--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Has the sheep eaten the flower or not?" description: "\"“Has the sheep eaten the flower or not?”\" — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_eaten_has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not-57_573907.png" --- # Has the sheep eaten the flower or not? ![“Has the sheep eaten the flower or not?” quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_eaten_has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not-57_573907.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_eaten_has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not-57_573907.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_eaten_has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not-57_573907.png) > ““Has the sheep eaten the flower or not?”” [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The question of whether the sheep ate the flower symbolizes deeper concerns about care, responsibility, and the unknown outcomes of our actions. **In simple terms:** A simple query reflects larger worries about consequences. Key Takeaway Consider the impact of your choices. Themes responsibility care uncertainty relationships Mood contemplative poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - parenting - environmental stewardship - business decisions - artistic creation Key Concepts Symbolism interpretation existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does the flower represent for you? - How do you handle uncertainty in caring for something? A Different Perspective Answers may be ambiguous; focus on intention. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eaten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eaten/) [Eaten Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eaten-flower-1289450/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Sheep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheep/) [Sheep Eaten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheep-eaten-1289452/) ## Related quotes > [Look at the sky. Ask yourselves: Has the sheep eaten the flower, yes or no? And you will see how everything changes...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/look-at-the-sky-ask-yourselves-has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-yes-or/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“Look up at the sky. Ask yourself, 'Has the sheep eaten the flower or not?' And you'll see how everything changes... And no grown-up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/look-up-at-the-sky-ask-yourself-has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“It's all a great mystery. For you, who love the little prince, too. As for me, nothing in the universe can be the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/it-s-all-a-great-mystery-for-you-who-love-the-little-prince-too-as/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“nothing in the universe can be the same if somewhere, we do not know where, a sheep that we never saw has — yes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/nothing-in-the-universe-can-be-the-same-if-somewhere-we-do-not-know/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Revolution without awareness as a remote sheep eaten by wolves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdelrahman-sabry/revolution-without-awareness-as-a-remote-sheep-eaten-by-wolves/) [Abdelrahman Sabry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdelrahman-sabry/) > [“The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/the-stars-are-beautiful-because-of-a-flower-that-cannot-be-seen/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“But I, alas, do not know how to see sheep through the walls of boxes. Perhaps I am a little like the grown-ups. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/but-i-alas-do-not-know-how-to-see-sheep-through-the-walls-of-boxes/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“Thus is the earth at once a desert and a paradise, rich in secret hidden gardens, gardens inaccessible, but to which the craft leads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/thus-is-the-earth-at-once-a-desert-and-a-paradise-rich-in-secret/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I must hurry back to my house and my flowers in Monaco.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillie-langtry/i-must-hurry-back-to-my-house-and-my-flowers-in-monaco/) [Lillie Langtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillie-langtry/) > [“A flower needs the rain to grow just as much as it needs the sunshine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/a-flower-needs-the-rain-to-grow-just-as-much-as-it-needs-the-sunshine/) [Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) ## More by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry > [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/perfection-is-finally-attained-not-when-there-is-no-longer-anything/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“But for fear of disheartening them, we also spoke to them of disappointments and the bitter taste that rest has after a useless action.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/but-for-fear-of-disheartening-them-we-also-spoke-to-them-of/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Once we are bound together to our brothers by a common good that is outside us, then we can breathe. Experience teaches us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/once-we-are-bound-together-to-our-brothers-by-a-common-good-that-is/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/the-stars-are-beautiful-because-of-a-flower-that-cannot-be-seen/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“You are beautiful but you are empty. One could not die for you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/you-are-beautiful-but-you-are-empty-one-could-not-die-for-you/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“And the fox said to the little prince: men have forgotten this truth, but you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/and-the-fox-said-to-the-little-prince-men-have-forgotten-this-truth/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/and-now-here-is-my-secret-a-very-simple-secret-it-is-only-with-the/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Flying is a man's job and its worries are a man's worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/flying-is-a-man-s-job-and-its-worries-are-a-man-s-worries/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/you-are-not-at-all-like-my-rose-he-said-as-yet-you-are-nothing-no-one/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Loneliness is bred of a mind that has grown earth-bound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/loneliness-is-bred-of-a-mind-that-has-grown-earth-bound/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“Stretched out before the fire I looked at the glowing fruit and said to myself that men did not know what an orange was.