Fisherman Jean-Claude Bianco expected to snag tasty sole or mullet while fishing off the coast of France in September. Instead, he reeled in a clue to a 54-year-old mystery: a bracelet that appears to have belonged to Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the author of the classic book The Little Prince.

Saint-Exupery disappeared while flying a World War II mission on July 31, 1944. No trace of him was ever found. But the bracelet that Bianco found is engraved with the names of Saint-Exupery's wife and the two publishers of his book. Divers are now searching underwater for his plane in the place where Bianco "caught" the bracelet.

Bianco can't believe his luck! "I told myself, 'You're dreaming, you're dreaming,'" he said. "The sea is vast, and the bracelet was so small."

Daily News from TIME for Kids

November 13, 1998 World Report