Экзюпери Антуан - The Little Prince

However, fortunately for the reputation of Asteroid-612, the Turkish dictator passed the law dictating that citizens had to wear European outfits under penalty of death. As a result, the astronomer, dressed with exquisite style and elegance, held another demonstration in 1920. This time everybody took his presentation seriously.

I only described you details about the asteroid and its number with the adults in mind. When you tell them that you found a new friend, they never ask you important questions. “How does his voice sound? What games does he love to play the most? Does he collect butterflies?” Instead, they try to find out. “How old is he? How many brothers does he have? How much does his father earn?”

On the basis of these numbers, they assume they know everything about him.

If you tell adults that you saw a beautiful house made from pink brick with geraniums in the window and pigeons on the roof, they won’t be able to imagine the house.

They need to be told that you were in a house that costs 20000 dollars. Then they will exclaim, “What a wonderful house!”

With the same result, you can tell them, “The evidence that the Little Prince existed is the fact that he was charming, he laughed and looked for a lamb. If someone needs a lamb this means he exists.” And what result do you expect? They will just shrug their shoulders and treat you as a child. But if you tell them that the planet he came from is called Asteroid-612, then you will convince them and they won’t ask you a lot of questions. They are like this. You shouldn’t take their behaviour personally. Children always need to be patient with adults. However, we who understand life don’t care about the numbers.

I would like to begin this story as a fairy-tale. I would say with pleasure,

“Once upon a time there was a Little Prince who lived on a planet that was hardly bigger than him, and he needed a lamb…”

For those who understand life, my story would seem more honest. You know I don’t want anyone to read my story frivolously. I suffered too much to recollect and put everything down. It’s been six years since my friend left me together with his lamb. When I try to describe him here it’s only in order to make sure I will remember him. It’s sad to forget a friend. Not everyone has a friend. If I forget him I will be like adults who are only interested in numbers… Once again, I bought colours and pencils for this reason in particular.

It’s difficult to draw a picture again at my age if I haven’t drawn anything, except boa constrictors inside and boa constrictors outside, from when I was six. I will try my best to make my portraits as close to reality as possible. But I am not sure I will be successful. One picture turns out to be good, and another one is far from realistic. I can also be mistaken how tall the Little Prince is: he is too tall in one picture and too short in another one. I have also some doubts about the colour of his outfit. I tried my best but it can be good here and bad there, however, I hope the final result is good. I can make mistakes in some details that are more important. But it’s not my fault. My friend has never explained anything to me. He possibly thought we were the same. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to see a lamb through a box. I may be an adult a little. I had to grow up.

Every day during our conversations, I found out more about the Little Prince’s planet, how he left it and about his journeys. The information came slowly as it accidentally emerged from his thoughts. That’s how on the third day, I learned about the danger from baobab trees.

This time, I need to thank the lamb again. Unexpectedly, the Little Prince asked me dubiously.

“Is it true that lambs eat small bushes?”

“That is true.”

“Good. I am glad.”

I couldn’t understand why it was important for the lamb to eat small bushes. But the Little Prince added.

“It means they eat baobabs as well, doesn’t it?”

I pointed out that baobabs are not small bushes, they are trees as big as a castle, and even if he takes a herd of elephants they won’t eat a single baobab tree.

My idea about the herd of elephants made the Little Prince laugh.

“We will have to put them on top of one another”, he said.

But he also commented wisely.

“Before becoming so big baobabs were small.”

“That’s absolutely true”, I said. “But why do you need lambs to eat small baobabs?”

He replied immediately.

“What do you mean why!?”

As if he was talking about obvious things. And I had to think hard to solve this riddle myself.

I found out that the planet the Little Prince lived on, as any other planet had both good and bad plants. As a result, there were good seeds from good plants and bad seeds from bad plants. But the seeds are invisible. They sleep deep below the ground until one of them decides to wake up. Then this little seed shyly at first, but later more confidently begins to push its small sprout up towards the sun. If it’s a radish or rose it is allowed to grow as it wishes. But if it turns out to be a bad plant it should be destroyed the moment you identify it.

