LITTLE PRINCE QUESTIONS

ENGLISH I HONORS
MRS. PILGREEN

CHAPTER 1

1. Who is the narrator of The Little Prince?

the pilot

2. What is the subject of the drawing in Chapter 1?

a boa constrictor

3. What did the adults think the child’s drawing looked like?
a hat

4. What did the child ask the adults when he showed them the picture?
Does this picture frighten you?

5. How many drawings did the child make?

two

6. The six-year-old child gave up being an artist and chose to become what?
A pilot

7. In the first line of Chapter 1, the narrator mentions a book he once saw. What was the name
of that book?
True Stories from Nature

8. The pilot tells us that throughout his life, when he met a clear-sighted adult he would always
show them what?
drawing number one

9. What does the narrator think of adults?

They don’t have much imagination.

10. What should a person who flies planes study, according to the narrator?
Geography.

11. How old was the narrator of this book when he gave up his magnificent painting career?
Six years old.

12. The pilot (as a child) drew an animal eating another animal. What was being eaten?
an elephant

Chapter 2.

1. Where does the plane crash happen?

The Desert of Sahara.

2. The morning after the plane crash, when the narrator wakes up, who is standing there?
The little prince.
3. What is the pilot asked to draw by the little prince?
a sheep

4. What is the first picture that the narrator actually draws for the little prince?
A boa constrictor from the outside.

5. The pilot has to make quite a few drawings before the little prince is satisfied. What picture
satisfies him?
The box with air holes.

6. When the plane crashes in Chapter 2, how many people are in it?
Just one.

7. After the plane crash, what does the pilot do?

Starts to fix the engine of the plane.

8. Who says, “Where I live everything is very small”?

the little prince

9. Why does the pilot get so cross with the little prince in Chapter 2?
The pilot is trying to fix his engine and the little prince keeps asking him about
inconsequential things.

10. How far are the pilot and the little prince from civilization in Chapter 2?
a thousand miles

11. How is a drawing of a sheep different from a drawing of a ram?

A ram has horns.

12. When the pilot and the little prince first meet, what time of day is it?
sunrise

Chapter 3

1. When the little prince sees the airplane for the first time, what does he say?
He asks what that object is.

2. How does the little prince reveal that he might be from another planet?
He asks the pilot, “Which is your planet?”

3. The pilot gives the little prince something that the little prince greatly treasures and which he
keeps it in his pocket. What is it?
The pilot’s drawing of a sheep in a box with air holes.

4. How many people were on the plane when it crashes?

only one

5. What is the setting in which the pilot and the little prince meet?
the desert
6. Why is it hard to learn where the little prince came from?
He never seems to hear the questions asked of him.

7. Why does the little prince laugh at the notion of the airplane falling from the sky?
Because he also fell from the sky.

8. How small is the planet where the prince comes from, as described in Chapter 3?
so small a sheep doesn’t need to be tied up

9. In Chapter 3, what does he little prince like about the box that the pilot has drawn?
At night the sheep can use it as a house.

10. Why does the pilot decide not to draw his airplane in the book?
It is much too complicated.

11. Why does the laughter of the little prince annoy the pilot so much?
The pilot likes his misfortunes to be taken seriously.

12. The little prince is proud of his flower. What is the pilot proud of?
The fact that he can fly an airplane.

Chapter 4

1. How big is the little prince’s planet, as described in chapter 4?

Scarcely any larger than a house.

2. What name does a human scholar give the little prince’s planet?
Asteroid B-612.

3. Who is the scholar that discovers the little prince’s planet?

A Turkish astronomer who sees it only once through his telescope

4. What does the discoverer of the little prince’s planet do in order to be taken seriously?
He wears European clothing.

5. According to the pilot in Chapter 4, what are grownups mostly interested in?
Things that can be counted, like money and years of age.

6. The pilot reveals that after he becomes friends with the little prince he starts doing something
again. What is it?
drawing

Chapter 5

1. What is a Baobab?
A very dangerous plant that can tear a tiny planet apart.

2. What is the little prince’s plan to safeguard his planet from baobabs?
To bring sheep to his planet, so they can eat young baobab bushes.
3. There is one drawing in Chapter 5 that the pilot is very proud of. Which one is it?
A planet with three baobabs on it.

