The little prince ( Le Petit Prince )

About the author:

By: Antoine Marie Roger de Saint-Expury
*Born: June 29, 1900 (Lyon, France)
*Fond of writing & flying
*Pilot in 1926
*”Lord of the skies and literature”
*Wrote “the little prince” in New York City on July 31,
1944
*Died during one flying mission on July 31, 1944
*In 2000, the remains of his plain Lockhead p-38
Lightning was located by a diver named Luc Vannell
About the book:
*1943, novella
*best seller and translated over 180 languages
*80 million copies
*illustrated by the author
*one of the 3 most popular books in the 20th century
*Dedicated to Leon Werth(the fox), his bestfriend

Characters:

The Little Prince -  One of the two protagonists of the story.

After leaving his home planet and his beloved rose, the
prince journeys around the universe, ending up on Earth.
Frequently perplexed by the behavior of grown-ups, the
prince symbolizes the hope, love, innocence, and insight of
childhood that lie dormant in all of us. Though the prince is
sociable and meets a number of characters as he travels, he
never stops loving and missing the rose on his home planet.
The Narrator -  A lonely pilot who, while stranded in the
desert, befriends the little prince. They spend eight days
together in the desert before the little prince returns to his
home planet. Although he is discouraged from drawing early
in his life because adults cannot understand his drawings,
the narrator illustrates his own story and makes several
drawings for the little prince. The narrator is a grown-up, but
his view of the world is more like a child’s than an adult’s.
After the little prince departs, the narrator feels both
refreshed and saddened.

The Rose  - A coquettish flower who has trouble expressing

her love for the little prince and consequently drives him
away. Simultaneously vain and naïve, she informs the little
prince of her love for him too late to persuade him to stay
home and not to travel. Throughout the story, she occupies
the prince’s thoughts and heart.

The Fox  - Although the fox asks the little prince to tame
him, the fox is in some ways the more knowledgeable of the
two characters, and he helps steer the prince toward what is
important in life. In the secret the fox tells the little prince
before they say their good-byes, the fox sums up three
important lessons: only the heart can see correctly; the
prince’s time away from his planet has made him appreciate
his rose more; and love entails responsibility.

The Snake  - The first character the prince meets on Earth,

who ultimately sends the prince back to the heavens by
biting him. A constant enigma, the snake speaks in riddles
and evokes the snake of the Bible, which incites Adam and
Eve’s eviction from Eden by luring them into eating the
forbidden fruit.

The Baobabs -  Baobabs, harmless trees on Earth, pose a

great threat to smaller planets like the prince’s if left
unchecked. They can squeeze whole planets to pieces with
their roots. Although baobabs have no malicious opinions or
intentions, they represent the grave danger that can befall
people who are too lazy or indifferent to keep a wary eye on
the world around them.

The King -  On the first planet the little prince visits, he

encounters a king who claims to rule the entire universe.
While not unkindly, the king’s power is empty. He is able to
command people to do only what they already would do.

The Vain Man/The conceited man- The sole resident of the

second planet the little prince visits. The vain man is lonely
and craves admiration from all who pass by. However, only
by being alone is he assured of being the richest and best-
looking man on his planet. He raises his hat when someone
acclaim him/claps.

The Drunkard -  The third person the little prince encounters

after leaving home is a drunkard, who spends his days and
nights lost in a stupor. The drunkard is a sad figure, but he is
also foolish because he drinks to forget that he is ashamed
of drinking.

The Businessman -  A caricature of grown-ups who is the

fourth person the little prince visits. Too busy even to greet
his visitor, the businessman owns all the stars. Yet he cannot
remember what they are called and contributes nothing to
them. Although the little prince comments on the oddity of
the grown-ups he meets, the businessman is the only
character the prince actively chastises.

