''The Prince's Dream'' is a fable written by

Jean Ingelow Jean Ingelow (17 March 1820 – 20 July 1897) was an English poet and novelist, who gained sudden fame in 1863. She also wrote several stories for children. Early life Born in Boston, Lincolnshire on 17 March 1820, Jean Ingelow was the daughter ...

as part of ''The Wonderbox Tales'' collection. The story is a tale of a

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

living in seclusion within a far-off tower filled with many luxuries, in Southern Asia (

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

). The story focuses on his encounter with an old man, who comes to the prince in a

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

and offers a view of what the ‘outside world’ is truly about. This encounter shapes the prince's view of the outside world, as well as his developing views on morality and the importance and reason of life.

Synopsis

A young prince, who is raised from infancy in a large tower, has been brought up in a world of luxuries, decadence, but is also brought up without a sense of the true worth of money and material goods. He is brought up with many slaves, companions and attendants, but has never set foot outside the tower. Everything the Prince knows about the world comes from the stories and tales that his slaves and attendants, who are replaced over and over again, have told him. The Prince believes that he knows what is going on outside the tower thanks to these stories until one day, a new man arrives at the tower. The newcomer, an old man, begins to discuss what is happening in the 'outside world' and about what the meaning of “

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

” is and what having wealth truly means. At first, being exposed to nothing but luxury his whole life, the young Prince focuses on the importance of gold in the world. But he later realizes through a dream that gold and luxuries are not as important as hard work, charity, empathy and ethics. The danger of gold and greed is revealed to the Prince when he realizes the importance of work and charity after seeing the people in his dream torn apart by avarice. Upon waking, the Prince suddenly understands the implications of putting too much importance on material things. Upon realizing this, the old man disappears, leaving the Prince with a humbling perspective about the world around him.

Author

(March 17, 1820 and died on July 20, 1897) was an English poet and novelist. Her published works first became recognized in the 1860s and focused mainly on poems and children's literature.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prince's Dream, The 1863 short stories British fairy tales Fables Fictional princes