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In the heart of the city stood a statue of a boy. It had been there as far back as the town’s oldest resident could recall. People had long forgotten where this ancient statue of a boy came from or what it was called, so they simply referred to it as the “Happy Prince”.
“Why is he called the ‘Happy Prince’?” the town’s children, not yet of school age, would ask.
“Because he is so splendid and exquisitely made that looking at him makes one feel cheerful, so everyone calls him the ‘Happy Prince’.” the town’s adults would reply.
The statue of the Happy Prince was indeed magnificent: his entire body was covered in golden leaves, his eyes were two clear sapphires, and a red agate heart was set in his chest. His right sleeve was fastened with a diamond cufflink, and in his right hand he held a sword whose blade sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight. Countless years passed, yet the Happy Prince remained untouched by wind or rain, still dazzlingly brilliant. Passers-by who saw him felt their spirits lifted; even those facing misfortune found a glimmer of hope in life.
One day, amid the bleak winter north wind, a young girl came to stand beside the Happy Prince.
The girl’s name was Sakura. She had always lived in this city with her parents. Until the year she turned fourteen, when she bid a temporary farewell to her family and friends, leaving home to travel as an itinerant healer, visiting places and treating the sick. As spring gave way to winter, she returned to the city before the first snow had fallen. Yet Sakura did not go straight home. Instead, she walked to the city centre and sat down on a bench near the statue of the Happy Prince. There she remained, quiet and still, until the starry canopy drew low.
Sakura gazed at the crescent moon high in the night sky. She spoke not, but sighed softly.
“May I ask why you sigh?” the Happy Prince inquired, striking up conversation with Sakura.
So Sakura told the Happy Prince of her travels: “I passed through a desert kingdom, perpetually tormented by sandstorms, where days scorched like fire and nights froze like ice. There I met an extraordinary boy: rumoured to transform into a monster at night, unleashing devastating sandstorms that left nothing living in their wake. People feared this boy, shunned him, despised him, and so he grew bitter in return. When I found him, I discovered he had no heart at all—only a handful of yellow sand in the hollow of his chest.”
Upon hearing this tale, the Happy Prince could not hold back his tears. He said, “Sakura-chan, since that boy has lost his heart, then please take the red agate heart from my breast and give it to him. Thus he shall learn what love is, and no longer be regarded as a monster of sand and dust.”
Sakura agreed to the Happy Prince’s request and removed his red agate heart. On the third day after the first snowfall, she departed the city and set out on her journey once more. Watching her receding figure, the Happy Prince murmured silently: That red agate heart once brought me much praise and favour; I hope it may also bring love and blessings to that child in the desert kingdom.
When the river began to thaw, Sakura returned to the Happy Prince’s side.
Sakura told the Happy Prince, “I gave your heart to that boy in the desert kingdom who was regarded as a monster. He learned how to love others. Now he is surrounded by friends and family, no longer alone.”
The Happy Prince felt genuine joy for this boy he had never met, yet he noticed Sakura was not as elated as he was. He asked her, “Sakura-chan, you still seem troubled. Tell me, what is troubling you?”
Sakura recounted truthfully: “I lingered several days in a land where rain fell ceaselessly. The climate was cold and damp, and the people seldom showed vitality. There I heard a sorrowful tale: three unrelated orphans lived together, relying on one another for survival. One was a girl with indigo hair, another a boy with crimson locks, and the third bore a striking resemblance to you, though he was gravely ill. In search of a cure, the two healthier children carried their bedridden companion through the downpour, travelling far and wide. I examined the dying boy and found his condition not beyond remedy, though it required an exceedingly rare and costly herb. Yet I possessed little money, and the three children, of course, had nothing of value to offer.”
At this, the Happy Prince began to sob before Sakura could, tears welling in his clear blue eyes and falling to the ground at her feet. He said to her, “In that case, Sakura-chan, please give these sapphire eyes of mine to those three children. They can use the sapphires to buy the medicine and still have a little left for savings.”
Though Sakura initially refused, she ultimately consented to the Happy Prince’s request and gouged out his sapphire eyes. Amidst the swallows’ crisp chirping, Sakura took her leave of the Happy Prince. As the Happy Prince imagined the three children’s faces, he reflected: “With those sapphire eyes, I beheld countless beautiful sights. May they now bring hope of healing to those children.”
When the weather grew hot, Sakura returned from afar. She sought out the Happy Prince at once.
