CHAPTER 18 – GARDEN

“Where are the people?” the little prince finally continued in the conversation. “It’s a little lonely in the desert.”

“It’s also lonely with people,” said the snake.

The little prince looked at him for a long time. “You are a funny animal,” he said, “You’re very slim.

“But I’m more powerful than a king,” said the snake.

The little prince smiled, “You’re not very powerful. You don’t even have feet. You can’t travel very far.”

“I can take you further than a ship,” the snake said.

He turned around the little prince’s ankle. “When I touch somebody, I can send the person back to the land from which he came,” the snake continued. “But your soul is so clear, and you come from a star.”

The snake continued, “You’re so weak on this planet. I can help you one day if you want to go back to your planet.”

“Oh! I understand you very well,” said the little prince. “But why do you speak in mysteries?”

“I solve all mysteries,” said the snake. And they were both silent.

The little prince said goodbye to the snake. He started walking in the desert. Soon he met a flower.

“Good morning,” said the little prince.

“Good morning,” said the flower.

“Where are the people?” the little prince asked politely.

The flower saw a caravan a long time ago.

“People?” I believe that there are six or seven of them. I saw them years ago. But you never know where to find them. The wind takes them away. They have no roots, and that makes their life very difficult.

“Goodbye,” said the little prince.

“Goodbye,” said the flower.

The little prince climbed a high mountain. The only mountains he knew were the three volcanoes which were as high as his knees.

He said to himself, “From a mountain as high as this one, I will be able to see the whole planet and all the people.”

But he only saw other mountains around.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hello, hello, hello,” the echo answered.

“Who are you?” asked the little prince.

“Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?” the echo answered.

“Let’s be friends, I am lonely,” he said.

“I am lonely, I am lonely, I am lonely,” the echo answered.

“This is a strange planet!” he thought. “It’s dry and hard. And people here have no imagination. They repeat whatever you say to them. On my planet I had a flower. She always spoke first.”

The little prince was walking for a long time through sand and rocks, and then he finally discovered a road. And all roads lead to people.

“Good morning,” he said. He was standing before a garden full of roses.

“Good morning,” said the roses.

The little prince was looking at them carefully. They all looked like his flower. He was surprised.

“Who are you?” he asked. “We are roses,” the roses said.

“Ah!” said the little prince. And he felt very unhappy. His flower told him that she was the only flower of her kind in the whole universe. And here were five thousand of them, all the same, in only one garden!

“I thought I was rich because I had this one special flower. But actually I had only a normal rose. So I have a normal rose and three volcanoes which are as high as my knees. It isn’t much. I think that I’m not a very great prince,” he thought.

And, he was lying in the grass and he was very sad.