I had thus learned a second fact of great importance: this was that the planet the little prince came from was scarcely any larger than a house!

For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly. I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories. Six years have already passed since my friend went away from me, with his sheep. If I try to describe him here, it is to make sure that I shall not forget him. To forget a friend is sad. Not every one has had a friend. And if I forget him, I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures...

But if you said to them: "The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612," then they would be convinced, and leave you in peace from their questions.

我可不但願人們漫不經心腸讀我的書。在報告這些舊事時，我已接受了太多哀痛。我的朋友帶著他的小綿羊已經拜彆六年了。我之以是在這裡極力把他描述出來，就是為了不要健忘他。健忘一個朋友，這太叫人哀痛了。並不是統統的人都有過一個朋友。再說，如果我健忘他，我也能夠變成那些大人那樣，隻對數字感興趣。

But that did not really surprise me much. I knew very well that in addition to the great planets― such as the Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Venus― to which we have given names, there are also hundreds of others, some of which are so small that one has a hard time seeing them through the telescope. When an astronomer discovers one of these he does not give it a name, but only a number. He might call it, for example, "Asteroid 325."I have serious reason to believe that the planet from which the little prince came is the asteroid known as B-612. This asteroid has only once been seen through the telescope. That was by a Turkish astronomer, in 1909.