- Where are you from? - asked the old man.
-What is this huge book? – asked the Little Prince. - What are you doing here?
“I am a geographer,” answered the old man.
– What is a geographer?
– This is a scientist who knows where the seas, rivers, cities, mountains and deserts are.
- How interesting! - said the Little Prince. - This is the real deal!
And he looked around the geographer’s planet. Never before had he seen such a majestic planet.
“Your planet is very beautiful,” he said. – Do you have oceans?
“I don’t know that,” said the geographer.
“O-oh...” the Little Prince said in disappointment. -Are there any mountains?
“I don’t know,” repeated the geographer.
– What about cities, rivers, deserts?
“And I don’t know that either.”
- But you are a geographer!
“That’s it,” said the old man. – I am a geographer, not a traveler. I miss travelers terribly. After all, it is not geographers who count cities, rivers, mountains, seas, oceans and deserts. The geographer is too important a person; he has no time to walk around. He doesn't leave his office. But he hosts travelers and records their stories. And if one of them tells something interesting, the geographer makes inquiries and checks whether this traveler is a decent person.
- What for?
- But if a traveler lies, everything in the geography textbooks will be mixed up. And if he drinks too much, that’s also a problem.
- And why?
- Because drunkards see double. And where there is actually one mountain, the geographer will mark two.
“I knew one person... He would have made a bad traveler,” said the Little Prince.
– It’s very possible. So, if it turns out that the traveler is a decent person, then they check his discovery.
- How do they check? Do they go and look?
- Oh no. It's too complicated. They simply require the traveler to provide evidence. For example, if he discovered a big mountain, let him bring big stones from it.
The geographer suddenly became agitated:
– But you are a traveler yourself! You came from afar! Tell me about your planet!
And he opened the thick book and sharpened his pencil. Travelers' stories are first written down in pencil. And only after the traveler provides evidence can his story be written down in ink.
“I’m listening to you,” said the geographer.
“Well, it’s not that interesting for me there,” said the Little Prince. – Everything is very small for me. There are three volcanoes. Two are active, and one has long gone out. But you never know what can happen...
“Yes, anything can happen,” confirmed the geographer.
- Then, I have a flower.
“We don’t celebrate flowers,” said the geographer.
- Why?! This is the most beautiful thing!
– Because flowers are ephemeral.
- How is it - ephemeral?
“Books on geography are the most precious books in the world,” explained the geographer. – They never become outdated. After all, it is a very rare case for a mountain to move. Or for the ocean to dry up. We write about things that are eternal and unchanging.
“But an extinct volcano can wake up,” interrupted the Little Prince. – What is “ephemeral”?
“Whether the volcano is extinct or active, it doesn’t matter to us, geographers,” said the geographer. – One thing is important: the mountain. She doesn't change.
– What is “ephemeral”? – asked the Little Prince, because, once he asked a question, he did not give up until he received an answer.
- This means: the one that should soon disappear.
– And my flower should disappear soon?
- Of course.
“My beauty and joy are short-lived,” the Little Prince said to himself, “and she has nothing to protect herself from the world; she only has four thorns. And I abandoned her, and she was left all alone on my planet!”
This was the first time he regretted the abandoned flower. But courage immediately returned to him.
-Where do you advise me to go? - he asked the geographer.
“Visit planet Earth,” answered the geographer. - She has a good reputation...
And the Little Prince set off on his journey, but his thoughts were about the abandoned flower.
So the seventh planet he visited was Earth.
Earth is not an easy planet! There are one hundred and eleven kings (including, of course, black ones), seven thousand geographers, nine hundred thousand businessmen, seven and a half million drunkards, three hundred and eleven million ambitious people - a total of about two billion adults.
To give you an idea of how big the Earth is, I will only say that, until electricity was invented, an entire army of lamplighters had to be kept on all six continents - four hundred sixty-two thousand five hundred and eleven people.
From the outside looking in, it was a magnificent sight. The movements of this army obeyed the most precise rhythm, just like in ballet.
