It was then that the fox appeared.
"Good morning," said the fox.
"Good morning," the little prince responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing.
"I am right here," the voice said, "under the apple tree."
"Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at."
"I am a fox," said the fox.
"Come and play with me," proposed the little prince. "I am so unhappy."
"I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed."
"Ah! Please excuse me," said the little prince.
But, after some thought, he added:
"What does that mean-- 'tame'?"
"You do not live here," said the fox. "What is it that you are looking for?"
"I am looking for men," said the little prince. "What does that mean-- 'tame'?"
"Men," said the fox. "They have guns, and they hunt. It is very disturbing. They also raise chickens. These are their only interests. Are you looking for chickens?"
"No," said the little prince. "I am looking for friends. What does that mean-- 'tame'?"
"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."
"'To establish ties'?"
"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand 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..."
"I am beginning to understand," said the little prince. "There is a flower... I think that she has tamed me..."
"It is possible," said the fox. "On the Earth one sees all sorts of things."
"Oh, but this is not on the Earth!" said the little prince.
The fox seemed perplexed, and very curious.
"On another planet?"
"Yes."
"Are there hunters on this planet?"
"No."
"Ah, that is interesting! Are there chickens?"
"No."
"Nothing is perfect," sighed the fox.
But he came back to his idea.
"My life is very monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life . I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the colour 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 fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.
"Please-- tame me!" he said.
"I want to, very much," the little prince replied. "But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand."
"One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox. "Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me..."
"What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.
"You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me-- like that-- in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day..."
The next day the little prince came back.
"It would have been better to come back at the same hour," said the fox. "If, for example, you come at four o'clock in the afternoon, then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o'clock, I shall already be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you... One must observe the proper rites..."
"What is a rite?" asked the little prince.
"Those also are actions too often neglected," said the fox. "They are what make one day different from other days, one hour from other hours. There is a rite, for example, among my hunters. Every Thursday they dance with the village girls. So Thursday is a wonderful day for me! I can take a walk as far as the vineyards. But if the hunters danced at just any time, every day would be like every other day, and I should never have any vacation at all."
So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near--
"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."
"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you..."
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"Then it has done you no good at all!"
"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields." And then he added:
"Go and look again at the roses. You will understand now that yours is unique in all the world. Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret."
The little prince went away, to look again at the roses.
"You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world."
And the roses were very much embarrassed.
"You are beautiful, but you are empty," he went on. "One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you-- the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose.."
And he went back to meet the fox.
"Goodbye," he said.
"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here 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 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 shared for your rose that makes your rose so important."
"It is the time I have shared for 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.
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~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery : The Little Prince
(Chapter : 21 : The Little Prince And The Fox)
Translated By : Katherine Woods
Illustrated By : Antoine de Saint-Exupery
First Published in 1943
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Reading this I fondly remember Zippy, a cat who asked me tame her around two years ago. After few initial hesitating days, she would come and sit on the sofa besides me. When I would go to the park, she would accompany and wait calmly for her turn to be caressed. One fine day she left. But till this day I remember those wonderful moments when we shared with each other. Zippy, for me, is not like thousands of ther cats. She is unique in this world.
ReplyDeleteVery nice story. Like a soft, cool and fragrant breeze. Keep it up Sir.
"All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life . I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the colour 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..."
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the most beautiful passages that I've ever read in life. It brings us to the central question of existence : how genuinely responsible one has to be, to the ones we tame. But the moot point is - are we at all sincere in any of our relationships?
It is a poignant story on love, its chemistry and the deep seated yearning for it and the meaning that love gives to one's existence.The uniqueness of a person comes out not as an inherent absolute but in relationship to others.The existence of every human being , animal and even flower derives its quintessential meaning,joy and raison de'etre in its relationship to others,particularly the most loved ones. The more is the love, the more golden will be the hair of the prince and the more glorious the sight of the wheat:the more is the joy in mutual relationship, the redder the rose shall appear to be.But these sweet whispers are not heard by the ears nor spoken but heard by the heart like soft wind.Saint de exupery has marvellously captured the innocence with which the fox seeks to be tamed,how the vistas of heart are opened slowly and even candidly speaks about the little games of love that are captured in rites and courtship which are like honey making the moon become sweeter.How much the innocent eyes of fox would have touched the heart of the prince when they sought to be tamed, loved, cared for to give a mutual fullness to life!The best part is the last part of the story- that which completes the circle of love and of being a part of the creation- that love needs to be serious in its commitment -the joy of love attains depth only in responsibilty.lovely insight into the ongoings of a lover's heart!and the rites of passage are like the icing on the cake.
