 CBS Radio presents the CBS Radio Workshop dedicated to man's imagination, the theater of the mind. Tonight's presentation, The Little Prince by the late Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Years ago I had an accident with my airplane in the desert of Sahara. Something was broken in my engine. Being alone, I set myself to attempt the difficult repairs. It was a question of life or death. I had only enough drinking water to last about a week. The first night I went to sleep on the sand a thousand miles from any human habitation. You can imagine my amazement when at sunrise I was awakened by an odd little voice. If you please, draw me a sheep. What? Draw me a sheep. I jumped to my feet completely thunderstruck. I saw a most extraordinary small person who stood examining me with great seriousness. He seemed neither to be fainting from fatigue or hunger, or thirst or fear. When I was able to speak I said, what are you doing here? If you please, draw me a sheep. I... I don't know how to draw. That doesn't matter. Draw me a sheep. When I was only six, I had drawn a picture of a boa constrictor from the outside, digesting an elephant. The grown-ups couldn't understand it. They told me it looked like a hat. They advised me to lay aside my drawing and devote myself to geography, history, arithmetic and grammar. I did because it's tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. Would you please, draw me a sheep? The little fellow was so insistent I took out my pen and some paper. Since I had never drawn a sheep, I drew for him my picture of the boa constrictor that looked like a hat. I do not want an elephant inside a boa constrictor. A boa constrictor is very dangerous, and an elephant is cumbersome. Where I live, everything is very small. What I need is a sheep. Please, draw me one. I made several attempts. Then, being in a hurry to start working on my engine, I tossed off a drawing of a box that had some air holes in it and explained that the sheep was inside. That is exactly the way I wanted it. Do you think this sheep will require a great deal of grass? There will surely be enough. It's a very small sheep I've given you. Not so small. Look. Look through the air hole. My sheep has gone to sleep. It took me a long time to learn where he came from. It was only from words dropped by chance that little by little everything was revealed to me. I learned, for example, that the little prince came from another planet and that his planet was scarcely any larger than a house. I should remind the grown-ups that in addition to the great planets, there are hundreds of others, some too small to be seen through telescopes, called asteroids, which are designated by numbers. The planet the little prince came from is asteroid B612. As each day passed, I would learn more about the little prince's planet. On the third day, I heard about the catastrophe of the Baobabs. Isn't it true that sheep eat little bushes? Yes. Yes, that's true. Then it follows they also eat Baobabs. Baobabs? But it would take a herd of elephants to eat anything as gigantic as a Baobab. Before they grow so big, don't Baobabs start out by being little? Entirely correct. But why do you want the sheep to eat the little Baobabs? I know a planet inhabited by a lazy man. He neglected three little bushes. What happened? Catastrophe. The Baobabs spread over the entire planet, bored clear through it with their roots, split it in pieces. So you must be careful. It is a question of discipline. I must attend to my planet each morning as I do myself. It's tedious. I need the sheep. On the fifth day, thanks to the sheep, the secret of the little prince's life was revealed to me. If a sheep eats little bushes, does it eat flowers? A sheep eats anything it finds in its reach. Even flowers that have thorns? Yes, even flowers that have thorns. The thorns? What use are they? Don't you ever let go of a question once you've asked it? Can't you see I'm busy fixing my plane? There's a little drinking water left. I must finish the repairs. But you haven't answered my question. All right, all right. The thorns are of no use at all. Flowers have thorns just for spite. Oh! I don't believe you. Flowers are weak creatures. They are naive. They reassure themselves as best they can. They believe that their thorns are terrible weapons. And you actually believe that the flowers... No, no, no. I don't believe anything. It's the first thing that came into my head. Now, don't you see I'm very busy with matters of consequence? Matters of consequence? You talk just like the grown-ups. The flowers have been growing thorns for millions of years. For millions of years, the sheep have been eating them just the same. It is not a matter of consequence to try to understand why the flowers go to so much trouble to grow thorns which are never of any use to them. Now, just a moment. I... If I knew one flower which is unique in the universe, which grows nowhere but on my planet, which one little sheep can destroy in a single bite some morning without even noticing what he is doing... Poor thing! I... I'm sorry. I didn't realize. Now, the flower you love is not in danger. I'll draw you a muzzle for your sheep. I'll draw you a railing