The Little Prince

When I was little, me and The Little Prince were a great love story. I have no idea how many times I read it, but I know that my grandmother had a tape of The Little Prince translated in Spanishand that I had learned all the dialogues by heart. In Spanish. I didn't understand anything they were saying, but I knew the story well, and I was saying it all with confidence at the same time as the people on TV.

About 20 years later, I reread The Little Prince expecting to be a little exasperated, because it is so cute and because it is the second most translated book in the world next to the Bible. Moreover, I hadn't really loved Paolo Coelho's The Alchemist, another incredibly popular philosophical tale. I know, not related.

What happened? I cried. I reconnected with my inner child who had loved the book so much and was so sad that I didn't bother to read it again because I had become a boring, prejudiced adult.

How wonderful. Seriously. You read this, and without needing anyone's opinion, without being an expert, you know it's a masterpiece.

Now, rather than tell you the story, which you probably already know, I'll leave you with my favorite quotes from the book. Happy reading!

Excerpts

Straight ahead you can't go very far.

It has been six years since my friend left with his sheep. If I try to describe him here, it is so that I will not forget him. It is sad to forget a friend. Not everyone has a friend.

I know a planet where there is a crimson gentleman. He has never breathed a flower. He has never looked at a star. He has never loved anyone. He has never done anything but add up. And all day long he repeats like you: "I am a serious man! I am a serious man!" and this makes him swell with pride. But he is not a man, he is a mushroom!

It is so mysterious, the land of tears.

I have to put up with two or three caterpillars if I want to know about butterflies.

It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others.

Men? There are, I think, six or seven. I saw them years ago. But you never know where to find them. The wind blows them around. They lack roots, that bothers them a lot.

You see the wheat fields over there? I don't eat bread. Wheat is useless to me. Wheat fields don't remind me of anything. And that's sad! But you have golden hair. So it will be wonderful when you have tamed me! The golden wheat will make me remember you. And I will like the sound of the wind in the wheat...

We only know the things we tame.

You can only see well with your heart. The essential is invisible to the eyes.

It's the time you wasted on your rose that makes your rose so important.

We are never happy where we are.

- Only children know what they are looking for, said the little prince. They waste time on a rag doll, and it becomes very important, and if you take it away from them, they cry...

- They are lucky, says the switchman.

This water was much more than food. It was born from walking under the stars, from the song of the pulley, from the effort of my arms. It was good for the heart, like a gift.

When you blush, it means "yes", doesn't it?

If you like a flower that is in a star, it is sweet, at night, to look at the sky. All the stars are in bloom.

When you look at the sky at night, since I will live in one of them, since I will laugh in one of them, then it will be for you as if all the stars were laughing. You will have stars that know how to laugh!

And I'm crying again 😉