i Light lo vrras ty Vitoine ae jamt txupery Translated from the
French by Lewis Galantiere Illustrated by Bernard L, amotte Reynal
Hitchcock New York COPYRIGHT, 1942, BY REYSTAL Be HITCHCOCK, XKC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED IJSTCI-UDXtfa Till BIGHT TO RE PRODUCE THIS
BOOK OR PORTIONS THEREOF IN AKY PRINTED IX THE UNITED STATUS OF
AMEBICA BT THE CORNWALL PRBSS, I C, CORKWALT, JTJIW YORK Fliqkt to
A rras k x t r w LA- i 1 SURELY I must be dreaming. It is as if I
were fifteen again. I am back at school. My mind is on my geometry
problem. Leaning over the worn black desk, I work away dutifully
with compass and ruler and protractor. I am quiet and industrious.
Near by sit some of my schoolmates, talking in murmurs. One of them
stands at a blackboard chalking up figures. Others less studious
are playing bridge. Out of-doors I see the branch of a tree swaying
in the breeze. I drop my work and stare at it. From an industrious
pupil I have become an idle one. The shining sun fills me with
peace. I inhale with delight the childhood odor of the wooden desk,
the chalk, the blackboard in this schoolhouse in which we are
quartered. I revel in the sense of security born of this daydream
of a sheltered childhood. What course life takes, we all know. We
are chil n 12 FLIGHT TO ARRAS dren, we are sent to school, we make
friends, we go to collegeand we are graduated. Some sort of diploma
is handed to us, and our hearts pound as we arc ushered across a
certain threshold, marched through a certain porch, the other side
of which we are of a sud den grown men. Now our footfalls strike
the ground with a new assurance. We have begun to make our way in
life, to take the first few steps of our way in life. We areabout
to measure our strength against real adver saries. The ruler, the T
square, the compass have become weapons with which we shall build a
world, triumph over an enemy. Playtime is over. All this I see as I
stare at the swaying branch. And I see too that schoolboys have no
fear of facing life. They champ at the bit. The jealousies, the
trials, the sorrows of the life of man do not intimidate the
schoolboy. But what a strange schoolboy I am I sit in this
schoolroom, a schoolboy conscious of my good fortune and in no
hurry to face life. A schoolboy aware of its cares. . . . Dutertre
comes by, and I stop him. Sit down. Ill do some card-tricks for
you. Dutertre sits facing me on a desk as worn as mine. I can see
his dangling legs as he shuffles the cards. How pleased with myself
I am when I pick out the card he has in mind He laughs. Modestly, I
smile. P6nicot comes up and puts his arm across my shoulder. What
do you say, old boy How tenderly peaceful all this is FLIGHT TO
ARRAS 13 A school usher is it an usher opens the door and summons
two among us. They drop their ruler, drop their compass, get up,
and go out. We follow them with our eyes. Their schooldays are
over. They have been released for the business of life. What they
have learnt, they are now to make use of. Like grown men, they are
about to try out against other men the formulas they have worked
out. Strange school, this, where each goes forth alone in turn. And
without a word of farewell. Those two who have just gone through
the door did not so much as glance at us who remain behind. And yet
the hazard of life, it may be, will transport them farther away
than China. So much farther When schooldays are past, and life
hasscattered you, who can swear that you will meet again The rest
of us, those still nestling in the cosy warmth of our incubator, go
back to our murmured talk. Look here, Dutertre. To-night. But once
again the same door has opened. And like a court sentence the words
ring out in the quiet school room Captain de Saint-Exupery and
Lieutenant Dutertre report to the major Schooldays are over. Life
has begun. Did you know it was our turn Penicot flew this morning.
Oh, yes. l FLIGHT TO ARRAS The fact that we had been sent for meant
that we were to be ordered out on a sortie...
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