to put around your flower. I didn't know what else to say to him. Night had fallen. I had let my tools drop from my hand. Of what moment now was my hammer or thirst or death? There was a little prince to be comforted. I felt awkward and blundering. I didn't know how I could reach him. It's such a secret place. The land of tears. So, that's why you left your tiny home on asteroid B612. It was love. Love for a flower. A flower unique in all the universe. At first I was captivated by her beauty. Very quickly she began to torment me with her vanity. And soon I came to doubt her. Was she the only flower on your planet? Oh, no. But the others are very simple. They take up no room. Cause not one bit of trouble. Your flower was different. Very. She came from a seed blown to my planet from who knows where. From the moment she first showed herself, she became demanding. She commanded all of my time. Even that time I had always devoted to the Baobabs and my volcanoes. Volcanoes? I have two active volcanoes. Very convenient for heating my breakfast. I carefully clean them out every morning. If they are well cleaned out, they burn slowly and steadily, without eruptions. I... I see. I also have one volcano that is extinct. I clean it out too. One never knows. No, one never knows. You were telling me about your flower. I ought never to have run away from her. I ought to have judged her by deeds and not by words. I ought to have guessed that behind her poor little stratagems lay real affection for me. But I was too young to know how to love her. The fact is that I did not know how to understand anything. And so it was that the little prince fled from the proud flower he loved but could not understand. To escape from his planet, the little prince took advantage of the migration of a flock of wild birds. He found himself in the neighborhood of Asteroids number 325, 326, 27, 28 and 329. He began to visit them in order to add to his knowledge. The first asteroid was inhabited by a king clad in a royal purple and ermine who was seated upon a magic throne. The king was elated when he saw the little prince coming. Ah, a subject. Approach, sir, that I may see you better. The king felt consumingly proud of being at last king over somebody. The little prince looked everywhere for a place to sit down but the entire planet was crammed and obstructed by the king's magnificent robe. So he remained standing. Since he was tired, he yawned. It is contrary to etiquette to yawn in the presence of a king. I forbid you to do so. I can't help it. I have come on a long journey and have had no sleep. Ah, then I order you to yawn. Come now, yawn again. That's an order. That frightens me. I cannot anymore. Well, then I... I order you sometimes to yawn and sometimes not to. Look here, I insist that my authority be respected. I tolerate no disobedience. I am an absolute monarch. However, I always make my orders reasonable. That is very wise. Of course. If I offered a general to change himself into a sea bird and he did not, it would be my fault, not his. May I sit down? Yeah, I order you to do so. Here, I shall move my robe. Sire, I beg that you will excuse my asking a question. I order you to ask me a question. Sire, you are alone here. This planet is tiny. Over what do you rule? Over everything. Over everything? You mean the other planets and all the stars? Oh, over all that. Oh, that's marvelous. You can see a sunset whenever you wish. Oh, Sire, I should like to see a sunset. Do me that kindness. Order the sun to set. If I ordered a general to fly from one flower to another like a butterfly or write a tragic drama or change himself into a sea bird and if he did not, which of us would be wrong? You. Exactly. One must require from each one only the duty he can perform. I have the right to require obedience because my orders are reasonable. But my sunset? You shall have it. I shall command it. When, Sire? Well, I shall consult my almanac. Ah, here we are. That will be this evening about twenty minutes to eight. And when I give the order, you see how well I'm obeyed. I see. I have nothing more to do here, so I shall set out on my way again. Do not go. Do not go. I'll make you a minister. Minister of what? Minister of justice. Yes, that's it, minister of justice. But there is nobody here to judge. Well, then you shall judge yourself. It's far more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. I can judge myself anywhere. I have good reason to believe that somewhere on my planet there is an old rat. You can judge this old rat. And from time to time you will condemn him to death. But you will have to pardon him on each occasion. He must be treated thriftily. He's the only one we have. I wouldn't like that. I think I will go on my way. Oh, no. I am ready to depart. If your majesty wishes to be promptly obeyed, he should be able to give me a reasonable order. Well, very well. I order you to be gone by the end of one minute. The conditions seem favorable. And hear this. I make you my ambassador. The grown-ups are very strange. The second planet was inhabited by a conceited man who thought the little prince had come to admire him. Oh, I am about to receive a visit from an admirer. Good morning. That