The Lamplighter  - The fifth and most complex figure the

prince encounters before landing on Earth. At first, the
lamplighter appears to be yet another ridiculous character
with no real purpose, but his selfless devotion to his orders
earns him the little prince’s admiration. Of all the adults the
little prince encounters before reaching Earth, the
lamplighter is the only one the prince thinks he could
befriend.

The Geographe - The sixth and final character the little

prince encounters before he lands on Earth. Although the
geographer is apparently well-read, he refuses to learn
about his own planet, saying it is a job for explorers. He
recommends that the little prince visit Earth, and his
comments on the ephemeral nature of flowers reveal to the
prince that his own flower will not last forever.

The Railway Switchman  - The railway switchman works at

the hub for the enormous trains that rush back and forth
carrying dissatisfied adults from one place to the other. He
has more perspective on life than the unhappy, thoughtless
passengers his trains ferry. He agrees with the prince that
the children are the only ones who appreciate and enjoy the
beauty of the train rides.

The Salesclerk  - The salesclerk sells pills that quench thirst

on the grounds that people can save up to fifty-three
minutes a day if they don’t have to stop to drink. He
symbolizes the modern world’s misplaced emphasis on
saving time and taking shortcuts.

The Roses In The Rose Garden  - The sight of the rose

garden first leads the prince to believe that his flower is not,
in fact, unique. However, with the fox’s guidance, the prince
realizes that even so many similar flowers cannot stop his
own rose from being unique.

The Three-Petaled Flower  - The three-petaled flower lives

alone in the desert, watching the occasional caravan pass
by. She mistakenly informs the prince that there are only a
handful of men in the world and that their lack of roots
means they are often blown along.

The Little Prince’s Echo -  The little prince’s echo is not

really a character, but the little prince mistakes it for one.
When he shouts from a mountaintop, he hears his echo and
believes that Earth people simply repeat what is said to
them.

The Turkish Astronomer -  The first human to discover the

prince’s home, Asteroid B-612. When the Turkish
astronomer first presents his discovery, no one believes him
on account of his Turkish costume. Years later, he makes
the same presentation wearing Western clothes, and his
discovery is well received. The scientific community’s
treatment of the Turkish astronomer reveals that ignorance
propels xenophobia (a fear or hatred of foreigners) and
racism.
LITTLE PRINCE QUESTIONS
CHAPTER 1
1. Who is the narrator of The Little Prince?
the pilot
2. What is the subject of the drawing in Chapter 1?
a boa constrictor
3. What did the adults think the child’s drawing looked like?
a hat
4. What did the child ask the adults when he showed them
the picture?
Does this picture frighten you?
5. How many drawings did the child make?
two
6. The six-year-old child gave up being an artist and chose
to become what?
A pilot
7. In the first line of Chapter 1, the narrator mentions a book
he once saw. What was the name of that book?
True Stories from Nature
8. The pilot tells us that throughout his life, when he met a
clear-sighted adult he would always show them what?
drawing number one
9. What does the narrator think of adults?
They don’t have much imagination.
10. What should a person who flies planes study, according
to the narrator? Geography.
11. How old was the narrator of this book when he gave up
his magnificent painting career?
Six years old.
12. The pilot (as a child) drew an animal eating another
animal. What was being eaten?
an elephant
Chapter 2.
1. Where does the plane crash happen?
The Desert of Sahara.
2. The morning after the plane crash, when the narrator
wakes up, who is standing there?
The little prince.