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/stretched-out-before-the-fire-i-looked-at-the-glowing-fruit-and-said/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) [Explore all 719 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) ## More Eaten quotes > [Oh, I'm being eaten By a boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor, And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/oh-i-m-being-eaten-by-a-boa-constrictor-a-boa-constrictor-a-boa/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [I've always eaten out a lot as I live life on the road, so I never conceived of eating anything healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-wallace/i-ve-always-eaten-out-a-lot-as-i-live-life-on-the-road-so-i-never/) [Gregg Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-wallace/) > [I'm not in the movie business anymore, and hardly any 70 year olds are. I always ask the producers: 'Are there no 70-year old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-dennehy/i-m-not-in-the-movie-business-anymore-and-hardly-any-70-year-olds-are/) [Brian Dennehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-dennehy/) > [“Alas! the forbidden fruits were eaten, And thereby the warm life of reason congealed. A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam, Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi-masnavi-i-ma-navi/alas-the-forbidden-fruits-were-eaten-and-thereby-the-warm-life-of/) [Rumi Masnavi-I Ma'navi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi-masnavi-i-ma-navi/) > [“I reported to work the next morning looking like something the cat dragged in, half eaten yet somehow still alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/i-reported-to-work-the-next-morning-looking-like-something-the-cat/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [I bought a box of animal crackers, but there was nothing inside. They'd eaten each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-bought-a-box-of-animal-crackers-but-there-was-nothing-inside-they-d/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [I've eaten weird things through the course of my life. I've eaten wild game, I've eaten possum - possum's no good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pratt/i-ve-eaten-weird-things-through-the-course-of-my-life-i-ve-eaten-wild/) [Chris Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pratt/) > [I've eaten things that didn't complain this much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-ve-eaten-things-that-didn-t-complain-this-much/) [Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/) > [“Whatever we know as children, this is the world, eaten whole and without question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/whatever-we-know-as-children-this-is-the-world-eaten-whole-and/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [People never know each other until they have eaten a certain amount of salt together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/people-never-know-each-other-until-they-have-eaten-a-certain-amount/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [While we've taken seeds into space, and astronauts on the International Space Station have eaten lettuce they've grown, we haven't produced fruit in space,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sharman/while-we-ve-taken-seeds-into-space-and-astronauts-on-the/) [Helen Sharman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sharman/) > [“I live well! I may have been swallowed, but I have no intention of being eaten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-live-well-i-may-have-been-swallowed-but-i-have-no-intention-of/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [Expeditions are escapism. The stuff that we're normally concerned about just doesn't matter out there. Tax returns, gas bill, none of it. Life becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-saunders/expeditions-are-escapism-the-stuff-that-we-re-normally-concerned/) [Ben Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-saunders/) > [“Broken people don't hide from their monsters. Broken people let themselves be eaten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-zappia/broken-people-don-t-hide-from-their-monsters-broken-people-let/) [Francesca Zappia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-zappia/) > [Burgers and fries are an American staple. On the same token, my kids eat vegetables, and they always have eaten vegetables. They didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-thompson/burgers-and-fries-are-an-american-staple-on-the-same-token-my-kids/) [Don Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-thompson/) [Browse all 252 Eaten quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eaten/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Has the sheep eaten the flower or not?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antoine de Saint-Exupéry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eaten" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_eaten_has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not-57_573907.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_eaten_has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not-57_573907.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_eaten_has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not-57_573907.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Has the sheep eaten the flower or not?” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Antoine de Saint-Exupéry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Has the sheep eaten the flower...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/has-the-sheep-eaten-the-flower-or-not/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```