Audiobooks - The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

chapter one once when I was six I saw a magnificent picture in a book about the jungle called true stories it showed a boa constrictor swallowing a wild beast here is a copy of the picture in the book it said boa constrictors swallow their prey whole without chewing afterward they are no longer able to move and they sleep during the six months of their digestion in those days I thought a lot about jungle adventures and eventually managed to make my first drawing using a colored pencil my drawing number one looked like this I showed the grown-ups my masterpiece and I asked them if my drawing scared them they answered why be scared of a hat my drawing was not a picture of a hat it was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant then I drew the inside of the boa constrictor so the grown-ups could understand they always need explanations my drawing number two looked like this the grown-ups advised me to put away my drawings of boa constrictors outside or inside and apply myself instead to geography history arithmetic and grammar that is why I abandoned at the age of six a magnificent career as an artist I had been discouraged by the failure of my drawing number one and of my drawing number two grown-ups never understand anything by themselves and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again so then I had to choose another career and I learned to pilot airplanes I have flown almost everywhere in the world and as a matter of fact geography has been a big help to me I could tell China from Arizona at first glance which is very useful if you get lost during the night so I have had in the course of my life lots of encounters with lots of serious people I have spent lots of time with grownups I have seen them at close range which hasn't much improved my opinion of them whenever I encountered a grown-up who seemed to me at all enlightened I would experiment on him with my drawing number one which I have always kept I wanted to see if he really understood anything but he would always answer that's a hat then I wouldn't talk about boa constrictors or jungles or stars I would put myself on his level and talk about bridge and golf and politics and neckties and my grown-up was glad to know such a reasonable person chapter 2 so I lived all alone without anyone I could really talk to until I had to make a crash landing in the Sahara Desert six years ago something in my planes engine had broken and since I had neither a mechanic nor passengers in the plane with me I was preparing to undertake the difficult repair job by myself for me it was a matter of life or death I had only enough drinking water for eight days the first night then I went to sleep on the sand a thousand miles from any inhabited country I was more isolated than a man shipwrecked on a raft in the middle of the ocean so you could imagine my surprise when I was awakened at daybreak by a funny little voice saying please draw me a sheep what draw me a sheep I lift up as if I had been struck by lightning I rubbed my eyes hard I stared and I saw an extraordinary little fellow staring back at me very seriously here is the best portrait I managed to make of him later on but of course my drawing is much less attractive than my model this is not my fault my career as a painter was discouraged at the age of six by the grown ups and I have never learned to draw anything except boa constrictors outside and inside so I stared wide-eyed at this apparition don't forget that I was a thousand miles from any inhabited territory yet this little fellow seemed to be neither lost nor dying of exhaustion hunger or thirst nor did he seem scared to death there was nothing in his appearance that suggested a child lost in the middle of the desert a thousand miles from any inhabited territory when I finally managed to speak I asked him but what are you doing here and then he repeated very slowly and very seriously please draw me a sheep in the face of an overpowering mystery you don't dare disobey absurd as it seemed a thousand miles from all inhabited regions and in danger of death I took a scrap of paper and a pen out of my pocket but then I remembered that I had mostly studied geography history arithmetic and grammar and I told the little fellow rather crossly but I didn't know how to draw he replied that doesn't matter draw me a sheep since I had never drawn a sheep I made him one of the only two drawings I knew how to make the one of the boa constrictor from outside and I was astounded to hear the little fellow answer no no I don't want an elephant inside a boa constrictor a boa constrictor is very dangerous and an elephant would get in the way where I live everything is very small I need a sheep draw me a sheep so then I made the drawing he looked at it carefully and then said no this one is already quite sick make another I made another drawing my friend gave me a kind indulgent smile you can see for yourself that's not a sheep it's a ram it has horns so I made my third drawing but it was rejected like the others this one's too old I want a sheep that will live a long time so then impatiently since I was in a hurry to start work on my engine I scribbled this drawing and added this is just the crate the sheep you want is inside but I amazed to see my young critics face light up that's just the kind I wanted do you think this sheep will need a lot of grass why because where I live everything is very small there's sure to be enough I've given you a very small sheep he bent over the drawing not so small as all that look he's gone to sleep and that's how I made the acquaintance of the little prince Chapter three it took me a long time to understand where he came from the little prince who asked me so many questions never seem to hear the ones I asked him it was things he said quite at random that bit by bit explained everything for instance when he first caught sight of my airplane I won't draw my airplane that would be much too complicated for me he asked what's that thing over there it's not a thing it flies it's an airplane my airplane and I was proud to tell him I could fly then he exclaimed what you fell out of the sky yes I said modestly oh that's funny and the little prince broke into a lovely peal of laughter which annoyed me a good deal I like my misfortunes to be taken seriously then he added so you fell out of the sky to what planet are you from that was when I had the first clue to the mystery of his presence and I questioned him sharply do you come from another planet but he made no answer he shook his head a little still staring at my airplane of course that couldn't have brought you from very far and he fell into a reverie that lasted a long while then taking my sheep out of his pocket he plunged into contemplation of his treasure you can imagine how intrigued I was by this hint about other planets I tried to learn more where do you come from little fellow where is this where I live of yours where will you be taking my sheep after a thoughtful silence he answered the good thing about the crate you've given me is that he can use it for a house after dark of course and if you're good I'll give you a rope to tie him up during the day and a steak to tie him to this proposition seemed to shock the little prince tie him up what a funny idea but if you don't tie him up he'll wander off somewhere and get lost my friend burst out laughing again where could he go anywhere straight ahead then the little prince remarked quite seriously even if he did everything's so small where I live and he added perhaps a little sadly straight ahead you can't go very far chapter four that was how I had learned a second very important thing which was that the planet he came from was hardly bigger than a house that couldn't surprise me much I knew very well that except for the huge planets like Earth Jupiter Mars and Venus which have been given names there are hundreds of others that are sometimes so small that it's very difficult to see them through a telescope when an astronomer discovers one of them he gives it a number instead of a name for instance he would call it asteroid three to five I have serious reasons to believe that the planet the little prince came from is asteroid b612 this asteroid has been cited only once by telescope in 1909 by a Turkish astronomer who had then made a formal demonstration of his discovery at an International Astronomical Congress but no one had believed him on account of the way he was dressed grown-ups are like that fortunately for the reputation of asteroid b612 a Turkish dictator ordered his people on pain of death to wear European clothes the astronomer repeated his demonstration in 1920 wearing a very elegant suit and this time everyone believed him if I've told you these details about asteroid b612 and if I've given you its number it is on account of the grown-ups grown-ups like numbers when you tell them about a new friend they never ask questions about what really matters they never ask what does his voice sound like what games does he like best does he collect butterflies they ask how old is he how many brothers does he have how much does he weigh how much money does his father make only then do they think they know him if you tell grown-ups I saw a beautiful red brick house with geraniums at the window dubs on the roof they won't be able to imagine such a house you have to tell them I saw a house worth a hundred thousand francs then they exclaim what a pretty house so if you tell them the proof of the little princes existence is that he was delightful that he laughed and that he wanted a sheep when someone wants a sheep that proves he exists they