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Le Petit Prince Sim-ified
wbombje
Posts: 1,244 Member
Hello all,
I posted this version of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's novelette Le Petit Prince or The Little Prince in TS3 boards. I posted it in short episodes and here is a collection of the whole story, illustrated in TS3. If you have not read the book, go read it! I read it for the first time in my high school French class in its original language. I tried to stay as true to Saint-Exupery's story as I could using Sims to recreate the tale. It is my favorite book as a grown up and as a child. I hope you enjoy the illustrated version, brought to life in TS3!
Part I: The Boa Who Swallowed the Elephant
"TO LEON WERTH
I ask the indulgence of the children who may read this book for dedicating it to a grown-up. I have a serious reason: he is the best friend I have in the world. I have another reason: this grown-up understands everything, even books about children. I have a third reason: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs cheering up. If all these reasons are not enough, I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew. All grown-ups were once children-- although few of them remember it. And so I correct my dedication:
TO LEON WERTH
WHEN HE WAS A LITTLE BOY"
Antoine de Saint-Exupery- The Little Prince
When I was little I had a pretty big imagination:
I was always playing and having fun, never taking anything seriously.
One day, when I was 6 years old, I read a book about animals of the jungle. There was a picture of a boa constrictor that had swallowed a large animal whole. The book said that the snake swallowed the animal whole and would digest it for 6 months.
I though about the boa often. I decided to draw a picture and showed it to my parents.
"Look, Mom, isn't it terrifying, aren't you scared?"
"Why would I be scared of a hat, dear?"
"It's not a hat! It's an elephant that has been swallowed by a boa!"
"Oh, ok. Ummmmmm..."
I made a second drawing of the inside of the boa:
"Now do you see the elephant inside the snake?"
"Sure, honey, ok, great..."
I decided to show my Dad my first drawing. Maybe he would understand.
"Isn't it scary, Dad?"
"Oh, yeah, what a scary hat."
"No, it's an elephant that has been swallowed by a boa!"
Then I showed him my second drawing.
He didn't seem that impressed, either.
It was then, at the age of 6, that I abandoned my dreams of becoming an artist.
I took everything very seriously, from then on. I graduated school, with honors, joined the Air Force and became a pilot. I flew all over the world.
One day as I was flying over Al Simhara, my plane had mechanical issues and I had to make an emergency landing in the desert.
I was alone, in the middle of nowhere, with only enough water for 8 days, my tools and no communication with the outside world.
That night I slept in the sand. I awoke to what sounded like a tiny voice. I swear it said, "Draw me a sheep."
I sat up, rubbed my eyes and tried to figure out if I was dreaming, hallucinating or had just gone crazy.
When I looked up, I saw a young boy standing alone in the middle of the desert.
"I said, 'Mister, draw me a sheep!'"
I posted this version of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's novelette Le Petit Prince or The Little Prince in TS3 boards. I posted it in short episodes and here is a collection of the whole story, illustrated in TS3. If you have not read the book, go read it! I read it for the first time in my high school French class in its original language. I tried to stay as true to Saint-Exupery's story as I could using Sims to recreate the tale. It is my favorite book as a grown up and as a child. I hope you enjoy the illustrated version, brought to life in TS3!
Part I: The Boa Who Swallowed the Elephant
"TO LEON WERTH
I ask the indulgence of the children who may read this book for dedicating it to a grown-up. I have a serious reason: he is the best friend I have in the world. I have another reason: this grown-up understands everything, even books about children. I have a third reason: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs cheering up. If all these reasons are not enough, I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew. All grown-ups were once children-- although few of them remember it. And so I correct my dedication:
TO LEON WERTH
WHEN HE WAS A LITTLE BOY"
Antoine de Saint-Exupery- The Little Prince
When I was little I had a pretty big imagination:
I was always playing and having fun, never taking anything seriously.
One day, when I was 6 years old, I read a book about animals of the jungle. There was a picture of a boa constrictor that had swallowed a large animal whole. The book said that the snake swallowed the animal whole and would digest it for 6 months.