is a queer hat you are wearing. It is a hat for salutes. I raise it in salute when people acclaim me. Oh, unfortunately, nobody at all ever passes this way. Oh. Clap your hands, one against the other. All right. You see, I now raise my hat in salute. Do it again. Thank you. Thank you. Wouldn't you like to applaud me again? Well, no. But you rarely do admire me. What do you mean? You regard me as the handsomest, the best dress, the richest and most intelligent man on this planet. But you're the only man on your planet. Well, do me this kindness. Admire me just the same. Very well. I admire you. Ah, thank you. Thank you. And goodbye. Now, what is there in that to interest him so much? The grown-ups are certainly very odd. The third planet belonged to a businessman. This man was so much occupied that he did not even raise his head at the little prince's arrival. Three and two make five, five and seven. Good morning. Well, good morning. Your cigarette has gone out. I haven't had time to light it again. Six, um, five hundred one million, six hundred twenty-two thousand, seven hundred and thirty-one. Five hundred million what? I can't stop. I've got too much to do. I'm concerned with matters of consequence. Five hundred... During the fifty-four years I've inhabited this planet, I've been disturbed only twice by inconsequential balderdash. This is the third time. I was saying five hundred one million... Millions of what? Those little objects one sometimes sees in the sky. Flies? No, little glittering objects. The ones that set lazy men to idle dreaming. You mean the stars. That's right. And what do you do with the stars? Nothing. I own them. But I have already seen a king... Kings do not own. They reign over. It's very different. And it makes me very rich. What good does it do you to be rich? It makes it possible for me to buy more stars, if any are discovered. How is it possible for a one to own the stars? To whom do they belong? To nobody. Then they belong to me, because I was the first to think of it. I suppose that is true, but what do you do with them? I administer them, count them, recount them. It's difficult, but I am a man who is interested in matters of consequence. You cannot pluck the stars from heaven. No, but I can put them into the bank. Whatever does that mean? I write the number of my stars on a paper. I put the paper into a drawer and lock it with a key. Is that all? That is enough. That is rather poetic, but of no great consequence. Your ideas about matters of consequence are quite different from those of grown-ups. Quite. I myself own a flower which I water every day. I own three volcanoes which I clean out every day. It is of some use to my volcanoes and my flowers that I own them. You are of no use to the stars. Boulder Dash. Now let's see, where was I? 342, 77 plus 89. The grown-ups are all together extraordinary. Tell me, how did you come to visit this planet, the earth? I was recommended by a geographer on the fifth planet I visited. Do you like it? Do you intend to stay? It has been almost a year since I left my home, my flower, my volcanoes. I'm worried. The Baobabs? I left them under control. Your flower then? On my journey I learned many things. I learned that flowers are in danger of speedy disappearance. Soon I must return. It had been eight days since my accident in the desert. The last drop of my water supply was gone. The little prince seemed not to guess the danger. The little sunshine was all he seemed to need. He was recounting some of his experiences after coming to our planet. He was a fox. My dear little man, this is no longer a matter that could have anything to do with a fox. Why not? I am about to die of thirst. I'll tell you about it as we go then. Come, let us look for a will. We're here to look for a well at random in the immensity of the desert. When arrived on the earth, I was surprised not to see any people. It was explained to me that I had landed on the desert. Your friend, the fox, told you this? No, it was a little gold-colored snake. A funny little animal. No thicker than a finger. A little yellow snake, but they're deadly? Not deadly, but more powerful than the finger of a king. He could have struck you fatally. He told me he could help me someday. If I grew too homesick for my planet, he told me all I need to do is come back to the place where I descended. He would meet me there. Are you so homesick then? It is very close to the anniversary of my arrival. At that time, my planet will be right overhead. I... I should be unhappy if you go. That is what the fox said. It was his fault. He wanted me to tame him. Tame him? It was when I wandered into a garden filled with flowers. There were thousands of them, precisely alike. They called themselves roses. I was broken-hearted. Because of the roses? They were all exactly like my flower. A flower I thought to be unique in all the universe. Oh. The fox made me understand to have hope again. He wanted me to tame him because it would establish ties and make him different from all the other foxes. I'm beginning to understand. I looked again at the roses. They were beautiful, but one would not die for them. My rose is more important than all the others because it