shrug their shoulders and treat you like a child but if you tell them the planet he came from is asteroid b612 then they'll be convinced and they won't bother you with their questions that's the way they are you must not hold it against them children should be very understanding of grown-ups but of course those of us who understand life couldn't care less about numbers I should have liked to begin this story like a fairy tale I should have liked to say once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet hardly any bigger than he was and who needed a friend for those who understand life that would sound much truer the fact is I don't want my book to be taken lightly telling these memories is so painful for me it's already been six years since my friend went away taking his sheep with him if I tried to describe him here it's so I won't forget him it's sad to forget a friend not everyone has had a friend and I might become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but numbers which is still another reason why I have bought a box of paints and some pencils it's hard to go back to drawing at my age when you've never made any attempts since the one of a boa from inside and the one of a boa from outside at the age of six I'll certainly try to make my portraits as true to life as possible but I'm not entirely sure of succeeding one drawing works and the next no longer bears any resemblance and I'm a little off on his height - in this one the little prince is too tall and here he's too short and I'm uncertain about the color of his suit so I grope in one direction and another as best I can in the end I'm sure to get certain more important details all wrong but here you'll have to forgive me my friend never explained anything perhaps he thought I was like himself but I unfortunately cannot see a sheep through the sides of a crate I may be a little like the grown ups I must have grown old after five every day I'd learn something about the little princes planet about his departure about his journey it would come quite gradually in the course of his remarks this was how I learned on the third day about the drama of the bay Oh Babs this time - I had the Sheep to thank for suddenly the little prince asked me a question as if overcome by a grave doubt isn't it true that sheep eat bushes yes that's right ah I'm glad I didn't understand why it was so important that sheep should eat bushes but the little prince added and therefore they eat bear Babs - I pointed out to the little prince that bear Babs are not bushes but trees as tall as churches and that even if he took a whole herd of elephants back to his planet that herd couldn't finish off a single bear bap the idea of a herd of elephants made the little prince laugh we'd have to pile them on top of one another but he observed perceptively before they grow big pea Babs start out by being little true enough but why do you want your sheep to eat little bear Babs he answered oh come on you know as if we were talking about something quite obvious and I was forced to make a great mental effort to understand this problem all by myself and in fact on the little princes planet there were as on all planets good plants and bad plants the good plants come from good seeds and the bad plants from bad seats but the seeds are invisible they sleep in the secrecy of the ground until one of them decides to wake up then it stretches and begins to sprout quite timidly at first a charming harmless little twig reaching toward the Sun if it's a radish seed or a rosebush seed you can let it sprout all it likes but if it's the seed of a bad plant you must pull the plant up right away as soon as you can recognize it as it happens there were terrible seeds on the little princes planet baobab seeds the planet's soil was infested with them now if you attend to a pea Babb too late you can never get rid of it again it over grows the whole planet its roots Pierce right through and if the planet is too small and if there are too many bare Babs they make it burst into pieces it's a question of discipline the little prince told me later on when you finished washing and dressing each morning you must tend your planet you must be sure you pull up the baobabs regularly as soon as you can tell them apart from the rose bushes which they closely resemble when they're very young it's very tedious work but very easy and one day he advised me to do my best to make a beautiful drawing for the edification of the children where I live if they travel someday he told me it could be useful to them sometimes there's no harm in postponing your work until later but with pea Babs it's always a catastrophe I knew one planet that was inhabited by a lazy man he had neglected three bushes so following the little princes instructions I have drawn that planet I don't much like assuming the tone of a moralist but the danger of bayar Babs is so little recognized and the risks run by anyone who might get lost on an asteroid are so considerable that for once I am making an exception to my habitual reserve I say children watch out bayar Babs its to warn my friends of a danger of which they like myself have long been unaware that I worked so hard on this drawing the lesson I'm teaching is worth the trouble you may be asking why are there no other drawings in this book as big as the drawing of the bear Babs there's a simple answer I tried but I couldn't manage it when I drew the bear Babs I was inspired by a sense of urgency Chapter six Oh little prince gradually this was how I came to understand your sad little life for a long time your only entertainment was the pleasure of sunset I learned this new detail on the morning of the fourth day when you told me I really liked sunsets let's go look at one now but we have to wait what for for the sun's are set at first you seemed quite surprised and then you laughed at yourself and you said to me I think I'm still at home indeed when it's noon in the United States the Sun as everyone knows is setting over France if you could fly to France in one minute you could watch the sunset unfortunately France is much too far but on your tiny planet all you had to do was move your chair a few feet and you would watch the Twilight whenever you wanted to one day I saw the sunset 44 times and a little later you added you know when you're feeling very sad sunsets are wonderful on the day of the 44 times were you feeling very sad but the little prince didn't answer to seven on the fifth day thanks again to the Sheep another secret of the little princes life was revealed to me abruptly with no preamble he asked me as if it were the fruit of a problem long ponder'd in silence if a sheep eats bushes does it eat flowers - a sheep eats whatever it finds even flowers that have thorns yes even flowers that have thorns then what good a thorns I didn't know at that moment I was very busy trying to unscrew a bolt that was jammed in my engine I was quite worried for my plane crash was beginning to seem extremely serious and the lack of drinking water made me fear the worst what good are thorns the little prince never let go of a question once he had asked it I was annoyed by my jammed bolt and I answered without thinking thorns are no good for anything they're just the flowers way of being mean oh but after a silence he lashed out at me with a sort of bitterness I don't believe you flowers are weak they're naive they reassure themselves whatever way they can they believe their thorns make them frightening I made no answer at that moment I was thinking if this bolt stays jammed I'll knock it off with the hammer again the little prince disturbed my reflections then you think flowers no not at all I don't think anything I just said whatever came into my head I'm busy here with something serious he stared at me a standard something serious he saw me holding my hand my fingers black with grease bending over an object he regarded as very ugly you talked like the grown-ups that made me a little ashamed but he added mercilessly you confuse everything you've got it all mixed up he was really very annoyed he tossed his golden curls in the wind I know a planet inhabited by a red-faced gentleman he's never smelled a flower he's never looked at a star he's never loved anyone he's never done anything except add up numbers and all day long he says over and over just like you I'm a serious man I'm a serious man and that pops him up with pride but he's not a man at all he's a mushroom he's a what a mushroom the little prince was now quite pale with rage for millions of years flowers have been producing thorns for millions of years sheep have been eating them all the same and it's not serious trying to understand why flowers go to such trouble to produce thorns that are good for nothing it's not important the war between the sheep and the flowers it's not more serious and more important than the numbers that fat red gentleman is heading up suppose I happen to know a unique flower one that exists nowhere in the world except on my planet one the little sheep can wipe out in a single bite one morning just like that without even realizing what he's doing that isn't important his face turned red now and he went on if someone loves a flower of which just one example exists among all the millions and millions of stars that's enough to make him happy when he looks at the Stars he tells himself my flowers up there somewhere but if the Sheep eats the flower then for him it's as if suddenly all the stars went out and that isn't important he couldn't say another word all of a sudden he burst out sobbing night had fallen I dropped my tools what did I care about my hammer about my bolt about thirst and death there was on one star