The Little Prince

 　　You know—one loves the sunset, when one is so

　　sad… If someone loves a flower, of which just one blooms among all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him

　　happy
　　just by looking at the stars. He can say to himself, "Somewhere, my flower is there…" But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened… And you think that is not important!

　　Flowers are so inconsistent!
　　But I was too young to know how to love her…

　　For
　　she did not want him to see her crying. She was such a proud flower… My flower is fleeting,

　　and
　　she has only four thorns to defend herself against the world. And I have left her alone on my planet! His flower had told him that she was only one of her kind in the entire universe. And here were thousands of them, all like

　　,
　　in one single garden! I thought I was rich, with a flower that was unique in all the world; and

　　all
　　I had was a common rose. A common rose… To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like hundreds of thousands of other little boys. And I have none of you. And you

　　,
　　on your part, have none of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like hundreds of thousands of other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world. To me, you are unique; to you, I am one of a kind… The wheat fields have nothing to say to me.

　　And
　　that is dreadful. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat. The wheat fields and I have nothing to do with each other, which is frustrating. But you have golden hair. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The wheat is also golden, which will remind me of you. I would love to listen to the wind in the wheat fields…

　　It
　　is your own fault, I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you… but now you are going to cry! Then it has done you no good at all!

　　It
　　has done me good, because of the color of the wheat fields. Go and look again at the roses. You will understand now that your rose is unique in all the world. Taming has been good for me—because of the color of the wheat fields 　　. Go and look again at the roses! Then you will understand that your rose is still unique in all the world. And

　　nowhere
　　is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eyes. It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important. 　　Men have forgotten this truth. But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed 　　. You are responsible for your rose…





　　People have long forgotten this truth. But you shouldn't forget it. You must always be responsible for what you tame. You are responsible for your rose.

　　Only
　　children know what they are looking for. They waste their time on rag dolls, and it becomes very important to them; and if anyone takes a doll away from them, they cry… As for me, if I had fifty

　　-three minutes to spend as I 　　liked
　　, I should walk at my leisure towards a spring of fresh water. 　　The stars are beautiful because of a flower that cannot be seen. 　　What 　　makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere in it lies a well… 　　The house, the stars, 　　the desert—what gives them their beauty is something that is invisible ! 　　What 　　moves me most about this little prince who is sleeping here is his loyalty to a flower—the image of a rose that shines through his whole being like the flame of alamp, even when he is asleep… The men on your planet cultivate five thousand roses in the same garden 　　— 　　yet they cannot find in them what they are looking for. And yet what they are looking for could be found in a single rose, or in a drop of water. But eyes are blind. One must look with the heart… One must look with one's heart… Everyone has their own stars, but their meaning varies from person to 　　person 　　. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others, they are nothing more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman, they are wealth. But all these stars are silent. You—you alone—will have the stars as no one else has them… You—only you—understand the unique meaning of these stars… In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. 　　And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night… You—only you— 　　will have stars that can laugh… I live on one of the stars. I will stand on one of the stars and smile. When you look up at the sky at night, it's as if every star is laughing… You—only you—can have stars that laugh… 　　And 　　when your sorrow is comforted, so that the sorrows will be soothed, you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure… And your friends will be properly astonished to see you laughing as you look up at the sky! Then you will say to them, "Yes, the stars always make me laugh!" Then you can say to them, "Yes, the stars always make me happy and smile!" 　　But 　　no grown-ups will ever understand that this is a matter of so much importance!