UmangiShah: I hereby assure the reader and reviewers that the textual data and ideas in this presentation are original and not plagiarized. With my own free-will I am placing the presentation on www.slideshare.net to be viewed and used by one and all.

UmangiShah: These observations from the Prince’s manual can be used as an outline for a novel, a collection of short stories, a series of novellas. Or one may even write about their favourite literary characters, discoverers, scientists and What Not…… Even teachers may use this as a base for project-work.

This is a presentation inspired by “The Little Prince” by

Antoine De Saint Exupéry. If you have or haven't read the original story, it is your luck. The story is presented in the

words of the Prince.

Hi. I am the Little Prince.

I am the resident of Asteroid B-612.

I had once visited the Beautiful Earth and thought of revisiting it.

I met many people on Earth and I have made entries in my manual about the most remarkable persons. These people epitomize many of the same kind, having one or all characteristics.

Scientists maintain bulky records of the flora and fauna found on Earth. I thought of making records of the various types of human beings, having varied character traits. It could be helpful to creatures from other planets if they are planning to visit Earth.

When I landed on Earth I saw an endless expanse of sand. It was here that I met the most noteworthy person The Alchemist. I met him in a caravan in the desert of Africa.

He was a very mysterious man, and I think he knew all the mysteries of the Universe. He showed me how lead could be converted into gold using The Philosopher’s Stone. He also had The Elixir of Life, which, if a man drinks, he never falls sick.

He said “Everyone on Earth has a destiny which they have to meet.” And thus I decided to move on where my destiny took me.

From Africa, I decided to go to another continent. So I managed to board a ship with the gold the Alchemist had given me. On board there were some notable characters.

There were some Africans who were bound in chains. They were looking very forlorn and miserable. I thought they must be prisoners, but then from them I heard some atrocious facts.

They were “slaves”. So I asked what slaves meant.

I was told that a man from other country had purchased them and he was taking them to work on his fields. The reason for their sadness was that they were badly missing their homeland and families.

The first thought that flashed my mind was, “How can one human being own another? God Almighty has made us all equal. Then how did one man get the rights to rule over the very existence of another man?” I strongly felt that something ought to be done about this.

I went looking for their master. He was quarreling with someone who had told him a hypocrite. He was actually a perfect example of two-facedness. He went on talking about other slave owners treating their slaves improperly.

“The Hypocrite” had a completely different set of ideas to talk about and another set of ideas to put into action. The Hypocrite was saying at the

top of his voice that he believed in humanity and he suggested some ways as to how slaves could be kept under control through kind gestures.

This was something which exposed his hypocrisy. Didn’t he realize that he was doing the most inhuman of all things and despite that, he dared to preach virtues. If he really wanted to do something for mankind, he should have taken steps against slavery. Alas! He was supporting it!

After all this we came to a beautiful country and I saw that a person was talking reassuringly to the slaves. He was “The Optimist”. For the first time there was a faint gleam of smiles on their faces. He was asking them to have faith

in God and Destiny. He also said that there was a purpose behind everything that happened, and it always led to something better.

He told them to believe that good days will surely come. He also told them to take their present circumstance as a lesson to become better and stronger human beings. The slaves were looking less forlorn. The Optimist’s words were like a ray of light in darkness.

I distinctly recall that day when I was caught in a storm. That day, I had the company of “The Pessimist”. The relief of having company turned to terror when The Pessimist started cursing God, Nature and Mankind.

He believed that the Doom of the mankind is near and now nothing could be done, but to wait for the worst. He almost made me believe that the End of everything is inevitable. But soon help arrived and we were out of danger. How deceived he felt and how indignant he looked then!!

Once I was invited in a party in London. There was where I met this very handsome man. He was “Dorian Gray”.

He was extraordinarily good looking, with clean-cut features and a youthful face. Yet he seemed to suffer from a secret sorrow. There was something eerie and obscure about him.

When an artist present there offered him to make a portrait of him, Dorian violently averted. He looked visibly disturbed by the very idea. Now, why such a reaction? I hope someday I will find out the reason.

A man once came near me asking me to give him some money or food. I noticed that like other men, he was fit enough to earn his living. So I asked him that why didn’t he work. He told me he was “The Beggar”. He was quite an intelligent guy and gave me such an interesting answer.

He said, "After all I have some responsibility towards my fellow beings. If people like me won’t be there, the milk of human kindness will go dry and fewer men will go to Paradise. I am just fulfilling my duty towards men.”

I was touched by The Beggar’s generosity. Hadn’t he had given up a decent way of living so that other men may go to Heaven. No sooner I gave him a coin than I saw him walking towards a bar. Well, what else could I do except shrugging my shoulders. This is how men are.

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