4. Why does the little prince weed his planet every morning?
To keep the dangerous plants (baobabs) from taking root.

5. There are good and bad plants in the little prince’s plant. What sees are mentioned as good
ones?
roses and radishes

6. What was the soil of the little prince’s planet infested with?
terrible invisible seeds

Chapter 6

1. What does the little prince love to watch?

the sunset

2. How many times in one day does the sun set on the little prince’s planet?
44 times

3. What does the little prince do so that he can see the maximum number of sunsets on his
planet?
He moves his chair a few steps.

4. Why does the little prince think he can watch a sunset anytime?
Because on his small planet, he can.

5. What is the little prince feeling much of the time?

The little prince often feels sad.

6. According to the author, what time is it in the United States when the sun is setting over
France?
Noon.

Chapter 7

1. In the desert, what is the pilot’s primary worry?

That he has very little drinking water left.

2. What is the pilot working on that he thinks will help him get out of the desert?
The engine of his plane

3. Why does the little prince become enraged at the pilot in Chapter 7?
Because the pilot doesn’t consider the little prince’s problem with his flower as a
matter of consequence.

4. What does the little prince call the red-faced gentleman who is the businessman?
He is not a man—he is a mushroom!
5. What does Antoine de Saint-Exupery call The Land of Tears?
a secret place

6. On the fifth day that the pilot and the little prince are together, the secret of the little prince’s
life is revealed. What is that secret?
The little prince is afraid that his flower will be eaten by the sheep.

Chapter 8

1. What time of day does the prince’s beautiful flower first bloom?
exactly at sunrise

2. What does the prince do for the flower?

waters her, puts a screen by her in the day and a glass glove over her at night

3. How many thorns does the prince’s unique flower have?

four

4. The prince’s flower has a personality. She is…

vain and demanding

5. What does the prince’s flower have a horror of?

drafts

6. How many petals do the ordinary flowers on the prince’s planet have?
One ring of petals

Chapter 9

1. On his planet what does the little prince heat his breakfast on?
either one of his two active volcanoes

2. When he begins having problems with his flower, the prince makes a very big decision. What
is it?
to leave his planet

3. When the flower realizes the little prince is leaving, what does she ask for?
his forgiveness

4. When the little prince leaves his planet, he says goodbye to the flower and goes to put her
glass globe on. Why does she say that she doesn’t need the protection anymore?
Because the flower wants to become acquainted with the butterflies.

Why is the flower not afraid of large animals?

She believes her claws, her thorns, will protect her.

6. When the little prince leaves his planet, does he plan to ever return?
No, he has no plans to return to his planet.
Chapter 10

1. How many asteroid planets does the little prince visit in total?
six

2. What does the king of the first asteroid planet the prince visits call the prince?
His subject.

3. On the first asteroid planet he visits, why can’t the prince sit down?
The king’s ermine robe is covering the entire planet.

4. What does the king of the first asteroid planet the prince visits believe he rules over?
Everything.

5. What does the little prince ask the king of the first asteroid planet the prince visits to do for
him?
Order a sunset.

6. When the little prince decides to leave the king of the first asteroid planet the prince visits,
what does the king do?
Orders the prince to be his ambassador.

Chapter 11

1. What does the conceited man want?

to be admired

2. What does the conceited man want to be admired as?

The handsomest, the best dressed, the richest, and the most intelligent man on the
planet.

3. What does the conceited man ask the little prince to do?
clap his hands

4. How long is the little prince willing to applaud the conceited man?
Five minutes

5. What does the conceited man use his hat for?

To salute.

6. How many people live on the conceited man’s planet?

only one

Chapter 12

1. What is the tippler doing?

Drinking to forget.

2. What is the tippler surrounded by?

Empty bottles and full bottles.
3. What is the tippler ashamed of?
People who use alcohol or other substances to cover up their problems.

4. What is another word that the translator might have used instead of tippler?
Boozer, alcoholic, or lush

5. The visit to the planet of the tippler plunged the little prince into what?
Deep dejection.

Chapter 13

1. What is the businessman doing when the prince first comes across him?
Counting the stars

2. What does the little prince point out to the businessman when he first meets him?
“Your cigarette has gone out.”

3. What does the businessman think he owns?

The stars

4. The little prince is not impressed with what the businessman owns. What reason does he give
for his disdain?
That the businessman is of no use to the things he owns.

