CHAPTER 1 – HAT

Chapter 1
People tell me what they think. They tell me that it is not good
I am six years old. I see a nice picture. The picture is in a book. It
to make pictures. They tell me that it is better to study
is a picture of a big snake. The snake eats an animal. Here is the
geography, history, maths and grammar. After these words, I
picture.
don’t want to make pictures. I don’t want to make pictures
because my picture number one and picture number two are
The book says, “Snakes eat the whole not good for the people. People don’t understand simple things.
animal. And they sleep for six months.” And now, I am not a child. I am a big person. I have a job. I am a
I think about the life in the forest. I pilot. I fly planes. I fly in many countries. And it is true that
make my first picture. This is my picture geography is good for me. Geography can help me if I am lost in
number one. the night.

In my life, I work with people every day. The people are often
serious. Sometimes I meet a person who is a little normal.
I show my fantastic picture to When I meet this person, I show him my picture number one. I
one person. And I ask this person, “Are you scared?” This always have this picture with me. I want to know if this person
person answers, “How can I be scared? It is a hat.” My picture is understands life. But the person always says, “It is a hat.” Then I
not a picture of a hat. It is a picture of a big snake. An elephant is never speak to this person about big snakes or forests or stars.
inside the snake. Then I make my picture number two. The And we speak about work, sport and family. And the person is
picture shows the inside of the big snake. Now people happy. For him I am a normal man. I live alone. I don’t know
understand. This is my picture number two. people for an open conversation. But one day it all changes. I
have an accident in the Sahara Desert. Something is broken in
my plane. I have nobody in the plane with me. It is not easy to only two pictures. They are pictures of a snake from the outside
repair the plane alone. But I must do it. It is a question of life or and a snake from the inside.
death. I have water for only a week.
I look at this little man. I am really surprised. Don’t forget that I
CHAPTER 2 – SHEEP am a thousand miles from a land with people. Something is very
interesting. This little man is not tired. He is not hungry. He is
The first night, I sleep on the sand. I am a thousand miles from not thirsty. He is not scared. He doesn’t look lost in the
a land with people. I think that no people are around me. So I middle of the desert, a thousand miles from a land with people.
am shocked when somebody speaks to me in the morning.

The little man says, very slowly, “Please draw me a sheep.”

I hear these words, “Please, draw me a sheep.”

It is all very strange to me. I am a thousand miles from a land

“What?”
with people. I am in danger of death. But I take a pen and
paper from my pocket. I want to draw a picture. Then I
“Draw me a sheep!”
remember that I know only geography, history, maths and
grammar. And I tell the little man that I don’t know how to draw.
I jump up. I look around. And I see a little man.

He says, “It is OK. Draw me a sheep.”

This is the picture of the little man.

But I don’t know how to draw a sheep. So I draw him a picture

which I am able to draw. It is a big snake from the outside. And I
am shocked when the little man says, “No, I don’t want an
My picture is not very good. The
elephant inside a big snake. A big snake is a very dangerous
original model is better. It is not
my mistake. I know how to draw
animal. And an elephant is very big for me. Where I live, It is not easy for me. I don’t have time for this. I must start my
everything is very small. I need a sheep. Draw me a sheep.” work on the plane. So I draw this picture.

So I make this picture.

The little man looks at the picture. Then

he says, “No. This sheep is ill. Make me
another sheep.”

And I say, “This is a box. The sheep is inside.”

I draw another picture.
I am surprised when I see the light in his face, “This is what I
My friend smiles at me, “You must see it want! Do you think that this sheep needs a lot of grass?”
too. This is not a sheep. It is a ram. It has
horns.” “Why?”

So I make another picture. “Because where I live, everything is very small.”

“I think that there is enough grass for the sheep. This is a very
small sheep.”

But this picture also isn’t good.

The little man looks at the picture. And he says, “The sheep is
not very small. It is a very nice sheep.”
“This sheep is old. I want a sheep which
can live a long time.”
This is my first day with the little prince.
 CHAPTER 3 – PLANET At this moment I start to understand more about him. I ask, “Do
you come from another planet?”
I want to know more about the little prince. I want to know
where he lives. The little prince asks me many questions. I also But he doesn‘t answer. He looks at my plane again. Then he
ask him questions. But he doesn’t answer my questions. But says, “On this thing, you can’t come from very far.”
when he speaks, I slowly start to understand many things.
And he starts to think. Then he takes the picture with his sheep.
For example, when he looks at my plane, he asks, “What is this And he looks at his sheep.
thing?”

I answer, “It is a plane. It can fly. It is my plane.”

But I want to know more. So I ask

And I am happy when I tell him that I can fly. Then he says,
again, “Where is your planet? Where do
“What? Are you from the sky?”
you want to take your sheep?”

“Yes,” I say.
He is quiet. Then he says, “The box is a
good thing. At night, I can use the box
“It is funny!”
as a house for the sheep.”

And the little prince starts to laugh. I am angry. My situation is “Yes. And I can also give you a rope. Then you can tie the sheep
not good. How can somebody think that it is funny? during the day.”

Then he says, “So you also come from the sky like me. What is But the little prince is shocked when I say this, “Tie the sheep? It
your planet?” is a funny idea!”
“But if you don’t tie the sheep, the sheep can run away. You can small. If you want to see these planets, you need a very good
lose the sheep.” telescope.

The little prince starts to laugh again.

When an astronomer discovers such a planet, he doesn’t give
the planet a name. He gives the planet only a number. The
“But where can the sheep go?”
name of the planet is, for example, Asteroid 3251.

“It can go to many places. It can go left. It can go right.”

CHAPTER 4 – ASTEROID

The little prince says, “The sheep can go away on my planet. It is

I think that the planet of the little prince is Asteroid B-612.
OK. Where I live, everything is so small.” He is a little sad. Then
he says, “Where I live, nobody can go very far.”
In 1909, one astronomer discovers
this asteroid. The astronomer is
from Turkey.

Now I know a second important

He speaks about his asteroid at a
thing. The planet of the little prince is
big conference. But nobody
very small. It is like a house.
believes him because he has
Turkish clothes. It is crazy but
But it isn’t really a big surprise. I people do these things.
know that we don’t have only big
planets like Earth, Mars or Jupiter. We
have also hundreds of other planets.
These planet are sometimes very
 But there is something good for They ask, “How old is he? How many brothers does he have?
Asteroid B-612. A Turkish leader How big is he? How much money does his father have?” If they
says that people in Turkey must know these numbers, they think that they know this person.
have clothes like Europeans. The
astronomer speaks about his If you say to the people, “I know a small red house. It has
asteroid again in 1920. He has beautiful flowers in the windows. A lot of birds fly around the
very nice clothes. And now house,” the people can’t imagine the house. You must say to
everybody believes him. the people, “I know a big house. It is very expensive. You can
buy this house for one hundred thousand dollars.” Then the
people say, “It is a nice house.”

If you say to the people, “The little prince exists because he

laughs and he wants a sheep,” this information is not enough
for the adults. They don’t believe you. They think that you live in
a dream. But if you tell them, “The planet of the little prince is
Asteroid B-612,” they believe you. This is how the people think.