I though about the boa often. I decided to draw a picture and showed it to my parents.
"Look, Mom, isn't it terrifying, aren't you scared?"
"Why would I be scared of a hat, dear?"
"It's not a hat! It's an elephant that has been swallowed by a boa!"
"Oh, ok. Ummmmmm..."
I made a second drawing of the inside of the boa:
"Now do you see the elephant inside the snake?"
"Sure, honey, ok, great..."
I decided to show my Dad my first drawing. Maybe he would understand.
"Isn't it scary, Dad?"
"Oh, yeah, what a scary hat."
"No, it's an elephant that has been swallowed by a boa!"
Then I showed him my second drawing.
He didn't seem that impressed, either.
It was then, at the age of 6, that I abandoned my dreams of becoming an artist.
I took everything very seriously, from then on. I graduated school, with honors, joined the Air Force and became a pilot. I flew all over the world.
One day as I was flying over Al Simhara, my plane had mechanical issues and I had to make an emergency landing in the desert.
I was alone, in the middle of nowhere, with only enough water for 8 days, my tools and no communication with the outside world.
That night I slept in the sand. I awoke to what sounded like a tiny voice. I swear it said, "Draw me a sheep."
I sat up, rubbed my eyes and tried to figure out if I was dreaming, hallucinating or had just gone crazy.
When I looked up, I saw a young boy standing alone in the middle of the desert.
"I said, 'Mister, draw me a sheep!'"
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I scratched my head. "But I have not drawn since I was a small child."
"That does not matter, if you please, I really need a sheep."
I sat up and pulled out my sketch pad, which makes a whole lot of sense that I would have one, since I apparently haven't drawn since I was a child. I remembered the last thing that I drew before giving up my career as an artist and showed it to the prince.
"No, I don't need a picture of an elephant that has been swallowed by a boa, I need a drawing of a sheep!"
I was shocked at the prince's reaction to my drawing. It inspired me to draw once again. I drew the best sheep that I could manage, considering that I hadn't drawn anything in over 20 years.
"That one is too skinny," said the prince. "Please draw another." I kept drawing more sheep, but none pleased the young man. I finally just drew an upside down crate.
"There is your sheep," I said, frustrated. It's in the crate.
"Yes, this is exactly what I looking for! Do you think he'll need a lot of grass?"
"I'm not sure, Why do you ask?"
"It is very small, my planet," said the prince.
I was shocked to discover that the prince had come from another planet, but I guess anything was possible in my situation. I kept asking about where he came from, but he was more concerned about the sheep.
I learned that his planet was very small, only a house, a bit of grass and some trees and a large lake.
I remember hearing about a very small planet that a genie had discovered a few years back. It sounded just like the prince's planet.
The genie discovered it while stargazing in his backyard.
He called it Asteroid B-612. He presented his discovery to some of his colleagues, but they couldn't take him seriously, because he was dressed like a genie.
Years later, he got the chance to present his findings again. This time he dressed more "proper" and everyone accepted the discovery of Asteroid B-612 as a legitimate micro-planet. The genie won many prestigious awards for his discovery.
The rest of the night my new friend and I exchanged stories, but he seemed to avoid the topic of his home planet.
He even let me practice my drawing skills by posing for sketches for my story.
We discussed our interests. The prince said that he loved sunsets. "Let's go watch one!" He exclaimed.
"It's the middle of the night, there won't be a sunset for a few hours."
"My planet is so small that I can watch many sunsets over and over."
It was then that the prince seemed kind of sad and got lost in thought. He sat down and finally started telling me about his planet.
The reason that the prince needed the sheep was to tend to his planet while he was gone. His planet was so small, that it couldn't handle a lot of plant life. Sometimes small flowers would grow, but they would disappear shortly:
If too many large trees grew, it would rip the planet apart, this is why the sheep was essential, to keep the trees from growing to large.
"Do you think that the sheep will eat a rose?" He asked me.
