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And six years passed. I never told this story. The companions who met me on my return were glad to see me alive. I was sad, but I told them: “I am tired.”

Now my sorrow is comforted a little. But not entirely. I know that he came back to his planet, because I did not find his body at daybreak. It was not such a heavy body. And at night I love to listen to the stars. It is like five hundred million little bells.

But there is one thing. When I drew the muzzle for the little prince, I forgot to add the leather strap to it. He will never fasten it on his sheep. So now I wonder: what is happening on his planet? Perhaps the sheep ate the flower.

But I say to myself: “No! The little prince shuts his flower under her glass globe every night, and he watches over his sheep very carefully.” Then I am happy. And there is sweetness in the laughter of all the stars.

Here is a great mystery. For you who also love the little prince, and for me, nothing in the universe can be the same, if somewhere—we do not know where—a sheep that we never saw can eat a rose.

Look up at the sky. Ask yourselves: is it yes or no? Did the sheep eat the flower? And you will see how everything changes.

And no grown-up will ever understand that this is very important!

This is, to me, the loveliest and saddest place in the world. It is here that the little prince appeared on Earth, and disappeared.

Look at it carefully. You can recognize it in case you travel some day to the African desert. And, if you come upon this spot, please do not hurry on. Wait a little, exactly under the star. Then, if a little man appears—who laughs, who has golden hair and who refuses to answer questions, you will know who he is. If this happens, please let me know that he came back.

Exercises

1. Выберите правильный вариант.

1. The author was a painter.

2. The author was a pilot.

3. The author was a tippler.

4. The author was a businessman.

2. Ответьте на вопрос: What is a boa?

1. a snake

2. a tree

3. a cloth

4. an engine

3. Ответьте на вопрос: Who or what killed the little prince?

1. a king

2. a fox

3. a rose

4. a snake

4. Ответьте на вопрос: How many planets did the little prince visit before the Earth?

1. 7

2. 8

3. 6

4. 4

5. Ответьте на вопрос: Who is a tippler?

1. a pilot

2. a businessman

3. a geographer

4. a drunkard

6. Ответьте на вопрос: Who saw B-612 first?

1. a Turkish astronomer

2. a Russian astronomer

3. a German astronomer

4. nobody

7. Выберите правильный вариант.

1. From the fox, the prince learns that he is alone.

2. From the fox, the prince learns that the Earth is very big.

3. From the snake, the prince that his rose was unique.

4. From the fox, the prince learns that his rose was unique.

8. Ответьте на вопрос: Why did the little prince believe that Earth was uninhabited?

1. Because all the planets are uninhabited.

2. Because he saw only animals.

3. Because he landed in a desert.

4. Because he was stupid.

9. Закончите предложение.

The snake says that he has ______________ the little prince to his home.

1. the power to return

2. the power to go

3. the power to come

4. the power to arrive

10. Ответьте на вопрос: What colour was the snake?

1. The snake was the color of the sand.

2. Te snake was the color of the night.

3. The snake was the color of the moonlight.

4. The snake was the color of the sun.

11. Выберите правильный глагол.

The prince was cleaning the volcanoes and __________________ unwanted seeds and sprigs.

1. to plant

2. to weed

3. to see

4. to burn

12. Выберите правильное слово.

That is __________________ that will not be my fault.

1. something

2. nothing

3. nowhere

4. anything

13. Ответьте на вопрос: Whom did the little prince meet first when he began to travel?

1. a conceited man

2. a lamplighter

3. a king

4. a fox

14. Ответьте на вопрос: What is a caterpillar?

1. a bird

2. profession

3. a big animal

4. an inchworm

15. Ответьте на вопрос: What does “my little man” mean?

1. мой малыш

2. мужчина невысокого роста

3. мой сын

4. проказник

16. Выберите правильные формы глагола.

While the narrator attempts _____________ his plane, the little prince _____________ the story of his life.

1. repairs, recounts

2. to repair, to recount

3. to repair, recounts

4. repair, recount

17. Угроза какой смерти нависла над автором в пустыне?

1. от жажды

2. от боли

3. от укуса змеи

4. от истощения

18. Выберите правильный вариант.

111 kings, 7000 geographers, 900,000 businessmen, 7,500,000 tipplers, 311,000,000 conceited men; that is to say, about ______________ grown-ups

1. 1,500,000,000

2. 1,000,000,000

3. 2,000,000,000

4. 3,000,000,000

19. Выберите правильный вариант.

That doesn’t matter. = _______________

1. That is very important.

2. That is not stupid.

3. That is not important.

4. That is not clever.

20. Ответьте на вопрос: What planet does the geographer recommend to visit?

1. Venus

2. Mars

3. Jupiter

4. Earth

21. Ответьте на вопрос: Where does the locomotive engineer go?

1. in a plane

2. in a bus

3. in a train

4. in a car

22. Выберите правильный вариант.

1. What makes the desert beautiful, is that somewhere it hides a well.

2. What makes the desert beautiful, is that somewhere it hid a well.

3. What made the desert beautiful, is that somewhere it hides a well.

4. What make the desert beautiful, is that somewhere it hides a well.

23. Выберите правильный предлог.

for • in • to • under

1. _______________ conceited men, all other men are admirers.

2. He found himself _______________ the neighborhood of the asteroids.

3. Please put me _______________ a glass globe.

4. They sleep through the six months that they need _______________ digestion.

24. Ответьте на вопрос: What was the title of the book that the author was reading when he was a child?

1. True Stories from Nature

2. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

3. The Little Prince

4. The Bible

Keys

1. The author was a pilot.

2. a snake

3. a snake

4. 6

5. a drunkard

6. a Turkish astronomer

7. From the fox, the prince learns that his rose was unique.

8. Because he landed in a desert.

9. The snake says that he has the power to return the little prince to his home.

10. the color of the moonlight.

11. to weed; The prince was cleaning the volcanoes and weeding unwanted seeds and sprigs.

12. something; That is something that will not be my fault.

13. a king

14. an inchworm

15. мой малыш

16. to repair, recounts: While the narrator attempts to repair his plane, the little prince recounts the story of his life.

17. от жажды

18. 2,000,000,000

19. That is not important.

20. Earth

21. in a train

22. What makes the desert beautiful, is that somewhere it hides a well.

23. 1. to; 2. in; 3. under; 4. for

24. True Stories from Nature