If you understand life, you don’t need numbers. You need to

I speak about Asteroid B-612 and I speak about its number
hear a nice story. You like to hear, “The little prince lives on a
because people like numbers. When you tell people that you
small planet. The planet is very small. The little prince is alone.
have a new friend, they never ask you questions about
He wants to have a friend.” If you understand life, this is what
important things. They never ask you, “Is his voice nice? What
you want to hear.
games does he play? Does he have butterflies at home?”
 CHAPTER 5 – ELEPHANTS Earth. The information comes very slowly. The information
comes during moments when the little prince thinks about his
It is six years after my meeting with the little prince. When I think past.
about him, I am sad. But I write about the little prince, because I
don’t want to forget him. It is sad when you forget a friend. Not For example, on the third day, the little prince speaks about a
everybody has a friend. problem with the baobabs. Baobabs are big trees. The
conversation about baobabs starts when the little prince asks
This is the reason why I have paper and colours in my hands me a question about the sheep.
now. It is difficult to draw for me when I am old. But I want to do
it. “Is it true that sheep eat little trees?”

I want to make my pictures very good. But I am not sure if I can “Yes. It is true.”
do it. One picture is OK, but another picture is not very good. I
make some mistakes in the size too. Here the little prince is very “It is good.”
big. Here he is very small. Maybe the colour of his clothes is not
correct. But I try to draw as well as possible. I don’t understand why it is so important that sheep eat little
trees. But the little prince says, “So they also eat baobabs?”
But sometimes when my picture is not perfect, it is not my
mistake. It is the little prince’s mistake. He never explains things I tell the little prince that baobabs aren’t little trees, “The
to me. Maybe he thinks that I am like him. But unfortunately, I baobabs are big trees. The baobabs are very big. They are like
don’t see the sheep in the box. houses. And, for example, if you put nine big elephants on your
planet, these elephants can’t eat one baobab. The baobabs are
so big.”
Every day, new information about the little prince’s planet
comes. I also know more and more about his journey to the
The idea of ​nine elephants is funny for the little prince. And he every seed wakes up. Then the seed starts to grow. The seed
laughs, “On my planet, elephants must stand on elephants.” grows slowly to the sun.

When the plant is very small, you don’t know if the plant is some
vegetable or a rose. And you can let the plant grow. But when
But then he says something
you see that it is a bad plant, it is important to destroy the plant
clever, “When the baobabs are
fast.
young, they are very small.”

It is true that there are bad

“It is true,” I say. “But why is it
seeds on the planet of the
important that your sheep eats
little prince. They are the
the little baobabs?”
seeds of baobabs. The ground
of the planet is full of them. If
He says, “It is simple. Think about it. It is not very difficult.” you see a baobab too late,
you can’t destroy it. Then the
baobab grows over the whole
So I start to think about the problems with baobabs. Soon, I
planet. And if the planet is too
have the answer.
small, two or three baobabs
can destroy the planet.
CHAPTER 6 – TREES

“It is a question of discipline,” the little prince tells me.

I think that on the little prince’s planet, there are good plants
and bad plants. It is normal for all planets. And of course, there
“When I wash my face in the morning and when I put on my
are also good seeds of good plants and bad seeds of bad plants.
clothes, then it is time to clean my planet. It is necessary to pull
But we can’t see seeds. They are in the ground. But one day,
the baobabs when I see them. Sometimes it isn’t easy because I also make the picture very big. It is big because the problem
they are similar to roses when they are very young. It is a very with baobabs can be very big.
boring job, but very easy.”

And one day he says to me, “You can draw a beautiful picture.
The picture can show this situation to children. This information
can help children when they travel around the universe.

In life, it is sometimes OK to do your work later. But when you

do your work with baobabs later, it is always a big problem. I
know a planet with a lazy man. Now he has a big problem. He
has three big baobabs on his planet. He is not happy.”

And, when the little prince speaks about the planet, I make a
picture of this planet.

People know only a little about the problem with baobabs. And
it is possible that one day when you are lost on an asteroid, you
can have this problem too. I believe that it is important to know
that baobabs can be very dangerous for a small planet.

I work so hard on this picture because I want to tell children

about the problem which they don’t know.
 CHAPTER 7 – SUN But the little prince’s planet is very small. You only need to pull
your chair four or five metres. And you can watch the sunset
Step by step, I start to understand the secrets of the little when you want.
prince’s life. For a long time his only fun is to watch beautiful
sunsets. The little prince tells me about a day with forty-three sunsets. He
says, “When you are very sad, sunsets are great.”
This information comes on the fourth day in the morning. The
little prince says, “I really like sunsets. Let’s look at a sunset “The day with forty-three sunsets must be a sad day. Is it true?” I
now.” ask. But the little prince doesn’t answer.

“But we must wait,” I say.

“Wait? Wait for what?” On the fifth day, new

information about
“Wait for the moment when the sun is down.” the little prince’s life
comes. He asks me,
The little prince is very surprised. Then he laughs. And he says, “I “If a sheep eats little
am always thinking that I am at home.” trees, does it eat
flowers, too?”
Everybody knows this. When it is noon in the United States, the
sun is going down in France. If you can fly to France in one “A sheep eats everything what is green,” I answer.
minute, you can watch the sunset.
“Does a sheep eat flowers with thorns too?”

“Yes. The sheep eats flowers with thorns too.”

“I don’t understand,” says the little prince, “Why does the flower CHAPTER 8 – FLOWER
have thorns if a sheep can eat the flower?”
I am still repairing my plane when the little prince says, “Do you
I don’t know. At that moment I am very busy. I need to repair my really believe that flowers have thorns because they want to
plane. I am scared because my situation starts to be very hurt others?”
serious. I have so little water. I think that my death is close.
“No, I don’t believe it! But I don’t want to think about it. I am
busy with my plane. It is a serious thing!”
“Why does the flower have thorns?”
He is shocked.

The little prince always wants an answer to his question. But at

that moment I am angry because I can’t repair my plane. I “Serious thing?”
answer without thinking, “Thorns are good for nothing. Flowers
have thorns because they want to hurt others.” He looks at me. My hands are touching the engine. The engine
is dirty. My hands are dirty too. The little prince doesn’t like the
engine. But the engine is important for me.
“Oh!”

“You talk like the adults!”

The little prince is thinking for a moment. I see that he is a little
angry. Then he says, “I don’t believe you! Flowers are weak. The
The little prince is not happy. I know that it is my mistake. I don’t
thorns give them power. Flowers believe that their thorns are
feel OK. But the little prince continues, “You mix everything
big weapons.”
together!”

I say nothing. I am very busy with my plane. The little prince is angry.
“I know a planet with a gentleman with a red face. He doesn’t His face is now red. He continues.
have a flower. He doesn’t look at stars. He doesn’t love other
people. He only counts numbers. And all day he repeats again “If you love a flower which is in the sky, then you are happy
and again, like you, ‘I am a serious man! I am a serious man!’ when you look at the stars. You are happy because you know
And he is very proud. But he is not a man, he is a mushroom!” that your flower is he says up there. But if the sheep eats the
flower, then the sky is very sad for you.”
“He is a what?”
He can’t say another word. He starts to cry. The night comes. I
“A mushroom!” put my tools on the ground. How important are my tools, my
engine, my death now? On one planet, on my planet, the Earth,
The little prince is now very angry. His face is white. there is a little prince who needs me. I take him in my arms. I
hold him. I say to him, “The flower which you love is not in
“Flowers have thorns. Sheep eat flowers. And you think that it is danger. I can draw you something which can protect your
not good to try to understand why flowers have thorns. There is flower. I can draw you a fence. You can put the fence around
a war between the sheep and the flowers. And you think that it your flower. I can…”
is not important?”

