Transcript for:
The Little Prince: Summary and Analysis

the little prince by antoine de saint is a guided reading in english for beginners [Music] read by joshua cashel [Music] do [Music] chapter 1 pictures one day i drew a picture of a snake with an elephant inside it why you ask me this is my answer i drew the picture because i read an interesting book about snakes snakes catch animals and they eat them whole i was six years old and it was my first picture it is my picture number one here it is i showed my picture to some grown-ups and i asked them are you frightened by my picture all of them said the same thing i'm not frightened by a picture of a hat but it was not a picture of a hat it was a picture of a snake with an elephant inside it then i drew my picture number two because grown-ups are not very intelligent here it is i showed picture number two to the grown-ups but they were not interested in it i was sad and i stopped drawing pictures i went to school and i learned about other things then i became a grown-up and i learned to fly planes i flew planes all over the world and i met lots of other grown-ups sometimes i show my picture number one to other grown-ups but they are not very intelligent i told you this before they always say it's a hat and i do not show them picture number two then one day i met the little prince and i showed a picture to him i crashed my plane in the sahara desert and i met him the next day [Music] chapter 2 a sheep i was not hurt but i could not start the plane again i was alone in the desert and i did not have much water i had to work on the plane quickly that night i slept on the sand then the next morning i was very surprised i woke up and i heard a voice draw me a sheep please the voice said what i said i want you to draw me a sheep said the voice i opened my eyes and i jumped up a boy with golden hair stood next to me i was very surprised to see him because we were in the middle of a desert in africa we were alone in a desert but he did not look frightened this is my picture of the boy it is not very good i never learned to draw very well what are you doing here i said it was difficult to speak because i was surprised he laughed quietly but he did not answer me he said again please draw me a sheep i'm good at lots of things but i'm not very good at drawing i said it doesn't matter he said slowly you can draw me a sheep i can't draw sheep i said but i can draw this i drew him my picture number one the drawing of the snake with the whole elephant inside it no no i don't want a picture of an elephant inside a snake he said at home everything is very small and elephants are too big i need a sheep then he said again draw me a sheep again i was very surprised and i drew a sheep he looked at it then he said no this sheep doesn't look very well try again i drew a second sheep the boy looked at it and he smiled this isn't a sheep he said this is a ram i can see the horns on its head try again i drew the sheep again and i did not put any horns on its head but he did not like that drawing because the sheep looked too old i want a young sheep he said i want the sheep to live for a long time i did not want to draw another picture because i wanted to work on my plane then i thought hard and i drew this picture very quickly the sheep lives in the box i said to him he looked closely at the picture i was surprised because he laughed this is very good he said will the sheep eat a lot of grass why i asked because at home everything is very small and there isn't much grass he said it'll be fine i said the sheep is very small he looked again at the picture and he said she's small but she isn't very small he said then he said look she's sleeping i thought the boy understands my pictures [Music] chapter 3 a planet on the second day i asked the little prince where do you come from but he did not answer me he always asked me lots and lots of questions but he never answered my questions what's that thing he asked it isn't a thing it's my plane i said it flies in the sky but it crashed yesterday did you fall out of the sky he asked yes i did i said oh that's funny he said that's very funny then he laughed and laughed and i was angry because i did not like his laugh then he said something strange you came down from the sky too which planet are you from i started to understand this strange boy i'm from this planet earth i said where do you come from he did not answer me he wanted to talk about my plane and his sheep but i knew something about him now he came from a very small planet every day i learned a bit more about the little prince and his planet i also learned about his journey to earth i do not want to forget anything and i want you to learn about it too i will tell you the story and i will draw pictures but you must remember something i am not very good at drawing but i will try hard i will not draw a picture of my plane because that is too difficult here is my drawing of the little prince on his very small planet on the third day the little prince told me about his problem with trees first he asked me do sheep eat little trees yes i said sheep eat most things good he said my sheep will eat the baobabs i was very surprised baobabs are very big trees i said your sheep couldn't eat a baabab lots and lots of elephants couldn't eat one baobab the little prince laughed that's funny he said my planet is very small could the elephant stand on top of other elephants he laughed and laughed and i drew him a picture then he thought hard and he said baobabs are small trees then they grow up and they become big trees of course i said but why do you want the sheep to eat the small baobabs he was surprised don't you understand he said my planet is very small and there are lots and lots of small baobab