"I suppose so."
"Even if they have thorns?"
"I don't see why not."
"Then what good are thorns?!" The Prince seemed upset. Then he told me the story of the rose:
"One day a strange shrub started to grow on my planet."
"I kept an eye on it and was shocked to find when a woke up one day, a magnificent spectacular rose."
"She was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen; more beautiful than a thousand sunsets."
"She was so vain and yet so delicate, I felt the need to protect her from anything.
She would complain of the cold winds, so I build a little shield for her."
"She would say, 'It is so cold on your planet, not like where I come from.'
But we both knew that she sprouted from my planet.
I did everything for her, I even built her a glass case for extra protection."
"Sometimes she would say, 'I'm not so delicate you know!'
'If there was a Cowplant, I would knock that Cowplant the plum out!'"
"'But there are no Cowplants,' I said.
'I know, I just want you to be aware that I don't need you, I can look out for myself.'
I don't know what it was, but I got tired of doing everything and feeling like my feelings weren't reciprocated. I got tired of the lies, the demands and I decided I was going to go, to see what else was out there besides my tiny little lonely planet.
I went to watch one more sunset and to my surprise, the Rose came to join me."
"'I know you have to go,' she said. 'I do love you, I should have told you.'
'It's so cold,' she said as she pretended to cough, but I know that she was holding back tears.
'What do you want me to do?' I asked.
'Don't draw this out,' she said, 'You've made up your mind.'
'Go find yourself out there, don't stay on account of me.'
We said our goodbyes and I cleaned up the planet, raked away the last of the dangerous seeds, and tucked her in her glass case."
"'Don't worry about me,' she said. 'I still have my thorns.'
That night I went to the edge of the lake and looked out one last time.
I saw a flock of birds and hitched a ride into the night sky, not knowing where my travels would bring me."
"Farewell, sweet, Rose. May your thorns keep you safe from predators, and may the glass keep you safe from the cold winds."
While the Prince was out seeing the universe, he stopped by a few small planets. The first planet's sole inhabitant was an old king:
"Ah, a subject!" The king exclaimed upon seeing the Prince.
"How does he know me," thought the Prince. The Prince did not understand that to a king, all are subjects.
"Approach the throne, " said the king, amused to finally have a subject.
The Prince, tired from his journey, yawned.
"It is not proper etiquette to yawn in the presence of a king!!! I forbid you to yawn!"
"I can't help it, I have traveled far and am very tired," the Prince explained.
"Well, then I command you to yawn! This is an order! Do it now!"
"I can't now! I can't really just yawn on command," explained the Prince.
The king, annoyed, said, "Well, then I command you sometimes to yawn and sometimes to not yawn!"
The king expected all of his demands to be met, but he was also a kind ruler, so he made sure that his demands were reasonable.
He always said, "If I commanded someone to do something and they did not, then the fault would not be theirs for not obeying, but mine for not giving a reasonable command."
The Prince's neck was itching a little. "May I scratch my neck?" the Prince asked.
"I command you to scratch your neck," the king said.
So the Prince did.
The Prince noticed that the planet was so small, he wondered what the king ruled over. "Excuse me for asking..."
"I command you to ask!"
"Sire, what do you reign over, exactly?"
"Over everything."
"What do you mean by everything?" Asked the Prince. "Over all that?" asked the Prince pointing to the stars.
"Over all that," confirmed the king.
"And they obey you?"
"But, of course. I tolerate no insubordination," replied the king.
The Prince was amazed at the king's power. He thought that maybe the king could command some sunsets for him. The Prince really missed his sunsets.
"Sire, could you do me a favor? Could you command the sun to set?"
"If I asked a general to turn into a seagull and he did not, who would be in the wrong?"
"You would be," said the prince.
"Exactly, I can only command what one can perform. My commands must be reasonable. If I command everyone to jump in the ocean, it would start a revolution. I command obedience because my commands are reasonable."
"So what about my sunset?" asked the Prince.