on one planet on mine the earth a little prince to be consoled I took him in my arms I rocked him I told him the flower you love is not in danger I'll draw you a muzzle for your sheep I'll draw you a fence for your flower I I didn't know what to say how clumsy I felt I didn't know how to reach him where to find him it's so mysterious the land of Tears I soon learned to know that flower better on the little princes planet they had always been very simple flowers decorated with a single row of petals so that they took up no room at all and got in no one's way they would appear one morning in the grass and would fade by nightfall but this one had grown from a seed brought from who knows where and the little prince had kept a close watch over a sprout that was not like any of the others it might have been a new kind of baobab but the sprout soon stopped growing and began to show signs of blossoming the little prince who had watched the development of an enormous bud realized that some sort of miraculous apparition would emerge from it but the flower continued her beauty preparations in the shelter of her green chamber selecting her colors with the greatest care and dressing quite deliberately adjusting her petals one by one she had no desire to emerge all rumpled like the poppies she wished to appear only in the full radiance of her beauty oh yes she was quite vain and her mysterious adornment had lasted days and days and then one morning precisely at sunrise she showed herself and after having labored so painstakingly she yawned and said ah I'm hardly awake forgive me I'm still all untidy but the little prince couldn't contain his admiration how lovely you are anteye the flower answered sweetly and I was born the same time as the son the little prince realized that she wasn't any too modest but she was so dazzling I believe it is breakfast she had soon added would you be so kind as to tend to me and the little prince utterly abashed having gone to look for a watering can served the flower she had soon begun tormenting him with her rather touchy vanity one day for instance alluding to her for thorns she remarked to the little prince I'm ready for Tigers with all their claws there are no Tigers on my planet the little prince had objected and besides tigers don't eat wheat I am NOT a weed the flower sweetly replied forgive me I am not at all afraid of Tigers but I have a horror of drafts you wouldn't happen to have a screen a horror of draught that's not a good sign for a plant the little prince had observed how complicated this flower is after dark you will put me under glass how cold it is where you live quite uncomfortable but where I come from but she suddenly broke off she had come here as a seed she couldn't have known anything of other worlds humiliated at having let herself be caught on the verge of so naive a lie she coughed two or three times in order to put the little prince in the wrong him this scream I was going to look for one but you were speaking to me then she made herself kaufe ghin in order to inflict a twinge of remorse on him all the same so the little prince despite all the goodwill of his love had soon come to mistrust her he had taken seriously certain inconsequential remarks and had grown very unhappy I shouldn't have listen to her he confided to me one day you must never listen to flowers you must look at them and smell them mine perfumed my planet but I didn't know how to enjoy that the business about the tiger claws instead of annoying me ought to have moved me and he confided further in those days I didn't understand anything I should have judged her according to her actions not her words she perfumed my planet and lit up my life I should never have run away I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions flowers are so contradictory but I was too young to know how to love her to nine in order to make his escape I believe he took advantage of a migration of wild birds on the morning of his departure he put his planet in order he carefully raked out his active volcanoes the little prince possessed two active volcanoes which were very convenient for warming his breakfast he also possessed one extinct volcano but as he said you never know so he raked out the extinct volcano - if they are properly raked out volcanoes burn gently and regularly without eruptions volcanic eruptions are like fires in a chimney of course on our earth we are much too small to break out our volcanoes that is why they caused us so much trouble the little prince also uprooted a little sadly the last pea BAP shoots he believed he would never be coming back but all these familiar tusks seemed very sweet to him on this last morning and when he watered the flower one last time and put her under glass he felt like crying goodbye he said to the flower but she did not answer him goodbye he repeated the flower coughed but not because she had a cold I've been silly she told him at last I asked your forgiveness try to be happy he was surprised that there were no reproaches he stood there quite bewildered holding the glass fell in midair he failed to understand this calm sweetness of course I love you the flower told him it was my fault you never knew it doesn't matter but you were just as silly as I was try to be happy put that glass thing down I don't want it anymore but the wind my cold isn't that bad the night air will do me good I'm a flower but the animals I need to put up with two or three caterpillars if I want to get to know the butterflies apparently they're very beautiful otherwise who will visit me you'll be far away as for the big animals I'm not afraid of them I have my own claws and she naively showed her four thorns then she added don't hang around like this it's irritating you made up your mind to leave now go for she didn't want him to see her crying she was such a proud flower 2:10 he happened to be in the vicinity of asteroids 3 2 5 3 2 6 3 2 7 3 2 8 3 2 9 and 3 30 so he began by visiting them to keep himself busy and to learn something the first one was inhabited by a king wearing purple and ermine he was sitting on a simple yet majestic throne ah here's a subject the King exclaimed when he caught sight of the little prince and the little prince wondered how can he know who I am if he's never seen me before he didn't realize that four kings the world is extremely simplified all men are subject approached the throne so I can get a better look at you said the King very proud of being a king for someone at last the little prince looked around for a place to sit down but the planet was covered by the Magnificent omen cloak so he remained standing and since he was tired he yawned NIT is a violation of etiquette to yawn in a King's presence the monarch told him I forbid you to do so I can't help it answered the little prince quite embarrassed I've made a long journey and I haven't had any sleep then I command you to yawn said the prince I haven't seen anyone yawn for years for me yawns are a curiosity come on yawn again it is an order that intimidates me I can't do it now said the little prince blushing deeply well well the king replied then I I command you to yawn sometimes and sometimes too he was sputtering a little and seemed annoyed for the King insisted that his authority be universally respected he would tolerate no disobedience being an abs Lieut monarch but since he was a kindly man all his commands were reasonable if I were to command he would often say if I were to command a general to turn into a seagull and if the general did not obey that would not be the generals fault it would be mine may I sit down the little prince timidly inquired I command you to sit down the king replied majestically gathering up a fold of his Herrmann rope but the little prince was wandering the planet was tiny over what could the King really reign sire he ventured excuse me for asking I command you to ask the king hastened to say sire over what do you reign over everything the King answered with great simplicity over everything with a discreet gesture the King pointed to his planet to the other planets and to the stars over all that asked the little prince over all that the king answered for not only was he an absolute monarch but a universal monarch as well and do the stars obey you of course the king replied they obey immediately I tolerate no insubordination such power amazed the little prince if he had wielded it himself he could have watched not 44 but 72 or even a hundred even two hundred sunsets on the same day without ever having to move his chair and since he was feeling rather sad on account of remembering his own little planet which he had forsaken he ventured to ask a favor of the king I'd like to see a sunset do me a favor your majesty command the Sun to set if I can founded a general to fly from one flower to the next like a butterfly or to write a tragedy or to turn into a seagull and if the general did not carry out my command which of us would be in the wrong the general or me you would be said the little prince quite firmly exactly one must command from each what each can perform the King went on or thority is based first of all upon reason if you command your subjects to jump in the ocean there will be a revolution I am entitled to command obedience because my orders are reasonable then my sunset insisted the little prince who never let go of a question once he had asked it you shall have your sunset I shall command it but I shall wait according to my science of government until conditions are favorable and when will that be in quiet the little prince now well replied the king first consulting a large calendar oh well that will be around around that will be tonight around 7:40 