trees my sheep must eat them because i can't have big trees on my very small planet big trees will hurt my planet and people must look after their planets i understand i said it's bad to have too many big trees on a small planet he said draw me a beautiful picture of some very big baobab trees on a small planet please you can show it to people on earth yes i said then people will understand baobabs are bad for planets i worked very hard on my drawing and here it is on the fourth day the little prince told me about the sunsets on his planet that morning he said to me i love sunsets let's go and see one but we can't i said we have to wait what do we have to wait for he asked we have to wait until the end of the day of course i said he looked very surprised then he started to laugh i'm stupid he said i'm on earth not at home i understood on earth a big planet we can see a sunset in one country but we cannot see a second sunset in another country one minute after the first sunset on the little prince's planet a very small planet he could sit in his chair and watch a sunset then he could move his chair and watch another sunset one day he told me i watched 43 sunsets he also said sunsets are very beautiful and beautiful things are important but sunsets are sad too you saw 43 beautiful sunsets i said were you sad that day but he did not answer me [Music] chapter 4 the flower on the fifth day the little prince said sheep eat small trees i know do they eat flowers too my work on my plane was very difficult and i did not want to talk i had to work on it quickly because i had a big problem i did not have much water and i was always thirsty i needed more water i answered quickly sheep eat lots of different things but do they eat flowers he asked yes no i don't know i shouted it's not important what do you mean not important he said of course it's important his face was white and he looked very worried i have a beautiful flower on my planet she's my special flower and i look after her he said i don't want your sheep to eat my flower then the little prince started to cry and i became worried it was dark now i forgot about my plane and i was not thirsty i wanted to cry too i held him in my arms and i said to him [Music] i can help you i can draw a muzzle for the sheep it will cover the sheep's mouth then the sheep cannot eat your flower thank you said the little prince he was better now and i started to work on my plane again he talked and i learned a lot about his flower there were other flowers on his planet but this flower was special she's beautiful and i love her he said look after me she said to me and i looked after her every day the little prince looked after her and he looked after the planet too he gave the flower water and he covered her with glass every night but she did not often say thank you the little prince became angry with the flower because she was never happy and she was often angry with him then the little prince told me very sadly one day my flower said to me don't look after me i don't need you this made me sad i stopped my work on the plane again and looked at the little prince i left my planet because my flower didn't need me he said on my last day there i cleaned my volcanoes and i gave water to her she said to me don't cover me i don't need a cover i was surprised but i didn't cover her then she said i love you you know but i don't need you go away now i was very sad and she was very sad goodbye i said to her but she did not speak to me again then he said i know something now. her words were angry but they weren't important she made me happy because she was beautiful and that was important i was too young to understand [Music] chapter five four planets i sat next to the little prince and he told me the story of his journey here it is some birds helped him to fly away from his planet they carried him across the sky he visited four very small planets and he met some very strange grown-ups there was a king on the first planet but he was alone there were no other people the king said to him you can do lots of things for me the little prince asked why and the king said because i am a king and the little prince said no thank you on the second planet there was a man he had a big book and he wrote lots of numbers in it what are you doing the little prince asked him writing down the number of stars in the sky they're my stars the man said why are they your stars the little prince asked because i write down the number of stars on my paper he said the little prince thought this man has numbers in his book he doesn't have stars i have volcanoes and my flower on my planet a lamplighter lived on the next planet he had one lamp his planet was very small and the days and nights went very quickly he had to light the lamp and put it out every minute because the planet was very small this was very strange but he was a good man and the little prince liked him the man on the fourth planet was a writer i know about all the planets he said i write books about them i have three volcanoes and a flower on my planet the little prince said flowers die the writer said flowers aren't interesting but my books are interesting the little prince became very sad why did i leave my planet he thought but he said to the writer where can i go next on my journey earth is an interesting planet said the writer go there [Music] chapter 6 the snake the little prince told me the next part of his story he traveled to earth the fifth planet on his journey he looked around him and he said earth is a very big planet but there are no people on earth then he looked down and saw a beautiful yellow snake on the sand good evening he said to it because he wanted to say something good evening the snake said to him why are there no people on this big planet