"I will give you your sunset. But we must wait until science deems it a reasonable time to do so."
"When will that be?"
"Tonight, around 7:40 P.M. You will see your sunset, and you will see how well I am obeyed."
The Prince was disappointed and tired. "I have nothing further to learn from you, your highness. I best be on my way."
The king was so happy to finally have a subject to command.
"Don't leave!" exclaimed the king. "I will make you my minister!"
"Minister of what?" asked the Prince.
"Of justice."
"Who will I judge? There is no one here."
"You don't know that, there could others. I have not seen the entirety of my kingdom."
"But, I have and there is no one else," said the Prince.
"Then you shall judge yourself," said the king. "judging oneself is the hardest thing of all. It is easy to pass judgement on others, but only the truly wise can really judge themselves."
"Sire, I appreciate the offer, but I can judge myself anywhere. I think it's time to go."
"Wait," said the king. "Don't go."
"Sire, I feel that conditions are favorable for me to leave. If your majesty would like to give such a reasonable command, I can be on my way."
The king said nothing, so the Prince decided to leave.
"I make you my ambassador!" said the king.
"Grown ups are so strange!"
On the second planet in his travels, the Prince encountered a very vain man.
"Ah! An admirer!" claimed the vain man. To vain men, everyone is an admirer.
"Hello," said the Prince.
"Clap for me!" exclaimed the vain man.
So the Prince began to clap. He thought that this guy was more entertaining than the king.
"Keep clapping!" exclaimed the vain man. "We are going to make this planet great again!"
So the Prince kept clapping.
The Prince kept clapping and cheering as the whole time, the vain man kept shouting, "We are going to make this planet great again!"
The Prince stopped.
"How are we going to make this planet great again?" asked the Prince.
"We are going to build a wall to keep out all the non-admirers out."
"What was wrong with the planet in the first place?" asked the Prince.
"There were not enough admirers," said the vain man. "Let me ask you something. Do you really admire me a great deal?"
"What does admire mean?" asked the Prince.
"To admire means that you acknowledge that I am the smartest, richest, best-dressed, most handsome man on the planet."
"But you are the only man on your planet."
"Do me a favor, admire me all the same."
The Prince decided that it was time for him to move on.
The next planet was inhabited by a drunkard. It was a very brief but very sad visit for the Little Prince.
"What are you doing?" asked the Prince.
"Drinking," replied the drunkard.
"Why are you drinking?"
"To forget," answered the drunkard.
"To forget what?"
"To forget that I am ashamed!"
"What are you ashamed of?"
"Of drinking!" exclaimed the drunkard.
"Grown ups are very, very strange!"
On the fourth planet lived a businesswoman:
"Hello," said the Prince. The businesswoman was too busy counting to look up. "Five million, six-hundred twenty-two thousand, seven hundred thirty-one!!!" exclaimed the businesswoman.
"Five hundred million what?" inquired the Prince.
"Oh, you're still here," sneered the woman. "In the entire time that I have inhabited this planet, I have only been interrupted three times. The third is happening right now! Where was I?"
"Five million what?" asked the Prince who never let go of a question.
"Of those little things in the sky. You know, the shiny golden things that make people daydream. I am a very serious person; I have no time to daydream."
"Oh, you mean the stars."
"Yes, those wretched things."
"What do you do with the stars?" asked the Prince, the businesswoman still counting.
"I own them."
"But, I met a king who-"
"Kings don't own things!" snapped the woman. "They reign over them. It's not the same. I own the stars and they make me very rich."
"How can you own the stars?"
"Who do the stars belong to?" asked the woman.
"I don't know. No one, I guess," said the Prince.
"Then they belong to me. I thought of it first. That's all it takes. I found them I decided that I now own them, so it is so."
"What do you do with the stars?"
"I count them and I put the number on a slip of paper and put it in the bank."
"On my planet, I own a flower and I water it everyday. I am useful to my flower, so I own it. You are not useful to the stars that you claim to own," replied the Prince.
