Explore Chapter 3 of "paper-wine-and-gold" with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
It took me a long time to figure out where he came from. The Little Prince asked countless questions, but never answered mine. It was from words dropped by chance that little by little everything was revealed.
For instance, when he first caught sight of my airplane (I won’t draw my airplane; that would be much too complicated), he asked me:
Then he fell into a long reverie. After that, he took out of his pocket the little sheep I had drawn for him, and lost himself in the contemplation of his treasure.
"The thing that is so good about the box you have given me is that at night he can use it as his house."
But that did not really surprise me much. I knew very well that in addition to the great planets-Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, to which we have given names-there are also hundreds of others, some of which are so small that one has a hard time seeing them through the telescope. When an astronomer discovers one of these asteroids, he gives it a number for a name-for example, "Asteroid 3251."
Fortunately, for the reputation of Asteroid B-612, a Turkish dictator made a law that his subjects, under pain of death, should change to European costume. So in 1920 the astronomer gave his demonstration all over again, dressed with impressive style and elegance. And this time everybody accepted his report.
If I have told you these details about the Asteroid B-612 and let you know its number, it is on account of the grown-ups and their ways. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?" Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?" Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him. If you tell grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rose-colored brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof," they are not able to imagine at all what that house is like. You have to tell them: "I saw a house worth a hundred thousand francs." Then they exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house that is!"
So, if you say to them: "The proof that The Little Prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he wanted a sheep. When somebody wants a sheep, that is proof that he exists," they will shrug their shoulders and treat you like a child! But if you tell them: "He came from Asteroid B-612," then they will be convinced and leave you in peace. They are like that. One must not hold it against them. children should be very understanding of grown-ups.
For those who understand life, that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story. For I do not want anyone to read my book carelessly. I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories. Six years have already passed since my friend went away from me, with his sheep. And here I am trying to tell his story, so that I will not forget him. It is a sad thing to forget a friend. Not everyone has had a friend. And I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures.
It is for that purpose that I have bought a box of paints and some pencils. It is hard to take up drawing again at my age, especially when I have never made any pictures except boa constrictor with its belly closed and boa constrictor with its belly open since I was six. I will certainly try to make my portraits as true to life as possible. But I am not at all sure of success. One drawing goes along all right, and another has no resemblance to its subject. I make some errors about the proportions, too. Here I will make The Little Prince too large. There I will make him too small. And I will feel some doubts about the color of his costume. So I will fumble along as best I can, now good, now bad, and I will hope generally to get the proportions right. In certain more important details I will make a mistake. But that you must forgive me. My friend never explained anything to me. He thought, perhaps, that I was like himself. But I, unfortunately, cannot see a sheep through the walls of a box. Perhaps I am a little like the grown-ups. I have had to grow old.