Explore Chapter 10 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.
He found himself near the asteroids numbered 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, and 330. So he decided to visit them to learn more.
The first asteroid was home to a king. Dressed in royal purple and a fur robe, he sat on a throne that was both simple and grand.
"Ah! Here is a subject," the king cried out when he saw the little prince approaching.
And the little prince wondered: "How does he know me when he has never seen me before?"
He did not understand that kings see the world in a simple way. To them, everyone is a subject.
"Come closer so I can see you better," said the king, who was very proud to finally be a king over someone.
The little prince looked around for a place to sit, but the whole planet was covered by the king's large fur robe. So he stayed standing, and because he was tired, he yawned.
"It is against the rules to yawn in front of a king," the king told him. "I forbid you to do that."
"I can't help it. I can't stop myself," replied the little prince, feeling very embarrassed. "I have traveled a long way, and I haven't slept..."
"Ah, then," the king said. "I order you to yawn. It has been years since I saw anyone yawn. Yawns are interesting to me. Come on! Yawn again! That is an order."
"That scares me... I can't do it anymore..." whispered the little prince, now very shy.
"Hmm! Hmm!" replied the king. "Then I—I order you to yawn sometimes and sometimes to—"
He stumbled over his words and seemed annoyed.
What the king really wanted was for his authority to be respected. He did not allow anyone to disobey. He was a king with total power. But because he was a good man, he gave orders that made sense.
"If I ordered a general," he would say as an example, "to turn into a sea bird, and if the general did not obey, that would not be the general's fault. It would be my fault."
"May I sit down?" the little prince asked shyly.
"I order you to sit down," the king answered, and he proudly moved a part of his fur robe aside.
But the little prince was curious. The planet was very small. What could this king really rule over?
"Your Majesty," he said, "please excuse me for asking a question—"
"I order you to ask me a question," the king quickly said.
"Over everything," said the king, in a grand and simple way.
The king waved his hand, pointing to his planet, the other planets, and all the stars.
Because his rule was not only total—it was also everywhere.
"Of course they do," the king said. "They obey right away. I do not allow disobedience."
This kind of power amazed the little prince. If he had such power, he could watch the sunset not just forty-four times a day, but seventy-two, or even a hundred, or two hundred times, without moving his chair. And because he felt a little sad thinking about his own little planet that he had left, he found the courage to ask the king for a favor:
"I would like to see a sunset... please be kind... Order the sun to set..."
"If I ordered a general to fly from one flower to another like a butterfly, or to write a sad play, or to turn into a sea bird, and if the general did not follow the order, who would be wrong?" the king asked. "The general, or me?"
"Exactly. Everyone must only be asked to do what they can do," the king continued. "True authority is based on reason. If you ordered your people to jump into the sea, they would rebel. I have the right to ask for obedience because my orders are reasonable."
"What about my sunset?" the little prince reminded him, because he never forgot a question once he asked it.
"You will have your sunset. I will command it. But, according to my knowledge of ruling, I will wait until the time is right."
"Hmm! Hmm!" replied the king; and before saying more, he checked a big calendar. "Hmm! Hmm! That will be—about—tonight at twenty minutes to eight. And you will see how well I am obeyed."
The little prince yawned. He was sorry to miss his sunset. And he was also starting to feel a little bored.
"I have nothing more to do here," he said to the king. "So I will leave now."
"Do not go," said the king, who was very proud to have a subject. "Do not go. I will make you a Minister!"
"Minister of—of Justice!"
"But there is no one here to judge!"
"We don't know that," the king told him. "I have not yet seen all of my kingdom. I am very old. There is no space for a carriage here. And walking makes me tired."
"Oh, but I have already looked!" said the little prince, turning to see the other side of the planet. On that side, just like this side, there was no one at all...
"Then you will judge yourself," the king answered. "That is the hardest thing of all. It is much harder to judge yourself than to judge others. If you can judge yourself correctly, then you are truly wise."
"Yes," said the little prince, "but I can judge myself anywhere. I don't need to live on this planet."
"Hmm! Hmm!" said the king. "I have reason to believe there is an old rat somewhere on my planet. I hear him at night. You can judge this old rat. Sometimes you will sentence him to death. So his life will depend on your fairness. But you will forgive him each time; because we must be careful with him. He is the only one we have."
"I," replied the little prince, "do not like to sentence anyone to death. And now I think I will go."
But the little prince, having finished getting ready to leave, did not want to upset the old king.
"If Your Majesty wants to be obeyed quickly," he said, "you should give me a reasonable order. For example, you could order me to leave within one minute. It seems to me the time is right..."
Since the king did not answer, the little prince waited a moment. Then, with a sigh, he said goodbye.
"I make you my Ambassador," the king called out quickly.