.It is only with
the heart that one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye.
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Words are the source of misunderstandings.
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All grown-ups were children first. (But few remember it).
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Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves,
and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations
over and over again.
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That's the way they are. You must not hold it against them.
Children should be very understanding of grown-ups.
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I have had, in the course of my life, lots of encounters and lots of serious people. I
have spent lots of time with grown-ups. I have seen them at close range... which hasn't
much improved my opinion of them.
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Grown-ups like numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask questions
about what really matters. They never ask: "What does his voice sound like?"
"What games does he like best?" "Does he collect butterflies?". They
ask: "How old is he?" "How many brothers does he have?" "How much
does he weigh?" "How much money does his father make?" Only then do they
think they know him.
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If you tell grown-ups, "I saw a beautiful red brick house, with geraniums at the
windows and doves on the roof...," they won't be able to imagine such a house. You
have to tell them, "I saw a house worth a hundred thousand francs." Then they
exclaim, "What a pretty house!"
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"That is the hardest thing of all. It is much harder to judge yourself than to judge
others. If you succeed in judging yourself, it's because you're truly a wise man."
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Well, I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become
acquainted with the butterflies. It seems that they are very beautiful
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"What are you doing here," he asked the drunkard...
"Drinking," replied the drunkard, with a gloomy expression.
"Why are you drinking?" the little prince asked.
"To forget," replied the drunkard.
"To forget what?" inquired the little prince, who was already feeling sorry for
him.
"To forget that I'm ashamed," confessed the drunkard, hanging his head.
"What are you ashamed of?" inquired the little prince, who wanted to help.
"Of drinking!" concluded the drunkard...
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"Language is the source of misunderstandings."
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"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the
eyes."
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You risk tears if you let yourself be tamed.
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"People have stars, but they aren't the same. For travelers, the stars are guides.
For other people, they're nothing but tiny lights. And for still others, for scholars,
they're problems. For my businessman, they were gold. But all those stars are silent
stars. You, though, you'll have stars like nobody else."
"What do you mean?"
"When you look up at the sky at night, since I'll be living on one of them, since
I'll be laughing on one of them, for you, it'll be as if all the stars are laughing.
You'll have stars that can laugh!"
And he laughed again.
"And when you're consoled (everyone is eventually consoled), you'll be glad you've
known me. You'll always be my friend. You'll feel like laughing with me. And you'll open
your windows sometimes just for the fun of it... And your friends will be amazed to see
you laughing while you're looking up at the sky. Then you'll tell them, 'Yes, it's the
stars. They always make me laugh!"
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For me, this is the loveliest and the
saddest
landscape in the world.
It's the same landscape as the one on the preceeding page,
but I've drawn it one more time to be sure you see it clearly.
It's here that the little prince appeared on Earth, then disappeared.
Look at this lanscape carefully to be sure of recognizing it,
if you should travel to Africa someday, in the desert.
And if you happen to pass by here, I beg you not to hurry past.
Wait a little while, just under the star!
Then if a child comes to you, and if he laughs,
if he has golden hair, if he doesn't answer your questions,
you'll know who he is. If this should happen, be kind!
Don't let me go on being so sad:
Send word immediately that he's come back. |