There were awful seeds of baobab trees on the planet that was the Little Prince’s home. The ground of this planet was contaminated with them. You will never get rid of baobabs unless you catch them in time. It covers the whole planet. It penetrates the ground with its roots. And if a planet is too small and the number of baobabs is large they can break it into pieces…

“It’s all about discipline”, the Little Prince told me later. “After making yourself tidy in the morning it’s time to clean your planet very carefully. You need to make sure that baobabs are extracted in time and on a regular basis, just at the moment when you can distinguish them from the roses that they are so similar to in the early stages.”

“It’s very painstaking work”, the Little Prince added. “But it is very easy.”

Once he said to me.

“You should draw a beautiful picture so children where you live can recognise what my planet really looks like. It would be useful for them if they decide to go on a journey.”

He added.

“Sometimes there is nothing wrong in putting off some of the work for the next day. But when it comes to baobabs it always leads to a catastrophe. I used to know a planet where a lazy man lived. He neglected three small bushes…”

I did a painting of the planet according to the description of the Little Prince. I don’t want to lecture but the danger from baobabs is not fully realized, and it can be very harmful to someone who gets lost on the asteroid, so I have to explain properly.

“Children, be aware of baobabs! My friends like me, have been avoiding this problem for a long time without realising it. So for their sake, I tried hard while drawing this picture.”

The lesson I learned was worth the effort. You may ask me, “Why are there no other such beautiful pictures as of baobabs in this book?” The answer is easy. I tried. But I wasn’t so lucky with others. When I was drawing baobabs I excelled myself due to the inspiration and realisation of its importance.

Oh, Little Prince. Step by step, I begin to understand the secrets of your sad little life… For a long time, you have only entertained yourself by watching the sunset.

I learned this detail on the morning of the fourth day. You told me.

“I love sunsets a lot. Let’s go and watch the sunset now.

“But we have to wait”, I said.

“Wait for what?”

“For the sunset. We need to wait for the right time.”

At first, you seemed to be surprised. Then you started laughing at yourself. You said to me.

“I keep thinking I am at home!”

That’s right. Everyone knows when it’s midday in the United States of America it’s time for the sunset in France. If you could reach France in a minute you would catch the sunset right from the midday. Unfortunately, France is too far. My Little Prince, all you need to do on your tiny planet is to move a chair further. You can see the end of the day and the twilight whenever you wish…

“Once I watched the sunset forty-four times”, you said to me.

And then you added.

“You know, people like sunsets when they are sad…”

“Were you very sad when you watched the sunset forty-four times?”

But the Little Prince didn’t reply.

On the fifth day, again thanks to the lamb I discovered a secret from the Little Prince’s life.

Unexpectedly, without any introduction and as if the question appeared as a result of a long and silent meditation, he asked.

“If a lamb eats small bushes he eats flowers as well, doesn’t he?”

“Lambs eat everything they can reach”, I replied.

“Even flowers with thorns?”

“Yes, even flowers with thorns.”

“What’s the point of thorns then?”

I didn’t know.

I was very busy unbolting my engine at that moment. I was very nervous as it had become obvious that the damage to my plane was serious. And I had so little water I expected the worst.

“What’s the point of thorns then?”

I didn’t know.

The Little Prince had never left the question he asked. As for me, I was very upset because of the bolt. I replied the first thing I could think of.

“There is no point in thorns. Flowers show them just out of spite.”

“Ah”, there was a silence for some time.

Then the Little Prince, shocked and offended, attacked me.

“I don’t believe you! Flowers are weak creatures. They are naïve. They take care of themselves as much as they can. They assume their thorns are a dangerous weapon…”

I didn’t answer. I was thinking about myself at that moment.

“If I don’t unscrew this bolt I am going to beat it with a hammer.”