and you'll see how well I am a bade the little prince yawned he was regretting his lost sunset and besides he was already growing a little bored I have nothing further to do here he told the king I'm going to be on my way do not leave answered the king who was so proud of having a subject do not leave I shall make you my minister a minister of what of justice but there's no one here to judge you'll never know the king told him I have not yet explored the whole of my realm I am very old I have no room for a carriage and it worries me to walk oh but I've already seen for myself said the little prince leaning forward to glance one more time at the other side of the planet there's no one over there either they're neutral pass judgment on yourself the King answered that is the hardest thing of all it is much harder to judge yourself than to judge others if you succeed in judging yourself it's because you are truly a wise man but I can judge myself anywhere said the little prince I don't need to live here well well the King said I have good reason to believe that there is an old rat living somewhere on my planet I hear him at night you could judge that old rat from time to time you will condemn him to death that way his life will depend on your justice but you'll pardon him each time for economy's sake there's only one rat I don't like condemning anyone to death the little prince said and now I think I'll be on my way no said the king the little prince having completed his preparations had no desire to agree the old monarch if your Majesty desires to be promptly obeyed he should give me a reasonable command he might command me for instance to leave before this minute is up it seems to me that conditions are favourable the king having made no answer the little prince hesitated at first and then with a sigh took his leave I make you my ambassador the king hastily shouted after him he had a great air of authority grown-ups are so strange the little prince said to himself as he went on his way chapter 11 the second planet was inhabited by a very vain man ah a visit from an admirer he exclaimed when he caught sight of the little prince still at some distance too vain men other people are admirers hello said the little prince that's a funny hat you're wearing it's for answering acclamations the very vain man replied unfortunately no one ever comes this way is that so said the little prince who did not understand what the vain man was talking about clap your hands directed the man the little prince clapped his hands and the vain man tipped his hat in modest acknowledgement this is more entertaining than a visit to the king the little prince said to himself and he continued clapping the very vain man continued tipping his hat in acknowledgement after five minutes of this exercise the little prince tired of the games monotony and what would make the hat fall off he asked but the vain man did not hear him vain men never hear anything but praise do you really admire me a great deal he asked the little prince what does that mean admire to admire means to acknowledge that I am the handsomest the best-dressed the richest and the most intelligent man on the planet but you're the only man on your planet do me this favor admire me all the same I admire you said the little prince with a little shrug of his shoulders but what is there about my admiration that interests you so much and the little prince went on his way grown-ups are certainly very strange he said to himself as he continued on his journey chapter 12 the next planet was inhabited by a drunkard this visit was a very brief one but it plunged the little prince into a deep depression what are you doing there he asked the drunkard whom he found sunk in silence before a collection of empty bottles and a collection of full ones drinking replied the drunkard with a gloomy expression why are you drinking a little prince asked to forget replied the drunkard to forget what inquired the little prince who was already feeling sorry for him to forget that I'm ashamed confessed the drunkard hanging his head what are you ashamed of inquired the little prince who wanted to help of drinking concluded the drunkard withdrawing into silence for good and the little prince went on his way puzzled grown-ups are certainly very very strange he said to himself as he continued on his journey thirteen the fourth planet belonged to a businessman this person was so busy that he didn't even raise his head when the little prince arrived hello said the little prince your cigarettes gone out three and two make five five and seven twelve twelve and three fifteen hello fifteen and seven twenty-two twenty-two and 628 no time to light it again 26 and 531 phew that amounts to 501 million six hundred twenty two thousand seven hundred thirty one five hundred million watt hmm no still there five hundred and one million I don't remember I have so much work to do I'm a serious man I can't be bothered with trifles two and five seven five hundred and one million watt repeated the little prince who had never in his life let go of a question once he had asked it the businessman raised his head for the fifty four years I've inhabited this planet I've been interrupted only three times the first time was 22 years ago when I was interrupted by a beetle that had fallen onto my desk from God knows where it made a terrible noise and I made four mistakes in my calculations the second time was 11 years ago when I was interrupted by a fit of rheumatism I don't get enough exercise I haven't time to take strolls I'm a serious person the third time is right now there was I 501 million million what the businessman realized that he had no hope of being left in peace oh those little things you sometimes see in the sky flies know those little shiny things bees know those little golden things that make lazy people daydream now I'm a serious person I have no time for daydreaming ah you mean the stars yes that's it stars and what do you do with 500 million stars 501 million six hundred twenty-two thousand seven hundred thirty-one I'm a serious person and I'm accurate and what do you do with those stars what do I do with them yes nothing I own them you own the stars yes but I've already seen a king who Kings don't own they reign over it's quite different and what good does owning the stars do you it does me the gourd of being rich and what good does it do you to be rich it lets me buy other stars if somebody discovers them the little prince said to himself this man argues a little like my drunkard nevertheless he asked more questions how can someone own the stars to whom do they belong retorted the businessman grumpily I don't know to nobody then they belong to me because I thought of it first and that's all it takes of course when you find a diamond that belongs to nobody in particular then it's yours when you find an island that belongs to no one in particular it's yours when you're the first person to have an idea you paitent it and it's yours now I own the Stars since no one before me ever thought of owning them that's true enough the little prince said and what do you do with them I manage them I count them and then count them again the businessman said it's difficult work but I'm a serious person the little prince was still not satisfied if I owned a scarf I can tie it around my neck and take it away if I own a flower I can pick it and take it away but you can't pick the stars no but I can put them in the bank what does that mean that means that I write the numbers of my stars on a slip of paper and then I lock that slip of paper in a drawer and that's all that's enough that's amusing thought the little prince and even poetic but not very serious the little prince had very different ideas about serious things from those of the grown-ups I own a flower myself he continued which I water every day I own three volcanoes which I rake out every week I even rake out the extinct one you never know so it's of some use to my volcanoes and it's useful to my flower that I own them but you're not useful to the Stars the businessman opened his mouth but found that nothing to say in reply and the little prince went on his way grown-ups are certainly quite extraordinary was all he said to himself as he continued on his journey chapter 14 the fifth planet was very strange it was the smallest of all there was just enough room for a street lamp and a lamp lighter the little prince couldn't quite understand what use a street lamp and a lamp lighter could be up there in the sky on a planet without any people and not a single house however he said to himself it's quite possible that this man is absurd but he's less absurd than the king the very vain man the businessman and the drunkard at least his work has some meaning when he lights his lamp it's as if he's bringing one more star to life or one more flower when he puts out his lamp that sends the flower or the star to sleep which is a fine occupation and therefore truly useful when the little prince reached this planet he greeted the Lamplighter respectfully good morning why have you just put out your lamp orders the Lamplighter answered good morning what orders are those to put out my street lamp good evening and he lit his lamp again but why have you just lit your lamp again orders I don't understand said the little prince there's nothing to understand said the Lamplighter orders are orders good morning and he put out his lamp then he wiped his forehead with a red checked handkerchief it's a terrible job I have it used to be reasonable enough I put the lamp out mornings and lit it after dark I had the rest of the day for my own affairs and the rest of the night for sleeping and since then