Great Literary Works in English. Reading and discussing "The Happy Prince and Other Tales” by O. Wilde = Великие произведения литературы на английском языке. Читаем и обсуждаем «Счастливый Принц и другие рассказы» О. Уайльда

Министерство просвещения Российской Федерации
Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение 
высшего образования
«Московский педагогический государственный университет»

Т. В. Иванова, Э. М. Исаева, 
И. В. Тараканова, М. Ю. Афанасьев 

GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH

Reading and discussing 
“The Happy Prince and Other Tales” by O. Wilde 

ВЕЛИКИЕ ПРОИЗВЕДЕНИЯ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ 
НА АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ

Читаем и обсуждаем 
«Счастливый Принц и другие рассказы» О. Уайльда

Практикум по домашнему чтению

МПГУ
Москва • 2023

УДК 811.111(076.6) 
DOI: 10.31862/9785426311725
ББК 81.432.1я73-5
 
И21

Рецензенты:
Евграфова Юлия Александровна, доктор филологических наук, доцент, 
профессор кафедры рекламы, связей с общественностью и лингвистики 
ФГБОУ ВО «Национальный исследовательский университет “МЭИ”» 
Трешина Инга Валерьевна, кандидат педагогических наук, 
заведующая кафедрой лингводидактики и современных технологий 
иноязычного образования ИИЯ МПГУ

 
Иванова, Татьяна Валерьевна. 
И21  
Great Literary Works in English. Reading and discussing “The 
Happy Prince and Other Tales” by O. Wilde = Великие произведения литературы на английском языке. Читаем и обсуждаем «Счастливый Принц и другие рассказы» О. Уайльда : 
практикум по домашнему чтению / Т. В. Иванова, Э. М. Исаева, И. В. Тараканова, М. Ю. Афанасьев. – Москва : МПГУ, 
2023. – 88 с. : ил. 
 
 
ISBN 978-5-4263-1172-5

Практикум по домашнему чтению содержит все сказки О. Уайльда из сборника «Счастливый Принц и другие рассказы» и задания к ним для контроля понимания прочитанного и для обсуждения в аудитории. Приводятся сведения 
о жизни и творчестве О. Уайльда.
Для студентов 1–2 курсов институтов и факультетов иностранных языков, 
обучающихся по профилю «Иностранный язык (английский)», и для всех, кто начинает читать английскую литературу в подлиннике.
УДК 811.111(076.6)
ББК 81.432.1я73-5

ISBN 978-5-4263-1172-5
DOI: 10.31862/9785426311725
©
©
МПГУ, 2023
Иванова Т. В., 
Исаева Э. М., 
Тараканова И. В., 
Афанасьев М. Ю., текст, 2022

ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ

ВВЕДЕНИЕ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

THE HAPPY PRINCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

THE SELFISH GIANT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

THE DEVOTED FRIEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

THE REMARKABLE ROCKET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

ПРИЛОЖЕНИЕ  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

ВВЕДЕНИЕ

Настоящее издание представляет собой практикум по домашнему чтению, который входит в учебные дисциплины «Практика 
устной и письменной английской речи», «Коммуникативный курс 
английского языка», «Иностранный язык», «Практикум по чтению художественной литературы». Практикум предназначен преимущественно для студентов 1 курса, обучающихся по образовательной программе 44.03.05 Педагогическое образование с двумя 
профилями подготовки: «Английский язык» и «Немецкий язык», 
«Английский язык» и «Итальянский язык», «Английский язык» 
и «Китайский язык».
Практикум включает тексты сказок О. Уайльда, которые составили сборник «Счастливый Принц и другие рассказы» (O. Wilde 
“The Happy Prince and other tales”), и комплекс заданий к каждой 
сказке. 
Цель практикума – развитие навыков различных видов чтения, умения интерпретировать и оценивать произведение художественной литературы, умения найти языковые особенности 
произведения и определить, как они выражают замысел автора. 
Красочный язык, неповторимый стиль сказок О. Уайльда, несомненно, обеспечат заинтересованность и эмоциональное отношение читателей к сказкам, что является залогом успешного выполнения учебных задач и расширения кругозора студентов.
Как дополнительное задание рекомендуется аудио- и видеоконтент в исполнении носителей английского языка, что позволяет совершенствовать навыки аудирования английского текста.
Приложение содержит биографические сведения об авторе сказок, объяснение основных терминов по структуре художественного текста и стилистических приемов, использованных в текстах 
сказок. 

THE HAPPY PRINCE

Illustration 11  
Illustration 22

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)

Introduction3

Oscar Wilde was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and 
critic. He was born on October 16, 1854 in Westland, Westland Row, 
Dublin, Ireland. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays, one novel, and 
numerous poems, short stories, and essays. “The Happy Prince” is a 
fairy tale Oscar Wilde wrote for his two sons, but its humane value goes 
far beyond the fairy world of children. It was fi rst published in the 1888 
anthology The Happy Prince and Other Tales, which also contains “The 
Nightingale and the Rose”, “The Selfi sh Giant”, “The Devoted Friend” 
and “The Remarkable Rocket”. You can read about his life and writings 
in Appendix 1.

