Explore Chapter 1 of 'The Little Prince' with the original English text, English translation, detailed IELTS vocabulary and explanations, and audio of the English original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
When I was six years old, I saw an amazing picture in a book called True Stories from Nature. The book was about ancient forests. The picture showed a boa constrictor swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of that picture.
The book said: "Boa constrictors swallow their food whole, without chewing. After that, they cannot move, and they sleep for six months while they digest their food."
I thought deeply about the adventures in the jungle. Then, using a colored pencil, I made my first drawing. I called it My Drawing Number One. It looked like this:
I showed my great drawing to the adults and asked if it scared them. But they said: "Scared? Why would anyone be scared by a hat?"
My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. But since the adults could not understand it, I made another drawing. I drew the inside of a boa constrictor so the adults could see it clearly. They always need things explained. My Drawing Number Two looked like this:
This time, the adults told me to stop drawing boa constrictors, whether from the inside or outside. They said I should focus on geography, history, math, and grammar instead. That is why, at age six, I gave up what could have been a great career as a painter. I was discouraged by the failure of my Drawing Number One and Drawing Number Two. Adults never understand things on their own, and it is tiring for children to always explain things to them.
So I chose another job and learned to fly airplanes. I have flown to many parts of the world. Geography has been very helpful to me. I can tell China from Arizona just by looking. If you are lost at night, this knowledge is useful.
In my life, I have met many people who were busy with important matters. I have spent a lot of time with adults. I have seen them up close. And this has not made me think better of them.
Whenever I met an adult who seemed to have good sense, I would test them by showing my Drawing Number One, which I always kept. I wanted to see if they truly understood. But no matter who it was, they would always say:
Then I would not talk to that person about boa constrictors, ancient forests, or stars. I would talk at their level. I would talk about bridge, golf, politics, and neckties. And the adult would be very happy to have met such a reasonable person.