The Little Prince
Adapted from the work of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
One day/I made a crash landing/in the Sahara Desert. I was all alone. I knew/that I had to fix my plane by myself/without any help. For me,/it was a matter of life or death:/I had only enough drinking water/for eight days.
The first night,/I met a boy. He was a little prince/from a far-off planet. The prince had golden hair,/a lovable laugh,/and kept asking the same questions/until they were answered. He was very persistent.
The prince told me his story.
The little prince lived alone/on an exceedingly small planet. There were three volcanoes/and some baobab shoots there. One day,/a mysterious rose/sprouted on the planet. It could communicate,/and the prince talked with it/every day. He fell in love with the rose/and took good care of it. However,/when he caught the rose in a lie,/the little prince quarreled with it. He decided to set out on a journey/to explore other planets.
On the first planet/lived a king/who always gave commands. On the second planet/lived a man/who was very vain. On the third planet/lived a man/who drank alcohol/to forget his drinking habit. On the fourth planet/lived a cunning businessman/who counted planets/to own them all. On the fifth planet/lived a man/who was busy lighting and extinguishing a lamp,/because his planet rotated/every minute. On the sixth planet/lived a geographer/who drew detailed maps,/but he never traveled/farther than his front porch.
The last planet he visited/was the earth. The prince landed in a desert/and could not find any humans. Instead,/he encountered a yellow snake/that claimed to have the power/to return him to his home,/if he ever wished to return.
Then,/the prince saw some tall mountains/and many roses. He was sad to realize/that the volcanoes and the rose/on his planet/were not so special.
Then/a fox appeared. The prince wanted to play with him,/but the fox said,/“I’m not tamed.”
The little prince asked,/“What does ‘tame’ mean?”
The fox answered,/“I suppose/it means/to make some kind of relationship.”
“Relationship?”
“Yes. I will explain. To me,/you are just a little boy/like any other,/like a hundred thousand other little boys. I have no need of you,/and you have no need of me. But if you tame me,/you and I/will create a relationship. Then/you will be special for me,/and I will be special for you. So/we will need one another.”
The little prince listened intently. He spent time with the fox,/and they finally became friends/with each other.
The little prince learned a valuable lesson/from the fox. There were thousands of roses/in the universe. Yet/now he knew/that his rose was special/because of the time/he had spent with it. The fox said,/“Sometimes/the most important things are invisible. We can see them clearly/only with our hearts. And then/we become responsible forever/for the things/we have tamed.” The prince realized/that he was responsible/for his rose.
It was now the eighth day/since my crash landing in the desert. The prince and I/were dying of thirst. We started to search/for a well. At night,/looking up at the sky,/the prince said,/“The stars are beautiful/because each star has a flower/even though you cannot see it. And what makes the desert beautiful/is that it hides a well somewhere ....” I understood/what he meant. I said,/“What makes things beautiful/cannot be seen/with the eyes,/right?” The prince responded,/“I’m glad/that you agreed with my friend,/the fox.” After a while,/we found a well/and drank the water. It was like a gift.
The next day,/I returned to my damaged plane/to repair it. When I came back from my work,/I saw the prince/talking to the yellow snake. He was asking the snake/if he could go back to his planet/with its power. I realized/that the prince was trying to return/by letting the snake bite him.
That night,/the prince left/without making a sound. I managed to catch up with him. The prince said,/“Don’t follow me,/or you will be sad.” I did not say a word. “It will look/as if I were dead,/but that won’t be true. My planet is too far. I cannot take this body/with me. It’s too heavy.” I kept silent. Then,/the prince took a step,/and I saw a yellow flash/close to his ankle. He fell gently,/the way a tree falls. He did not even make a sound/because of the sand.
Now,/six years have already gone by. I have never told this story before. When I returned home,/my friends were glad/that I was alive. I was sad/to lose the little prince,/but I said to them/that I was only tired.
Now/the sadness is not so big. I know/that he has returned to his planet/because I did not find his body/at sunrise. And at night,/I love to listen to the stars. It is/like five hundred million little bells.
