On the evening before he left, the prince tried to make me less sad. He could see that I was going to cry.

You understand, he said. It is too far. I cannot take this body with me. It is too heavy.

I said nothing.

But it will be like an old shell, he said. There is nothing sad about old shells.

I said nothing.

He was a little frightened. But he went on. You know, it will be very nice. I, too, shall look at the stars. All the stars will be wells with a rusty pulley. All the stars will pour out fresh water for me to drink.

I said nothing.

That will be so amusing! You will have five hundred million little bells, and I shall have five hundred million springs of fresh water.

And he too said nothing, because he was crying.

There, he said, that is all. Let me go on by myself.

And he sat down, because he was afraid. Then he said again: You know — my flower — I am responsible for her. And she is so weak! She is so naïve! She has four thorns, of no use at all, to protect herself against all the world.

I also sat down. I could not stand up any longer. Here it is, he said. Let me go on by myself.

He hesitated just a moment longer. Then he got up. He took one step. I could not move.

You — only you — will have stars that can laugh, he said.

And he laughed again.

And at night, you will look up at the stars. Where I live, everything is so small that I cannot show you where my star is. It is better like that. My star will just be one of the stars, for you. So you will love to watch all the stars. They will all be your friends.

All men have stars, he answered, but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others, they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman, they were gold. But all these stars are silent. You — only you — will have stars as no one else has them.

What do you mean?

In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night. You, only you, will have stars that can laugh!

And he laughed again.

That is all.

In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night.