he asked it the snake said you're in a desert in africa there are no people here but earth is very big and you will find many people in other places the little prince sat down and he looked up at the sky look that's my planet he said it's beautiful said the snake why aren't you on your planet why are you here i'm here because i have a special flower on my planet he said i left there because she doesn't need me i understand said the snake where can i find the people ask the little prince i'm lonely in the desert you can be lonely with people too the snake answered the little prince looked at the snake for a long time then he said you look strange you're very long and thin and you don't have any feet maybe i am long and thin said the snake but i am strong i can send you away from here the little prince did not say anything you're sad but i can help you said the snake how can you help me ask the little prince the snake moved its body quickly around the little prince's leg and it opened its mouth i can send you back to your planet one day i can bite you and you will go home and then they were quiet they did not say anything more [Music] chapter 7 the roses the little prince walked on through the desert and he met only one flower good morning said the little prince good morning to you said the flower where are all the people the little prince asked people i don't know said the flower i see people sometimes but they're difficult to find they move with the wind you know flowers stay in one place but people move around life is difficult for them i think goodbye said the little prince goodbye to you said the flower the next morning the little prince walked up a high mountain i will be able to see the whole planet and all the people from the top he thought but he only saw more mountains from the top of the mountain hello he shouted hello hello hello answered the echo who are you asked the little prince who are you are you are you answered the echo please be my friends the little prince said i'm very lonely i'm very lonely lonely lonely answered the echo what a strange planet thought the little prince you can't see the people and they aren't very intelligent they don't answer you they say your words again at home i had my flower and she always spoke to me he walked away from the mountains and after a long time he came to a road maybe i will see some people now he thought and then he saw a garden in the garden there were thousands of flowers hello he said hello to you they said the little prince looked at the flowers and he was very surprised they all looked the same as his special flower on his planet who are you he asked them we are roses they told him he was surprised and very sad now he knew his flower was a rose and she was not special because there are thousands of roses he fell on the ground and he cried then the little prince heard a voice good morning it said he looked up but he could not see anyone good morning he said where are you i'm here under the apple tree said the voice i can see you now said the little prince who are you you're very beautiful i'm a fox said the false [Music] chapter 8 the fox please play with me said the little prince to the fox i'm very sad and lonely today flower isn't special because she's the same as all the other roses i can't play with you said the fox you must tame me first what does tame mean the little prince asked it means become my friend answered the fox there are lots of little boys and you're only one of them you aren't very interesting because you aren't special to me you must become my friend and become special then i'll play with you i'm beginning to understand said the little prince i know a special flower and she tamed me i think maybe she did said the fox now look at the golden corn over there and i'll tell you more about being a friend i'm not interested in corn now because i'm a fox i don't eat bread but i'll learn to love the golden corn you have golden hair and you're going to be my friend i'll say every time i see the golden corn i'm happy i'm happy because the corn is the same color as my friend's hair i understand a bit more said the little prince then the fox said please tame me and become my friend how can i do that asked the little prince well answered the fox you must sit down on the grass over there say nothing and i'll watch you then tomorrow you must come back sit on the grass near to me but not too near you can talk to me but you mustn't make me frightened on the next day come back again you can sit very near me and we can talk we'll be friends i'd like that said the little prince i'd like to tame you and the fox said come at the same time every day that's a good thing to do tell me i'm coming to see you at four o'clock in the afternoon tomorrow i'll be happy between three o'clock and four o'clock because you're going to come i understand said the little prince again the little prince came back each day and he tamed the fox then one day the little prince said i must go now that makes me sad because i'm your friend i'm your special fox said the fox i'm going to cry well said the little prince you wanted me to tame you that's true answered the fox but you're going to cry said the little prince it wasn't good to tame you yes it was because we're friends said the fox i can look at the golden corn now and i can be happy the corn is special now because your hair is golden then he said go to the garden again and look at the roses then come back here and say goodbye to me the little prince went to see the roses again and he understood something the roses in the garden were not special because they were not his friends on the day he met the fox the fox was not special but the fox was special now because they were friends the rose on the little prince's planet