Explore Chapter 17 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.
I need to tell you the truth. I have not been completely honest when I told you about the lamplighters. I know I might give people who don't know our planet the wrong idea. People take up very little space on Earth. If all two billion people living on Earth stood up close together, like they do at a big gathering, they could all fit into a square that is twenty miles long and twenty miles wide. All of humanity could be placed on a small island in the Pacific Ocean.
People think they take up a lot of space. They think they are as important as the baobab trees. You should tell them to do the math themselves. They love numbers, and that will make them happy. But don't spend your time on this extra job. It is not needed. I know you trust me.
When the little prince came to Earth, he was very surprised not to see anyone. He started to worry he had come to the wrong planet. Then, something like a coil of gold, the color of moonlight, moved quickly across the sand.
"What planet have I landed on?" asked the little prince. "This is Earth; this is Africa," the snake answered. "Ah! So there are no people on Earth?"
"This is the desert. There are no people in the desert. Earth is big," said the snake.
The little prince sat on a stone and looked up at the sky.
"I wonder," he said, "if the stars are lit up in the sky so that one day each of us can find our own star again... Look at my planet. It is right above us. But it is so far away!" "It is beautiful," the snake said. "What brought you here?" "I had an argument with a flower," said the little prince. "Ah!" said the snake. And they both stayed quiet. "Where are the people?" the little prince finally spoke again. "It is a little lonely in the desert..." "It is also lonely among people," the snake said. The little prince looked at the snake for a long time. "You are a funny animal," he said at last. "You are no thicker than a finger..." "But I am stronger than the finger of a king," said the snake. "You are not very strong. You don't even have any feet. You can't even travel..." "I can take you farther than any ship could," said the snake. And he wrapped himself around the little prince's ankle, like a golden bracelet. "Whoever I touch, I send back to the earth where they came from," the snake spoke again. "But you are innocent and true, and you come from a star..." The little prince did not answer. "You make me feel sorry for you—you are so weak on this Earth made of hard rock," the snake said. "I can help you, one day, if you miss your own planet too much. I can—" "Oh! I understand you very well," said the little prince. "But why do you always talk in riddles?" "I can solve them all," said the snake. And they were both silent.