All day long he flew, 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 fine position, with plenty of fresh air." So he flew down and settled 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."     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 chimney-pot," and he determined to fly 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 filled with tears, and tears were running down his golden cheeks. His face was so beautiful in the moonlight that the little Swallow was filled with pity.     "Who are you?" he said.     "I am the Happy Prince."     "Why are you weeping then?" asked the Swallow, "you have quite wetted me."     "When I was alive and had a human heart," answered the statue, "I did not know what tears were, for I lived in theprefix = st1 /PalaceofSans-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 high wall, but I never cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me was so beautiful. People 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 choose but weep." "What is he not solid gold?" said the Swallow to himself. He was too polite to make any personal remarks out loud. Why did the swallow feel curious when a drop of water fell on him?
Because of the heavy rain though there was no cloud in the sky. Because the statue couldn't keep the rain off though made of gold. Because he thought it was raining despite bright and clear stars. Because he couldn't understand why the Happy Prince was weeping.