The businesswoman opened her mouth but couldn't think of anything to say, so the Prince left.
"Grown ups are quite extraordinary!"
The fifth planet was the smallest one. On it there was a streetlight and a lamp lighter.
"This may be an absurd lamp lighter, but far less absurd than all the others I have met," thought the Prince.
"At least her job has a purpose. When she lights the lamp, one more star, one more flower come to life. When she puts it out, the star and flower go to sleep."
The planet was so small that the lamp lighter was constantly putting out and lighting the lamp.
"Why do you do that?" asked the Prince.
"Orders," replied the lamp lighter. "My job is terrible! I obey orders to light and put out the streetlight, but the planet keeps spinning faster and faster and now I have to light it every minute! I can never sleep and all I want is to sleep! Good morning. Good night."
"If you want to take a break, why not just keep walking?" asked the Prince. "That way you are always in the daylight."
"What good does that do me if all I want to do is sleep?"
"Sorry, I guess you are out of luck," said the Prince sadly.
The Prince found that he liked this woman more than the others that he had met on his journey. She made the most sense because she was the only one doing something for anyone other than herself.
He wanted to be friends with the lamp lighter, but her planet was too small, so he left.
He did regret how many sunsets he would miss on that planet.
The sixth planet was the largest. On it lived a geographer:
"Ah, here is an explorer!" said the geographer. "Where do you come from?"
"What are you doing with that book?" inquired the Prince.
"I am a geographer. I write in where all the cities, mountains and oceans are."
"Oh. Your planet is very beautiful," said the Prince. "Do you have any oceans or mountains?"
"I couldn't tell you."
"But aren't you a geographer?"
"I am, but I am not an explorer. No one has explored my planet yet," explained the geographer. "Tell me about where you came from."
"My planet is very small," said the Prince. "There is one body of water, a few rocks and three small volcanoes. I also have a flower."
"Flowers don't count," said the geographer. "They are ephemeral."
"What does ephemeral mean?"
"It means it is in danger of disappearance."
This alarmed the Prince. He left his flower all alone on his planet. He began to regret leaving her there.
"Where should I go next?" the Prince asked the geographer.
"Planet Earth, they have many interesting things."
The Prince took off and arrived at his seventh destination: Planet Earth.
On the planet Earth there are 111 kings, 7000 geographers, 900,000 businessmen, 7 and a half million drunkards and 311 million vain men. As you can see, the Earth is very big!
Before the discovery of electricity, there was a whole army of lamp lighters to keep the Earth lit. These lamplighters were fortunate, because they were able to sleep, unlike the poor lamp lighter that the Prince had encountered.
Of course this isn't true, I just thought it might sound witty and interesting. Grown ups tend to stretch the truth a little to sound a little more interesting.
The Earth, however, does have billions of Grown ups. Despite this fact, the Earth is so large that all of its inhabitants could fit on a single island in the Pacific. Grown ups won't believe this, though. They consider themselves much more important.
When the little Prince landed on the Earth, he didn't see a soul in sight, at first. Then he saw a golden glow:
"Good evening," said the Prince.
"Good evening," said the Snake.
"Tell me, what planet have I landed on?"
"You are on the planet Earth, in Africa," said the Snake.
"Why are there no people?" inquired the Prince.
"The Earth is very big and this is the desert," replied the Snake. "There aren't many people in the desert."
"Oh. One can see the stars very well out here! Look, that one is my planet."
"It is very lovely," said the Snake. "Why have you come to Earth?"
"I am having difficulties with a flower."
"Ah," replied the Snake, as if understanding.
"It is so lonely in the desert. Where are all the people?" asked the Prince.
"It's lonely with people," answered the Snake.
"You are a pretty small creature," said the Prince. "Smaller than me even."
"Yet I am more powerful than a king."
"You don't seem powerful, you don't even have feet!"
"I can take you far. If I choose I could send anyone back to the land from which they came. I am sorry that you are so weak. If you wish me to, one day I could send you back to your planet."
