What is the setting of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery?

Written in the 1940s, The Little Prince takes place partly in the Sahara Desert and partly on a number of very small planets that the author has created for demonstration purposes. It is therefore, a metaphorical tale. Saint Exupyry combines fantasy and philosophy to enlighten and educate his adult readers while cloaking the entire lesson in the context of a children's story.