The Little Prince 2016

As a test to determine if grownups are as enlightened as a child, the narrator shows them a picture depicting a boa constrictor that has eaten an elephant. The adults always reply that the picture depicts a hat, and so he knows to only talk of “reasonable” things to them, rather than the fanciful.

The narrator becomes an aircraft pilot, and one day, his plane crashes in the Sahara desert, far from civilization. The narrator must fix his air plane before his supply of water runs out. Here, he is greeted by a young boy nicknamed “the little prince.”

The prince asks the narrator to draw a sheep. The narrator first shows him the picture of the elephant inside the snake, which, to the narrator’s surprise, the prince interprets correctly. After three failed attempts at drawing a sheep, the frustrated narrator draws a crate, claiming the sheep is inside. This turns out to be the exact drawing the prince wanted.

Over the course of days, while the narrator attempts to repair his plane, the prince recounts his life story. He used to live on a house-sized asteroid known as “B 612” on Earth. The asteroid has three minuscule volcanoes (two active, and one dormant or extinct) and various plants.

The prince used to clean the volcanoes and weed unwanted seeds and sprigs that infested his soil, pulling out baobab trees that were constantly on the verge of overrunning the surface. The prince wants a sheep to eat the undesirable plants, but worries it will also eat plants with thorns.

The prince met a rose that grew on the asteroid. The rose exaggerated ailments to have the prince care for her. The prince made a screen and glass globe to protect her from the cold and wind, watered her, and kept the caterpillars off.

Despite falling in love with the rose, the prince also began to feel that she was taking advantage of him and resolved to leave the planet to explore the rest of the universe. Upon saying their goodbyes, the rose apologised for failing to show that she loved him. She wished him well and turned down his desire to leave her in the glass globe, saying she would protect herself. The prince laments that he did not understand how to love his rose while being with her.

The prince has since visited six other planets, each of which was inhabited by one adult. They include:

Since the prince landed in a desert, he believed that Earth was uninhabited. He then met a snake that claimed to have the power to return him to his home, if he ever wished that. The prince next met a flower, who said she had only seen a few men in that part of the world, and they had no roots, letting the wind blow them around and living hard lives. After climbing the highest mountain he had ever seen, the prince hoped to see the whole of Earth, thus finding the people; however, he saw only the desolate landscape. When the prince called out, his echo answered him, which he interpreted as the voice of someone boring who only repeats words.

The prince encountered a row of rosebushes, becoming downcast at having once thought that his rose was unique and thinking she had lied about being unique. He began to feel that he was not a great prince, as his planet contained only three tiny volcanoes and a flower he now thought of as common. He started weeping, until a fox came along.

The fox desired to be tamed and taught the prince how to tame him. By being tamed, something goes from being ordinary and just like all the others to being special and unique.

From the fox, the prince learns that his rose was indeed special because she was the object of the prince’s love and time; he had “tamed” her, and now she was more precious than all of the other roses. Upon their departing, the fox says that important things can only be seen with the heart, not the eyes.

The prince then met two people from Earth:

Eight days after the plane crash, the narrator and the prince are dying of thirst. The prince becomes morose and longs to return home and see his flower.

The prince finds a well, saving them. The narrator later finds the prince talking to the snake, discussing his return home and his desire to see his rose again, worrying that she has been left to fend for herself. The prince bids a farewell to the narrator and states that if it looks as though he has died, it is only because his body was too heavy to take with him to his planet. The prince warns the narrator not to watch him leave, as it will upset him. The narrator, realising what will happen, refuses to leave the prince’s side. The prince says that the narrator only need look at the stars to think of the prince’s laughter, and that it will seem as if all the stars are laughing. The prince then walks away and allows the snake to bite him, falling down.

The next morning, the narrator cannot find the prince’s body. Managing to repair his aeroplane, he leaves the desert. The narrator requests to be contacted by anyone in that area encountering a boy like the prince.