Экзюпери Антуан - The Little Prince

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.”

The Little Prince interrupted my thoughts again.