ReplyDeleteSathyu is a masterpiece in his selection of stories.Only one wonders when one such story of his own shall come up?
What a beautiful blog and a more beautiful comment by the Anonymous!
ReplyDeleteVery touchy, probing and defining. There are more mysterious things that life hides in it. The story is just a taste of them.
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether Anonymous No. 1 is same as Anonymous No. 2, praising his/her own comments.
ReplyDeleteNo Mr.Pankaj.
ReplyDeleteIn this particular blog, I'm Anonymous No. 2 who is overawed by Anonymous No. 1's comments.
It's my attempt not to reveal my identity to Sathya which has prompted me to remain Anonymous. At the same time, I was curiously delighted by the Other Anonymous who has been posting such wonderful comments whenever Sathya posts an interesting Blog. Both becoming a rarity these days!
In the same way, there must be a raison d'etre for the other soul to remain Anonymous! Afterall, as Shakespeare has said in 'Romeo And Juliet', "What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet."
It is always an exhilarating experience to read and reread the beautiful 'Le Petit Prince'. From the endearing childlike adamance of the Little Prince to understand what 'taming' means to the beautiful rite of waiting for the loved one whose faintest step become a beckoning music, the story carries us into a dream world of innocence and Love..
ReplyDeleteHow often we realize that what is important is essentially felt only by our hearts and never seen by our eyes. Words become meaningless and isn't it often that we realize that what was never intended gets conveyed through words.. The beauty of the relationships we are in and of the world around us are best appreciated only in the wordless environment that encompass us .
What a lovely tale this 'Little Prince' is and particularly this chapter!
A Beautiful Ode in Prose!
Excellent story and also the comments!
ReplyDeleteThe character of rose in the story has added more spice to
that interesting conversation between the little prince and the fox. It is very interesting to read the comments of Anonymous.
The memories of Pankaj has made me to remember my childhood tame love. I always liked a lamb very much. Though there were many lambs, My heart always went for a unique one. I made my lamb to wear a bell on itz neck to
differentiate it. I used to take it with me wherever i go. It even used to nap in my lap only.It was very close with me. Those lovely memories are often relishing in my mind..
My dear friend Pankaj has unnecessarily worried so much as to whether anonymour no.1 is same as anonymoous no.2.
ReplyDeleteThe answer to the puzzle lies in the story of the prince itself.
"And now here 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 eye."
If Mr.Pankaj had let his heart answer as to whether my comments are beautiful or not, he would have seen rightly.The mystery of anonymous no.1 and 2 being the same or different person shall ever remain invisible to the eye but his heart shall answer rightly.
Abrahm lincoln once said that if things turn out wrong in the end, then , ten angels swearing that he is right shall make no difference.If my friend Pankaj feels that the comments are beautiful, then they are. And if he feels they are not worth the letters typed, then 10 angels (anonymous people or otherwise), swearing that comments are beautiful shall not make any difference.
Wow! I never knew foxes wanted to be tamed! May be a look through the heart would help me see!
ReplyDelete"What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.
ReplyDelete"You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me-- like that-- in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings..."
I'm very much impressed on this passage.
Silence is beautiful even more it is very essential to understand one'self' and the 'Self' who we tamed by..
Art and Literature is another way to express oneself who we are, what we are and what we are seeking for..
This story reveals the base of every relationship in very subtle way.
Maxwell A. Smith, an American educator & critic, who specialised in French Literature, in his "Knight of the Air: The Life & Works of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry" (1956), wrote: "B'coz of its poetic charm, its freshness of imagery, its whimsical fantasy, delicate irony & warm tenderness, it seems likely dat 'The Little Prince' will join dat select company of books like Jean de La Fontaine's 'Fables', Jonathan Swift's 'Gulliver's Travels', Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' & Maurice Maeterlinck's 'The Blue Bird', which have endeared themselves to children & grown-ups alike throughout the world." His prophecy became true. 'Le Petit Prince' became one of da most widely read & translated book in 20th century.
ReplyDeleteThough am an avid fan of dis genre of fantasy literature, da problem with such writings is dat dey over-simplify da complexities of life a bit too much. Its so easy to say dat one shud tame da one whom one luvs. But wat happens after taming or y one becomes so miserably lonely without able to reach out to da other in dis vast universe is da crux of da problem afflicting contemporary life. Dat is where my two beloved aviators, viz., Antoine de Saint-Exupery & Richard Bach, along with their respective works 'La Petit Prince' & 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull', are found to be wanting. Everyone shud read & relish them, no doubt. But da journey shud take one to more serious literature from here. Dat way one can possibly discover much more nuances & subtleties of living & loving!