So the Swallow picked out the great

So the Swallow picked out the great ruby from the Prince's sword,
and flew 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-flowers 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 flew 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.
Then the Swallow flew back to the Happy Prince, and told him what
he had done. "It is curious," he remarked, "but I feel quite warm
now, although it is so cold."
"That is because you have done a good action," said the Prince.
And the little Swallow began to think, and then he fell asleep.
Thinking always made him sleepy.
When day broke he flew down to the river and had a bath. "What a
remarkable phenomenon," said the Professor of Ornithology as he was
passing over the bridge. "A swallow in winter!" And he wrote a
long letter about it to the local newspaper. Every one quoted it,
it was full of so many words that they could not understand.
"To-night I go to Egypt," said the Swallow, and he was in high
spirits at the prospect. He visited all the public monuments, and
sat a long time on top of the church steeple. Wherever he went the
Sparrows chirruped, and said to each other, "What a distinguished
stranger!" so he enjoyed himself very much.
When the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince. "Have you any
commissions for Egypt?" he cried; "I am just starting."
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "will you not
stay with me one night longer?"
"I am waited for in Egypt," answered the Swallow. "To-morrow my
friends will fly up to the Second Cataract. The river-horse
couches there among the bulrushes, and on a great granite throne
sits the God Memnon. All night long he watches the stars, and when
the morning star shines he utters one cry of joy, and then he is
silent. At noon the yellow lions come down to the water's edge to
drink. They have eyes like green beryls, and their roar is louder