The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is an allegory in which each character, representing a different phase of life, teaches the Little Prince from Asteroid 325 about love, trust, forgiveness and what is really important in life.
The highlights of the story of The Little Prince begin with the description of his home and life on Asteroid 325 where he may watch as many sunsets as he wants to and where he has a rose that he protects under a glass dome. The Little Prince tells the story of his home to the narrator, a downed pilot stranded in what is probably the Sahara Desert who must fix his plane and whom the Little Prince asks to draw a sheep for him. The drawing is very unique and satisfies the Little Prince perfectly.
The next highlight is the journey The Little Prince takes to other worlds in search of friends after his rose disappoints him, "I have my thorn," and he comes to feel he can't trust her, which makes him lonely and depressed. On the other worlds he encounters grown-ups for the first time. He meets an arrogant King; a vain, self-absorbed man; a tippler who tipples so much that he is a useless drunkard; a businessman who is absorbed with his obsession with business and making profits; a humble determined lamplighter who doggedly pursues his course of lighting all the lamps every night; and a geographer who is dedicated to his important pursuits, who tells him flowers and roses do not live forever and who advises The Little Prince to visit Earth, which he does.
On Earth, the nest highlight, The Little Prince meets a snake who hints darkly that his venom can send the Little Prince back home again since he seems to be having trouble knowing how to leave Earth; a fox who takes him to a well to drink water, talks about knowing what's important and teaches the Little Prince to tame him; and the downed pilot who draws him a sheep--in a box--with air holes.
The final highlight is the Little Prince's rendezvous in the dessert with snake--right at the very spot where the little prince first landed. With the pilot at his side, the Little Prince lets the snake bite him. He drops instantly to the sand. The next day the pilot doesn't find his body giving hope that the Little Prince's egress from Earth was successful. He is also comforted by the fact the belief that he hears the Little Prince's laughter ringing through the stars. (If you happen to encounter the Little Prince in the same desert, let the pilot know immediately.)
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