orders have changed orders haven't changed the Lamplighter said that's just the trouble year by year the planet is turning faster and faster and orders haven't changed which means which means that now that the planet revolves once a minute I don't have an instance rest I like my lamp and turn it out once every minute that's funny your days here are one minute long it's not funny at all the Lamplighter said you and I have already been talking to each other for a month a month yes 30 minutes 30 days good evening and he lit his lamp the little prince watched him growing fonder and fonder of this lamp lighter who was so faithful to orders he remembered certain sunsets that he himself used to follow in other days merely by shifting his chair he wanted to help his friend you know I can show you a way to take a rest whenever you want to I always want to rest the Lamplighter said for it is possible to be faithful and lazy at the same time the little prince continued your planet is so small that you can walk around it in three strides all you have to do is walk more slowly and you'll always be in the Sun when you want to take a rest just walk and the day will last as long as you want it to what good does that do me the Lamplighter said when the one thing in life I want to do is sleep then you're out of luck said the little prince I am said the Lamplighter good morning and he put out his lamp now that man the little prince said to himself as he continued on his journey that man would be despised by all the others by the king by the very vain man by the drunkard by the businessman yet he's the only one who doesn't strike me as ridiculous perhaps it's because he's thinking of something besides himself a sigh of regret and said to himself again that man is the only one I might have made my friend but his planet is really too small there's not room for two what the little prince dared not admit was that he most regretted leaving that planet because it was blessed with 1440 sunsets every 24 hours chapter 15 the sixth planet was ten times bigger than the last it was inhabited by an old gentleman who wrote enormous books ah here comes an explorer he exclaimed when he caught sight of the little prince who was feeling a little winded and sat down on the desk he had already traveled so much and so far where do you come from the old gentleman asked him what's that big book asked the little prince what do you do with it I'm a geographer the old gentleman answered and what's a geographer a scholar who knows where the seas are and the rivers the cities the mountains and the deserts that is very interesting the little prince said here at last is someone who has a real profession and he gazed around him at the geographers planet he had never seen a planet so majestic your planet is very beautiful he said does it have any oceans I couldn't say said the geographer oh the little prince was disappointed and mountains I couldn't say said the geographer and cities and rivers and deserts I couldn't tell you that either the geographer said but you're a geographer you're right said the geographer but I'm not an explorer there's not one Explorer on my planet a geographer doesn't go out to describe cities rivers mountains seas oceans and deserts a geographer is too important to go wandering about he never leaves his study but he receives the explorers there he questions them and he writes down what they remember and if the memories of one of the explorers seem interesting to him then the geographer conducts an inquiry in that explorers moral character why sad because an explorer who told lies would cause disasters in the geography books as would an explorer who drank too much why is that the little prince asked again because drunkards see double and the geographer would write down two mountains where there was only one I know someone said the little prince who would be a bad Explorer possibly well when the Explorers moral character seems to be a good one an investigation is made into his discovery by going to see it no that would be too complicated but the Explorer is required to furnish proofs for instance if he claims to have discovered a large mountain he is required to bring back large stones from it the geographer suddenly grew excited but you come from far away you're an explorer you must describe your planet for me and the geographer having opened his logbook sharpened his pencil explorers reports are first recorded in pencil ink is used only after proofs have been furnished well said the geographer expectantly oh where I live said the little prince is not very interesting it's so small I have three volcanoes two active and one extinct but you never know you never know said the geographer I also have a flower we don't record flowers the geographer said why not it's the prettiest thing because flowers are ephemeral what does ephemeral me geography's said the geographer are the finest books of all may never go out of fashion it is extremely rare for a mountain to change position it is extremely rare for an ocean to be drained of its water we write eternal things but extinct volcanoes can come back to life the little prince interrupted what does ephemeral mean whether volcanoes are extinct or active comes down to the same thing for us said the geographer for us what counts is the mountain that doesn't change but what does ephemeral mean repeated the little prince who had never in all his life let go of a question once he had asked it it means what is threatened by imminent disappearance is my flower threatened by imminent disappearance of course my flower is ephemeral the little prince said to himself and she has only four thorns with which to defend herself against the world and I've left her all alone where I live that was his first impulse of regret but he plucked up his courage again where would you advise me to visit he asked the planet Earth the geographer answered it has a good reputation and the little prince went on his way thinking about his flower chapter 16 the seventh planet then was the earth the earth is not just another planet it contains 111 Kings including of course the African Kings 7,000 geographers 900,000 businessman seven and a half million drunkards 311 million vain men in other words about two billion grown-ups to give you a notion of the Earth's dimensions I can tell you that before the invention of electricity it was necessary to maintain over the whole of six continents a veritable army of four hundred sixty two thousand five hundred and eleven lamplighters seen from some distance this made a splendid effect the movements of this army were ordered like those of a ballet first came the turn of the lamplighters of New Zealand and Australia then these having lit their street lamps would go home to sleep next it would be the turn of the lamplighters of China and Siberia to perform their steps in the lamplighters ballet and then they too would vanish into the wings then came the turn of the lamplighters of russia and india then those of africa and europe then those of South America and of North America and they never missed their cues for their appearances on stage it was awe-inspiring only the Lamplighter of the single street lamp at the North Pole and his colleague of the single street lamp at the south pole LED carefree idle lives they worked twice a year chapter 17 trying to be witty leads to lying more or less what I just told you about the lamplighters isn't completely true and I risk giving a false idea of our planet to those who don't know it men occupy very little space on earth if the 2 billion inhabitants of the globe were to stand close together as they might for some big public event they would easily fit into a city block that was 20 miles long and 20 miles wide you could crowd all humanity onto the smallest Pacific islet grown-up's of course won't believe you they're convinced they'd take up much more room they consider themselves as important as the Bay of ABS so you should advise them to make their own calculations they love numbers and they'll enjoy it but don't waste your time on this extra task it's unnecessary trust me so once he reached earth the little prince was quite surprised not to see anyone he was beginning to fear he had come to the wrong planet when a moon colored loop uncoiled on the sand good evening the little prince said just in case good evening said the snake what planet have I landed on asked the little prince on the planet Earth in Africa the snake replied aha and are there no people on earth it's the desert here there are no people in the desert earth is very big said the snake the little prince sat down on a rock and looked up into the sky I wonder he said if the stars are lit up so that each of us can find his own someday look at my planet it's just overhead but so far away it's lovely the makes it what have you come to earth for I'm having difficulties with a flower the little prince said ah said the snake and they were both silent where are the people the little prince finally resumed the conversation it's a little lonely in the desert it's also lonely with people said the snake the little prince looked at the snake for a long time you're a funny creature he said at last no thicker than a finger but I'm more powerful than a king's finger the snake said the little prince smiled you're not very powerful you don't even have feet you couldn't travel very far I can take you further than a ship the snake said he coiled around the little princes ankle like a golden bracelet anyone I touch I send back to the land from which he came the snake went on but you're innocent and you come from a star the little prince made no reply I feel sorry for you being so weak on this granite