The lamplighters of New Zealand and Australia were the first to perform. Having lit their lights, they went to bed. Behind them came the turn of the Chinese lamplighters. Having performed their dance, they also disappeared behind the scenes. Then came the turn of lamplighters in Russia and India. Then - in Africa and Europe. Then to South America. Then in North America. And they never made a mistake, no one went on stage at the wrong time. Yes, it was brilliant.
Only the lamplighter who had to light the only lamp at the North Pole, and even his brother at the South Pole - only these two lived easily and carefree: they had to do their job only twice a year.
When you really want to make a joke, sometimes you inevitably lie. In talking about lamplighters, I erred somewhat against the truth. I am afraid that those who do not know our planet will have the wrong idea about it. People don't take up much space on Earth. If two billion of its inhabitants came together and became a solid crowd, as at a meeting, they would all easily fit into a space measuring twenty miles long and twenty miles wide. All of humanity could be packed shoulder to shoulder on the smallest island in the Pacific Ocean.
Adults, of course, won't believe you. They imagine that they take up a lot of space. They seem majestic to themselves, like baobabs. And you advise them to make an accurate calculation. They will love it, because they love numbers. Don't waste your time on this arithmetic. This is of no use. You already believe me.
So, once on Earth, the Little Prince did not see a soul and was very surprised. He even thought that he had flown by mistake to some other planet. But then a ring the color of a moonbeam moved in the sand.
“Good evening,” said the Little Prince, just in case.
“Good evening,” answered the snake.
– What planet did I end up on?
“To Earth,” said the snake. - To Africa.
- That's how it is. Are there no people on Earth?
- This is a desert. Nobody lives in deserts. But the Earth is big.
The little prince sat down on a stone and raised his eyes to the sky.
“I would like to know why the stars glow,” he said thoughtfully. “Probably so that sooner or later everyone can find theirs again.” Look, here is my planet - right above us... But how far away it is!
“Beautiful planet,” said the snake. – What will you do here on Earth?
“I quarreled with my flower,” admitted the Little Prince.
- Oh, that’s it...
And both fell silent.
-Where are the people? – the Little Prince finally spoke again. – It’s still lonely in the desert...
“It’s also lonely among people,” the snake noted.
The little prince looked at her carefully.
“You are a strange creature,” he said. - No thicker than a finger...
“But I have more power than the king’s finger,” the snake objected.
The sixth planet was ten times larger than the previous one. There lived an old man who wrote thick books.
Look! The traveler has arrived! - he exclaimed, noticing the Little Prince.
The little prince sat down on the table to catch his breath. He has already traveled so much!
Where are you from? - asked the old man.
What is this huge book? - asked the little prince. - What are you doing here?
“I am a geographer,” answered the old man.
What is a geographer?
This is a scientist who knows where the seas, rivers, cities, mountains and deserts are.
How interesting! - said the little prince. - This is the real deal!
And he looked around the geographer’s planet. Never before had he seen such a majestic planet.
Your planet is very beautiful,” he said. - Do you have oceans?
“I don’t know that,” said the geographer.
Oh... - the Little Prince drawled disappointedly. -Are there mountains?
“I don’t know,” the geographer repeated.
What about cities, rivers, deserts?
And I don’t know this either.
But you are a geographer!
That’s it,” said the old man. - I am a geographer, not a traveler. I miss travelers terribly. After all, it is not geographers who count cities, rivers, mountains, seas, oceans and deserts. The geographer is too important a person; he has no time to walk around. He doesn't leave his office. But he hosts travelers and records their stories. And if one of them tells something interesting, the geographer makes inquiries and checks whether this traveler is a decent person.
What for?
But if a traveler begins to lie, everything in the geography textbooks will be mixed up. And if he drinks too much, that’s also a problem.
And why?
Because drunkards see double. And where there is actually one mountain, the geographer will mark two.
“I knew one person... He would have made a bad traveler,” said the Little Prince.
Very possible. So, if it turns out that the traveler is a decent person, then they check his discovery.
How do they check? Do they go and look?
Oh no. It's too complicated. They simply require the traveler to provide evidence. For example, if he discovered a big mountain, let him bring big stones from it.
