v Chapter I PUDDLEBY ONCE upon a time, many years ago when our grandfathers were little children—there was a doctor; and his name was Dolittle—John Dolittle, M.D. "M.D." means that he was a proper doctor and knew a whole lot. He lived in a little town called, Puddleby-on-the-Marsh. All the folks, young and old, knew him well by sight. And whenever he walked down the street in his high hat everyone would say, "There goes the Doctor!— He's a clever man." And the dogs and the children would all run up and follow behind him; and even the crows that lived in the church-tower would caw and nod their heads.

CHAPTER 28 – DEPARTURE

“Here is the place. Let me continue alone,” says the little prince.

And he sits down because he is scared.

Then he says, “My flower is on my planet. I am responsible for her. And she is so weak! She has only four thorns which can’t protect her enough.”

I sit down too because I can’t stand.

“It is all,” he says.

He waits for some time. Then he stands up. He takes one step. I can’t move.

I see something yellow which moves quickly near his leg.

CHAPTER 27 – BELLS

“I am not sure if I understand,” I say. “Your laugh is a present?”

“People look at stars, but the stars are not the same for everybody. For people who travel, the stars are guides. For other people the stars are nothing, only small lights in the sky. For scientists, they are problems. For my businessman, the stars are important because they make him rich. But all these stars are quiet stars. For you, it is different.

You have stars like nobody else. When you look at the sky at night, there is one star where I live.

I know that something strange is happening. I am holding the little prince in my arms like a little child. But I feel that he is falling down into a big hole. And I know that I can’t help him.

His face is very serious now. He says, “I have the sheep. And I have the box for the sheep. And I have the fence.” And he smiles sadly.

I wait for a long time. I see that he is feeling a little better. Then I say, “Dear little man, you are scared.”

Yes, he is scared, but he laughs a little, “I am scared of tonight.”

It is difficult for me.

CHAPTER 25 – WALL

Next to the well there is an old wall. When I come back from my work the next evening, I see the little prince from some distance. He is sitting on top of the wall. He is talking to somebody.

He says. “This is not the right place.”

Some voice must say something to him because the little prince says, “Yes, yes, this is the right day, but it is not the right place.”

I continue my walk to the wall. I still can’t see or hear anybody. But the little prince says again, “Sure.

CHAPTER 24 – WATER

When the bucket is full of water, I say, “I can pull the bucket up. The bucket is very heavy for you.”

Slowly I pull the bucket up. I leave the bucket on top of the well. I am tired but happy. The song of the well is still in my ears. When I look at the bucket, I can see the sunshine in the water.

“I am thirsty,” says the little prince. “I want to drink this water now.”

I help him hold the bucket. He drinks with his eyes closed. It is nice. It is a special moment.

CHAPTER 23 – WELL

“The desert is beautiful,“ says the little prince, “because it hides a well somewhere.”

I agree with the little prince. When I am a little boy, we live in an old house. And people say a story about the house. The story says that the house has a treasure somewhere in the floor. Of course, nobody can find the treasure. Maybe, nobody is really looking for it. But this treasure makes the house special. My home is hiding a secret.

“Yes,” I say to the little prince, “what is beautiful, we can’t see!”

“I am happy,” he says, “that you agree with my fox.”

Then the little prince starts to sleep.

CHAPTER 22 – DESERT

It is now the eighth day after my accident in the desert. I listen to the story about the businessman and I am drinking my last water.

“Your stories are very nice,” I say to the little prince, “but my plane is still broken. I have nothing to drink. I also want to walk very slowly to a fountain.”

“My friend, the fox, says that…”

“My dear little man, this has nothing to do with the fox.”

“Why not?”

“Because soon I am dead.”

But the little prince says, “It is good to have a friend.

V

CHAPTER 21 – TRAINS

“Good morning,” says the little prince.

“Good morning,” says the man who works at the railway station.

“What do you do here?” the little prince asks.

“I change the direction of the trains,” says the man. “I send some trains to the right, some trains to the left.

And at that moment a train goes around very fast.

“They hurry,” says the little prince. “What are they looking for?”

“Nobody knows what they are looking for,” says the man.