I don’t know what to say to him. I

The little prince is still very angry. He continues.
don’t feel comfortable. I don’t know
how to talk to him, how to be his
“You think that the war between the sheep and the flowers is
friend again. It is so strange when
not more important than the numbers of the gentleman with a
somebody cries.
red face? I know a flower which is the only flower in the world,
which exists only on my planet. It is a flower which a little sheep
can eat for breakfast. And you think that this is not important?”
 CHAPTER 9 – GLASS

I soon have more information about the flower. On the little But the little prince can’t hide his feelings, “Oh! How beautiful
prince’s planet the flowers are always very simple. They are you are!”
small and they don’t talk. They grow in the grass in the morning,
and they are gone in the evening. “Yes, I am beautiful. Look at me,” the flower says. “And I am
born at the same moment as the sun.”

But it all changes one day. There is a different seed. It comes

“I think that it is time for breakfast,” she says, “Can you bring me
from some place which nobody knows. Soon a new flower starts
some water?”
to grow. First she is very small. The little prince watches her very
carefully. The flower isn’t like other flowers on his planet.
The little prince is surprised. The situation is new for him. But he
brings water to the flower.
The flower can be a new type of baobab. But she is not a
baobab. She is really a flower. Soon she starts to prepare for
opening. The preparation for this moment is long. The flower
doesn’t want to show her colours fast.
Then one morning, exactly at The flower starts to play with the
sunrise, the flower shows her little prince. Her play isn’t always
colours. nice.

And after all her preparation for this One day, for example, when she
moment, she says, “Ah! I am sorry. speaks about her four thorns, she
Give me some time. I need some time says to the little prince, “I am ready
to be perfect.” for tigers. They can come.”
 But she stops at this moment. Flowers grow from seeds. They
don’t know about other worlds. The flower feels stupid now. She
knows that the little prince sees that she can lie to him. She
quickly coughs two or three times. She wants to show the little
prince that she is cold and that he doesn’t care about her well.

“The glass? I can look

for the glass but you still
talk to me,” says the little
prince.

Then the flower starts to

cough a little more. She
“There are no tigers on my planet,” says the little prince, “And wants to show him how
tigers don’t eat grass.” bad he is.

“I am not a grass,” the flower says, “I am not scared of tigers, but The little prince has a lot of love in his heart. But he can’t
I am scared of wind. Do you have something which can protect believe the flower. For the little prince, it is important how
me from wind?” somebody speaks to him. And the flower doesn’t speak to him
well.

“It is not good when a flower is scared of wind,” says the little
prince, and he thinks, “This flower is very complicated.”

“At night I want to be under glass. It is very cold here where you
live. The cold is not comfortable. I come from a place where…”
 CHAPTER 10 – VOLCANOES He also has one volcano which isn’t active. But, he says, “You
never know!” So he cleans this volcano too. If the volcanoes are
“It isn’t good to listen to the flower,” the little prince tells me one correctly cleaned, there are no eruptions.
day. “Never listen to flowers. You have to only look at them and
smell them. My flower makes my planet beautiful. She smells so Of course, on Earth people are very small. They can’t clean
good. But I don’t know how to like her. The story about the volcanoes. And because people don’t clean them, the volcanoes
tigers makes me so angry. But it isn’t good to take it so seriously. can be a big problem.
It is good to love the flower because she is so beautiful and she
smells so good. Before his departure, the little
prince also pulls the last little
He then continues, “When we are young, we don’t know many baobabs. He thinks that this is his
things. The flower makes my planet beautiful. It isn’t correct to last day on his planet. He doesn’t
leave her. Now I know it.” plan to come back.

I believe that when the little prince leaves his planet, wild birds He gives water to his flower. Then
help him. he brings the glass. At that
moment, he wants to cry.

“Goodbye,” he says to the flower.

On the morning of his departure, he But she doesn’t answer him.
prepares everything. He cleans his
active volcanoes. There are two active “Goodbye,” he says again. The flower coughs. But it is not
volcanoes on his planet. They are very because she is ill.
good when he needs to cook his
breakfast in the morning. “I am sometimes stupid,” the flower says. “I am sorry.”
The little prince is surprised that the flower is sorry. He doesn’t She says it because she doesn’t want to show her tears. She is a
understand why the flower is nice to him. very proud flower.

“Of course, I love you,” the flower tells him. “Maybe, you don’t CHAPTER 11 – KING
feel that I love you. It is not your mistake. It is my mistake. It is
not important now. But you are sometimes stupid too. Try to The little prince is close to the asteroids 325, 326, 327, 328, 329
be happy. Don’t put the glass on me. I don’t need it.” and 330. So he visits these asteroids first. He wants to be busy.
He wants to learn something.
“But the wind…”
There is a king on the first planet. The king has nice clothes. He
“The wind is not a problem. The night air is good for me. I am a is sitting on a big chair.
flower.”
“Ah! Here is a visitor,” the
king says when he sees
“But the animals…”
the little prince.

“I have to be stronger than two or three caterpillars if I want to

And the little prince
see the butterflies. I think that they are very beautiful. If there thinks, “How can he know
are no butterflies here, who can visit me when you are so far? who I am? He doesn’t
And I am not scared of big animals. I have my thorns.” And she know me.”
shows all of her four thorns to the little prince.
“Come closer to me. I
Then she says, “Don’t stand here. You want to leave. So, go!” want to see you better,”
says the king. He is very
proud that he is a king for
somebody now.
The little prince looks around. He needs a place where he can sit The little prince is thinking about one thing. The planet is very
down. But the king’s clothes are on the whole planet. So the little small. The king doesn’t control much.
prince is standing. And because he is tired, he yawns.
“Can I ask you a question?” says the little prince.
“It is not good to yawn before a king,” the king tells him. “You
can’t do it.” “I order you to ask me a question,” the king says.

“I can’t stop it,” says the little prince. “My journey is very long, “What do you control?”
and I am tired.”

“I control everything,” says the king.

“Then you have to yawn,” says the king, “People usually don’t
yawn before me. It is very interesting. Yawn again!”
“Everything?”

The little prince wants to yawn for the king. But he can’t do it
now. He says, “I am sorry. I can’t yawn when you tell me to do it,” The king looks at his planet. Then he looks at the other planets,
says the little prince. and all the stars.

“Are you the king of all?” asks the little prince.

The king is not happy because people must do what the king
says. But, because he is a very good man, what he wants is “I am the king of all,” says the king. He doesn’t control only his
reasonable. planet. He is the king of all the universe.

“Can I sit down?” the little prince asks. “And do the stars do what you want?”

“I order you to sit down,” the king says. And he pulls a piece of
his clothes so that there is some space where the little prince “Of course,” says the king. “They do it fast. They do exactly what I
can sit down. want.”
 CHAPTER 12 – MOUSE “You can have your sunset. I can order it. But I have my rules.
We must wait. You can have your sunset when the conditions
are right.”
The king’s power is very interesting for the little prince. With
such power, the little prince can watch many sunsets every day,
not only forty-four, but seventy-two, or a hundred, or two The little prince doesn’t want to wait. “When are the conditions
hundred on the same day. And he can still sit in one place. right for my sunset?” the little prince asks.

At that moment he remembers his little planet, and he feels a “Wait!” says the king, then he takes a big calendar. “This evening
little sad. He asks the king for something, “I want to see a at seven forty. And you can see that everything is as I order.
sunset. Please, can you order the sun to go down?”
The little prince yawns. He is sad that the conditions are not
“If I order a general to fly from one flower to another like a right for his sunset. Then this planet starts to be boring for him.
butterfly, or to write a book, or to change into a sea bird, and if
the general doesn’t do it, is it his mistake?” asks the king. “I have nothing to do here,” he says to the king. “I want to
continue on my journey.”
“Your mistake,” says the little prince.
“Don’t go,” says the king. He is happy because finally he is a
“Exactly. We must ask what others can do,” the king continues. king for somebody. “Don’t go. You can be my minister!”
“The control has to be reasonable. If you order your people to
jump into the sea, they can start a revolution. I can control “Minister of what?”
because my control is reasonable.”