The geographer suddenly became agitated:
But you are a traveler yourself! You came from afar! Tell me about your planet!
And he opened the thick book and sharpened his pencil. Travelers' stories are first written down in pencil. And only after the traveler provides evidence can his story be written down in ink.
“I’m listening to you,” said the geographer.
Well, it’s not that interesting for me there,” said the Little Prince. - Everything is very small for me. There are three volcanoes. Two are active, and one has long gone out. But you never know what can happen...
Yes, anything can happen,” the geographer confirmed.
Then, I have a flower.
We don’t celebrate flowers,” said the geographer.
Why?! This is the most beautiful thing!
Because flowers are ephemeral.
How is it - ephemeral?
Geography books are the most precious books in the world, the geographer explained. - They never become outdated. After all, it is a very rare case for a mountain to move. Or for the ocean to dry up. We write about things that are eternal and unchanging.
But an extinct volcano can wake up,” interrupted the Little Prince. - What is “ephemeral”?
Whether the volcano is extinct or active - it doesn’t matter to us, geographers,” said the geographer. - One thing is important: the mountain. She doesn't change.
What is “ephemeral”? - asked the Little Prince, because once he asked a question, he did not give up until he received an answer.
This means: one that should soon disappear.
And my flower should soon disappear?
Of course.
“My beauty and joy are short-lived,” the Little Prince said to himself, “and she has nothing to defend herself from the world: she only has four thorns. And I abandoned her, and she was left all alone on my planet!” oskazkah.ru - website
This was the first time he regretted the abandoned flower. But courage immediately returned to him.
Where do you recommend I go? - he asked the geographer.
“Visit planet Earth,” answered the geographer. - She has a good reputation...
And the Little Prince set off on his journey, but his thoughts were about the abandoned flower.
The sixth planet was ten times larger than the previous one. There lived an old man who wrote thick books.
Look! The traveler has arrived! - he exclaimed, noticing the Little Prince.
The little prince sat down on the table to catch his breath. He has already traveled so much!
Where are you from? - the old man asked him.
What is this huge book? - asked the little prince. - What are you doing here?
“I am a geographer,” answered the old man.
What is a geographer?
This is a scientist who knows where the seas, rivers, cities, mountains and deserts are.
How interesting! - said the little prince. - This is the real deal!
And he looked around the geographer’s planet. Never before had he seen such a majestic planet!
Your planet is very beautiful,” he said. - Do you have oceans?
“I don’t know that,” said the geographer.
Oooh... - the Little Prince drawled disappointedly. -Are there mountains?
“I don’t know,” the geographer repeated.
What about cities, rivers, deserts?
And I don’t know this either.
But you are a geographer!
That’s it,” said the old man. - I am a geographer, not a traveler. I miss travelers terribly. After all, it is not geographers who count cities, rivers, mountains, seas, oceans and deserts. The geographer is too important a person; he has no time to walk around. He doesn't leave his office. But he hosts travelers and records their stories. And if one of them tells something interesting, the geographer makes inquiries and checks whether this traveler is a decent person.
What for?
But if a traveler begins to lie, everything in the geography textbooks will be mixed up. And if he drinks too much, that’s also a problem.
And why?
Because drunkards see double. And where there is actually one mountain, the geographer will mark two.
“I knew one person... He would have made a bad traveler,” noted the Little Prince.
Very possible. So, if it turns out that the traveler is a decent person, then they check his discovery.
How do they check? Do they go and look?
Oh no. It's too complicated. They simply require the traveler to provide evidence. For example, if he discovered a big mountain, let him bring big stones from it.
The geographer suddenly became agitated:
But you are a traveler yourself! You came from afar! Tell me about your planet!
And he opened the thick book and sharpened his pencil. Travelers' stories are first written down in pencil. And only after the traveler provides evidence can his story be written down in ink.
“I’m listening to you,” said the geographer.
Well, it’s not that interesting for me there,” said the Little Prince. - Everything is very small for me. There are three volcanoes. Two are active, and one has long gone out. But you never know what can happen...