"Why do you speak in riddles?" asked the Prince.
"I solve them all," said the Snake.
They both stood in silence for a while and watched the stars.
The next morning, the Prince crossed the desert. He came across a flower. AN interesting flower, but nowhere near as beautiful as his Rose.
"Good morning."
"Where are all the people?" the Prince asked the flower.
"I believe that there are only six or seven in existence. I saw the once, many years ago. They are hard to find, because they have no roots, and the wind takes them all over the place."
"Good day," said the Prince.
"Good day," said the flower.
He traveled until he came upon some high mountains. He decided to climb to the top. From there. he assumed, that he could see the entire planet and everyone on it.
He climbed to the top, but saw no one.
"Hello," he yelled.
The echo responded, "Hello, hello, hello,..."
"Who are you?"
"Who are you, who are you?" the echo replied.
"I'm lonely."
"I'm lonely, I'm lonely,.." answered the echo.
"People here have no imagination," thought the Prince. "They only repeat back what you say!"
After walking through rocks and snow for a while, the Prince finally came upon a road. The road led him to a building, which had a garden. The garden was full of flowers.
[
"Who are you?" asked the Prince.
"We are roses."
]
The Prince was disappointed. He thought that his Rose was one of a kind and here there was a garden full of them. His Rose would be so embarrassed if she knew that he had discovered others of her kind. She would pretend to be sick, so that he would nurse her back to health. He was so upset, because he thought he had a unique flower, but he found out that she was ordinary. This caused the Prince to weep.
It was the next day that the Prince encountered the Fox.
"Hello," said the Prince.
"Hello, said the Fox.
"Who are you?"
"I am a fox."
"I'm so lonely. Will you play with me?" asked the Prince.
"I can't," responded the Fox. "I am not tamed yet."
"Where are all the people?" Asked the Prince. "What does tamed mean?"
"People have guns, and they will try to shoot you," answered the Fox. "The only thing interesting about them is that they have chickens. Are you looking for chickens?"
"No, I am looking for friends. What does tamed mean?"
"It means to create a bond. You are one of millions of little boys and I am one of many foxes. We have no need for each other. If you tame me, you will be MY boy and I will be YOUR fox. I will be the only Fox in the world for you," explained the Fox.
"On my planet, I have a flower. I think she has tamed me," said the Prince.
"That's possible," said the Fox. "So you are from another planet? Are there chickens there?"
"No, said the Prince.
"Nothing is perfect," replied the Fox.
"Right now, to me you are ordinary," said the Fox. "But when you tame me I will look forward to seeing you. I will think of you all day. You see those sunflowers? They are similar to the color of you hair. Every time I see those sunflowers, I will think of you. Please tame me!"
"I would love to," said the Prince, "but I don't have much time. I am here to make friends and learn things."
"People here don't want to be friends," said the fox. "They want to buy everything ready made from a store. You can't buy friends from a store, though. Tame me and I will be your friend."
"How do I tame you?"
"You will come everyday, but keep your distance and don't say anything. Slowly, I will approach you. I will start to look forward to you visits. One day I may let you touch me or feed me. Then we will be friends and you will have tamed me."
So the Prince tamed the Fox, but then it was time for the Prince to leave.
"I will cry," said the Fox.
"You asked me to tame you," said the Prince. "It was not my wish to make you sad."
"I'll be okay."
"But you will cry," said the Prince.
"I will always have the sunflowers to remind me of you," explained the Fox. "Go visit those roses again, and you will see how your Rose is truly unique. Go see them again and come back to me, I have something to give you before you go."
So the Prince went back to the roses and he understood.
"You area ll very beautiful but you are meaningless. You are just ordinary roses. No one has tamed you! No one would die for you! I have tamed my Rose. I have watered her, cared for her and protected her form the wind. I have listened to her, even when she has complained and boasted, or said nothing at all. You are all pretty, but empty inside. My Rose is one of a kind because she has me and I have her."
