The Happy Prince.
There is no Mystery so great as Misery.
Why it was chosen
Misery is the secret that beauty and ceremony often fail to hide. Compassion begins when suffering is finally allowed to be seen.
Selected Passages
The Happy Prince, and Other Tales selected passages.
These sentences were chosen for Today's Passage: lines worth reading slowly, returning to, and turning into copywork.
From Today's Passage
Sentences selected with care.
The Happy Prince.
“Bring me the two most precious things in the city,” said God to one of His Angels; and the Angel brought Him the leaden heart and the dead bird.
Why it was chosen
Love’s sacrifices may look worthless to the city that receives them. Their value is measured elsewhere, beyond applause and usefulness.
The Nightingale and the Rose.
Yet Love is better than Life, and what is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man?
Why it was chosen
A love that asks for sacrifice may reveal both beauty and blindness. Devotion becomes tragic when the world receiving it is too shallow to understand.
The Nightingale and the Rose.
I have never seen any rose like it in all my life.
Why it was chosen
The rose is admired before its cost is known. Beauty feels innocent until we learn what it has asked from a living heart.
The Devoted Friend.
In fact, I have never been married, and I never intend to be.
Why it was chosen
A heart pleased only with itself can sound comic and still feel small. Comfort becomes a prison when no one else is invited in.
The Devoted Friend.
Of course I should not dream of doing so if I were not your friend.
Why it was chosen
False friendship often speaks warmly while taking more than it gives. Kindness without generosity is only performance.
The Nightingale and the Rose.
She sang first of the birth of love in the heart of a boy and a girl.
Why it was chosen
Love may begin as music before it becomes sacrifice. Beauty is often innocent only until it is asked what it will pay.
The Remarkable Rocket.
There is nothing in you; you are hollow and empty.
Why it was chosen
Emptiness can hide behind charm, polish, or clever speech. What finally matters is whether there is room in the heart for anyone else.
The Devoted Friend.
Do you know that I always work better after hearing the birds sing?
Why it was chosen
Art may be nourished by beauty, but it is not innocent of suffering. Song often arrives near sacrifice.
The Remarkable Rocket.
I am always thinking about myself, and I expect everybody else to do the same.
Why it was chosen
Self-absorption can be comic until it begins to consume every room. A heart curved inward leaves little space for friendship.
The Remarkable Rocket.
Of course you know nothing of these matters, for you are a provincial.
Why it was chosen
Polish can mistake itself for wisdom. The provincial heart may see what sophistication has learned to dismiss.
The Happy Prince.
My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness.
Why it was chosen
Pleasure is not the same as happiness if it never learns compassion. A bright life can still be incomplete until it sees sorrow.
The Selfish Giant.
Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked.
Why it was chosen
Wonder begins when perception opens where habit had closed it. To look and look is already to become available to change.
The Selfish Giant.
He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years.
Why it was chosen
Selfishness can keep a person away so long that winter settles where love should have been. Absence has weather of its own.
The Selfish Giant.
It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter.
Why it was chosen
Even when most things seem bright and beautiful, one small place may still be waiting for warmth and care.