Chapter XXI

And then the Fox appeared :

"Good morning," said the fox.

"Good morning," replied the little prince, politely, who turned, but saw nothing.

"I am here," said the voice, "under the apple-tree."

- Who are you ? Said the little prince. You're quite pretty…

"I am a fox," said the fox.

"Come play with me," suggested the little prince. I'm so sad…

"I can not play with you," said the fox. I am not domesticated.

"Ah! Pardon, "said the little prince.

But after reflection, he added:

" What does "tame" mean " ?

"You're not from here," said the fox, "what are you looking for?"

"I am looking for men," said the little prince. What does "tame" mean " ?

"Men," said the fox, "they have rifles and they hunt." It is very embarrassing! They also breed chickens. That is their only interest. Are you looking for chickens?

"No," said the little prince. I am looking for some friends. What does "tame" mean?

"It's too forgotten," said the fox. It means "Create links ..."

- Create links ?

"Of course," said the fox. You are but a little boy to me, like a hundred thousand little boys. And I do not need you. And you do not need me either. I am only a fox to you like a hundred thousand foxes. But if you tame me, we will need one another. You will be unique in the world for me. I will be for you unique in the world ...

"I begin to understand," said the little prince. There is a flower ... I think she tamed me ...

"It is possible," said the fox. We see all sorts of things on Earth ...

- Oh ! It is not on Earth, "said the little prince.

The fox seemed very intrigued:

"On another planet"?

- Yes.

"There are hunters on this planet?"

- No.

- That's interesting! And hens?

- No.

"Nothing is perfect," the fox sighed.

But the fox returned to his idea:

"My life is monotonous. I chase chickens, men chase me. All the chickens resemble each other, and all men are alike. So I'm a little bored. But if you tame me, my life will be as sunny. I will experience a footstep that will be different from all the others. The other steps make me go underground. Yours will call me out of the burrow, like a music. And look! You see, over there, the fields of wheat? I do not eat bread. Wheat for me is useless. The wheat fields do not remind me of anything. And that's sad! But you have golden hair. Then it will be wonderful when you have tamed me! The wheat, which is gilded, will make me remember you. And I will love the sound of the wind in wheat ... "

The fox fell silent and looked at the little prince for a long time:

"Please ... tame me!" "He said.

"I will," replied the little prince, "but I have not much time." I have friends to discover and a lot to know.

"We only know the things we tame," said the fox. Men no longer have the time to know anything. They buy ready-made things from merchants. But as there are no merchants of friends, men no longer have friends. If you want a friend, tame me!

- What should be done ? Said the little prince.

"You must be very patient," replied the fox. You will sit first a little far from me, like that, in the grass. I will look at you from the corner of your eye and you will not say anything. Language is a source of misunderstanding. But every day you can sit a little closer ... "

The next day the little prince returned.

"It would have been better to return at the same hour," said the fox. If you come, for example, at four o'clock in the afternoon, at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy. The more time will come, the more happy I will feel. At four o'clock I shall be agitated and worried; I shall discover the price of happiness! But if you come anytime, I will never know what time to dress my heart ... it takes rites.

"What is a rite?" Said the little prince.

"It's too much forgotten," said the fox. This is what makes one day different from other days, one hour, other hours. There is a rite, for example, among my hunters. They dance on Thursday with the girls of the village. Then Thursday is a wonderful day! I'll walk up the vineyard. If the hunters danced at any time, the days would all be alike, and I would have no holiday. "

So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of departure was near:

"Ah! Said the fox, "I will weep."

"It is your fault," said the little prince, "I did not wish you any harm, but you wanted me to tame you."

"Of course," said the fox.

"But you're going to cry!" Said the little prince.

"Of course," said the fox.

"Then you gain nothing!"

"I win," said the fox, "because of the color of the corn."

Then he added:

"Go and see the roses again. You will understand that yours is unique in the world. You will return to say good-bye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret. "

The little prince went to see the roses again.

"You are not at all like my rose, you are nothing yet," he said. No one has tame you and you have not tame anyone. You're like was my fox. It was only a fox like a hundred thousand others. But I made him my friend, and he is now unique in the world. "

And the roses were very embarrassed.

"You are beautiful, but you are empty," he said again. You can not die for you. Of course, my rose, an ordinary passer-by would think that she resembles you. But it alone is more important than you all, since it is she that I watered. Since it was she whom I placed under the globe, since it was she whom I sheltered by the screen. Since it is she whose caterpillars I have killed (except the two or three for butterflies). Since it is she whom I have listened to, complaining, or boasting, or even sometimes silent. Since it is my rose. "

And he returned to the fox:

"Adieu," he said.

"Good-bye," said the fox. Here is my secret. It is very simple: one sees only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.

"The essential thing is invisible to the eyes," repeated the little prince, in order to remember.

- It's the time you lost for your rose that makes your rose so important.

"It's the time I lost for my rose," said the little prince, in order 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're responsible for your rose ...

"I am responsible for my rose," repeated the little prince, in order to remember.