earth said the snake I can help you someday if you grow too homesick for your planet I can oh I understand just what you mean said the little prince but why do you always speak in riddles I solve them all said the snake and they were both silent 18 the little crossed the desert and encountered only one flower a flower with three petals a flower of no consequence good morning said the little prince good morning said the flower where are the people the little prince inquired politely the flower had one day seen a caravan passing people there are six or seven of them I believe in existence I caught sight of them years ago but you never know where to find them the wind blows them away they have no roots which hampers them a good deal goodbye said the little prince goodbye said the flower 19 the little prince climbed a high mountain the only mountains he had ever known were the three volcanoes which came up to his knee and he used the extinct volcano as a footstool from a mountain as high as this one he said to himself I'll get a view of the whole planet and all the people on it but he saw nothing but rocky peaks as sharp as needles hello he said just in case hello hello hello the echo answered who are you ask the little prince who are you who are you who are you the echo answered let's be friends I'm lonely he said I'm lonely I'm lonely I'm lonely the echo answered what a peculiar planet he thought it's all dry and sharp and hard and people here have no imagination they repeat whatever you say to them where I live I had a flower she always spoke first 20 but it so happened that the little prince having walked a long time through sand and rocks and snow finally discovered a road and all roads go to where there are people good morning he said it was a blossoming rose garden good morning said the roses the little prince gazed at them all of them looked like his flower who are you he asked a standard we have roses the Roses said AHA said the little prince and he felt very unhappy his flower had told him she was the only one of her kind in the whole universe and here were five thousand of them all just alike in just one garden she would be very annoyed he said to himself if she saw this she would cough terribly and pretend to be dying to avoid being laughed at and I'd have to pretend to be nursing her otherwise she'd really let herself die in order to humiliate me and then he said to himself I thought I was rich because I had just one flower and all I own is an ordinary rose that on my three volcanoes which come up to my knee one of which may be permanently extinct it doesn't make me much of a prince and he lay down in the grass and wept twenty-one it was then that the Fox appeared good morning said the Fox good morning the little prince answered politely though when he turned around he saw nothing I'm here the voice said under the apple tree who you the little Prince asked you're very pretty I'm a Fox the Fox said come and play with me the little prince proposed I'm feeling so sad I can't play with you the Fox said I'm not tamed ah excuse me said the little prince but upon reflection he added what does tamed me you're not from around here the Fox said what are you looking for I'm looking for people said the little prince what disdained me people said the Fox have guns and they hunt it's quite troublesome and they also raise chickens that's the only interesting thing about them are you looking for chickens no said the little prince I'm looking for friends what does tained mean it's something that's been too often neglected it means to create ties to create ties that's right the Fox said for me you're only a little boy just like a hundred thousand other little boys and I have no need of you and you have no need of me either for you I'm only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes but if you tame me we'll need each other you'll be the only boy in the world for me I'll be the only Fox in the world for you I'm beginning to understand the little prince said there's a flower I think she's tamed me possibly the Fox set on earth one sees all kinds of things oh this isn't on earth the little prince said the Fox seemed quite intrigued on another planet yes are there hunters on that planet no now that's interesting and chickens know nothing's perfect sight the Fox but he returned to his idea my life is monotonous I hunt chickens people hunt me all chickens are just alike and all men are just alike so I'm rather bored but if you tame me my life will be filled with sunshine I'll know the sound of footsteps that will be different from all the rest other footsteps send me back underground yours will call me out of my burrow like music and then look you see the wheat fields over there I don't eat bread for me wheat is of no use whatever wheat fields say nothing to me which is sad but you have hair the color of gold so it will be wonderful once you've tamed me the wheat which his golden will remind me of you and I'll love the sound of the wind in the wheat the Fox fell silent and stared at the little prince for a long while please tame me he said I'd like to the little prince replied but I haven't much time I have friends to find and so many things to learn the only things you learn other things you tame said the Fox people haven't time to learn anything they buy things ready-made in stores but since there are no stores where you can buy friends people no longer have friends if you want a friend tame me what do I have to do ask the little prince you have to be very patient the Fox answered first you'll sit down a little ways away from me over there in the grass I'll watch you out of the corner of my eye and you won't say anything language is the source of misunderstandings but day by day you'll be able to sit a little closer the next day the little prince returned it would have been better to return at the same time the Fox said for instance if you come at 4:00 in the afternoon I'll begin to be happy by three the closer it gets to four the happier I'll feel by four I'll be all excited and worried I'll discover what it costs to be happy but if you come at any old time I'll never know well I should prepare my heart there must be right what's right asked the little prince that's another thing that's been too often neglected said the Fox it's the fact that one day is different from the other days one hour from the other hours my hunters for example have a right they dance with the village girls on Thursdays so Thursday is a wonderful day I can take a stroll all the way to the vineyards if the hunters danced whenever they chose the days would all be just alike and I'd have no holiday at all that was how the little prince tamed the Fox and when the time to leave was near ah the Fox said I shall weep it's your own fault the little prince said I never wanted to do you any harm but you insisted that I tell you yes of course the said but you're going to weep said the little prince yes of course the Fox said then you get nothing out of it I get something the Fox said because of the color of the wheat then he added gold look at the roses again you'll understand that yours is the only rose in all the world then come back to say goodbye and I'll make you the gift of a secret the little prince went to look at the roses again you're not at all like my rose you're nothing at all yet he told them no one has tamed you and you haven't tamed anyone you're the way my Fox was he was just a fox like a hundred thousand others that I've made him my friend and now he's the only Fox in all the world and the roses were humbled you're lovely but you're empty he went on one couldn't die for you of course an ordinary passerby would think my rose looked just like you but my rose all on her own is more important than all of you together since she's the one I've watered since she's the one I put under glass since she's the one I sheltered behind a screen since she's the one for whom I killed the caterpillars except the two or three four butterflies since she's the one I listened to when she complained or when she boasted or even sometimes when she said nothing at all since she's my rose and he went back to the Fox goodbye he said goodbye said the Fox here is my secret it's quite simple one sees clearly only with the ha anything essential is invisible to the eyes anything essential is invisible to the eyes the little prince' repeated in order to remember it's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important it's that time I spent on my rose the little prince repeated in order to remember people have forgotten this truth the Fox said but you mustn't forget it you become responsible forever for what you've tamed you're responsible for your rose I'm responsible for my rose the little prince repeated in order to remember 22 good morning said the little prince good morning said the railway switchmen what is it that you do here ask the little prince I sought the travellers into bundles of a thousand the switchman said I despatched the trains that carry them sometimes to the right sometimes to the left and the brightly lit Express train roaring like thunder shook the switch man's cabin what a hurry there in said the little prince what are they looking for not even the engineer on the locomotive knows the switchman said and another brightly lit Express train thundered by in the opposite direction I say coming back already asked the little prince it's not the same ones the switchman said it's an exchange they weren't satisfied where they were asked the little prince no one is ever satisfied where he is the switchmen said and a third brightly lit Express train thundered past are they chasing the first travellers asked the little prince they