The Happy Prince, the former ruler of a city, is now a golden statue. From his position above the city he can see all the poverty and misery which, in his life, he was never told about. Now he desperately wants to help his former subjects, but is powerless.
A swallow, which has delayed flying away to Egypt for the winter, agrees to help him. It takes the statue's jewelled eyes and gives them away; then it takes pieces of gold leaf and flies to the homes of the poor, sometimes saving lives.
This goes on until the statue is quite blind, bare and ugly; now the prince urges the swallow to fly south, but it is too late. The bird dies of the cold, and the heart of the statue cracks.
Next day, the town authorities notice how ugly the statue looks. It is melted down, and its cracked heart is thrown on a dust heap with the body of the swallow.
The fable ends by saying that, to God, these are the two most precious things in the city.
