The Little Prince, a book that I cornered and damaged, faded by the sun because I read it every day, in the desert of the Grand Erg Oriental, which I walked about twenty times.
And this passage of the Little Prince, which I'm reposting here, is of St Exupéry:
"Then the fox appeared:
- Hello, says the fox.
- Hello, replied politely the little prince, who turned around but saw nothing.
- I'm here, says the voice, under the apple tree.
- Who are you ? says the little prince. You look pretty pretty...
- I'm a fox, says the fox.
- Come play with me, proposed the little prince. i am so sad .....
- I can't play with you, says the fox. I am not tamed.
- Ah! pardon me, fit the little prince.
But, after thinking, he added:
- What does 'tame' mean?
- You're not from here, says the fox, what are you looking for?
- I'm looking for men, says the little prince. What does "tame" mean?
- Men, says the fox, have guns and they hunt. This is quite embarrassing! They also raise chickens It’s their only interest. Are you looking for chickens?
- No, says the Little Prince. I am looking for friends. What does "tame" mean?
- It's too forgotten, says the fox. It means "make the connection... "
- Make a connection ?
- Of course, says the fox. You're still just a little boy to me, like a hundred thousand little boys. And i dont need you And you don't need me either I am to you but a fox similar to a hundred thousand foxes. But if you tame me we'll need each other You will be unique to me in the world. I will be unique to you in the world...
- I'm beginning to understand, says the little prince. There is a flower... i think she tamed me....
- It's possible, says the fox. U see all sorts of things on earth...
- Oh! it is not on earth, says the little prince.
The fox looked very intrigued:
- On another planet?
- Yes.
- Are there hunters on this planet?
- Nope.
- Now this is interesting! How about the chickens?
- Nope.
- Nothing is perfect, sighs the fox.
But the fox came back to his idea:
- My life is monotonous. I hunt chickens, men hunt me. All hens are the same, and all men are the same. So I'm kinda bored. But, if you tame me, my life will be like sunshine. I will experience a footstep sound that will be unlike any other. Other steps bring me underground. Yours will be calling me out of the den, like music. And then look! Do you see the wheat fields over there? I don't eat bread Wheat is useless to me Wheat fields remind me nothing. And this is sad! But your hair is gold. Then it will be wonderful when you tame me! Wheat, which is golden, will remind me of you. And I like the sound of the wind in the wheat...
The fox stopped and stared at the little prince for a long time:
- Please... tame me! he says.
"I want to," replied the little prince, but I don't have much time. I have friends to meet and a lot to know.
- We only know the things we tame, says the fox. Men no longer have time to know anything. They buy stuff all made from merchants. But since there are no merchant of friends, men have no friends. If you want a friend, tame me!
- What should I do? says the little prince.
- You have to be very patient, replied the fox. You'll first sit a little far from me, like that, in the grass. I'll look you in the corner of the eye and you won't say a word. Language is the source of misunderstandings. But everyday you can sit a little closer...
The next day the little prince came back.
- It would have been better to come back at the same time, says the fox. If you come, for example, at four in the afternoon, from three o'clock I will start to be happy. The more time goes on, the happier i feel. At four o'clock, already, I'll be agitated and worried; I'll discover the price of happiness! But if you come anytime, I'll never know what time to dress my heart... It takes the rites.
- What is a rite? says the little prince.
- It's also something too forgotten, says the fox. This is what makes a day different from other days, one hour, other hours. There's a rite, for example, at my hunters. Thursday dance with the village girls So Thursday is wonderful! I will take a walk to the vineyard If hunters danced any time, days would all be the same, and I wouldn't have a vacation.
Thus the little prince tamed the fox. And when the time of departure was near:
- Ah! says the fox... I will cry.
- It's your fault, said the little prince, I didn't wish you bad, but you wanted me to tame you...
- Of course, says the fox.
- But you're going to cry! says the little prince.
- Of course, says the fox.
- So you don't gain anything from it!
- I win, said the fox, because of the color of the wheat.
Then he added :
- Go see the roses again. You will understand that yours is unique in the world. You'll come back to say goodbye, and I'll gift you a secret.
The little prince visited the roses again:
- You are nothing like my rose, you are nothing yet, he told them. Nobody has tamed you and you have not tamed anyone. You are as my fox was. He was just one fox, similar to a hundred thousand others. But I made him my friend, and now he is unique in the world.
And the roses were well embarrassed.
- You are beautiful, but you are empty, he tells them again. We can't die for you. Of course, my rose, an ordinary passerby would think it resembles you. But she alone is more important than all of you, since she is the one I watered. Since she's the one I put under the globe. Since she's the one I sheltered through the curtain. Since she's the one I killed the caterpillars (except two or three for the butterflies). Because she's the one I've heard complain, or brag, or even sometimes keep quiet. Since it's my rose
And he returned to the fox:
- Farewell, he says...
- Goodbye, says the fox. Here's my secret. It's very simple: one can only see with the heart. What’s essential is invisible to the eye.
- The essential is invisible to the eye, repeated the little prince, in order to remember.
- It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important.
- This is the time I've wasted for my rose... made the little prince, to remember.
- Men have forgotten this truth, says the fox. But you mustn't forget it. You forever become responsible for what you tame. You are responsible for your rose...
- I am responsible for my rose... repeated the little prince, to remember.
End of chapter XXI
The Little Prince - Antoine of St. Exupéry
