Антуан де Сент-Экзюпери
Little Prince. A1 / Маленький принц
© ООО «Издательство АСТ», 2023
Chapter 1
I am six years old. I see a nice picture. The picture is in a book. It is a picture of a big snake. The snake eats an animal. Here is the picture.
The book says, “Snakes eat the whole animal. And they sleep for six months.” I think about the life in the forest. I make my first picture. This is my picture number one.
I show my fantastic picture to one person. And I ask this person, “Are you scared?” This person answers, “How can I be scared? It is a hat.” My picture is not a picture of a hat. It is a picture of a big snake. An elephant is inside the snake. Then I make my picture number two. The picture shows the inside of the big snake. Now people understand. This is my picture number two.
People tell me what they think. They tell me that it is not good to make pictures. They tell me that it is better to study geography, history, maths and grammar. After these words, I don’t want to make pictures. I don’t want to make pictures because my picture number one and picture number two are not good for the people. People don’t understand simple things. And now, I am not a child. I am a big person. I have a job. I am a pilot. I fly planes. I fly in many countries. And it is true that geography is good for me. Geography can help me if I am lost in the night.
In my life, I work with people every day. The people are often serious. Sometimes I meet a person who is a little normal. When I meet this person, I show him my picture number one. I always have this picture with me. I want to know if this person understands life. But the person always says, “It is a hat.” Then I never speak to this person about big snakes or forests or stars. And we speak about work, sport and family. And the person is happy. For him I am a normal man. I live alone. I don’t know people for an open conversation. But one day it all changes. I have an accident in the Sahara Desert. Something is broken in my plane. I have nobody in the plane with me. It is not easy to repair the plane alone. But I must do it. It is a question of life or death. I have water for only a week.
Glossary
whole – целый, полный
fantastic – фантастический
ask – спрашивать
scared – испуганный
answer – отвечать
hat – шляпа
inside – внутри
number – номер
show – показывать
understand – понимать
tell – говорить, рассказывать
think – думать
better – лучше
study – изучать
grammar – грамматика
after – после
simple – простой
true – правда
lost – потерянный
serious – серьезный
fly – летать
often – часто
sometimes – иногда
meet – встречать
a little – немного
never – никогда
star – звезда
alone – один
conversation – разговор
change – меняться
accident – несчастный случай, авария
broken – сломанный
easy – легко
repair – чинить
must – должен
question – вопрос
death – смерть
only – только
Chapter 2
The first night, I sleep on the sand. I am a thousand miles from a land with people. I think that no people are around me. So I am shocked when somebody speaks to me in the morning.
I hear these words, “Please, draw me a sheep.”
“What?”
“Draw me a sheep!”
I jump up. I look around. And I see a little man.
This is the picture of the little man.
My picture is not very good. The original model is better. It is not my mistake. I know how to draw only two pictures. They are pictures of a snake from the outside and a snake from the inside.
I look at this little man. I am really surprised. Don’t forget that I am a thousand miles from a land with people. Something is very interesting. This little man is not tired. He is not hungry. He is not thirsty. He is not scared. He doesn’tlooklost in the middle of the desert, a thousand miles from a land with people.
The little man says, very slowly, “Please draw me a sheep.”
It is all very strange to me. I am a thousand miles from a land with people. I am in danger of death. But I take a pen and paper from my pocket. I want to draw a picture. Then I remember that I know only geography, history, maths and grammar. And I tell the little man that I don’t know how to draw.
He says, “It is OK. Draw me a sheep.”
But I don’t know how to draw a sheep. So I draw him a picture which I can draw. It is a big snake from the outside. And I am shocked when the little man says, “No, I don’t want an elephant inside a big snake. A big snake is a very dangerous animal. And an elephant is very big for me. Where I live, everything is very small. I need a sheep. Draw me a sheep.”
So I make this picture.
The little man looks at the picture. Then he says, “No. This sheep is ill. Make me another sheep.”
I draw another picture.
My friend smiles at me, “You must see it too. This is not a sheep. It is a ram. It has horns.”
So I make another picture.
But this picture also isn’t good.
“This sheep is old. I want a sheep which can live a long time.”
It is not easy for me. I don’t have time for this. I must start my work on the plane. So I draw this picture.
And I say, “This is a box. The sheep is inside.”
I am surprised when I see the light in his face, “This is what I want! Do you think that this sheep needs a lot of grass?”
“Why?”
“Because where I live, everything is very small.”
“I think that there is enough grass for the sheep. This is a very small sheep.”
The little man looks at the picture. And he says, “The sheep is not very small. It is a very nice sheep.”
This is my first day with the little prince.
Glossary
first – первый
sand – песок
thousand – тысяча
mile – миля
around – вокруг
shocked – шокированный
draw – рисовать
original – оригинальный, исходный
mistake – ошибка
outside – снаружи
really – очень, действительно
surprised – удивленный
forget – забывать
tired – уставший
hungry – голодный
thirsty – жаждущий, хотеть пить
middle – середина
desert – пустыня
slowly – медленно
strange – странно
danger – опасность
pocket – карман
remember – помнить
ill – больной
another – другой
ram – баран
horns – рога
which – который
light – свет
face – лицо
grass – трава
