Explore Chapter 15 of 'The Little Prince' with the original English text, English translation, detailed IELTS vocabulary and explanations, and audio of the English original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
The sixth planet was ten times bigger than the previous one. An old man lived there who wrote many big books.
"Oh, look! Here is an explorer!" he said to himself excitedly when he saw the little prince arriving.
The little prince sat on the table and caught his breath. He had traveled a very long way!
"Where do you come from?" the old man asked him.
"What is that big book?" said the little prince. "What are you doing?"
"I am a geographer," said the old man.
"A geographer is an expert who knows where all the seas, rivers, towns, mountains, and deserts are."
"That is very interesting," said the little prince. "Finally, here is a man with a real job!" He looked around at the geographer's planet. It was the most grand and impressive planet he had ever seen.
"Your planet is very beautiful," he said. "Does it have any oceans?" "I don't know," said the geographer.
"Ah!" The little prince was disappointed. "Does it have any mountains?" "I don't know," said the geographer. "What about towns, rivers, and deserts?"
"Exactly," the geographer said. "But I am not an explorer. I don't have any explorers on my planet. It is not the geographer's job to go out and count towns, rivers, mountains, seas, oceans, and deserts. The geographer is too important to wander around. He stays at his desk. But he meets explorers in his office. He asks them questions and writes down what they remember from their travels. If someone's memories seem interesting, the geographer checks that explorer's character."
"Because an explorer who lies would ruin the geographer's books. The same for an explorer who drinks too much."
"Because drunk men see two of everything. Then the geographer would write down two mountains where there is only one."
"I know someone," said the little prince, "who would be a bad explorer."
"That is possible. Then, when the explorer's character is proven good, they check his discovery."
"No. That would be too hard. But they ask the explorer to provide proof. For example, if he found a big mountain, he must bring back big stones from it."
The geographer suddenly got excited.
"But you—you come from far away! You are an explorer! Tell me about your planet!"
He opened his big book and sharpened his pencil. Explorers' stories are written first in pencil. They wait until the explorer provides proof before writing in ink.
"Well?" said the geographer eagerly.
"Oh, where I live," said the little prince, "it's not very interesting. It's all very small. I have three volcanoes. Two are active and one is dead. But you never know."
"We do not write about flowers," said the geographer.
"Why not? The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!"
"We do not write about them," said the geographer, "because they are short-lived."
"Geography books," said the geographer, "are the most important books. They never go out of style. Mountains almost never move. Oceans almost never dry up. We write about things that last forever."
"But dead volcanoes can become active again," the little prince interrupted. "What does 'ephemeral' mean?"
"Whether volcanoes are dead or alive, it's the same for us," said the geographer. "What matters is the mountain. It doesn't change."
"But what does 'ephemeral' mean?" repeated the little prince, who never gave up on a question once he asked it.
"It means 'likely to disappear quickly.'"
"My flower is short-lived," the little prince said to himself, "and she has only four thorns to protect herself. And I left her alone on my planet!"
That was his first time feeling sorry. But he cheered up again.
"What place should I visit next?" he asked.
"The planet Earth," replied the geographer. "It has a good name."