Yes, anything can happen,” the geographer confirmed.
Then I have a flower.
We don’t celebrate flowers,” said the geographer.
Why?! This is the most beautiful thing!
Because flowers are ephemeral.
How is it - ephemeral?
Geography books are the most precious books in the world, the geographer explained. - They never become outdated. After all, it is a very rare case for a mountain to move. Or for the ocean to dry up. We write about things that are eternal and unchanging.
But an extinct volcano can wake up,” interrupted the Little Prince. - What is “ephemeral”?
Whether the volcano is extinct or active, it doesn’t matter to us, geographers,” said the geographer. - One thing is important: the mountain. She doesn't change.
What is “ephemeral”? - asked the Little Prince, who, having once asked a question, did not calm down until he received an answer.
This means: one that should soon disappear.
And my flower should soon disappear?
Of course.
“My beauty and joy are short-lived,” the Little Prince said to himself, “and she has nothing to protect herself from the world, she only has four thorns. And I abandoned her, and she was left all alone on my planet!”
This was the first time he regretted the abandoned flower. But then his courage returned.
Where do you recommend I go? - he asked the geographer.
“Visit planet Earth,” answered the geographer. - She has a good reputation...
And the Little Prince set off on his journey, but his thoughts were about the abandoned flower.
XV
The sixth planet was ten times larger than the previous one. Lived on it an old man who wrote thick books. - Look! The traveler has arrived! - he exclaimed, noticing The Little Prince. The little prince sat down on the table to catch his breath. He's been around for so long wandered! - Where are you from? - the old man asked him. - What is this huge book? - asked the little prince. - What do you are you doing here? “I am a geographer,” answered the old man. - What is a geographer? - This is a scientist who knows where the seas, rivers, cities are, mountains and deserts. - How interesting! - said the little prince. - This is the real thing case! And he looked around the geographer’s planet. He had never seen such a majestic planet! “Your planet is very beautiful,” he said. - Do you have oceans? “I don’t know that,” said the geographer. “Oh-oh-oh...” the Little Prince said in disappointment. - And the mountains There is? “I don’t know,” repeated the geographer. - What about cities, rivers, deserts? - I don’t know that either. - But you are a geographer! “That’s it,” said the old man. - I am a geographer, not a traveler. I miss travelers terribly. It's not geographers who keep score cities, rivers, mountains, seas, oceans and deserts. Geographer - too an important person, he has no time to walk around. He doesn't leave his office. But he hosts travelers and records their stories. And if one of them will tell you something interesting, the geographer suggests certificates and checks whether this traveler is a decent person.- What for? - But if a traveler lies, in geography textbooks everything will be mixed up. And if he drinks too much, that’s also a problem.- And why? - Because drunkards see double. And where it really is one mountain, the geographer will mark two. - I knew one person... He would have turned out bad traveler,” noted the Little Prince. - Very possible. So, if it turns out that the traveler - a decent person, then they check his discovery. - How do they check? Do they go and look? - Oh no. It's too complicated. They just require that the traveler provided evidence. For example, if he opened big mountain, let him bring big stones from it. The geographer suddenly became agitated: - But you are a traveler yourself! You came from afar! Tell me about my planet! And he opened the thick book and sharpened his pencil. Stories travelers are first recorded in pencil. And only after that Once the traveler provides evidence, you can write it down story in ink. “I’m listening to you,” said the geographer. “Well, it’s not that interesting for me there,” said the Little Prince. - Everything is very small for me. There are three volcanoes. Two are active and one has long gone out. But you never know what can happen... “Yes, anything can happen,” confirmed the geographer. - Then I have a flower. “We don’t celebrate flowers,” said the geographer. - Why?! This is the most beautiful thing! - Because flowers are ephemeral. - How is it - ephemeral? - Books on geography are the most precious books in the world, - explained the geographer. - They never become outdated. It's very rare chance for the mountain to move. Or for the ocean to dry up. We we write about things that are eternal and unchanging. “But an extinct volcano can wake up,” interrupted the Little Prince. - What is “ephemeral”? - Whether the volcano is extinct or active, this has no meaning for us geographers. meaning,” said the geographer. - One thing is important: the mountain. She doesn't change. - What is “ephemeral”? - asked the little prince, who, once Having asked a question, he did not calm down until he received an answer. - This means: the one that should soon disappear. - And my flower should disappear soon?- Of course. “My beauty and joy are short-lived,” the Little Prince said to himself, - and she has nothing to defend herself from the world, she only has four thorns. And I abandoned her, and she was left all alone on my planet!” This was the first time he regretted the abandoned flower. But then there's courage came back to him. -Where do you advise me to go? - he asked the geographer. “Visit planet Earth,” answered the geographer. - She has a good one reputation... And the Little Prince set off on his journey, but his thoughts were about the abandoned flower.The sixth planet was ten times larger than the previous one. There lived an old man who wrote thick books.
