James Baquet In Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s “The Little Prince,” an aviator makes an emergency landing in the Sahara Desert. A mysterious golden-haired little boy — a “prince” — appears and asks him to draw a sheep. But the man can’t, so he draws a box with air holes: The sheep is inside. The boy is full of questions, and insists that they be answered. Over the next eight days, the man and boy grow closer. The boy tells of the small asteroid he comes from — “B 612” — which has three tiny volcanoes, a rose and a baobab. He’s worried about his rose, and wants a sheep to keep the baobabs from overrunning the place. He has visited six other asteroids, each inhabited by an absurd adult. One was an arrogant king with no subjects. Another was a narcissist who thought everyone (on his empty planet) admired him. A drunkard drank to forget the shame of drinking. A businessman counted the stars so he could “own” them, but was blind to their beauty. A lamplighter’s planet was so small that the full day lasted only a minute; nevertheless, he lit and extinguished his lamp every thirty seconds. Another was a geographer who had never traveled anywhere. Each of these is a critique of some aspect of society: government, social standing, materialism, etc. The prince meets a fox, who teaches him, “Only with the heart can one see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” He also says that we are responsible for the people and things we love, and that too often we ignore the most important things and focus on the inconsequential. The boy thus decides to return home to his rose. He will do so by allowing a yellow snake to bite him — that is, he will die. He and the pilot are already dying of hunger and thirst, but are saved when the boy finds a well of sweet water. He says he will be leaving the next day, but not to worry if he appears to be dead: He will leave his heavy body behind when he returns to his planet. Just look to the stars, he says, and you will hear my laughter. The little prince walks away and the snake bites him, but the pilot cannot find his body. He repairs his plane and returns home, always remembering how love connects us to each other. Vocabulary: Which word above means: 1. not important 2. love of physical objects 3. vain, selfish person 4. pilot, flier 5. ridiculous, silly 6. a type of large tree 7. put out 8. overly proud 9. critical comment 10. small celestial object orbiting the sun | 