“Minister of justice.”
“And my sunset?” says the little prince, who never forgets a
question when he asks it.
“But there is nobody here who I can judge.”
“You never know,” says the king. “Maybe there is somebody here The king says nothing. The little prince waits for a moment. Then
who we don’t see.” he doesn’t want to wait longer. And he starts to leave.

“But I can see all your planet,” says the little prince. He looks at “You are my ambassador,” the king shouts.
the planet again. “There is nobody else on the planet.”

“You can judge you,” says the king, “It is very difficult. It is more “Adults are very strange,” the little prince thinks when he
difficult than to judge other people. If you can do it, it is because continues on his journey.
you are really a clever man.”
CHAPTER 13 – PEOPLE
“But if I want to judge me, I don’t have to be here,” says the
little prince. “I can do it in other places too.” The little prince comes to the second planet. He sees another
strange man. The man likes when people admire him.
“I believe,” says the king, “that somewhere on my planet there is
a mouse. I hear the mouse at night. You can judge the mouse. “Another person who admires me!” says the man when he sees
You can send the mouse to prison.” the little prince.

“I don’t want to send the mouse to prison. Now I think that I can He believes that all people admire him.
leave.”

“Good morning,” says the little prince. “You

“No,” says the king. have a funny hat.”

The little prince is ready for his departure. But he doesn’t want “I use this hat when I say good morning to
to make the old king sad. So he says, “If you want to control me, people who come to visit me. But not many
you can give me a reasonable order. For example, you can tell people visit me here.”
me to leave now. I think that the conditions are right.”
“Really?” says the little prince. “To admire is to believe that I am the most handsome, the
richest and the most intelligent man on the planet.”
“Really. Clap your hands,” says the man.
“But you are the only man on your planet!”
The little prince claps his hands. And the man touches his hat
and he moves the hat a little. “Yes, I know that I am the only man on this planet. But please
admire me.”
“This is more fun than the visit to the king,” the little prince
thinks. “I admire you,” says the little prince, “but I don’t understand why
it is so important to you.”

The little prince claps his hands again and again. The man The little prince has nothing else to do on this planet. So he
touches his hat again and again. continues on his journey.

After five minutes of this exercise the little prince starts to be “Adults are very strange,” he thinks when he is leaving this
tired of this game. planet.

“Do you only touch your hat? Or can you do something else?” he When the little prince visits the next planet, he sees a man. This
asks. man drinks a lot. He is drunk.

But the man doesn’t hear him. This type of people never hear This is a very short visit. And it is a sad visit.
other people. They hear only when somebody admires them.

“Do you really admire me very much?” he asks the little prince.

“What is ‘admire’?”
 “To forget that I feel horrible,” says the drunk man. And he puts
his head down.

“Why do you feel horrible?” asks the little prince. The Little
Prince wants to help the drunk man.

“I feel horrible because I drink so much. I know that it is bad to

drink so much!” says the drunk man. Then he is quiet.

The little prince leaves the planet.

“Adults are very, very strange,” he thinks when he continues on

his journey.
“What are you doing?” he asks the drunk man. The drunk man
sits before bottles. Some bottles are empty. Some bottles are
CHAPTER 14 – BUSINESSMAN
full.

The little prince visits the fourth planet. There is a businessman

“I am drinking,” says the drunk man. His face is not happy.
on this planet. He is very busy. He is so busy that he doesn’t
look at the little prince when the little prince comes.
“Why are you drinking?” the little prince asks.

“I want to forget,” says the drunk man.

“To forget what?” asks the little prince.

 “Good morning,” says the The businessman looks at the little prince, “I am fifty-four years
little prince. “Your old. I don’t like when somebody stops my work. It doesn’t
cigarette is finished.” happen often. I remember only three times.

“Three and two make five. The first time, twenty-two years ago. A bird falls on my table.
Five and seven make The bird makes a horrible sound. And I make four mistakes in
twelve. Twelve and three my calculation.
make fifteen. Hello.
Fifteen and seven make The second time, eleven years ago, I have rheumatism. I don’t
twenty-two. Twenty-two have enough exercise. I don’t have time for such activity. I am a
and six make serious man.
twenty-eight. I have no
time to light the cigarette again.
The third time is now! Where am I? Five hundred and one
million…”
Twenty-six and five make thirty-one. It is five hundred and one
million, six hundred and twenty-two thousand, seven hundred
and thirty-one.” “Million what?”

“Five hundred million what?” asks the little prince. The businessman understands that if he wants to have peace,
he has to answer this question.

“Are you still here? Five hundred and one million… I don’t
remember. I have so much work to do! I am a serious man. I “Millions of those little things which you sometimes see in the
don’t want to lose my time with things which are not important. sky.”
Two and five make seven…”
“Flies?”
“Five hundred million what?” repeats the little prince. He wants
the answer to his question. “No, not flies.”
“Bees?” “Kings don’t own. They control. It is very different.”

“No. The little golden things. Lazy people like them because they “And why is it good to own stars?”
can dream when they look at them. But I am a serious man! I
have no time to dream.” “When I own stars, I am rich.”

“Ah, stars?” “And why is it good to be rich?”

“Yes, the stars.” “When I am rich, then I can buy more stars if somebody
discovers them.”
“And what do you do with five hundred million stars?”
“But how can you own the stars?”
“Five hundred and one million, six hundred and twenty-two
thousand, seven hundred and thirty-one. I am a serious person. “It is simple. Who owns them?” asks the businessman.
I need numbers which are correct.”

“I don’t know. Nobody.”

“And what do you do with those stars?”

“Then I own them because I am the first person who has this
“Nothing. I own them.” idea.”

“You own the stars?”

“Is it enough?”
“Yes.”
“Of course. When you find a diamond, it is your diamond. When
“But I know a king who…” you discover an island, it is your island. When you have a new
idea, you patent it and it is your idea. Now I own the stars “It is funny,” thinks the little prince. “But it is not very serious.”
because I am the first person who has this idea.”
The little prince says to the businessman, “I own a flower. I give
“It is true,” says the little prince. “And what do you do with her water every day. I own three volcanoes. I clean the
them?” volcanoes every week. I also clean the volcano which isn’t active.
You never know. It is good for my volcanoes. It is good for my
“I look at them. I count them and I count them again,” says the flower that I own her. I help my flower and I help my volcanoes.
businessman. “It is difficult. But I am a serious man! But you don’t help the stars.

The little prince wants to know more. The businessman opens his mouth but he can’t find words.

“If I own a jacket, I can put the jacket on me and I can take it with And the little prince leaves.
me. If I own a flower, I can pick the flower and take the flower
with me. But you can’t pick the stars!”
“The adults are very interesting,” he thinks when he continues
on his journey.
“No, but I can keep them in the bank.”

CHAPTER 15 – LAMP
“How can you do it?”

The fifth planet is very interesting. It is a very small planet.

“It is easy. I write the number of my stars on a little paper. And
There is only a lamp and a lamplighter on this planet.
then I put the paper in the bank.”

