The Little Prince - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Pilot

Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book on the virgin forest called True Stories. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal.

Here is a copy of the drawing.

In the forest I had the encounter with a mysterious stranger. He was a little boy with golden hair and bright blue eyes. He seemed to be from another planet.

“Please, draw me a sheep,” he said to me.

I was completely astonished. I took out my pencil and paper. But I had never drawn anything except the pictures of the boa constrictor from the outside and the inside.

“Oh, that’s all right,” he said. “I don’t need a sheep. I need a sheep in a box. I need a sheep that will be a companion for me.”