The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Read Free Book Online

And the people have no imagination.  They repeat whatever one says to them... On my planet I had a flower; she always was the first to speak..."

 
     
    Chapter XX
     
     
    But it happened that after walking for a long time through sand, and rocks, and snow, the little prince at last came upon a road.
    And all roads lead to the abodes of men.
     
    "Good morning," he said.
     
    He was standing before a garden, all a-bloom with roses.
     
    "Good morning," said the roses.
     
    The little prince gazed at them.  They all looked like his flower.
     

     
    "Who are you?" he demanded, thunderstruck.
     
    "We are roses," the roses said.
     
    And he was overcome with sadness.  His flower had told him that she was the only one of her kind in all the universe.  And here were five thousand of them, all alike, in one single garden!
     
    "She would be very much annoyed," he said to himself, "if she should see that... she would cough most dreadfully, and she would pretend that she was dying, to avoid being laughed at.  And I should be obliged to pretend that I was nursing her back to life-- for if I did not do that, to humble myself also, she would really allow herself to die..."
     
    Then he went on with his reflections: "I thought that I was rich, with a flower that was unique in all the world; and all I had was a common rose.  A common rose, and three volcanoes that come up to my knees-- and one of them perhaps extinct forever... that doesn't make me a very great prince..."
     

     
    And he lay down in the grass and cried.

 
     
    Chapter XXI
     
     
    It was then that the fox appeared.
     
    "Good morning," said the fox.
     
    "Good morning," the little prince responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing.
     
    "I am right here," the voice said, "under the apple tree."
     

     
    "Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at."
     
    "I am a fox," said the fox.
     
    "Come and play with me," proposed the little prince.  "I am so unhappy."
     
    "I cannot play with you," the fox said.  "I am not tamed."
     
    "Ah!  Please excuse me," said the little prince.
     
    But, after some thought, he added: "What does that mean-- 'tame'?"
     
    "You do not live here," said the fox.  "What is it that you are looking for?"
     
    "I am looking for men," said the little prince.  "What does that mean-- 'tame'?"
     
    "Men," said the fox.  "They have guns, and they hunt.  It is very disturbing.  They also raise chickens.  These are their only interests.  Are you looking for chickens?"
     
    "No," said the little prince.  "I am looking for friends.  What does that mean-- 'tame'?"
     
    "It is an act too often neglected," said the fox.  It means to establish ties."
     
    "'To establish ties'?"
     
    "Just that," said the fox.  "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys.  And I have no need of you.  And you, on your part, have no need of me.  To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.  But if you tame me, then we shall need each other.  To me, you will be unique in all the world.  To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."
     
    "I am beginning to understand," said the little prince.  "There is a flower... I think that she has tamed me..."
     
    "It is possible," said the fox.  "On the Earth one sees all sorts of things."
     
    "Oh, but this is not on the Earth!" said the little prince.
     
    The fox seemed perplexed, and very curious.
     
    "On another planet?"
     
    "Yes."
     
    "Are there hunters on this planet?"
     
    "No."
     
    "Ah, that is interesting!  Are there chickens?"
     
    "No."
     
    "Nothing is perfect," sighed the fox.
     
    But he came back to his idea.
     
    "My life is very monotonous," the fox said.  "I hunt chickens; men hunt me.  All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike.  And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the