are not chasing anything the switchman said they're sleeping in there or else they warning only the children are pressing their noses against the windowpanes only the children know what they're looking for said the little prince they spend their time on a rag doll and it becomes very important and if it's taken away from them they cry they're lucky the switchman said chapter xxiii good morning said the little prince good morning said the sales clerk this was a sales clerk who sold pills invented to quench thirst swallow one a week and you no longer feel any need to drink why do you sell these pills they save so much time the sales clerk said experts have calculated that you can save 53 minutes a week and what do you do with those 53 minutes whatever you like if I had fifty three minutes to spend as I liked the little prince said to himself I'd walk very slowly towards a water fountain chapter 24 it was now the eighth day since my crash landing in the desert and I'd listened to the story about the sales clerk as I was drinking the last drop of my water supply ah I said to the little prince your memories are very pleasant but I haven't yet repaired my plane I have nothing left to drink and I too would be glad to walk very slowly toward a water fountain my friend the Fox told me little fellow this has nothing to do with the Fox why because we're going to die of thirst the little prince didn't follow my reasoning and answered me it's good to have had a friend even if you're going to die myself I'm very glad to have had a fox for a friend he doesn't realize the danger I said to myself he's never hungry or thirsty a little sunlight is enough for him but the little prince looked at me and answered my thought I'm thirsty too let's find a well I made an exasperated gesture it is absurd looking for a well at random in the vastness of the desert but even so we started walking when we had walked for several hours in silence night fell and stars began to appear I noticed them as in a dream being somewhat feverish on account of my thirst the little princes words danced in my memory so you're thirsty too I asked but he didn't answer my question he merely said to me water can also be good for the heart I didn't understand his answer but I said nothing I knew by this time that it was no use questioning him he was tired he sat down I sat down next to him and after a silence he spoke again the stars are beautiful because of a flower you don't see I answered yes of course and without speaking another word I stared at the ridges of sand in the moonlight the desert is beautiful the little prince added and it was true I've always loved the desert you sit down on a sand dune you see nothing you hear nothing and yet something shines something sings in that silence what makes the desert beautiful the little prince said is that it hides a well somewhere I was surprised by suddenly understanding that mysterious radiance of the sands when I was a little boy I lived in an old house and there was a legend that a treasure was buried in it somewhere of course no one was ever able to find the treasure perhaps no one even searched but it cast a spell over that whole house my house hid a secret in the depths of its heart yes I said to the little prince whether it's a house or the stars or the desert what makes them beautiful is invisible I'm glad he said you agree with my Fox as the little prince was falling asleep I picked him up in my arms and started walking again I was moved It was as if I was carrying a fragile treasure it actually seemed to me there was nothing more fragile on earth by the light of the moon I gazed at that pale phorid those closed eyes those locks of hair trembling in the wind and I said to myself what I'm looking at is only a shell what's most important is invisible as his lips parted in a half-smile I said to myself again what moves me so deeply about this sleeping little prince is his loyalty to a flower the image of a rose shining within him like the flame within a lamp even when he's asleep and I realized he was even more fragile than I had thought lamps must be protected a gust of wind can blow them out and walking on like that I found the well at daybreak 225 little prince said people start out in express trains but they no longer know what they're looking for then they get all excited and rush around in circles and he added it's not worth the trouble the well we had come to was not at all like the wells of the Sahara the wells of the Sahara and no more than holes dug in the sand this one looked more like a village well but there was no village here and I thought I was dreaming it's strange I said to the little prince everything is ready the pulley the bucket and the rope he laughed grasped the rope and set the pulley working and the pulley groaned the way an old weather vane groans when the wind has been asleep a long time here that said the little prince we've awakened this well and it's singing I didn't want him to tie himself out let me do that I said to him it's too heavy for you slowly I hosted the bucket to the edge of the well I set it down with great care the song of the pulley continued in my ears and I saw the Sun glisten on the still trembling water I'm thirsty for that water said the little prince let me drink some and I understood what he'd been looking for I raised the bucket to his lips he drank eyes closed it was as sweet as a feast that water was more than merely a drink it was born of our walk beneath the stars of the song of the pulley of the effort of my arms it did the heart good like a present when I was a little boy the Christmas tree lights the music of midnight mass the tenderness of people's smiles made up in the same way the whole radiance of the Christmas present I received people where you live the little prince said grow five thousand roses in one garden yet they don't find what they're looking for they don't find it I answered and yet what they're looking for could be found in a single rose or a little water of course I answered and the little prince added but eyes are blind you have to look with the heart I had drunk the water I could breathe easy now the sand at daybreak is honey-colored and that color was making me happy too why then did I also feel so sad you must keep your promise said the little prince sitting up again beside me what promise you know a muzzle for my sheep I'm responsible for this flower I took my drawings out of my pocket the little prince glanced at them and laughed as he said your babe abs look more like cabbages oh I had been so proud of the Bayer BAPS your Fox his ears look more like horns and they're too long and he laughed again you're being unfair my little prince I said I never knew how to draw anything but Boas from the inside and Boas from the outside Oh that'll be alright he said children understand so then I drew a muscle and with a heavy heart I handed it to him you've made plans I don't know about but he didn't answer he said you know I fall to earth tomorrow will be the fur stana ver suri then after a silence he continued I landed very near here and he blushed and once again without understanding why I felt a strange grief however a question occurred to me then it wasn't by accident that on the morning I met you eight days ago you were walking that way all alone a thousand miles from any inhabited region were you returning to the place where you fell to earth the little prince blushed again and I added hesitantly perhaps on account of the anniversary the little prince blushed once more he never answered questions but when someone blushes doesn't that mean yes ah I said to the little prince I'm afraid but he answered you must get to work now you must get back to your engine I'll wait here come back tomorrow night that I wasn't reassured I remembered the Fox you risk tears if you let yourself be tamed 26 beside the well there was a ruin an old Stonewall when I came back from my work the next evening I caught sight of my little prince from a distance he was sitting on top of the wall legs dangling and I heard him talking don't you remember he was saying this isn't exactly the place another voice must have answered him then for he replied oh yes it's the right day but this isn't the place I continued walking toward the wall I still could neither see nor hear anyone yet the Prince answered again of course you'll see where my tracks begin on the sand just wait for me there I'll be there tonight I was twenty yards from the wall and still saw no one then the little prince said after a silence your poison is good you're sure it won't make me suffer long I stopped short my heart pounding but I still didn't understand now go away the little prince said I want to get down from here then I looked down toward the foot of the wall and gave a great start there coiled in front of the little prince was one of those yellow snakes that can kill you in 30 seconds as I dug into my pocket for my revolver I stepped back but at the noise I made the snake flowed over the sand like a trickling fountain and without even hurrying slipped away between the stones with a faint metallic sound I reached the wall just in time to catch my little prince in my arms his face white as snow what's going on here you're talking to snakes now I had loosened the yellow scarf he always wore I had moistened his temples and made him drink some water and now I didn't dare us him anything more he gazed at me with a serious expression and put his arms around my neck I felt his heart beating like a dying birds when it's been shot he said to me I'm glad you found what was the matter with your engine now you'll be able to fly again how did you know I was just coming to tell him that I had