Sakura recounted the events since her departure: “I regret to say that by the time I reached the land of perpetual rain, the child had already succumbed to illness. I gave your sapphire eyes to the indigo-haired girl and the red-haired boy respectively. Though grieved by their dear friend’s passing, they expressed profound gratitude for your kindness. After the funeral, the skies cleared, and a rainbow even arched across the clouds. The children said it was your sapphires that allowed them to see hope for the future.”
Then Sakura took a paper rose from her bosom and placed it upon the Happy Prince's pedestal. It was the girl’s handcrafted token of gratitude.
The Happy Prince was deeply moved by this tale. He inquired further, “Sakura-chan, what other sights have you witnessed on this distant journey? Please share them all with me.”
Sakura pondered for a moment before replying, “I passed through a long-forgotten kingdom, ravaged by war and left desolate. Ruins lay scattered everywhere, with occasional refugees lingering near the city’s ruins, robbing passing travellers. The leader of these refugees was a tall, powerful man, half his face covered in scars, utterly brutal and vicious. When I first passed through his territory, I nearly fell victim to him. Fortunately, I managed to escape in time.”
“Thank goodness you returned safely.” sighed the Happy Prince.
Sakura continued: “Later, I rescued two of his men who were gravely wounded. He promised he wouldn’t harm me again. We exchanged a few words. He told me he’d dreamt since childhood of ruling a city and protecting its people, but endless warfare had consumed his homeland and his aspirations. Now he could only engage in banditry to feed those who followed him.”
After hearing this man’s story, the Happy Prince remained silent for a long while. Then, in a resolute voice, he said to Sakura: “Sakura-chan, I wish you to take the sword in my right hand to that scarred man. This blade will grant him the strength to protect those displaced souls.”
Sakura couldn’t help but ask, “But how can you be certain that man won’t use your sword for pillaging and plundering?”
The Happy Prince was resolute. He said, “I believe the dreams of his childhood still dwell within him. Such a man can be redeemed.”
Sakura could not dissuade the Happy Prince and so, obeying his words, she took the peerlessly sharp sword. Amidst the sweltering summer heat, Sakura set off for the Lost Kingdom. Without his ever-present sword, the Happy Prince felt an emptiness in his hand. Yet he reflected: that blade was said to be forged by the world’s most skilled craftsman. Whoever wielded it would surely be invincible, triumphant in every battle. I have no need for that blade. In the hands of the scarred man, it shall surely fulfil its true purpose.
When the leaves began to fall in a flurry, Sakura returned to the city, weary from her journey.
Sakura took her usual seat on the bench beside the Happy Prince and, as if chatting with an old friend, continued the tale: “I handed your sword to that scarred leader of the vagrants. At first he was astonished, suspecting some trap or trickery, but I persuaded him to accept the blade. Before departing, I heard he journeyed alone to the neighbouring realm, where he severed the head of that bloodthirsty, warlike tyrant with the blade. He himself perished on the spot from excessive blood loss. According to a court attendant who witnessed the entire event, the scarred man clutched the sword tightly even as he fell, and it took three men to pry it from his grasp. Now that man is a hero to both nations. They have placed the sword upon his tombstone to commemorate his valour.”
This tragic conclusion left the Happy Prince deeply moved, speechless for a long while. After a moment of silence, he murmured softly, “I shall remember him forever.”
Sakura nodded in agreement. “I shall too.”
Then Sakura told the Happy Prince of another person she had encountered upon her return journey, one who weighed heavily upon her mind.
“Oh, Sakura-chan,” the Happy Prince said, a shadow of melancholy crossing his face. “Would you tell me what befell that person?”
“At the post station beyond the city walls, I encountered a dark-haired man with one arm. He spoke little of his past; all I knew was that he had lost his parents and elder brother in some conspiracy, leaving him utterly alone in the world, with only a falcon for constant companion. He appeared deeply weathered by hardship and utterly lost as to where to go next, his words even hinting at thoughts of ending his life. After leaving the post station, I too became troubled: I could not bear to stand idly by while he sought his own demise, yet I had no way to show him a path forward.”
The Happy Prince seemed troubled as well. He paused, then spoke: “I have spent countless long years here, witnessing innumerable natural disasters and human tragedies. Though I possess no human flesh, I understand profoundly the despair one feels amidst hardship. Yet I still believe that as long as one survives, a turning point will inevitably come.”
“Sakura-chan, please remove the diamond cufflink from my right sleeve. Once you open the mechanism, you’ll find beneath its diamond facets a finely crafted compass. I wish to give this cufflink to that dark-haired man, so he may wear it upon his own single sleeve. May this gift bring him some solace.”
