Lesson 8 – The Happy Prince | Chapter Solution Class 8

Activity 1

Rearrange the following sentences in the correct order and put the numbers in the given boxes:

1. All the friends of the Swallow had left for warm Egypt.
2. The Happy Prince asked the Swallow to take the ruby out of his
3. The Swallow took shelter beneath the statue of the Happy Prince.
4. The woman’s son was suffering from a fever.
5. The Happy Prince lived in the wonderful palace of Sans-Souci.
6. The town built the statue of the Happy Prince.

Answer

The Happy Prince lived in the wonderful palace of Sans-Souci.

The town built the statue of the Happy Prince.

All the friends of the Swallow had left for warm Egypt.

The Swallow took shelter beneath the statue of the Happy Prince.

The woman’s son was suffering from a fever.

The Happy Prince asked the Swallow to take the ruby out of his sword hilt.

Activity 2

Complete the following sentences with information from the text:

1. The young mother told her child not to cry because ____
2. The Swallow took shelter beneath the statue of Happy Prince because ____
3. The Swallow mistook ____ for rain.
4. The statue of the Happy Prince could see ____.

Answer

1. The young mother told her child not to cry because the Happy Prince never cries for new things.
2. The Swallow took shelter beneath the statue of Happy Prince because it wanted to protect itself from the cold.
3. The Swallow mistook the tears of the Happy Prince for rain.
4. The statue of the Happy Prince could see the poor people and all the ugly things in his land.

Activity 3

Answer the following question:

Why does the Swallow think that the statue of the Happy Prince has ‘a golden heart’?

Answer

The Swallow got to know that the Happy Prince had sympathy for the miserable people so it thinks that the statue has a heart of gold.

Activity 4

Write “T” for true and “F” for false statements in the given boxes. Give supporting statements for each of your answers:

1. The Swallow didn’t want to help the Happy Prince.
2. The Happy Prince wanted to leave for Egypt.
3. The Happy Prince asked the Swallow to take a sapphire from one of his eyes to the playwright.
4. The girl in the Town Square had no shoes.

Answer

1. False; I will help you.
2. True; Supporting statement: The Happy Prince expressed a desire for the Swallow to stay with him for one more night but mentioned that the Swallow’s friends were waiting to fly to Luxor in Egypt.
3. False; Swallow: I will leave for Egypt tonight.
4. True; Statue: Little Swallow, please give her the sapphire remaining in my other eye.

Activity 5

Answer the following questions:

1. Why did the Swallow agree to help the Happy Prince?
2. Why did the Swallow feel warm?
3. What made the playwright say, ‘Now I can finish my play’?

Answer

1. The Swallow agreed to help the Happy Prince out of compassion and a desire to assist others.
2. The Swallow felt warm because doing good deeds and helping someone brought it a sense of inner happiness.
3. The sapphire left by the Swallow made the playwright feel confident and inspired to complete his play.

Activity 6

Fill in the following chart with information from the text:

Answer

Activity 7

Answer the following questions:

1. What new law did the Mayor propose?
2. Why did the Mayor and the Town Councillors think the statue of the Happy Prince was not beautiful any more?
3. Where was the Happy Prince taken?
4. Why did the Mayor and the Councillors want statues of themselves?

Answer

1. The Mayor proposed that no bird can die in the town square, or near the Happy Prince.
2. The Mayor and the Town Councillors thought the statue of the Happy Prince was not beautiful anymore because the statue didn’t have the Ruby on his sword, the sapphire in his eyes and the golden dress which he had.
3. The Happy Prince was taken to the furnace to melt.
4. The Mayor and the councillors wanted statues of themselves because they too wanted the same respect that was given to the Happy Prince statue.

Activity 8 (b)

Change the following sentences from Direct to Indirect Speech:

1. The Swallow said to the statue, “I am staying with you.”
2. My mother said to me, “Please wait for me here.”
3. Raja said, “Oh! How cold the wind is.
4. The old man said to the little girl, “May God bless you.”
5. The man said to him, “Go away.”

Answer

1. The Swallow told the statue that it was staying with it.
2. My mother asked me to wait for her there.
3. Raja exclaimed that the wind was very cold.
4. The old man blessed the little girl.
5. The man told him to go away.

Activity 9

Write down the antonyms of the underlined words:

1. The Swallow will sing forever.
2. The actor enters the stage.
3. The student laughed aloud.
4. I can see all the beautiful things in my land.

Answer

1. The Swallow will never sing.
2. The actor exits the stage.
3. The student cried aloud.
4. I can see all the ugly things in my land.

Activity 10 (a)

Write an imaginary dialogue in about eighty words between two birds in winter, one of whom is flying away to a warm country and the other is stuck in a cold land.

Answer

Dove: Hello, how have you been?

Woodpecker: I’m good. How are you?

Dove: I’m feeling very cold these days.

Woodpecker: Yes, I know. That’s why I’m flying away to a warm country. I can’t stand this cold weather.

Dove: That’s a good idea. Where are you going?

Woodpecker: I’m leaving for India tonight. It’ll be much warmer there.

Dove: I wish I could come, but I’m stuck here taking care of my family.

Woodpecker: Come whenever you can. For now, I have to go. Goodbye.

Dove: See you.

Activity 10 (b)

Recently you gave up your seat on a crowded bus to an old, ailing person. Write a letter in about eighty words to your friend describing how you felt after having helped the person.

Answer

Dear [Friend’s Name],

I hope this letter finds you well. I wanted to share an incident that happened recently. I was on a crowded bus when I noticed an old and ailing person struggling to find a seat. Without hesitation, I decided to give up my seat for them. The feeling of helping someone in need was incredibly fulfilling. It warmed my heart and made me realize the impact even small acts of kindness can have on someone’s day. It reminded me of the importance of empathy and compassion in our daily lives.

Take care,