The little prince doesn’t understand why there is a lamp and a

“And it is enough?”
lamplighter on the planet. There is enough light because the
planet is under many stars. There are no other people on the
“It is enough,” says the businessman. planet who need a lamp.
 “The order is to turn on and turn off my lamp. Good evening.”
And he turns on his lamp again.
The little prince thinks,
“This man is strange. “But why do you do it so often?”
But he is less strange
than the king, the “It is the order,” says the lamplighter.
businessman or the
drunk man. His work
makes the world more I don’t understand,” says the little prince.
beautiful.
“It is simple,” says the lamplighter. “The order is the order. Good
When he turns on his morning.”
lamp, it is like a new
star in the sky, or new And he turns off his lamp. Then he says, “It is a terrible job now.
flower. When he turns I remember better days in the past. I turn off the lamp in the
off his lamp, he sends morning. In the evening I turn on the lamp again. I have all the
the flower, or the star to sleep. It is a beautiful job. And because day for me, and at night I can sleep.”
it is beautiful, it is a good job.”
“And is the order different now?”
When the little prince comes on the planet, he says to the
lamplighter, “Good morning. Why do you turn on and turn off
“The order is the same,” says the lamplighter. “It is the problem!
your lamp?”
Year by year the planet is turning faster and faster. And the
order is still the same!
“It is an order,” says the lamplighter. And he turns off the lamp.
Now the planet turns around every minute. And I have no time
“What is the order?” to sleep. I turn on and I turn off my lamp every minute.”
“It is funny! Your day is only one minute long.” “Then you are not lucky,” says the little prince.

“It is not funny,” says the lamplighter. “Our conversation is “I am not lucky,” says the lamplighter. “Good morning.” And he
already one month long.” turns off his lamp.

“A month?” The little prince continues on his journey. He thinks, “The other
men, the king, the drunk man, the businessman can laugh at
“Yes. Thirty minutes. Thirty days. Good evening.” And he turns this lamplighter. But he is better than the other men. It is
on his lamp again. because he cares about something else, not only his things.

The little prince watches the lamplighter. He likes more and This man can be my friend. But his planet is too small. There is
more this man who follows the order. He wants to help his new no place for two people.”
friend.

The little prince doesn’t want to say the real reason why he
“I can show you how you can stop your work.”
doesn’t want to leave this planet. He doesn’t want to leave
because the planet has one thousand four hundred and forty
sunsets every twenty-four hours!
“I always want to stop my work,” says the lamplighter.

CHAPTER 16 – GEOGRAPHER
The little prince continues, “Your planet is so small that you can
walk around it in three long steps. You only have to walk more
slowly. And you can always be in the sun. When you want to The sixth planet is
stop your work, only walk. And you never have to work again.” bigger than the last
planet. The little prince
sees an old gentleman.
“How can this help me?” says the lamplighter. “The one thing The man writes big
which I love in life is to sleep.” books.
“Oh, here comes an explorer,” he says when he sees the little “Ah!” the little prince is sad. “And mountains?”
prince.
“I can’t say,” says the geographer.
The little prince sits down on the table. He is tired from
travelling so long and so far. “And cities and rivers and deserts?”

“Where are you from?” the old gentleman asks him. “I can’t tell you,” says the geographer.

“What is this big book?” asks the little prince. “What are you “But you are a geographer!”
doing here?”

“It is true,” says the geographer, “but I am not an explorer. There

“I am a geographer,” the old gentleman answers. is no explorer on my planet. The geographer doesn’t discover
cities, rivers, mountains, seas, oceans and deserts.
“What is a geographer?”
The geographer doesn’t have time for travelling. He doesn’t
“A geographer is somebody who knows where the seas are, and leave his office. But the explorers visit him in his office. He asks
rivers, cities, mountains and deserts.” them questions and he writes what they remember.

“It is very interesting,” says the little prince. “Finally here is a And if the information is interesting to him, then the geographer
man who has a real job,” he thinks. And he looks around at the has to ask more questions about the explorer. He has to know if
geographer’s planet. the explorer is a good person.”

“Your planet is very beautiful,” he says. “Does the planet have The little prince wants to know why the explorer has to be a
oceans?” good person.

“I can’t say,” says the geographer.

The geographer says, “An explorer who is a bad person can give “Tell me about your home,” says the geographer.
information which is not correct. And also an explorer who
drinks very much can give bad information.” “Oh, where I live,” says the little prince,” it is not very interesting.
It is very small. I have three volcanoes. Two volcanoes are active,
“Why?” asks the little prince. and one volcano isn’t active. But you never know.”

“Because drunk people don’t see correctly. Then the geographer “You never know,” says the geographer.
can draw two mountains in a place where there is only one.”
“I also have a flower.”
“I know somebody,” says the little prince, “who drinks a lot. He
can be a bad explorer.” “We don’t write about flowers,” says the geographer.

“It is possible. So when the explorer is a good person, then I “Why not? The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!”
have to check if his information is correct.”

“Because flowers don’t live very long. In geography we have very

“Do you visit the place?” correct books. Our books are almost always true. A mountain
usually doesn’t change its position. An ocean usually doesn’t
“No. It is too complicated. But the explorer has to give me lose its water. We write about things which are here for a long
proof. For example, if he knows about a big mountain, the time.”
explorer has to bring some stone from the mountain.”
“But volcanoes which aren’t active can be active again,” says the
little prince.
Then the geographer smiles. “But you come from very far! You
are an explorer! You must tell me about your planet!”
“If volcanoes are active or not, it is the same for us,” says the
geographer. “A volcano is a mountain. It is important. A
The geographer opens his big book. He prepares his pen. mountain doesn’t change. Your flower is different. Your flower
can be gone soon.”
“My flower can be gone soon?” hundred and sixty-two thousand, five hundred and eleven
lamplighters work on Earth. These lamplighters have to turn on
“Of course.” and turn off the lamps on six continents.

“My flower can be gone soon,” thinks the little prince, “and she When you look at the Earth from some distance, you can see a
has only four thorns for protection! And she is home alone!” beautiful show. The lamplighters are like the dancers in the
opera. Their organization is perfect.

The little prince is sad. But he wants to continue on his journey.

“What is an interesting place to visit?” he asks.
The lamplighters of New Zealand and Australia come first. They
turn on their lamps. Then the lamplighters of China come, then
“The planet Earth,” the geographer answers. “It is a nice planet.” the lamplighters of Russia and India, then the lamplighters of
Africa and Europe, then the lamplighters of South America and
of North America. And they never make a mistake. It is beautiful.
And the little prince continues on his way. He is still thinking
about his flower. Only the lamplighter of one lamp at the North Pole, and his
colleague at the South Pole, have easy lives. They work twice a
CHAPTER 17 – EARTH year.

The seventh planet is the Earth. The Earth is a very big planet. When I speak about the lamplighters, you can think that there
There are a hundred and eleven kings on Earth. There are also are many people on Earth. Now I want to tell you more about
seven thousand geographers, nine hundred thousand people on Earth. People take very little space on Earth.
businessmen, seven and a half million drunk men, three
hundred and eleven million men who need to be admired. If the two billion people on Earth stand close together, they can
Together two billion adults live on this planet. all be in one square. The square is twenty miles long and
twenty miles wide. You can put all people on a small island.
The Earth is really big. I want to show you how big the planet is.
I want to give you one example. Before electricity, four
Of course, adults don’t believe this information. They think that “This is the desert. There are no people in the desert,” says the
they take a lot of space. They think that they are as important as snake.
the baobabs. But they can make their own calculation. They
love numbers and they like to count. The little prince sits down on a rock. He looks at the stars.