3. What is the pilot asked to draw by the little prince?

a sheep
4. What is the first picture that the narrator actually draws for
the little prince?
A boa constrictor from the outside.
5. The pilot has to make quite a few drawings before the
little prince is satisfied. What picture satisfies him?
The box with air holes.
6. When the plane crashes in Chapter 2, how many people
are in it?
Just one.
7. After the plane crash, what does the pilot do?
Starts to fix the engine of the plane.
8. Who says, “Where I live everything is very small”?
the little prince
9. Why does the pilot get so cross with the little prince in
Chapter 2?
The pilot is trying to fix his engine and the little prince keeps
asking him about inconsequential things.
10. How far are the pilot and the little prince from civilization
in Chapter 2?
a thousand miles
11. How is a drawing of a sheep different from a drawing of a
ram?
A ram has horns.
12. When the pilot and the little prince first meet, what time
of day is it?
sunrise
Chapter 3
1. When the little prince sees the airplane for the first time,
what does he say?
He asks what that object is.
2. How does the little prince reveal that he might be from
another planet?
He asks the pilot, “Which is your planet?”
3. The pilot gives the little prince something that the little
prince greatly treasures and which he keeps it in his pocket.
What is it?
The pilot’s drawing of a sheep in a box with air holes.
4. How many people were on the plane when it crashes?
only one
5. What is the setting in which the pilot and the little prince
meet?
the desert

6. Why is it hard to learn where the little prince came from?

He never seems to hear the questions asked of him.
7. Why does the little prince laugh at the notion of the
airplane falling from the sky?
Because he also fell from the sky.
8. How small is the planet where the prince comes from, as
described in Chapter 3?
so small a sheep doesn’t need to be tied up
9. In Chapter 3, what does he little prince like about the box
that the pilot has drawn?
At night the sheep can use it as a house.
10. Why does the pilot decide not to draw his airplane in the
book?
It is much too complicated.
11. Why does the laughter of the little prince annoy the pilot
so much?
The pilot likes his misfortunes to be taken seriously.
12. The little prince is proud of his flower. What is the pilot
proud of?
The fact that he can fly an airplane.
Chapter 4
1. How big is the little prince’s planet, as described in
chapter 4?
Scarcely any larger than a house.
2. What name does a human scholar give the little prince’s
planet?
Asteroid B-612.
3. Who is the scholar that discovers the little prince’s planet?
A Turkish astronomer who sees it only once through his
telescope
4. What does the discoverer of the little prince’s planet do in
order to be taken seriously?
He wears European clothing.
5. According to the pilot in Chapter 4, what are grownups
mostly interested in?
Things that can be counted, like money and years of age.
6. The pilot reveals that after he becomes friends with the
little prince he starts doing something again. What is it?
drawing
Chapter 5
1. What is a Baobab?
A very dangerous plant that can tear a tiny planet apart.
2. What is the little prince’s plan to safeguard his planet from
baobabs?
To bring sheep to his planet, so they can eat young baobab
bushes.

3. There is one drawing in Chapter 5 that the pilot is very

proud of. Which one is it?
A planet with three baobabs on it.
4. Why does the little prince weed his planet every morning?
To keep the dangerous plants (baobabs) from taking root.
5. There are good and bad plants in the little prince’s plant.
What sees are mentioned as good ones?
roses and radishes
6. What was the soil of the little prince’s planet infested
with?
terrible invisible seeds
Chapter 6
1. What does the little prince love to watch?
the sunset
2. How many times in one day does the sun set on the little
prince’s planet?
44 times
3. What does the little prince do so that he can see the
maximum number of sunsets on his planet?
He moves his chair a few steps.
4. Why does the little prince think he can watch a sunset
anytime?
Because on his small planet, he can.
5. What is the little prince feeling much of the time?
The little prince often feels sad.
6. According to the author, what time is it in the United
States when the sun is setting over France?
Noon.
Chapter 7
1. In the desert, what is the pilot’s primary worry?
That he has very little drinking water left.
2. What is the pilot working on that he thinks will help him
get out of the desert?
The engine of his plane
3. Why does the little prince become enraged at the pilot in
Chapter 7?
Because the pilot doesn’t consider the little prince’s problem
with his flower as a matter of consequence.
4. What does the little prince call the red-faced gentleman
who is the businessman?
He is not a man—he is a mushroom!