Adapted from the work of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
One day/I made a crash landing/in the Sahara Desert. I was all alone. I knew/that I had to fix my plane by myself/without any help. For me,/it was a matter of life or death:/I had only enough drinking water/for eight days.
The first night,/I met a boy. He was a little prince/from a far-off planet. The prince had golden hair,/a lovable laugh,/and kept asking the same questions/until they were answered. He was very persistent.
The prince told me his story.
The little prince lived alone/on an exceedingly small planet. There were three volcanoes/and some baobab shoots there. One day,/a mysterious rose/sprouted on the planet. It could communicate,/and the prince talked with it/every day. He fell in love with the rose/and took good care of it. However,/when he caught the rose in a lie,/the little prince quarreled with it. He decided to set out on a journey/to explore other planets.
On the first planet/lived a king/who always gave commands. On the second planet/lived a man/who was very vain. On the third planet/lived a man/who drank alcohol/to forget his drinking habit. On the fourth planet/lived a cunning businessman/who counted planets/to own them all. On the fifth planet/lived a man/who was busy lighting and extinguishing a lamp,/because his planet rotated/every minute. On the sixth planet/lived a geographer/who drew detailed maps,/but he never traveled/farther than his front porch.
The last planet he visited/was the earth. The prince landed in a desert/and could not find any humans. Instead,/he encountered a yellow snake/that claimed to have the power/to return him to his home,/if he ever wished to return.
Then,/the prince saw some tall mountains/and many roses. He was sad to realize/that the volcanoes and the rose/on his planet/were not so special.
Then/a fox appeared. The prince wanted to play with him,/but the fox said,/“I’m not tamed.”
The little prince asked,/“What does ‘tame’ mean?”
The fox answered,/“I suppose/it means/to make some kind of relationship.”
“Relationship?”
“Yes. I will explain. To me,/you are just a little boy/like any other,/like a hundred thousand other little boys. I have no need of you,/and you have no need of me. But if you tame me,/you and I/will create a relationship. Then/you will be special for me,/and I will be special for you. So/we will need one another.”
The little prince listened intently. He spent time with the fox,/and they finally became friends/with each other.
The little prince learned a valuable lesson/from the fox. There were thousands of roses/in the universe. Yet/now he knew/that his rose was special/because of the time/he had spent with it. The fox said,/“Sometimes/the most important things are invisible. We can see them clearly/only with our hearts. And then/we become responsible forever/for the things/we have tamed.” The prince realized/that he was responsible/for his rose.
It was now the eighth day/since my crash landing in the desert. The prince and I/were dying of thirst. We started to search/for a well. At night,/looking up at the sky,/the prince said,/“The stars are beautiful/because each star has a flower/even though you cannot see it. And what makes the desert beautiful/is that it hides a well somewhere ....” I understood/what he meant. I said,/“What makes things beautiful/cannot be seen/with the eyes,/right?” The prince responded,/“I’m glad/that you agreed with my friend,/the fox.” After a while,/we found a well/and drank the water. It was like a gift.
The next day,/I returned to my damaged plane/to repair it. When I came back from my work,/I saw the prince/talking to the yellow snake. He was asking the snake/if he could go back to his planet/with its power. I realized/that the prince was trying to return/by letting the snake bite him.
That night,/the prince left/without making a sound. I managed to catch up with him. The prince said,/“Don’t follow me,/or you will be sad.” I did not say a word. “It will look/as if I were dead,/but that won’t be true. My planet is too far. I cannot take this body/with me. It’s too heavy.” I kept silent. Then,/the prince took a step,/and I saw a yellow flash/close to his ankle. He fell gently,/the way a tree falls. He did not even make a sound/because of the sand.
Now,/six years have already gone by. I have never told this story before. When I returned home,/my friends were glad/that I was alive. I was sad/to lose the little prince,/but I said to them/that I was only tired.
Now/the sadness is not so big. I know/that he has returned to his planet/because I did not find his body/at sunrise. And at night,/I love to listen to the stars. It is/like five hundred million little bells.