But you don’t have to do it. It is not necessary. Believe me. “Look at my planet,” the little prince says, “my planet is up there.
But it is very far.”
When the little prince comes on Earth, he is surprised. He is
surprised because he doesn’t see any people. “It is beautiful,” the snake says. “Why are you here?”

“I have some problems with a flower,” says the little prince.

He starts to think that he is on the

wrong planet. But then he sees “Ah!” says the snake. And he is quiet.
something in the sand.
CHAPTER 18 – GARDEN
“Good evening,” says the little
prince.
“Where are the people?” the little prince continues in the
conversation with the snake after some time. “I feel alone in the
“Good evening,” says the snake. desert.”

“What is this planet?” asks the little prince. “You feel alone with people too,” says the snake.

“It is the planet Earth. You are in Africa,” the snake says. The little prince looks at him for a long time. “You are a funny
animal,” he says, “You are very slim.”
“Ah, are there no people on Earth?”
 The snake says, “I am slim but I
am stronger than a king.”

The little prince smiles, “You are

not very strong. You don’t have
legs. You can’t travel very far.”

“I can take you very far,” the snake

says.

He turns around the little prince’s leg. “When I touch somebody,

I can send the person back to the land from which he comes,”
the snake says, “but you are a good person, and you come from
a star.” “Good morning,” says the little prince.

The snake continues, “You are so weak on this planet. I can help “Good morning,” says the flower.
you one day if you want to go back to your planet. I can bite
you. And you can travel very far.” “Where are the people?” the little prince asks.

“Oh! I understand,” says the little prince. “People?” I believe that six or seven people live on Earth. I see
them sometimes in a caravan. But you never know where they
The little prince says goodbye to the snake. Then he is walking in are. The life is very difficult for them because they don’t have
the desert. He meets a flower. any roots. The wind takes them away.
“Goodbye,” says the little prince. “Let’s be friends, I am alone,” he says.

“Goodbye,” says the flower. “I am alone, I am alone, I am alone,” the echo answers.

The little prince sees a high mountain. The only mountains “This is a strange planet!” he thinks. “The planet is dry and hard.
which he knows are the three volcanoes which are as high as his And people here only repeat what you say to them. On my
knees. planet I have a flower. She always speaks first.”

He thinks, “From this high mountain, I can see the whole planet The little prince is walking for a long time through sand and
and all the people.” rocks. Then he finally sees a road. And all roads go to people.

He goes to the top of the mountain. But he only sees other “Good morning,” says the little prince. He is standing before a
mountains around. garden full of roses.

“Good morning,” say the roses.

“Hello,” he says.

“Hello, hello, hello,” the echo The little prince is

answers. looking at the roses.
They all look like his
“Who are you?” asks the little flower. He is
prince. surprised.

“Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?” the echo answers. “Who are you?” he asks.
“We are roses,” the roses say. CHAPTER 19 – FOX

“Ah!” says the little prince. And he is very unhappy. His flower Then the fox comes.
says that she is the only flower of her kind in the whole
universe. And here are five thousand roses, all the same, in one “Good morning,” says the
garden! fox.

He thinks, “So my rose is not very special. I have only a normal “Good morning,” the little
rose. So I have a normal rose and three volcanoes which are as prince says. “Who are
high as my knees. It isn’t much. I think that I am not a great you? You are very pretty.”
prince.”

“I am a fox,” says the fox.

And, he is lying in the grass and he is very sad.

“Play with me,” the little prince says, “I am very sad.”

“I can’t play with you. I am wild,” the fox says.

“Ah! I am sorry,” says the little prince. But after some time, he
asks, “What is wild?”

“You are not from here,” says the fox. “What are you looking
for?”

“I am looking for people,” says the little prince. “What is wild?”

“People,” says the fox, “have guns. They hunt. It is a problem for The fox asks, “On another planet?”
me. They also have chickens. I like chickens. Are you looking for
chickens?” “Yes.”

“Are there hunters on your planet?”

“No,” says the little prince. “I am looking for friends. What is
wild?”
“No.”
“When I am wild, I am not connected to you and you are not
connected to me.” “It is interesting.
And chickens?”
“You are not connected to me?”
“No.”
“It is true,” the fox says. “For me you are only a little boy, like
other little boys. And I don’t need you. And you don’t need me. “Oh, nothing is
For you I am only a fox like other foxes. But if I am not wild for perfect,” says the
you, you need me and I need you. You can be the only boy in fox.
the world for me. I can be the only fox in the world for you.”

“I start to understand,” the little prince says. “I have a flower. I

think that she isn’t wild for me.” After some time, the fox says. “My life is always the same. I hunt
chickens. Men hunt me. All the chickens are similar, and all the
“It is possible,” says the fox. “On Earth we can see many men are similar too. So, it is a little boring.
different things.”
My life can be better if I am not wild for you. When I hear your
“Oh, my flower is not on Earth,” the little prince says. steps, I can be happy. The other steps can scare me. But your
steps are like music to me. And it is not all. Do you see the corn
fields there? I don’t eat bread. For me corn is not important. The CHAPTER 20 – SECRET
corn fields say nothing to me. And it is sad.
The next day the little prince returns.
But you have golden hair. You hair is beautiful. The corn is also
golden. When I see the corn, I remember you. When I hear the “It is better if you return at the same hour,” says the fox. “If you
wind in the corn, I can be happy.” come, for example, at four in the afternoon, then at three I start
to be happy. At three thirty I am more happy. At four I am very
The fox is quiet. The fox looks at the little prince for a long time. happy. I can show you how happy I am.
“Please, stay with me for some days!” the fox says.
But if you come at different time, I don’t know when I can start
“It can be nice to stay with you,” says the little prince. “But I don’t to be happy. We need some rules.”
have much time. I want to find friends. I want to learn new
things.”

“We only learn about things which are connected to us,” says the “Why do we need rules?”
fox. “People don’t have time to learn. They buy things from asks the little prince.
shops. But because there are no shops where you can buy
friends, people don’t have friends. If you want a friend, be
connected to me!” “The rules are important.
They make one day
different from other days.
“OK, what do I have to do?” asks the little prince. The rules make one hour
different from other hours.
For example, hunters have
“You have to be very patient,” says the fox. “First, you have to their rules too. They dance with the girls from the village every
help me not to be wild. You have to sit at a little distance from Thursday. So Thursday is a beautiful day. I can walk to the village
me in the grass. I can watch you with one eye and you say with no problems. If the hunters dance on different days, I don’t
nothing. Words can be a problem sometimes. But every day know when it is holiday for me.
you can sit a little closer.”
So the little prince spends some time with the fox every day. “You are not like my rose,” the little prince says, “you are nothing
And when the hour of his departure is near, the fox says, “Ah! to me at this moment. Nobody is connected to you and you are
I’m sad. I want to cry.” connected to nobody. You are like my fox on the first day, not
connected to me. But the fox is my friend now, and the fox is
“It is your mistake,” says the little prince, “I don’t want to hurt special to me.”
you. But you want to be with me.”

Then he continues, “You are beautiful, but you are empty.

“Yes, of course,” says the fox.
Nobody wants to die for you. Of course, if somebody only walks
around my rose, my rose is not special to this person. But my
“But you cry!” says the little prince. rose is more important to me than all the other roses because
she is the rose who I give water. She is the rose who I put under
“Yes, of course,” says the fox. the glass. She is my rose. I listen to her when she is not happy.
And I listen to her when she is happy.”

“But then you get nothing!”

The little prince returns to the fox.