been successful beyond all hope he didn't answer my question all he said was I'm leaving to date too and then sadly it's much further it's much more difficult I realized that something extraordinary was happening I was holding him in my arms like a little child yet it seemed to me that he was dropping headlong into an abyss and I could do nothing to hold him back his expression was very serious now lost and remote I have your sheep and I have the crate for it and the mussel and he smiled sadly I waited a long time I could feel that he was reviving a little little fella he were frightened of course he was frightened but he laughed a little I'll be much more frightened tonight once again I felt chilled by the sense of something irreparable and I realized I couldn't bear the thought of never hearing that laugh again for me it was like a spring of fresh water in the desert little fellow I want to hear you laugh again but he said to me tonight it'll be a year my star will be just above the place where I fell last year little fellow it's a bad dream isn't it all this conversation with the snake and the meeting place and the star but he didn't answer my question all he said was the important thing is what can't be seen of course it's the same as for the flower if you love a flower that lives on a star then it's good at night to look up at the sky all the stars are blossoming of course it's the same for the water the water you gave me to drink was like music on account of the pulley and the rope you remember it was good of course at night you look up at the stars it's too small where I live for me to show you where my star is it's better that way my star will be one of the stars for you so you're like looking at all of them they'll all be your friends and besides I have a present for you he laughed again ah little fellow little fellow I love hearing that laugh that'll be my present just that it'll be the same as for the water what do you mean people have stars but they aren't the same for travellers the stars are guides for other people they're nothing but tiny light and for still others for scholars they're problems for my businessman they were gold but all those stars a silent stars you though you'll have stars like nobody else what do you mean when you look up at the sky at night since I'll be living on one of them since I'll be laughing on one of them for you it'll be as if all the stars are laughing you'll have stars that can laugh and he laughed again and when you're consoled everyone eventually is consoled you'll be glad you'll always be my friend you'll feel like laughing with me and you'll open your window sometimes just for the fun of it and your friends will be amazed to see you laughing while you're looking up at the sky then you'll tell them yes it's the Stars they always make me laugh and they'll think you're crazy it'll be a nasty trick I played on you and he laughed again and it'll be as if I had given you instead of stars a lot of tiny bells that know how to laugh and he laughed again then he grew serious once more tonight you know don't come I won't leave you it'll look as if I'm suffering it'll look a little as if I'm dying it looked that way don't come to see that it's not worth the trouble I won't leave you but he was anxious I'm telling you this on account of the snake he mustn't bite you snakes are nasty sometimes they bite just for fun I won't leave you but something reassured him it's true they don't have enough poison for a second bite that night I didn't see him leave he got away without making a sound when I managed to catch up with him he was walking fast with determination all he said was huh you're here and he took my hand but he was still anxious you were wrong to come you will suffer I look as if I'm dead and that won't be true I said nothing you underst and it's too far I can't take this body with me it's too heavy I said nothing but it'll be like an old abandoned shell there's nothing sad about an old shell I said nothing he was a little disheartened now but he made one more effort it'll be nice you know I'll be looking at the stars to all the stars will be Wells with a rusty pulley all the stars will pour out water for me to drink I said nothing and it'll be fun you'll have five hundred million little bells I'll have 500 million Springs of fresh water and he too said nothing because he was weeping here's the place let me go on alone and he sat down because he was frightened then he said you know my flower I'm responsible for her and she's so weak and so naive she has four ridiculous thorns to defend her against the world i sat down to because I was unable to stand any longer he said there that's all he hesitated a little longer then he stood up he took a step I couldn't move there was nothing but a yellow flash close to his ankle he remained motionless for an instant he didn't cry out he fell gently the way a tree falls there wasn't even a sound because of the sand 27 and now of course it's been six years already I've never told this story before the friends who saw me again were very glad to see me alive I was sad but I told them it's fatigue now I'm somewhat consoled that is not entirely but I know he did get back to his planet because at daybreak I didn't find his body it wasn't such a heavy body and at night I loved listening to the stars it's like 500 million little bells but something extraordinary has happened when I drew that muzzle for the little prince I forgot to put in the leather strap he could never have fastened it on his sheep and then I wonder what's happened there on his planet maybe the Sheep has eaten the flower sometimes I tell myself of course not the little prince puts his flower under glass and he keeps close watch over his sheep then I'm happy and all the stars laugh sweetly sometimes I tell myself anyone might be distracted once in a while and that's all it takes one night he forgot to put her under glass or else the Sheep got out without making any noise during the night then the bells are all changed into tears it's all a great mystery for you who loved the little prince too as for me nothing in the universe can be the same if somewhere no one knows where a sheep we never saw has or has not eaten a rose look up at the sky ask yourself has the sheep eaten the flower or not and you'll see how everything changes and no grown-up will ever understand how such a thing could be so important for me this is the loveliest and the saddest landscape in the world it's the same landscape as the one on the preceding page but I've drawn it one more time in order to be sure you see it clearly it's here that the little prince appeared on earth then disappeared look at this landscape carefully to be sure of recognizing it if you should travel to Africa Sunday in the desert and if you happen to pass by here I'd beg you not to hurry past wait a little just under the star then if a child comes to you if he laughs if he has golden hair if he doesn't answer your questions you'll know who he is if this should happen be kind don't let me go on being so sad send word immediately that he's come back [Music] balinda audio hopes you enjoy the reading of the little prince written and illustrated by Antoine de saint-exupéry translated by Richard Howard and read by Humphrey bow translators note in April 1943 Liberty press was published in New York a year before on Towanda santech super he was shot down over the Mediterranean by German reconnaissance planes the English translation by Catherine woods was copyrighted the same year and the work was dedicated in that translation to the child who became lay of out all grown-ups were once children although few of them remembered as in the case of contemporaries like man and she'd the latter a great admirer of Santa group any new versions of canonical translations raise questions or at least suspicions of Lai's majesty a second translator into English of the little prince accept the responsibility of such an imputation for it must be acknowledged that all translations date certain works never done a new version of a work 57 years old is entitled and indeed is obliged to persist further in the letter of that work each decade has its circumlocutions its compliances the translator seeks these out as we see in most woods pioneer endeavors falls back on period makeshifts rather than confronting the often radical outrage of what the author in his incomparable originality ventures to say the translator it is seen in the fullness of time so rarely ventures in this fashion but rather falls back as I say it is the peculiar privilege of the next translator in his own day and age to sally forth to be inordinate instead of placated or merely plausible time reveals all translation to be paraphrase and it is in the longing for a standard version of a beloved work that we must begin again we translate us that we must overtake one another Richard Howard June 2000 for further information about the Belinda audio range please visit our website www.videoculinary.com [Music] [Music] audible hopes you have enjoyed this program

Channel: Do you want to be free?

Views: 2,652,313

Rating: 4.8014865 out of 5

Keywords: Audiobook (Industry), Antoine De Saint-Exupéry (Author), audiobooks, sleep meditation, reading, Library, Writing, positive affirmations, Literature (Media Genre), lecture, Books, The Little Prince (Book), Documentary, philosphy

Id: yWQo_AAHDUA

Length: 117min 37sec (7057 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 17 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/imnotnate]

Is this highly looked upon in the LSD community? Because I've been obsessed with the little prince for a good 5 months and I've had my fair share of LSD