was special too because they were friends he went back to see the fox goodbye the little prince said and goodbye to you the fox said but first i'll tell you some important things they're very easy to understand your heart sees the important things in life but your eyes don't see them my heart sees the important things in life but my eyes don't see them said the little prince your rose is special because you tamed her she's your friend said the fox my rose is special because i tamed her said the little prince and you mustn't forget this said the fox you must always look after your special things i must always look after my special things said the little prince [Music] chapter 9 the well eight days after my plane crashed in the desert i became very worried i could not fly my plane and there was no more water it was very hot and now i was very thirsty the little prince started to tell me more about his journey the fox he said my friend i said please don't tell me more why not ask the little prince because i'm very thirsty i said i'm going to die because i don't have any water i'm also thirsty he said let's find a well and he started to walk i thought we won't find a well in the desert but i started to walk too we walked for many hours night came and we could see the stars in the sky we did not talk then the little prince sat down on the sand and i sat down next to him he was tired and i was tired too he said the stars are beautiful because there's a flower you can't see her but she's up there that's true i said and the desert is beautiful he said it's beautiful because there's a well you can't see it but it's there you're right i said things are beautiful because of other things we can't see the other things but they are there and they are important the little prince was very tired and i carried him across the desert he slept in my arms and i looked down at him and i thought he's very small and light and i can't see the important part of him i walked on across the desert until the sky became light and then i saw a well i put the little prince down near the well and he woke up this is very strange i said to him look there's a bucket and a rope to pull the bucket up from the well he laughed and then he took the bucket it fell down into the well i pulled the rope very slowly and the heavy bucket came up again with water in it i need a drink said the little prince i held the bucket and he drank from it then i drank too the water was very good you must draw a muzzle for the sheep now said the little prince i drew the muzzle and the little prince laughed at my drawing but i was worried why did the little prince want the muzzle now then he said the birds brought me near to this place tomorrow it will be one year did you want to come back to the same place i asked the little prince did not answer because he never answered questions but his face went red his answer is yes i thought i did not understand but i was very sad i started to speak again but he said quickly you must finish your work on your plane now come back here tomorrow evening i'll wait here for you [Music] chapter 10 the end the next day i finished my work on the plane i could fly home now in the afternoon i walked back to the well the little prince was on top of an old wall near the well and i could hear his voice yes he said it's the right day but this is not the right place another voice answered but i could not hear the words then the little prince said come to the right place tonight and wait for me but please don't hurt me very much now go away then i saw something on the sand near the wall and i was frightened it was a yellow snake why did you talk to that snake i asked little prince but he did not answer i came close to him he looked up at me very sadly and he put his arms around me you can fly back to your home today he said i was surprised how did you know that i asked him but he did not answer i'm going home today too he said sadly it's a difficult journey but i must see my flower again she's special and i must look after her and i have the sheep and her box and the muzzle i could not speak i was very sad then i said little prince i love your laugh the little prince laughed quietly and he said that's good you can remember my laugh and you can remember me i'm going home to my star you can look at the stars every night you can be happy i live up there you'll see my star and you'll think of my laugh he laughed and laughed then he stopped and he said don't come with me to the snake tonight it will be better i don't want to leave you i said i don't want the snake to bite you he said he was worried i won't leave you i said that night he walked quickly away from the well but i ran after him he said ah there you are then he held my hand and we walked across the desert together you were wrong to come he said it will be sad you'll think he is dead but it won't be true i could not say anything do you understand he said my body is too heavy i can't take it with me we could not speak and he cried then he said we're near the place now he sat down on the sand my flower needs me i have to look after her i sat down too well said the little prince i'll go now he stood up and began to walk away from me i could not move then i saw the yellow snake on the sand close to him it moved quickly and it bit his leg first the little prince stood there then he fell slowly and quietly there was no noise because he fell on the sand now after six years sometimes i am not sad and sometimes i am happy do you think about the little prince often you ask me and here is my answer yes i look up at the stars and i remember the little prince and his flower and our sheep [Music] the little prince by antoine de sante a guided reading in english for beginners read by joshua cashel [Music] you