5. What does Antoine de Saint-Exupery call The Land of

Tears?
a secret place
6. On the fifth day that the pilot and the little prince are
together, the secret of the little prince’s life is revealed. What
is that secret?
The little prince is afraid that his flower will be eaten by the
sheep.
Chapter 8
1. What time of day does the prince’s beautiful flower first
bloom?
exactly at sunrise
2. What does the prince do for the flower?
waters her, puts a screen by her in the day and a glass
glove over her at night
3. How many thorns does the prince’s unique flower have?
four
4. The prince’s flower has a personality. She is...
vain and demanding
5. What does the prince’s flower have a horror of?
drafts
6. How many petals do the ordinary flowers on the prince’s
planet have?
One ring of petals
Chapter 9
1. On his planet what does the little prince heat his breakfast
on?
either one of his two active volcanoes
2. When he begins having problems with his flower, the
prince makes a very big decision. What is it?
to leave his planet
3. When the flower realizes the little prince is leaving, what
does she ask for?
his forgiveness
4. When the little prince leaves his planet, he says goodbye
to the flower and goes to put her glass globe on. Why does
she say that she doesn’t need the protection anymore?
Because the flower wants to become acquainted with the
butterflies.
Why is the flower not afraid of large animals?
She believes her claws, her thorns, will protect her.
6. When the little prince leaves his planet, does he plan to
ever return?
No, he has no plans to return to his planet.

Chapter 10
1. How many asteroid planets does the little prince visit in
total?
six
2. What does the king of the first asteroid planet the prince
visits call the prince?
His subject.
3. On the first asteroid planet he visits, why can’t the prince
sit down?
The king’s ermine robe is covering the entire planet.
4. What does the king of the first asteroid planet the prince
visits believe he rules over? Everything.
5. What does the little prince ask the king of the first asteroid
planet the prince visits to do for him?
Order a sunset.
6. When the little prince decides to leave the king of the first
asteroid planet the prince visits, what does the king do?
Orders the prince to be his ambassador.
Chapter 11
1. What does the conceited man want?
to be admired
2. What does the conceited man want to be admired as?
The handsomest, the best dressed, the richest, and the
most intelligent man on the planet.
3. What does the conceited man ask the little prince to do?
clap his hands
4. How long is the little prince willing to applaud the
conceited man?
Five minutes
5. What does the conceited man use his hat for?
To salute.
6. How many people live on the conceited man’s planet?
only one
Chapter 12
1. What is the tippler doing?
Drinking to forget.
2. What is the tippler surrounded by?
Empty bottles and full bottles.

3. What is the tippler ashamed of?

People who use alcohol or other substances to cover up
their problems.
4. What is another word that the translator might have used
instead of tippler?
Boozer, alcoholic, or lush
5. The visit to the planet of the tippler plunged the little
prince into what?
Deep dejection.
Chapter 13
1. What is the businessman doing when the prince first
comes across him?
Counting the stars
2. What does the little prince point out to the businessman
when he first meets him?
“Your cigarette has gone out.”
3. What does the businessman think he owns?
The stars
4. The little prince is not impressed with what the
businessman owns. What reason does he give for his
disdain?
That the businessman is of no use to the things he owns.
5. What does the little prince tell the businessman he owns?
a flower and three volcanoes
6. How many times in the 54 years the businessman has
inhabited his planet has he been disturbed?
Three. The little prince is the third disturbance.
Chapter 14
1. What is unique about the fifth planet, the lamplighter’s
planet?
It is the smallest.
2. What is on the lamplighter’s planet?
A street lamp and a lamplighter.
3. The lamplighter says a day on his planet is how long?
One minute
4. On the lamplighter’s planet, how many strides does it take
to circle the planet?
three strides
5. Of all the people the little prince meets on the asteroids,
which one does he think he could be friends with?
The lamplighter.