I. General comprehension of the story
Read the parts of the following text, answer the questions and do 
the tasks:

1 
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% D 1 % 8 1 % D 1 % 8 2 % D 0 % B B % D 0 % B 8 % D 0 % B 2 % D 1 % 8 B % D 0 % B 9 % 2 0
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pos=37&rpt=simage&img_url=http%3A%2F%2Fchristensonamber.fi les.wordpress.
com%2F2013%2F04%2Fthe_happy_prince_artwork1.jpg
2 
https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/oscar-wilde-trial
3 
https://www.wilde-online.info/oscar-wilde-biography.htm

GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE 

THE HAPPY PRINCE4

High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy 
Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fi ne gold, for eyes 
he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on his 
sword-hilt. He was very much admired indeed. “He is as beautiful as a 
weathercock,” remarked one of the Town Councillors who wished to 
gain a reputation for having artistic tastes; “only not quite so useful,” 
he added, fearing lest people should think him unpractical, which he 
really was not. “Why can’t you be like the Happy Prince?” asked a 
sensible mother of her little boy who was crying for the moon. “The 
Happy Prince never dreams of crying for anything.” “I am glad there 
is some one in the world who is quite happy,” muttered a disappointed 
man as he gazed at the wonderful statue. “He looks just like an angel,” 
said the Charity Children as they came out of the cathedral in their 
bright scarlet cloaks and their clean white pinafores. “How do you 
know?” said the Mathematical Master, “you have never seen one.” 
“Ah! but we have, in our dreams,” answered the children; and the 
Mathematical Master frowned and looked very severe, for he did not 
approve of children dreaming. 

 • Where did the statue of the Happy Prince stand?
 • How was the statue decorated?

One night there fl ew over the city a little Swallow. His friends had 
gone away to Egypt six weeks before, but he had stayed behind, for he 
was in love with the most beautiful Reed. He had met her early in the 
spring as he was fl ying down the river after a big yellow moth, and had 
been so attracted by her slender waist that he had stopped to talk to her. 
“Shall I love you?” said the Swallow, who liked to come to the point at 
once, and the Reed made him a low bow. So he fl ew round and round 
her, touching the water with his wings, and making silver ripples. This 
was his courtship, and it lasted all through the summer. “It is a ridiculous 

4 
https://www.gutenberg.org/fi les/902/902-h/902-h.htm

attachment,” twittered the other Swallows; “she has no money, and far 
too many relations”; and indeed the river was quite full of Reeds. Then, 
when the autumn came they all fl ew away. After they had gone he felt 
lonely, and began to tire of his lady-love. “She has no conversation”, 
he said, “and I am afraid that she is a coquette, for she is always fl irting 
with the wind.” And certainly, whenever the wind blew, the Reed made 
the most graceful curtseys. “I admit that she is domestic,” he continued, 
“but I love travelling, and my wife, consequently, should love travelling 
also.” “Will you come away with me?” he said fi nally to her; but the 
Reed shook her head, she was so attached to her home. “You have been 
trifl ing with me,” he cried. “I am off to the Pyramids. Good-bye!” and 
he fl ew away.

 • Who was the Swallow in love with?
 • Where was the Swallow going?

All day long he fl ew, and at night-time he arrived at the 
city. “Where shall I put up?” he said; “I hope the town has made 
preparations.” Then he saw the statue on the tall column. “I will put 
up there,” he cried; “it is a fi ne position, with plenty of fresh air.” 
So he alighted just between the feet of the Happy Prince. “I have a 
golden bedroom,” he said softly to himself as he looked round, and 
he prepared to go to sleep; but just as he was putting his head under 
his wing a large drop of water fell on him. “What a curious thing!” he 
cried; “there is not a single cloud in the sky, the stars are quite clear 
and bright, and yet it is raining. The climate in the north of Europe is 
really dreadful. The Reed used to like the rain, but that was merely her 
selfi shness.” Then another drop fell. “What is the use of a statue if it 
cannot keep the rain off?” he said; “I must look for a good chimneypot,” and he determined to fl y away. But before he had opened his 
wings, a third drop fell, and he looked up, and saw – Ah! What did 
he see? The eyes of the Happy Prince were fi lled with tears, and tears 
were running down his golden cheeks. His face was so beautiful in the 
moonlight that the little Swallow was fi lled with pity. 

THE HAPPY PRINCE

GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE 

 • Why did the Swallow put up between the feet of the Happy Prince?
 • Where were the drops coming from?

“Who are you?” he said. “I am the Happy Prince.” “Why are you 
weeping then?” asked the Swallow; “you have quite drenched me.” 
“When I was alive and had a human heart,” answered the statue, “I 
did not know what tears were, for I lived in the Palace of Sans-Souci, 
where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the daytime I played with 
my companions in the garden, and in the evening I led the dance in 
the Great Hall. Round the garden ran a very lofty wall, but I never 
cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me was so beautiful. 
My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if 
pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I am dead 
they have set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and all 
the misery of my city, and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot 
chose but weep.” 

 • Why did the courtiers call the prince ‘the Happy Prince’? Is he 
really happy? What does he see all around him?
 • What kind of life did the Happy Prince lead when he was alive?
 • Why was the Happy Prince crying?

“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-fl owers on a satin gown for the loveliest of the Queen’s maids-ofhonour 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 swordhilt? My feet are fastened to this pedestal and I cannot move.” “I am 

waited for in Egypt,” said the Swallow. “My friends are fl ying up and 
down the Nile, and talking to the large lotus-fl owers. Soon they will 
go to sleep in the tomb of the great King. The King is there himself in 
his painted coffi n. 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 fl y 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 fl ew 
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-fl owers 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 fl ew 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. 

THE HAPPY PRINCE