“I get something,” says the fox, “the colour of the corn helps me
get something.” “Goodbye,” he says.

Then the fox says, “Go and look again at the roses. You can “Goodbye,” says the fox. “Here is my secret. It is a simple secret.
understand now that your rose is special. Then come back to You see clearly only with the heart. What is important, eyes
say goodbye to me. I have a present for you. The present is a can’t see.”
secret.
“What is important, eyes can’t see,” repeats the little prince. He
The little prince goes to look at the roses again. He speaks to wants to remember this secret.
them.
“The time which you spend with your rose makes your rose so
important.”
“The time which I spend with my rose makes my rose so And a second train goes around, in the opposite direction.
important,” says the little prince.
“Are they going back?” asks the little prince.
“People forget one truth,” says the fox. “But this truth is
important. You are responsible for something what is “They are not the same people,” says the man. “They are
connected to you. You are responsible for your rose.” different people. They are coming back.”

“They are not happy where they are?”

“I am responsible for my rose,” the little prince repeats.

CHAPTER 21 – TRAINS “People are never happy where they are,” says the man.

“Good morning,” says the little prince. And a third train goes around.

“Good morning,” says the man who works at the railway station. “Do they want to catch the first people?” asks the little prince.

“What do you do here?” the little prince asks. “They don’t want to catch anybody,” says the man. “They are
sleeping. Or they are looking outside the windows. Only the
“I change the direction of the trains,” says the man. “I send children are pressing their noses against the windows.”
some trains to the right, some trains to the left.
“Only the children know what they are looking for,” says the little
And at that moment a train goes around very fast. prince. “Children use their time to play with toys. And the toys
start to be very important to them. And if somebody takes their
“They hurry,” says the little prince. “What are they looking for?” toys, they cry.”

“Nobody knows what they are looking for,” says the man. “Children are lucky,” the man says.
The little prince continues on his journey. CHAPTER 22 – DESERT

“Good morning,” says the little prince when he meets a It is now the eighth day after my accident in the desert. I listen
businessman. to the story about the businessman and I am drinking my last
water.
“Good morning,” says the businessman. He is a businessman
who sells pills. The pills help people when they are thirsty. If “Your stories are very nice,” I say to the little prince, “but my
you take one pill a week, you don’t have to drink. plane is still broken. I have nothing to drink. I also want to walk
very slowly to a fountain.”
“Why do you sell the pills?” asks the little prince.
“My friend, the fox, says that…”
“Because the pills save a lot of time,” says the businessman.
“The pills can save fifty-three minutes a week.” “My dear little man, this has nothing to do with the fox.”

“And what do you do with the fifty-three minutes?” “Why not?”

“What I want.” “Because soon I am dead.”

“When I have fifty-three minutes,” the little prince says, “I like to But the little prince says, “It is good to have a friend. And if you
walk very slowly to a fountain.” can die soon, it is good to have a friend too. I am very happy
that I have a fox as a friend.”

“He doesn’t see the danger,” I think. “He is never hungry or

thirsty. He only needs a little sunshine.”
But he looks at me and maybe he knows what I am thinking “The desert is beautiful,” he says.
because he says, “I am thirsty too. Let’s look for a well.”

It is true. I always love the desert. When I sit down on sand in

It is crazy to look for a well in this big desert. But we start to the desert. I see nothing. I hear nothing. But something beats
walk. and something shines in the desert.

We walk for many hours. Then the night comes. The stars start CHAPTER 23 – WELL
to shine. I see them as in a dream. I am very thirsty. The last
words of the little prince dance in my head. “The desert is beautiful,“ says the little prince, “because it hides
a well somewhere.”
“So, you are thirsty, too?” I ask him.
I agree with the little prince. When I am a little boy, we live in an
But he doesn’t answer my question. He only says to me, “Water old house. And people say a story about the house. The story
can also be good for the heart.” says that the house has a treasure somewhere in the floor. Of
course, nobody can find the treasure. Maybe, nobody is really
I don’t understand his answer, but I say nothing. I already know looking for it. But this treasure makes the house special. My
that he doesn’t answer my questions. He is tired. He sits down. I home is hiding a secret.
sit down next to him.
“Yes,” I say to the little prince, “what is beautiful, we can’t see!”
After a quiet moment, the little prince speaks again, “The stars
are beautiful because there is a flower on one of them.” “I am happy,” he says, “that you agree with my fox.”

“Sure,” I say. Then I look at the sand. The sand is all around us. Then the little prince starts to sleep. I take him in my arms. I
We see the sand in the light of the moon. start to walk again.
I am full of emotions. I am holding the little prince. I feel that I The little prince laughs. He takes the rope. And he lets the
am holding a great treasure. In the moonlight, I look at his white bucket go down the well. When the bucket is going down, we
face, his closed eyes, his golden hair which moves in the wind. hear some interesting sound.
And I think, “What I see here is only a shell. What is most
important, we don’t see.” “Can you hear it?” says the little prince. “The well is singing.”

And when his mouth opens a little with a smile, I think again,
“What is so beautiful about this little prince is his relationship
with his flower. I can see a picture of a rose which shines from
his heart when he sleeps.”

I feel that I have to protect this light. The wind can take the light
away.

I continue to walk. And in the morning, I see the well.

The little prince wakes up and he says, “People get on their

trains, but they don’t know what they are looking for. People run
around. It is not necessary.”

The well is not like the wells of the Sahara. The wells of the
Sahara are only holes in the sand. This well looks more like a
village well. But there is no village here. And I think that I am in
a dream.

“It is strange,” I say to the little prince, “everything is ready, the

bucket, the rope.”
 CHAPTER 24 – WATER looking for. But what they are looking for, they can find in one
rose or in a little water.”
When the bucket is full of water, I say, “I can pull the bucket up.
The bucket is very heavy for you.” “Yes, it is true,” I say.

Slowly I pull the bucket up. I leave the bucket on top of the well.
And the little prince says, “But the eyes don’t see it. You have to
I am tired but happy. The song of the well is still in my ears.
look with the heart.”
When I look at the bucket, I can see the sunshine in the water.

I drink a lot of water. I feel well now. The sand at sunrise is the
“I am thirsty,” says the little prince. “I want to drink this water
colour of honey. And that colour is making me happy, too. So I
now.”
don’t understand why I feel so sad.

I help him hold the bucket. He drinks with his eyes closed. It is
“Do you remember your promise?” says the little prince when
nice. It is a special moment. The water isn’t only a drink. The
he sits down next to me.
water comes from our walk under the stars. It is made from the
song of the well, from the work of our arms. It is good for the
heart, like a present. “What promise?”

When I am a little boy, I like Christmas very much. It is a special “You know, a fence which can protect my flower from my sheep.
time. I like the light of the Christmas tree, the Christmas music, I am responsible for this flower.”
the smiles of the people. All these things make the Christmas
time and Christmas presents special. I take my pictures out of my pocket. The little prince looks at
them. He laughs when he sees the baobabs.
“Where you live,” says the little prince, “the people have five
thousand roses in one garden, but they don’t find what they are “Your baobabs look like some vegetable.”
“Oh!” CHAPTER 25 – WALL

I am very proud of my baobabs. Next to the well there is an old wall. When I come back from my
work the next evening, I see the little prince from some
“Your fox, his ears look like horns, and they are too long!” distance. He is sitting on top of the wall. He is talking to
somebody.

And he laughs again.

He says. “This is not the right place.”

“You are not fair, little prince,” I say, “I can’t draw. I can draw
only snakes from the outside and snakes from the inside.” Some voice must say something to him because the little prince
says, “Yes, yes, this is the right day, but it is not the right place.”