6. What does the lamplighter love to do most, which he is

never able to do?
Rest.
Chapter 15
1. How would the geographer best be described?
A scholar who knows the location of all the seas, rivers,
towns, mountains and deserts.
2. What does the little prince think is so odd about the
geographer?
That he knows nothing of his own planet.
3. Why does the geographer think someone who drinks too
much is not a reliable source?
Because he would see double and report two mountains
where there was only one.
4. Why does the geographer refuse to record the little
prince’s flower?
The geographer says that a flower is ephemeral.
5. How does the geographer define ephemeral?
“In danger of speedy disappearance.”
6. Where does the geographer advise the little prince to visit
next?
Earth, because it has a good reputation.
Chapter 16
1. How many people, approximately, does the narrator say
live on the earth?
2,000,000,000
2. What is the army of lamplighters on earth compared to?
a ballet or opera
3. Which does the narrator say there are more of on earth,
geographers or conceited men?
Conceited men.
4. How many kings are on earth, according to the pilot?
111
5. There would be two lamplighters who would be able to
rest for most of the year. Where do they live?
at the North and South pole
6. What word is used to describe the great pageant of the
lamplighters around the world, taking turns to bring light into
the darkness?
magnificent
Chapter 17
1. If all humanity were to stand upright and crowd together
how much space would they take up, according to Chapter
XVII?
One public square twenty miles long and twenty miles wide.

2. When the little prince arrives on the earth, why doesn’t he

see ant people?
He lands in the Sahara desert.
3. What is the first creature the little prince meets on earth?
The golden snake
4. How does the little prince feel when he first arrives on the
earth?
Lonely.
5. What does the first creature the prince meets on earth say
he is more powerful than?
The finger of a king.
6. What does the first creature the prince meets on earth
offer the little prince?
To send him back from whence he came.
Chapter 18
1. After arriving on the earth and meeting his first earth
creature, what does the little prince do?
He crosses the desert.
2. Describe the flower which the little prince meets in the
desert.
It is a flower with three petals, a flower of no actual account.
3. What does the flower in the desert know of men?
She once saw a caravan passing. She believes they were
the only men in existence.
4. How many men does the flower think there are on earth?
Six or seven.
5. Why does the flower in the desert think men are hard to
find?
The wind blows them away.
6. How many flowers does the little prince meet in the
desert?
Only one.
Chapter 19
1. When he emerges from the desert, where does the little
prince go?
He climbs a high mountain.
2. On his own planet, what does the little prince use the
extinct volcano for?
A footstool.
3. When the little prince is up on the high peak in Chapter
XIX, who does he speak with?
An echo.
4. What does the little prince hope to see from the high peak
in Chapter XIX?
“The whole planet at one glance and all the people...”
5. From his perch on the mountain, what does the little
prince think of the world?
That it is all together dry, pointed, harsh, and forbidding.

6. On the little prince’s planet, who would speak first, himself

or his flower?
His flower is always the first to speak.
Chapter 20
1. The little prince walks through sand, rock and snow and at
last comes to a road. Where does the road lead them?
A garden
2. The little prince discovers a rose garden. What is it about
this rose garden that makes him so sad?
He realizes that his flower is not the only one of her kind in
the universe.
3. How many roses are in the garden that the little prince
discovers?
Five thousands.
4. In the rose garden, the little prince has to face a difficult
fact about himself. What is it?
That the things he thought were so rare and valuable are
quite common and small.
5. What do the flowers in the rose garden remind him of?
They all look like his flower.
6. In the rose garden, when the little prince realizes the truth
of his life and of the things he loves, what does he do?
He lies down in the grass and cries.
Chapter 21
1. Where does the little prince find the fox?
Under the apple tree.
2. The little prince wants the fox to play with him. What does
the fox say?
“I cannot play with you. I am not tamed.”
3. What does the little prince tell the fox he is looking for?
Friends.
4. How does the fox define the word “tame”?
It means to establish ties.
5. Why is the fox so interested in the little prince’s planet?
There are no hunters there.
6. Why does the fox want to be tamed?
His life is very boring and monotonous. Being tamed will be
like the sun shining on his life.