Sakura complied, removing the Happy Prince’s cufflink. In the dusk of late autumn, she bid him farewell, brushed the fallen leaves from his form, then turned towards the city gates. Now stripped of his exquisite and costly adornments, the Happy Prince remained clad only in golden leaves. Against the backdrop of the withered yellow landscape, he appeared indistinguishable from the ground beneath him. The Happy Prince reflected: The direction the compass points may not align with the dark-haired man’s deepest hopes. Yet with this gift, perhaps he might find some inspiration, and the knot in his heart might begin to unravel.
The second winter when Sakura met the Happy Prince arrived sooner than expected. As soon as a thin layer of ice formed on the lake, Sakura stood before the Happy Prince once more.
“That dark-haired man remained as taciturn as ever. He merely held the compass in his hand and gazed at it for a moment before saying ‘Thank you’ to me. However, when he left the inn, there was a new sparkle in his eyes. I believe he needs time to wander and find his path. It may take years, perhaps even decades. I cannot say where his journey will lead, but at least he no longer seeks death.”
The Happy Prince felt reassured and remarked, “Perhaps only he can chart his own course.”
After this, the Happy Prince turned to Sakura: “Sakura-chan, will you continue practising medicine far and wide?”
Without hesitation, Sakura replied, “It is my life’s calling. So many in this world suffer without aid; I wish to offer what little help I can.”
“Then, please take all the golden leaves from my body and carry them with you! Should you encounter those in need along your path, bestow a golden leaf upon them. Rather than gilding me with a superficial veneer, it would be better to give this gold away.”
The Happy Prince’s voice sounded so light. Sakura couldn’t help but protest: “If I do that, you’ll truly have nothing left. The townspeople won’t adore or praise you anymore. They’ll turn their backs on you, abandon you, and perhaps even discard you entirely.”
Sakura’s words were sharp, yet the Happy Prince remained unconcerned. “Should that day ever come,” he said, “I shall accept it gladly.” In the end, Sakura heeded the Happy Prince’s suggestion and stripped every last golden leaf from his form. The biting wind whipped through people’s sleeves and fur-lined caps, chapping fingers and cheeks, and carried Sakura’s figure far away. Before departing, Sakura glanced back at the Happy Prince: now he was merely a dull, leaden statue, stripped of his former brilliance. Battered by the fierce winter gales, he appeared all the more pitiful, as if he might be toppled to the ground at any moment.
Just as Sakura had said, the Happy Prince, stripped of his jewels, sword, and golden ornaments, no longer commanded the affection or attention of the townspeople: utterly destitute, he could no longer inspire joy in those who saw him. They ceased calling him the “Happy Prince”, merely muttering to themselves as they passed by: “That unsightly statue ought to be removed sooner rather than later.”
The Happy Prince endured a lonely winter. It was nearly the end of March the following year when Sakura finally reappeared before him.
Sakura smiled. “I distributed every single one of your golden leaves to the poor families I encountered along the way. After giving away all the leaves, I returned. Thankfully, they haven’t dismantled you yet.”
The Happy Prince was naturally overjoyed to see Sakura again after so long, yet her words also stirred a deep sadness within him. In a hoarse voice, he said, “You’re right. The townspeople will tear me down before spring is over. Then they’ll probably break me into pieces and throw me into the furnace to melt.”
“Don’t make it sound so dreadful.”
“But it will happen soon enough. Sakura-chan, without the title of the ‘Happy Prince’, I am nothing. I cannot even recall my true name.”
The Happy Prince had lost his eyes, yet his voice trembled as if on the verge of tears.
Sakura’s voice was unexpectedly gentle: “How could that be? Since you cannot remember your name, I shall help you recall it.”
So Sakura climbed onto the statue’s pedestal and stood shoulder to shoulder with the Happy Prince. Then she stood on tiptoe, cupped the Happy Prince’s cheek, and kissed his forehead. With that kiss, the cold statue came to life: the Happy Prince was granted a mortal body. Now he possessed eyes bluer than sapphires, a heart fiercer than red agate; his hair shone brighter than golden leaves, gently swaying in the warm spring breeze. Hand in hand with Sakura, he slowly stretched his limbs, as if awakening from a deep slumber. Only after giving everything had, he truly begun to live.
“Hello, nice to meet you. My name is...Naruto.”
Sakura pulled Naruto’s hand, leading him as they leapt down from the ground. Where they had stood moments before was now merely a bare stone platform.
“Hello, Naruto. Today is my birthday. Would you like to celebrate with me?”
Naruto nodded firmly, and hand in hand they walked slowly towards the end of the stone path. There, at the end, lay a lake, flowers, the song of azaleas and orioles, and an entire spring yet to be plucked, waiting quietly for the two of them.