“Oh, it is OK,” he says, “it is OK for children. The children

understand.”
I continue my walk to the wall. I still can’t see or hear anybody.
But the little prince says again, “Sure. You can follow my steps
I draw a fence. And I give the fence to the little prince with a in the sand. You only have to follow me to that place. It can all
heavy heart. happen tonight.

“You have plans which I don’t know. Maybe something ends I am twenty meters from the wall and I still can’t see anything.
here.” The little prince speaks again, after a pause. “Do you have good
poison? Are you sure that you can do it very quickly?”

But he doesn’t answer me. He says to me, “You must work now.
I stop. My heart is beating strongly. But I still don’t understand
You must go back to your plane. I can wait here. Come back
the situation.
tomorrow.”
“Now go away,” says the little prince. “I want to go down from He looks at me. His eyes are sad. He puts his arms around my
the wall”. neck. I feel his heart. His heart is beating like the heart of a bird
which is dying.
Then I look down at the sand under the wall. I am shocked.
He says to me, “I am happy that your plane is OK. Now you can
There is a yellow snake there. It is a snake which can kill you in go home.”
thirty seconds.
“How do you know it?”

I am here because I want to tell him that my work is finished.

I want to take my revolver.
But when I am trying to
He doesn’t answer my question, but he says, “I can go back
take it, I also make a step
home today, too. It is very far. I need somebody’s help for my
back. The snake hears it. He
next journey.”
starts to move and he is
quickly gone in the rocks. I
still hear him but I don’t see CHAPTER 26 – PRESENT
him.
I know that something strange is happening. I am holding the
I come to the wall. I catch the little prince in my arms. His face is little prince in my arms like a little child. But I feel that he is
very white. falling down into a big hole. And I know that I can’t help him.

“What are you doing here?” I want to know. “Why are you talking His face is very serious now. He says, “I have the sheep. And I
with the snake?” have the box for the sheep. And I have the fence.” And he smiles
sadly.
I wait for a long time. I see that he is feeling a little better. Then I “It is the same with the flower. If you love a flower which lives on
say, “Dear little man, you are scared.” a star, it is good to look at the sky at night. Then all the stars
have flowers.”
Yes, he is scared, but he laughs a little, “I am scared of tonight.”
“Yes, I know.”
It is difficult for me. I know that it is not possible to change what
the little prince wants to do. I can’t imagine my life without the “At night, you can watch the stars,” the little prince says. “My star
sound of the little prince’s laugh. For me, it is like a fountain in is very small. I can’t show you where my star is. It is better if you
the desert. don’t know. My star can be one of the many stars for you. So,
when you look at the stars, they can all be your friends.

“Little man,” I say, “I want to hear you laugh again.

I have a present for you,” says the little prince and he laughs
again.
But he says to me, “Tonight it is already a year. My star is
exactly in the same place as last year.
“Ah, little prince, my little prince! I love to hear you laugh,” I say.

“My little friend, is this only a bad dream? Is the meeting with the
snake, the plan for tonight only a bad dream?” “This is my present, my laugh,” says the little prince.

But he doesn’t answer my question. He says to me, “What is CHAPTER 27 – BELLS

important, we can’t see.”
“I am not sure if I understand,” I say. “Your laugh is a present?”
“Yes, I know.”
“People look at stars, but the stars are not the same for
everybody. For people who travel, the stars are guides. For
other people the stars are nothing, only small lights in the sky. Then he is serious again, “Tonight, don’t stay with me.”
For scientists, they are problems. For my businessman, the
stars are important because they make him rich. But all these “I don’t want to leave you,” I say.
stars are quiet stars. For you, it is different.

“Tonight, it can look as if I feel pain. It can look as if I am dying.

You have stars like nobody else. When you look at the sky at Don’t come to see it. It is not necessary.”
night, there is one star where I live. And because I laugh on one
of these stars, you can feel that all stars are laughing. You have
“I don’t want to leave you.”
stars which laugh.” And he laughs again.

But he says, “I also ask you not to come because the snake can

“When I leave,” the little prince continues, “you can be sad. But bite you. Snakes are bad sometimes. Snakes can bite you only

believe me, time can help you be less sad. Then you can be for fun.”

happy that you know me. You can always be my friend. You can
always laugh with me. Then he says, “It is also true that snakes have no poison for the
second bite.”

And sometimes you can open your window only for fun. And
your friends can see you how you laugh at the sky. You can tell Then the comes. I don’t see the little prince leave. I don’t hear
them, ‘Yes, the stars always make me laugh!’ And your friends him when he goes away from me. When I catch him, he is
can think that you are crazy. But it is OK.” walking fast.

And he laughs again. He only says to me, “Ah! You are here.” And he takes my hand.
But he is not happy.

“And for you the stars can be like little bells which laugh.” And
he laughs again.
“It is wrong that you are here. It is not good for you. It can look I am quiet.
as if I am dead. But I am not dead.”
He tries to explain it again. He says, “This night can be very nice
for me. All the stars can be wells with a rope and a bucket. All
the stars can have water for me.”

I am quiet.

“It is great fun! You can have five hundred million little bells.
And I can have five hundred million fountains.”

And he is quiet too because he is crying.

CHAPTER 28 – DEPARTURE
I am quiet.

“Here is the place. Let me continue alone,” says the little prince.
“You must understand. My star is too far. I can’t take this body
with me. It is too heavy.”
And he sits down because he is scared.

I am quiet.

“When you see only an empty shell, don’t be sad. There is

nothing sad about empty shells.”
 I see something yellow which moves quickly near his leg. He
doesn’t move for a moment. He doesn’t cry. Then he falls slowly
as a tree falls.

Then he says, “My flower is on my planet. I am responsible for

her. And she is so weak! She has only four thorns which can’t
protect her enough.”

Now it is six years after the little prince’s departure. This is the
I sit down too because I can’t stand.
first time when I tell this story. When I return, the people are
happy when they see me. I am sad because the little prince is
“It is all,” he says.
gone. But I say to the people that I am not sad, that I am only
tired.
He waits for some time. Then he stands up. He takes one step. I
can’t move.
Now I am not so sad. I know that the little prince is on his planet So, look up at the sky. And ask the question, “Is the flower still
because I don’t find his body at sunrise. on the little prince’s planet?” And you can see how everything
changes.
And at night, I love to listen to the stars. It is like five hundred And adults can never understand that this is so important.
million little bells. For me, this is a very beautiful and also very sad land. I want to
make another picture of this land. It is the same as the picture
before, but I want to draw the land again. I want to remember
But here is something interesting. The fence for the sheep is not
the land better. It is the land where I say goodbye to the little
very big.
prince.
Look at this picture carefully because you can come to this place
So sometimes I think, “What is happening on his planet? If the
one day when you travel in Africa, in the desert. And, if you
sheep jumps over the fence, the sheep can eat the flower.”
really come to this place, please don’t hurry. Wait for a little
moment.
But sometimes I think, “Of course not. The little prince puts his Then if a little man comes, if he laughs, if he has golden hair and
flower under the glass every night and he watches his sheep he doesn’t answer your questions, you know who he is. If this
well.” happens, please write to me quickly that the little prince is back.

Then I am happy. And all the stars laugh a little.

Sometimes I think, “Everybody can forget sometimes.

Everybody can forget to put the glass over the flower in the
evening. And the sheep can come to the flower in the night
and…” Then the bells change to tears.
For some people it is not important. But for you who also love
the little prince and for me, these things are important.