No story is more beloved by children and grown-ups alike than this wise, enchanting fable. One day, the author reminisces, when his plane was forced down in the Sahara, a thousand miles from help, he encountered a most extraordinary small person. "If you please, " said the stranger, "draw me a sheep." And thus begins the remarkable history of the Little Prince.
The Little Prince lived alone on a tiny planet no larger than a house. He owned three volcanoes, two active and one extinct. He also owned a flower, unlike any flower in all the galaxy, of great beauty and of inordinate pride. It was this pride that ruined the serenity of the Little Prince's world and started him on the interplanetary travels that brought him to Earth, where he learned, finally, from a fox, the secret of what is really important in life.
There are a few stories that in some way, in some degree, change the world forever for their readers. This is one.
Translated from the French by Katherine Woods
Editorial Reviews
"[A] lovely story...which covers a poetic, yearning philosophy -- not the sort of fable that can be tacked down neatly at its four corners but rather reflections on what are real matters of consequence." --N.Y. Times Book Review
"Exquisite, tender, attuned to the ear of the spirit, Saint Exupery's elusive fairy tale will give lasting pleasure to many older readers who can discern its hidden truths." --Horn Book
About the Author
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was born in 1900 in Lyon. In 1921, he began his training as a pilot. By 1926, he had became one of the pioneers of international postal flight. In 1945 he embarked on a record-breaking attempt to fly from Paris to Saigon. Nineteen hours into the flight, his plane crashed in the Sahara desert. He survived the crash but spent three days battling dehydration, limited food and hallucinations. On the fourth day, the was rescued. In part, this experience was the inspiration for 'The Little Prince'. He continued to fly until World War II, during which he took self-imposed exile. On 31 July 1944, he disappeared over the Mediterranean while flying a reconnaissance mission.
