The Wisdom of the Fox

"Tame me," said the Fox.

* * *

"To me, you are just a little boy, no different from a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you have no need of me. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. You will be unique to me in all the world. To you, I will be unique in all the world."

* * *

"You see the wheat-fields there? I do not eat bread; wheat is of no use to me. The wheat-fields mean nothing to me. And that is sad. But you have hair the color of gold. Think how wonderful it will be when you have tamed me! The golden wheat will remind me of you, and I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat."

* * *

"Men no longer have time to understand anything. They buy things ready-made at stores. But there is no store where one can buy friendship, and so men no longer have any friends. If you want a friend, tame me."

* * *

And the Little Prince tamed the Fox.
And when the time of his departure drew near,

"Ah," said the Fox, "I shall cry."

"It is your own fault," said the little prince.
"I never wanted to hurt you; but you wanted me to tame you..."

"This is true," said the Fox.

"But now you are going to cry!" said the Little Prince.

"This is true," said the Fox.

"Then it has done you no good at all!"

"It has," said the Fox, "because of the color of the wheat-fields."

* * *

"Goodbye," said the Fox. "And now here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see clearly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the Little Prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

"It is the time you have spent on your rose that makes your rose so important."

"It is the time I have spent on my rose..." said the Little Prince, so that he would be sure to remember.

"Men have forgotten this truth," said the Fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..."

"I am responsible for my rose," the Little Prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

* * *

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince. (AJ Transl.)