Explore Chapter 17 of "The Little Prince", featuring the original English text, simplified Chinese translation, detailed IELTS vocabulary with explanations, and audio of the English original. Improve your reading skills while listening.
When a person wishes to appear clever, he sometimes strays a little from the truth. Regarding the lamplighter, what I told you was not entirely honest. I realized that I risked giving a false impression to those who do not know our planet. The space occupied by humanity on Earth is very small. If the two billion inhabitants of the Earth's surface were to stand upright and crowd together a little, as they do at some large public gatherings, they could easily be accommodated in a public square twenty miles long and twenty miles wide. All of humanity could be piled onto a small Pacific islet.
Grown-ups would certainly not believe you if you told them that. They imagine they fill a great deal of space. They fancy themselves as important as baobabs. You should therefore advise them to make the calculation themselves. They adore figures, and that will please them. But you must not waste your time on this extra task. It is unnecessary. I know, you have confidence in me.
When the little prince arrived on Earth, he was very surprised not to see anyone. He began to fear he had come to the wrong planet, when a golden coil, the color of moonlight, flashed across the sand. "Good evening," said the little prince politely. "Good evening," said the snake. "On what planet have I fallen?" asked the little prince. "This is Earth; this is Africa," replied the snake. "Ah! Then there are no people on Earth?" "This is the desert. There are no people in the desert. The Earth is large," said the snake. The little prince sat down on a stone and raised his eyes to the sky. "I wonder," he said, "whether the stars are lit up in heaven so that one day each of us can find his own star again... Look at my planet. It is right above us. But how far away it is!" "It is beautiful," said the snake. "What has brought you here?" "I have had some trouble with a flower," said the little prince. "Ah!" said the snake. And they were both silent. "Where are the people?" the little prince resumed finally. "It is a little lonely in the desert..." "It is also lonely among people," said the snake. The little prince gazed at him for a long time. "You are a funny animal," he said at last. "You are no thicker than a finger..." "But I am more powerful than the finger of a king," said the snake. The little prince smiled. "You are not very powerful. You haven't even any feet. You cannot even travel..." "I can carry you farther than any ship could take you," said the snake. He twined himself around the little prince's ankle, like a golden bracelet. "Whomever I touch, I send back to the earth from which he came," the snake spoke again. "But you are innocent and true, and you come from a star..." The little prince made no reply. "You move me to pity—you are so weak on this Earth made of granite," the snake said. "I can help you, someday, if you grow too homesick for your own planet. I can—" "Oh! I understand you very well," said the little prince. "But why do you always speak in riddles?" "I solve all riddles," said the snake. And they were both silent again.