The Happy Prince and Other Stories, 1913 Edition characters

Appears from the start

A gilded statue overlooking the city from a tall column. In life he knew only comfort, but from his new vantage point he sees poverty and grief everywhere. Unable to move, he asks a migrating Swallow to carry the jewels and gold that cover him to people in need.

Appears from the start

A small bird lingering behind his flock after courting a Reed. He intends to fly to Egypt for the winter, but pauses beneath the Happy Prince's statue and becomes the Prince's messenger to the poor.

First appears in chapter 2

A bird who believes in ideal love. Hearing a young Student lament that he cannot find a red rose for a dance, she decides that his longing deserves her help.

First appears in chapter 2

A young scholar who wants a red rose so that the Professor's daughter will dance with him. He speaks passionately about love but understands little of the sacrifice being made on his behalf.

First appears in chapter 2

The young woman whom the Student hopes to accompany to a ball. She has promised him a dance if he brings her a red rose, but her tastes remain governed by status and material value.

First appears in chapter 3

The owner of a beautiful garden where children have played during his long absence. On returning, he drives them out and walls the garden off for himself, failing to understand why spring then refuses to come there.

First appears in chapter 3

A small child who cannot climb into a tree in the Giant's wintry garden. His helplessness awakens the Giant's compassion and makes him reconsider the wall he built against the children.

First appears in chapter 4

A kind, hardworking gardener who regards the wealthy Miller as his closest friend. He readily gives his labor and possessions, trusting the Miller's speeches about generosity even when the friendship brings him no practical help.

Also known as Hugh

First appears in chapter 4

A prosperous miller who repeatedly praises unselfish friendship while taking advantage of Little Hans. He promises Hans an old wheelbarrow and treats that promised gift as justification for a growing series of demands.

First appears in chapter 4

A bird who tells the Water-rat the cautionary story of Little Hans and the Miller. She hopes the story will make its listener understand that professed friendship is worthless without care and reciprocity.

First appears in chapter 5

A firework with an exalted opinion of his lineage, sensitivity, and importance. Intended for a royal wedding display, he interprets every setback as proof that others fail to appreciate him.

First appears in chapter 6

A sixteen-year-old raised by a goatherd before learning that he is the late king's heir. At first enchanted by royal luxury, he is shaken by dreams showing the suffering required to make his coronation robe, crown, and sceptre.

First appears in chapter 7

A Spanish princess celebrating her twelfth birthday with elaborate court entertainments. Sheltered and accustomed to treating performers as objects of amusement, she is delighted by the Dwarf without considering his feelings.

First appears in chapter 7

A forest child brought to court as part of the Infanta's birthday entertainment. Unaware of his physical appearance and overjoyed by the Princess's attention, he mistakes her laughter and gift of a flower for affection.

First appears in chapter 8

A young fisherman who catches a Mermaid and releases her in return for her songs. He falls in love with her, but she tells him that they cannot live together while he retains a human soul.

First appears in chapter 8

A sea-dweller whose singing draws fish into the Fisherman's nets. She returns his love but cannot accept his soul, which the people of the sea do not possess.

First appears in chapter 8

The spiritual part of the Fisherman, separated from him so that he can join the Mermaid. Unable to enter the sea, the Soul travels alone and returns each year with stories and temptations meant to reunite them.

First appears in chapter 9

A beautiful foundling raised by a poor Woodcutter. Proud of his supposed heavenly origin, he mocks poverty and physical difference, and drives away a beggar who says she is his mother.

First appears in chapter 9

A poor woman who arrives at the Woodcutter's home after years of searching and identifies the Star-Child as her lost son. His rejection of her begins the ordeal through which he must learn compassion.

First appears in chapter 9

A small animal rescued from a trap by the enslaved Star-Child. In gratitude, the Hare repeatedly helps him find the pieces of gold his master has ordered him to retrieve from the forest.