🔊 But it happened that after walking for a long time through sand, and rocks, and snow, the little prince at last came upon a road. And all roads lead to the abodes of men.

But after walking for a long time through sand, rocks, and snow, the little prince finally found a road. And all roads lead to where people live.

🔊

abodes /əˈbəʊdz/

n. The places where someone lives; homes or dwellings.

🔊 "Good morning," he said.

"Good morning," he said.

🔊 He was standing before a garden, all a-bloom with roses.

He was standing in front of a garden full of blooming roses.

🔊

a-bloom /əˈbluːm/

adj. Covered with or in full bloom; flowering.

🔊 "Good morning," said the roses.

"Good morning," the roses said.

🔊 The little prince gazed at them. They all looked like his flower.

The little prince looked at them. They all looked like his flower.

🔊

gazed /ɡeɪzd/

v. Looked steadily and intently, especially in admiration, surprise, or thought.

🔊 "Who are you?" he demanded, thunderstruck. "We are roses," the roses said.

"Who are you?" he asked, shocked. "We are roses," the roses said.

🔊

demanded /dɪˈmɑːndɪd/

v. Asked a question in an authoritative or insistent manner.

🔊

thunderstruck /ˈθʌndəstrʌk/

adj. Extremely surprised or shocked; amazed.

🔊 And he was overcome with sadness. His flower had told him that she was the only one of her kind in all the universe. And here were five thousand of them, all alike, in one single garden!

He felt very sad. His flower had told him that she was the only one of her kind in the whole universe. But here there were five thousand of them, all the same, in just one garden!

🔊

overcome /ˌəʊvəˈkʌm/

v. To be overwhelmed or overpowered by a feeling, especially an emotional one.

🔊

universe /ˈjuːnɪvɜːs/

n. All existing matter and space considered as a whole; the cosmos.

🔊 "She would be very much annoyed," he said to himself, "if she should see that... She would cough most dreadfully, and she would pretend that she was dying, to avoid being laughed at. And I should be obliged to pretend that I was nursing her back to life—for if I did not do that, to humble myself also, she would really allow herself to die..."

"She would be very upset," he thought, "if she saw this... She would cough a lot and pretend to be dying, so no one would laugh at her. And I would have to pretend to take care of her—because if I didn't, and didn't act humble too, she might really let herself die..."

🔊

annoyed /əˈnɔɪd/

adj. Slightly angry or irritated.

🔊

dreadfully /ˈdredfəli/

adv. In a terrible or extremely unpleasant manner; very.

🔊

pretend /prɪˈtend/

v. To behave as if something is true when it is not, often for fun or to deceive.

🔊

obliged /əˈblaɪdʒd/

adj. Required to do something because of a law, rule, promise, or sense of duty.

🔊

nursing /ˈnɜːsɪŋ/

v. Caring for someone who is ill or injured.

🔊

humble /ˈhʌmbəl/

v. To lower (someone) in dignity or importance; to make meek.

🔊 Then he went on with his reflections: "I thought that I was rich, with a flower that was unique in all the world; and all I had was a common rose. A common rose, and three volcanoes that come up to my knees—and one of them perhaps extinct forever... That doesn't make me a very great prince..."

Then he kept thinking: "I thought I was rich because I had a flower that was one of a kind in the whole world. But all I had was an ordinary rose. An ordinary rose, and three volcanoes that only come up to my knees—and one of them might be dead forever... That doesn't make me a very great prince..."

🔊

reflections /rɪˈflekʃənz/

n. Serious thought or consideration; the act of thinking deeply about something.

🔊

unique /juːˈniːk/

adj. Being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.

🔊

common /ˈkɒmən/

adj. Occurring, found, or done often; not rare or special.

🔊

volcanoes /vɒlˈkeɪnəʊz/

n. Openings in the earth's crust through which lava, ash, and gases erupt.

🔊

extinct /ɪkˈstɪŋkt/

adj. (of a species, family, or other larger group) having no living members; (of a volcano) not having erupted in recorded history and not expected to erupt again.

🔊 And he lay down in the grass and cried.

And he lay down in the grass and cried.

Chapter XX