Then the Prince came back to the Fox.
"Here is my gift," said the Fox. "It is a secret."
"Anything essential is invisible to the eyes. The eyes are blind, one can only truly see with the heart."
"What is essential is invisible to the eyes," repeated the Prince.
"You are forever responsible for what you have tamed," said the Fox. "You are responsible for your Rose. She needs you."
"My Rose needs me," repeated the Prince.
"Good bye, Fox."
"Good bye, dear Prince."
After saying good bye to the fox, the Little Prince continued to explore the Earth, forever missing and thinking of his Rose and his Fox.
He came upon a railway station.
"Good morning," said the Prince to the railway switchman.
"Good morning," said the switchman.
Several noisy, brightly lit trains passed each other in different directions.
"My, they are in a hurry," said the Prince. "What are they looking for?"
"No one knows," replied the switchman.
Another train approached.
"Are they returning so soon?" asked the Prince.
"No, these aren't the same people," said the switchman.
"They weren't happy with where they were?" asked the Prince.
"No one is ever happy where they are," said the switchman. "Only the children look out the windows and press their noses against the glass."
"Only children know what they are looking for," said the Prince.
"They are the lucky ones,"said the switchman.
The Prince next met a sales clerk who sold pills that if swallowed, one would not have to drink water.
"Good morning," said the Prince.
"Good morning," said the clerk.
"Why do you sell these pills?"
"They save so much time! You take one of these pills and you never have to stop for water!"
"What do you so with the time you save?"
"Whatever you like!"
"If I had 53 minutes to do whatever I like," said the Prince, "I would walk very slowly toward a water fountain."
It had been 8 days since my crash landing and the Prince's story reminded me that I had used up the last of my water supply.
"I have not yet repaired my plane, and I am out of water. I would also like to walk towards a water fountain."
"My friend the fox said.."
"I don't care about your fox! Right now we are going to die of thirst!"
"It's good to have a friend, especially when you're dying," said the Prince.
"This little fellow has no idea what kind of danger we are in," I thought.
As if he heard my thoughts, he said. "I am thirsty, too. Let's go look for a well."
I thought that our chances were not so good, looking for a random well in the middle of the desert, but I went along with the Prince.
As we had been walking for a while, I looked at the Prince and asked, "So you're thirsty, too?"
"Water can also be good for the heart," he replied.
The Prince got tired and sat down.He said, "The stars are beautiful because of a flower you don't see."
"Yes," I said.
"The desert is so beautiful," he commented. I agreed, the desert is beautiful. There is silence and off in the distance something is always shining.
"What makes the desert beautiful, is that it hides a well somewhere."
When I was little I lived in a house and there was a rumor of a buried treasure in that house. No one ever found it, but that didn't take away from the spell that the house cast on all of us. It was like the house had a secret.
"Yes," I agreed with the Prince. "Whether the house or stars, what makes them beautiful is invisible."
"I am glad you agree with my fox."
The Prince started to fall asleep. I picked him up and carried him. As I carried him I began to think, "What I am looking at is only a shell, what is essential is invisible to the eyes."
It's so amazing that just a flower can move him; the image of the Rose shining within him like a lamp. Then I thought that lamps must be protected, a gust of wind can blow them out.
At dawn I found the well.
The well that we found looked much more elaborate than other desert wells. This one looked like it belonged in a village, but it was out in the middle of nowhere. It felt like a dream.
"It's funny that there is even a bucket ready," said the Prince.
I pulled it up and the pulley groaned.
"Hear that?" asked the Prince. "It's singing!"
"I'm thirsty," he said. "Can I have a drink?"
I understood what he was looking for. That drink of water was so much more than water for him. It was good for the heart, like a Christmas gift.
"Grown ups on Earth grow thousands of roses, but they never find what they are looking for," said the Prince. "They could find everything that they are looking for in a single Rose or drink of water. The eyes are blind, one can only see with the heart."
Suddenly I felt sad.
"Don't forget your promise to me," said the Prince. "About the muzzle for the sheep."
