Prince and executes the tasks of generosity given to him by the Happy Prince. The poor swallow remained with the statue of the Happy Prince to help him, even after knowing that he would die there in the cold. Both of them invite their end but they keep doing for the cause of humanity.
Hence, at the end, the Angel of the God brought the dead swallow and the leaden heart of the Prince as the most precious things in the city, as they became precious by their deeds.
The story of “The Happy Prince” is a heart touching story of the Prince who keeps helping the poor even though he is just a statue. He receives the help of a little swallow in his mission. The statue of Happy Prince actually became sad when he witnessed the grief of his people after standing high in the form of statue.
The Prince had led a happy and sorrow free life. He had never seen or experienced any sorrow or grief in his lifetime. He was being called the Happy Prince for the same. Now as his statue has been erected on a tall column after his death, he was able to see the poverty and grief around him which he had never introduced to before.The statue was made of rubies, sapphires, gold and it became a valuable, precious monument. The happy Prince could see the poor seamstress who was unable to feed her ill child the oranges. Standing on the high pedestal, the Prince also saw a writer who has been hungry and cold. All these sights made the Happy Prince sad within. Even after his eyes (sapphires) were being removed to help the people, he was reported all such problems by the swallow. Both of them continued helping the underprivileged till they meet their own end.