The Happy Prince and Other Tales Lesson Plan

In what ways do the Water-rat and the Rocket “miss the point” of their stories’ morals?

The Linnet tells the Water-rat a story to teach him that friendship cannot be purely about devotion to him; rather, it must be a two-way, equal relationship. He is meant to understand that the Miller’s actions towards Hans are not the actions of a good friend. However, the Water-rat likes and identifies with the Miller. Thus, the Water-rat misses the moral of the story. Similarly, the Rocket sees the world through self-obsessed glasses (hearing “gold stick” instead of “old stick”) and never learns that the world does not revolve around himself.

In what way does the story of "The...