5. What does the little prince tell the businessman he owns?

a flower and three volcanoes

6. How many times in the 54 years the businessman has inhabited his planet has he been
disturbed?
Three. The little prince is the third disturbance.

Chapter 14

1. What is unique about the fifth planet, the lamplighter’s planet?

It is the smallest.

2. What is on the lamplighter’s planet?

A street lamp and a lamplighter.

3. The lamplighter says a day on his planet is how long?

One minute

4. On the lamplighter’s planet, how many strides does it take to circle the planet?
three strides

5. Of all the people the little prince meets on the asteroids, which one does he think he could be
friends with?
The lamplighter.
6. What does the lamplighter love to do most, which he is never able to do?
Rest.

Chapter 15

1. How would the geographer best be described?

A scholar who knows the location of all the seas, rivers, towns, mountains and deserts.

2. What does the little prince think is so odd about the geographer?
That he knows nothing of his own planet.

3. Why does the geographer think someone who drinks too much is not a reliable source?
Because he would see double and report two mountains where there was only one.

4. Why does the geographer refuse to record the little prince’s flower?
The geographer says that a flower is ephemeral.

5. How does the geographer define ephemeral?

“In danger of speedy disappearance.”

6. Where does the geographer advise the little prince to visit next?
Earth, because it has a good reputation.

Chapter 16

1. How many people, approximately, does the narrator say live on the earth?
2,000,000,000

2. What is the army of lamplighters on earth compared to?

a ballet or opera

3. Which does the narrator say there are more of on earth, geographers or conceited men?
Conceited men.

4. How many kings are on earth, according to the pilot?

111

5. There would be two lamplighters who would be able to rest for most of the year. Where do
they live?
at the North and South pole

6. What word is used to describe the great pageant of the lamplighters around the world, taking
turns to bring light into the darkness?
magnificent

Chapter 17

1. If all humanity were to stand upright and crowd together how much space would they take up,
according to Chapter XVII?
One public square twenty miles long and twenty miles wide.
2. When the little prince arrives on the earth, why doesn’t he see ant people?
He lands in the Sahara desert.

3. What is the first creature the little prince meets on earth?

The golden snake

4. How does the little prince feel when he first arrives on the earth?
Lonely.

5. What does the first creature the prince meets on earth say he is more powerful than?
The finger of a king.

6. What does the first creature the prince meets on earth offer the little prince?
To send him back from whence he came.

Chapter 18

1. After arriving on the earth and meeting his first earth creature, what does the little prince do?
He crosses the desert.

2. Describe the flower which the little prince meets in the desert.
It is a flower with three petals, a flower of no actual account.

3. What does the flower in the desert know of men?

She once saw a caravan passing. She believes they were the only men in existence.

4. How many men does the flower think there are on earth?
Six or seven.

5. Why does the flower in the desert think men are hard to find?
The wind blows them away.

6. How many flowers does the little prince meet in the desert?
Only one.

Chapter 19

1. When he emerges from the desert, where does the little prince go?
He climbs a high mountain.

2. On his own planet, what does the little prince use the extinct volcano for?
A footstool.

3. When the little prince is up on the high peak in Chapter XIX, who does he speak with?
An echo.

4. What does the little prince hope to see from the high peak in Chapter XIX?
“The whole planet at one glance and all the people…”

5. From his perch on the mountain, what does the little prince think of the world?
That it is all together dry, pointed, harsh, and forbidding.
6. On the little prince’s planet, who would speak first, himself or his flower?
His flower is always the first to speak.

Chapter 20

1. The little prince walks through sand, rock and snow and at last comes to a road. Where does
the road lead them?
A garden

2. The little prince discovers a rose garden. What is it about this rose garden that makes him so
sad?
He realizes that his flower is not the only one of her kind in the universe.

3. How many roses are in the garden that the little prince discovers?
Five thousands.

4. In the rose garden, the little prince has to face a difficult fact about himself. What is it?
That the things he thought were so rare and valuable are quite common and small.

5. What do the flowers in the rose garden remind him of?

They all look like his flower.

6. In the rose garden, when the little prince realizes the truth of his life and of the things he
loves, what does he do?
He lies down in the grass and cries.