Look! The traveler has arrived! - he exclaimed, noticing the Little Prince.
The little prince sat down on the table to catch his breath. He has already traveled so much!
Where are you from? - the old man asked him.
What is this huge book? - asked the little prince. - What are you doing here?
“I am a geographer,” answered the old man.
What is a geographer?
This is a scientist who knows where the seas, rivers, cities, mountains and deserts are.
How interesting! - said the little prince. - This is the real deal!
And he looked around the geographer’s planet. Never before had he seen such a majestic planet!
Your planet is very beautiful,” he said. - Do you have oceans?
“I don’t know that,” said the geographer.
Oooh... - the Little Prince drawled disappointedly. -Are there mountains?
“I don’t know,” the geographer repeated.
What about cities, rivers, deserts?
And I don’t know this either.
But you are a geographer!
That’s it,” said the old man. - I am a geographer, not a traveler. I miss travelers terribly. After all, it is not geographers who count cities, rivers, mountains, seas, oceans and deserts. The geographer is too important a person; he has no time to walk around. He doesn't leave his office. But he hosts travelers and records their stories. And if one of them tells something interesting, the geographer makes inquiries and checks whether this traveler is a decent person.
What for?
But if a traveler begins to lie, everything in the geography textbooks will be mixed up. And if he drinks too much, that’s also a problem.
And why?
Because drunkards see double. And where there is actually one mountain, the geographer will mark two.
“I knew one person... He would have made a bad traveler,” noted the Little Prince.
Very possible. So, if it turns out that the traveler is a decent person, then they check his discovery.
How do they check? Do they go and look?
Oh no. It's too complicated. They simply require the traveler to provide evidence. For example, if he discovered a big mountain, let him bring big stones from it.
The geographer suddenly became agitated:
But you are a traveler yourself! You came from afar! Tell me about your planet!
And he opened the thick book and sharpened his pencil. Travelers' stories are first written down in pencil. And only after the traveler provides evidence can his story be written down in ink.
“I’m listening to you,” said the geographer.
Well, it’s not that interesting for me there,” said the Little Prince. - Everything is very small for me. There are three volcanoes. Two are active, and one has long gone out. But you never know what can happen...
Yes, anything can happen,” the geographer confirmed.
Then I have a flower.
We don’t celebrate flowers,” said the geographer.
Why?! This is the most beautiful thing!
Because flowers are ephemeral.
How is it - ephemeral?
Geography books are the most precious books in the world, the geographer explained. - They never become outdated. After all, it is a very rare case for a mountain to move. Or for the ocean to dry up. We write about things that are eternal and unchanging.
But an extinct volcano can wake up,” interrupted the Little Prince. - What is “ephemeral”?
Whether the volcano is extinct or active, it doesn’t matter to us, geographers,” said the geographer. - One thing is important: the mountain. She doesn't change.
What is “ephemeral”? - asked the Little Prince, who, having once asked a question, did not calm down until he received an answer.
This means: one that should soon disappear.
And my flower should soon disappear?
Of course.
“My beauty and joy are short-lived,” the Little Prince said to himself, “and she has nothing to protect herself from the world, she only has four thorns. And I abandoned her, and she was left all alone on my planet!”
