Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

‘The eyes do not see that which is most important,’ the little prince repeated, so that he would remember.

‘It is the time you have spent with your rose that makes your rose so important.’

‘It is the time I have spent with my rose …’ repeated the little prince, so that he wouldn’t forget

"Children," I say plainly, "watch out for the baobabs!"

You know-- one loves the sunset, when one is so sad...

I don't believe you! Flowers are weak creatures. They are naive. They reassure themselves as best they can. They believe that their thorns are terrible weapons...

Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?" Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?" Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

‘Your sheep is inside this box,’ I explained.
I was pleasantly surprised to see his face light up. ‘That is just what I wanted! Do you think this sheep will need plenty of grass?’
‘Why?’
‘Because my world is very small.’
‘Of course there will be enough grass,’ I said. ‘It is a tiny sheep.’
He bent over the drawing and looked closely. ‘Not too tiny … oh look! He has gone to sleep.’
And that is how I first met the little prince.

I do not want anyone to read my book carelessly. Reliving these memories has made me sad. It has been six years since my friend departed, along with his sheep. I must try to describe him here, to make sure that I don’t ever forget him. To forget a friend is terrible. Not everyone has had a friend.

Oh, little prince, slowly I begin to piece together the secrets of your sad life. For so long you have found your happiness looking at beautiful sunsets. It was on the fourth morning that I learnt of this fact, when you said to me:
‘I do love sunsets. Let us go and watch one now.’
‘But we must wait.’
‘Wait? For what?’
‘Wait until it is time for sunset.’
You seemed puzzled at first. Then you laughed and said: ‘I keep forgetting that I’m not at home!’
He had clearly forgotten. It is a known fact that when it is noontime in America, the sun is setting over France. If you could swiftly zip through the air to France, you would be able to watch the sun go down.
Unfortunately, France is too far away. But on your planet, my little prince, all you need to do is revolve your chair a little and watch night fall.
‘I watched forty-four sunsets one day!’
‘You know,’ you added sometime later, ‘when people are sad, they watch sunsets.’

‘Well, I should endure two or three caterpillars if I wish to meet the butterflies.