is she that I have watered. It is she I have put under a glass globe sheltered from the wind behind a screen. Listen to when she grumbled or boasted. She is my rose. And your friend the fox? When I met him, he was as yet nothing. Just a fox like thousands of other foxes. But I have made him my friend. And now he is unique in all the world. You have learned a secret. A simple secret. It's only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye. Men have forgotten that you become responsible forever for what you have tamed. I am responsible for my rose. When we had trudged along for several hours in silence, the darkness fell and the stars came out. The little prince dropped off to sleep. I took him in my arms and set out walking once more. I felt the need of protecting him as if he himself were a flame that might be extinguished by a little puff of wind. I walked on. I found the well at daybreak. Just keep your promise, you know. The muzzle for my sheep. I remember. Afraid it's not very good. This will be all right. You have plans I don't know about. Tomorrow will be the anniversary of my descent to the earth. And your star will be just above. You must return to your work on the engine now. I will be waiting here. Come back tomorrow evening. I'm a little frightened. Remember the fox. One runs the risk of weeping a little if one lets himself be tamed. I was not reassured. I did not want to lose my little friend. I pretended to go but returned and hid behind a rock. I could not see to whom the little prince was speaking. This is the exact spot. At the right time. Good poison. You are sure you will not make me suffer too long. My heart jumped to my throat. I looked around the rock. Before me, facing the little prince was one of those yellow snakes that take just 30 seconds to end your life. I dug into my pocket for my gun and started to run. The snake let himself flow across the sand like the dying spray of a fountain and disappeared among the stones. What does this mean? Why are you talking with snakes? You will find out what is wrong with your engine today. And you can go back home. I too am going home today. It is much farther. Much more difficult. I want you to stay a while longer. I have your sheep and the sheep's box. And I have the muzzle. Little man, I want to hear you laugh again. Tell me it's only a bad dream, this affair of the snake, the meeting place, the star. At night you will look up at the stars. My star will be just one of the stars for you. You will love to watch all of the stars in the heavens. They will be your friends. I am making you a present. Little prince, dear little prince, I love to hear that laughter. That is my present. Just that. What are you trying to say? For most people the stars are silent. You alone will have the stars as no one else has them. I don't understand. In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. It will be as if all the stars were laughing when you look at the night sky. Only you will have the stars that can laugh. I too shall look at the stars. They will all be wells with a rusty pulley. You will have five hundred million little bells. Then I shall have five hundred million springs of fresh water. Now, let me go by myself. You... You're afraid, little friend? I am responsible for my flower. She is so weak, so naive. She has four thorns of no use at all. Don't go. Please. Don't go. He seemed unable to move. The little prince hesitated. Took one step. There was nothing there but a flash of yellow close to his ankle. He remained motionless for an instant. He did not cry out. He fell gently as a tree falls. There wasn't even any sound. Because of the sand. Now years and years have gone by. Until now I've never told this story. My sorrow is comforted a little. Not entirely. But I know he did go back to his planet. His body was not there at daybreak. At night I love to listen to the stars. It's like five hundred million little bells. But there is one extraordinary thing. When I drew the muzzle for the little prince I forgot to add the leather strap to it. He will never have been able to fasten it on his sheep. So now I keep wondering what's happening on his planet. Perhaps the sheep has eaten the flower and the little bells are changed to tears. Here then is a great mystery. Nothing in the universe can be the same if somewhere a sheep that we have never seen has yes or no eaten a rose and no grown-up will ever understand that this is a matter of so much importance. The CBS Radio Workshop has presented The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry produced and directed by Antony Ellis. The script was adapted for radio by Frank Tossig. Richard Beals was heard as The Little Prince with Raymond Burr as our narrator. Featured in the cast were Ben Wright, Joseph Kearns, and Hans Conrad. Music for tonight's workshop was composed by Rene Garagank and conducted by Wilbur Hatch. This is Hugh Douglas inviting you to join us again next week when from New York we present H. L. Menken, the story of a journalist. That's next week on the CBS Radio Workshop. Stay tuned for five minutes of CBS News to be followed on most of these same stations by My Son Jeep. America listens most to the CBS Radio Network.