One way of understanding the war between the sheep and the flowers is to see it as the Prince's first encounter with the idea of conflict and loss. Roses produce thorns to protect themselves; the sheep can eat the roses, thorns and all. When the pilot tells the Prince that the rose's thorns are good for nothing, it makes the Prince very angry. He is angry at the pilot for not understanding, but he is also angry because he is confused. His rose told him that her thorns would protect her; now he finds out that they won't. He is angry because his rose deceived him, and because he had left his rose unprotected. And, of course, he wants the sheep on his planet for a good purpose -- to control the baobabs -- but in trying to do this good deed he has potentially put his rose in great danger. Suddenly the management of his planet has become very complicated! But at the same time, he begins to realize how important the rose is to him: if his rose, unique in all the universe, is eaten by a sheep, it will be as if "suddenly, all the stars went out." In this view, the rose can be seen to represent love, even when it is difficult and deceptive; the sheep can be seen to represent people or things that act without thinking of consequences, or who are unaware of what they really are doing.