"But I am more powerful than the finger of a king," said the serpent.

The little prince smiled:

"You're not very powerful ... you do not even have paws ... you can not even travel ...

"I can carry you farther than a ship," said the serpent.

He wrapped himself around the ankle of the little prince, like a gold bracelet:

"The one I touch, I return to the earth from which he came out," he said again. But you are pure and you come from a star ... "

The little prince answered nothing.

"You pity me, you so weak, on this Granite Earth. I can help you someday if you regret too much your planet. I can...

- Oh ! I understood very well, "said the little prince," but why do you always speak in riddles?

"I will resolve them all," said the serpent.

And they fell silent.

XVIII