Chapter 21

1. Where does the little prince find the fox?

Under the apple tree.

2. The little prince wants the fox to play with him. What does the fox say?
“I cannot play with you. I am not tamed.”

3. What does the little prince tell the fox he is looking for?
Friends.

4. How does the fox define the word “tame”?

It means to establish ties.

5. Why is the fox so interested in the little prince’s planet?

There are no hunters there.

6. Why does the fox want to be tamed?

His life is very boring and monotonous. Being tamed will be like the sun shining on his
life.
Chapter 22

1. What is the job of the railway switchman?

To sort out travelers, in bundles of thousands.

2. What does the railway switchmen think of children?

Only children are flattening their noses against the windowpanes. They are lucky.

3. According to the switchman, what are the adults in the trains pursuing?
Nothing at all.

4. When the little prince watches the trains, he remembers something the fox said. What does he
remember?
“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”

5. What do the children on the trains waste their time over?

A rag doll.

6. How does the author use light imagery in the chapter about trains?
The trains are brilliantly lit as they thunder by.

Chapter 23

1. How many thirst-quenching pills would one need in order to feel full of liquid, according to
Chapter XXIII?
One pill a week.
2. What is the selling point which the pill merchant offers the little prince?
The pills save a tremendous amount of time.

3. How much time per week can a person save by taking the thirst quenching pills?
Fifty-three minutes each week.

4. Who does the allegorical character of the pill merchant represent?

People who sell us things we don’t need.

5. The imagery of water is used in The Little Prince to represent the life-giving force, whether it
is physical or spiritual. What then does this thirst-quenching pill represent?
The way we falsely feed our thirst with things that do not give us life.

6. Is the little prince interested in buying the pills?

No, he would rather use the time to walk towards a spring of fresh water.

Chapter 24

1. How many days have the pilot and little prince been together when the pilot drinks the last of
his water supply?
Eight days.

2. Who is dying of thirst in the desert?

Both the pilot and the little prince. The pilot’s thirst is physical and the little prince
needs spiritual awakening.
3. What does the little prince decide that they should look for to quench their thirst in Chapter
XXIV?
A well.

4. Night falls and the pilot and little prince are walking in the dark. What do they think of the
desert in the moonlight?
The desert is beautiful.

5. What does the little prince believe that the desert hides?
A well.

6. What moves the pilot so much about the little prince whom he carries in his arms across the
dark desert?
His loyalty to a flower—the image of a rose that shines through his whole being.

Chapter 25

1. At what time of day does the pilot find the well?

At daybreak.

2. Why does the pilot think he is dreaming when he finds the well?
It does not look like other wells of the Sahara. It is like the well in a village.

3. What sound does the well in the desert make?

It moans, like an old weathervane which the wind has long since forgotten.

4. Who hoists the bucket up from the bottom of the well to the surface?
The pilot.

5. Who drinks from the well first?

The little prince. This is the water he was thirsty for.

6. What is the final drawing which the little prince requests from the pilot?
A muzzle for the little prince’s sheep.

Chapter 26

1. What structure is near the well?

The ruin of an old stone wall.

2. Where must the snake bite the little prince?

The exact spot where the little prince arrived on earth.

What does the little prince ask about the poison which the snake has within it?
You have good poison? You are sure it will not make me suffer long?

When the pilot sees the snake in Chapter XXVI, what does he do?
Goes for his revolver.
5. What color is the muffler which the little prince wears around his neck?
Golden.

6. What does the little prince know about the pilot’s engine in Chapter XXVI?
That the pilot has fixed it.

Chapter 27

1. How many years have gone by before the pilot tells his story?
six years

2. What does the pilot regret most about his drawing of the sheep’s muzzle?
He forgot to add the leather strap to it. It can never be fastened on the sheep.

3. Does the pilot wonder about the little prince and the flower and the sheep?
Yes, the pilot often thinks of them when he looks up at the stars.

4. What is the moral of The Little Prince?

(answers will vary—possibilities include the following: To keep our childlike wonder, and
not know everything for sure, allows us to fully live. To love is to risk loss and grief. But
it is worth it.

5. Does the pilot ever find his way out of the desert?
Yes, he fixes his engine.

6. If one is ever in the African desert and sees a little man with golden hair, what should one do?
Send word to the pilot that he has come back.