Picture Dictionary & Books : Free for English Learner!

A sheep, I answered, "eats anything it finds in its reach."

Even flowers that have thorns?

Yes, even flowers that have thorns.

Then the thorns--what use are they?

I did not know. At that moment I was very busy trying to unscrew a bolt that had got stuck in my engine.

I was very much worried, for it was becoming clear to me that the breakdown of my plane was extremely serious.

And I had so little drinking-water left that I had to fear for the worst.

The thorns--what use are they?

The little prince never let go of a question, once he had asked it.

As for me, I was upset over that bolt. And I answered with the first thing that came into my head:

The thorns are of no use at all. Flowers have thorns just for spite!

Oh!

There was a moment of complete silence.

Then the little prince flashed back at me, with a kind of resentfulness:

"I don't believe you! Flowers are weak creatures. They are naive. They reassure themselves as best they can. They believe that their thorns are terrible weapons . . ."

I did not answer.

At that instant I was saying to myself: "If this bolt still won't turn, I am going to knock it out with the hammer."

Again the little prince disturbed my thoughts: "And you actually believe that the flowers--"

Oh, no! I cried.

"No, no, no! I don't believe anything.I answered you with the first thing that came into my head. Don't you see--I am very busy with matters of consequence!"

He stared at me, thunderstruck.

Matters of consequence!

He looked at me there, with my hammer in my hand, my fingers black with engine-grease, bending down over an object which seemed to him extremely ugly. . .

You talk just like the grown-ups!

That made me a little ashamed. But he went on, relentlessly: "You mix everything up together . . . You confuse everything . . ."

Table of Contents