Chapter 22
1. What is the job of the railway switchman?
To sort out travelers, in bundles of thousands.
2. What does the railway switchmen think of children?
Only children are flattening their noses against the
windowpanes. They are lucky.
3. According to the switchman, what are the adults in the
trains pursuing?
Nothing at all.
4. When the little prince watches the trains, he remembers
something the fox said. What does he remember?
“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your
rose so important.”
5. What do the children on the trains waste their time over?
A rag doll.
6. How does the author use light imagery in the chapter
about trains?
The trains are brilliantly lit as they thunder by.
Chapter 23
1. How many thirst-quenching pills would one need in order
to feel full of liquid, according to Chapter XXIII?
One pill a week.
2. What is the selling point which the pill merchant offers the
little prince?
The pills save a tremendous amount of time.
3. How much time per week can a person save by taking the
thirst quenching pills?
Fifty-three minutes each week.
4. Who does the allegorical character of the pill merchant
represent?
People who sell us things we don’t need.
5. The imagery of water is used in The Little Prince to
represent the life-giving force, whether it is physical or
spiritual. What then does this thirst-quenching pill represent?
The way we falsely feed our thirst with things that do not
give us life.
6. Is the little prince interested in buying the pills?
No, he would rather use the time to walk towards a spring of
fresh water.
Chapter 24
1. How many days have the pilot and little prince been
together when the pilot drinks the last of his water supply?
Eight days.
2. Who is dying of thirst in the desert?
Both the pilot and the little prince. The pilot’s thirst is
physical and the little prince needs spiritual awakening.

3. What does the little prince decide that they should look for
to quench their thirst in Chapter XXIV?
A well.
4. Night falls and the pilot and little prince are walking in the
dark. What do they think of the desert in the moonlight?
The desert is beautiful.
5. What does the little prince believe that the desert hides?
A well.
6. What moves the pilot so much about the little prince
whom he carries in his arms across the dark desert?
His loyalty to a flower—the image of a rose that shines
through his whole being.
Chapter 25
1. At what time of day does the pilot find the well?
At daybreak.
2. Why does the pilot think he is dreaming when he finds the
well?
It does not look like other wells of the Sahara. It is like the
well in a village.
3. What sound does the well in the desert make?
It moans, like an old weathervane which the wind has long
since forgotten.
4. Who hoists the bucket up from the bottom of the well to
the surface?
The pilot.
5. Who drinks from the well first?
The little prince. This is the water he was thirsty for.
6. What is the final drawing which the little prince requests
from the pilot?
A muzzle for the little prince’s sheep.
Chapter 26
1. What structure is near the well?
The ruin of an old stone wall.
2. Where must the snake bite the little prince?
The exact spot where the little prince arrived on earth.
What does the little prince ask about the poison which the
snake has within it?
You have good poison? You are sure it will not make me
suffer long?
When the pilot sees the snake in Chapter XXVI, what does
he do?
Goes for his revolver.

5. What color is the muffler which the little prince wears

around his neck?
Golden.
6. What does the little prince know about the pilot’s engine in
Chapter XXVI?
That the pilot has fixed it.
Chapter 27
1. How many years have gone by before the pilot tells his
story?
six years
2. What does the pilot regret most about his drawing of the
sheep’s muzzle?
He forgot to add the leather strap to it. It can never be
fastened on the sheep.
3. Does the pilot wonder about the little prince and the flower
and the sheep?
Yes, the pilot often thinks of them when he looks up at the
stars.
4. What is the moral of The Little Prince?
(answers will vary—possibilities include the following: To
keep our childlike wonder, and not know everything for sure,
allows us to fully live. To love is to risk loss and grief. But it is
worth it.
5. Does the pilot ever find his way out of the desert?
Yes, he fixes his engine.
6. If one is ever in the African desert and sees a little man
with golden hair, what should one do?
Send word to the pilot that he has come back.