I drew him a muzzle and gave it to him.
"Have you made plans that I don't know about?" I inquired.
"Tomorrow will be the anniversary of the day that I fell to Earth."
"So is that why I found you wandering alone in the desert 8 days ago?"
The Prince blushed, he never answered, but he blushed, so I took it as a "Yes."
"I am afraid..." I said to the Prince.
"You should go fix your plane's engine. Come back tomorrow."
The next evening I finally fixed my engine. I came back and I found the Prince sitting on a wall. It appeared that he was talking to someone that I could not see.
"Tonight is the night," he said. "I will be here. Your venom is good? I won't suffer long?"
I finally saw who he was talking too; the Snake!!!
I tried to pull my gun out, but the snake heard me and slithered off.
The Prince fell from the wall and into my arms. I gave him a some water.
"Why are you talking to snakes?" I asked.
"I'm glad you fixed your plane tonight. That means that you are going home, too..."
"How did you know?" I asked. I was just coming to tell him.
He didn't answer. He just said, "I'm going home tonight, too. My journey is much longer and more difficult."
"I have your sheep, your crate and your muzzle," he said to me.
I realized that something was going to happen that night. I realized that I wouldn't be able to hear the Prince's laugh again. The little Prince's laugh was like a drink of water for me.
"Please tell me that this was all a bad dream," I said.
He didn't answer me. All he said was, "The eyes are blind. What is essential can only be seen with the heart. If you love a flower that lives on a star, when you look up into the sky the stars blossom. It's the same with water. The water you gave was like music, because of the singing pulley. Do you remember?'
"My star is so small that I couldn't point it out. It's better that way. That way, every time you look at the stars you will know that you have a friend on one of them. The stars will be your friends. That's my gift to you. You love my laugh. Every time you look at the stars you will think of me laughing. You will have stars that laugh!"
Then he laughed. "You will always be my friend. You will sometimes open your window and laugh at the stars and people will think you are crazy. It is a little trick that I have played on you." He laughed again. "Instead of stars, I will have given you little bells that know how to laugh."
"Don't come tonight," he suddenly said.
"I won't leave you."
"I'm worried that the snake may bite you, too. Sometimes they bite just for fun."
"I won't leave you."
"It's true that they don't have enough venom for a second bite."
That night he snuck away.
I went to the spot. "You shouldn't have come," he said. "You will suffer. It will look like I am dead. This body is too heavy and I can't take it with me. It will be like a shell."
"I will also look at the stars," he continued. "I will hear music, like the singing of the well. You will have billions of laughing stars and I will having billions of singing wells with fresh water."
He sat down and began to weep. "I left my flower alone with only four thorns to defend herself."
He got up and went to the spot. It happened so fast, all I saw was a flash of gold, then he fell, like a tree. He didn't make a sound because of the sand.
It's been 6 years since I returned home. People say that I am not the same, that I am sad, but I just tell them that I'm tired. At night I look at the stars and I hear the little bells.
But, I realized that I forgot to draw a strap on the sheep's muzzle. I worry that when he returned home, the sheep had eaten his flower. Then I remembered that he put his flower under the glass. Then I am happy and the stars laugh. I fear that one night he may be distracted and forget to put his Rose under the glass and the sheep got out of his muzzle. Then the bells all are all weeping.
Nothing will ever be the same. Has the sheep eaten the Rose or is the Prince forever reunited with his love?
"This is, to me, the loveliest and saddest landscape in the world. It is the same as that on the preceding page, but I have drawn it again to impress it on your memory. It is here that the little prince appeared on Earth, and disappeared."
"Look at it carefully so that you will be sure to recognize it in case you travel some day to the African desert. And, if you should come upon this spot, please do not hurry on. Wait for a time, exactly under the star. Then, if a little man appears who laughs, who has golden hair and who refuses to answer questions, you will know who he is. If this should happen, please comfort me. Send me word that he has come back."
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery Le Petit Prince