The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

Someone recently told me about a Little Prince-themed hotel in Nice, France, that they stumbled upon. I think that’s a fantastic idea and would love to visit it one day!

The Little Prince is one of my favourite stories of all time and the only fiction book I have in my dorm room right now that isn’t for school. Purportedly a children’s tale, this slim book is really meant for adults; if you were ever like me and read it as a child, it probably didn’t mean anything in particular for you. These days, I hold onto it when I am trying to remember some of the things I believe in.

Based loosely on de Saint-Exupéry’s own crash landing in the Sahara, this French classic tells the tale of an aviation pilot stranded in the middle of the desert who encounters a perfectly composed, small boy he calls the little prince. The little prince asks all sorts of questions but doesn’t seem to hear the pilot when asked any himself. As time passes, we learn that the little prince is from another planet which he abandoned after receiving one too many grievances from a very vain rose. He travels the universe in search of a friend and arrives on Earth to learn about that which is most important from a little fox, my favourite character in the book.

Interestingly enough, the fox was also my favourite character when I was a child, although I don’t know if I really knew why that was back then. Now I know I love the fox because he asks to be tamed, cries when he is about to be abandoned, but accepts all that as part of what it means to be tamed.

Web versions of the original English translation (which apparently has several mistakes) are available online. Not sure if they’re legal, but they’ve been there for a few years, so I suppose the copyright for that particular version has ended. If you’re able to read the French original, of course, I highly encourage you to do so. I can’t do it myself, but I’ve been told it’s simply lovely.