Chapter 21
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 r u?"asked the little prince,and added,"u r 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 u",the fox said."i am not tamed".
"Ah!pls excuse me,"said the little prince.
But after some thought,he added:
"What does that mean—'tame'?"
"u do not live here,"said the fox."What is that u r 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 u 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,u r still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys.and i have no need of u.and u,on your part,have no need of me.To u,i am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.But if u tame me,then we shall need each other.To me,u will be unique in all the world.To u,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,this is not on the Earth!"said the little prince.
the fox seemed perplexed,and very curious.
"on the other planet?"
"Ys."
"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 hunts me.all the chickens are just alike,and all the men are just alike.and,in consequence,i am a little bored.but if u 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 underearth the ground.yours will call me,like music,out of my burrow.and then look:u see the grain-fields down yonder?i do not eat bread.wheat is of no use to me.the wheat field is nothing to say to me.and that is sad.but u have hair that is the color of gold.think how wonderful that will be when u have tamed me!the grain,which is also golden,will bring me back the thought of u.and i shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat..."
the fox gazed at the little prince,for a long time.
"pls—tame me!"he said.
....
so the little price 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 u any sort of harm;but u want me to tame u..."
"yes,that is so,"said the fox.
"but now,u r going to cry!"said the little prince.
"yes,that is so,"said the fox.
"then it has done u no good at all!"
"it has done me good,"said the fox."because the color of the wheat fields."and then he added:
"go and look again at all the roses.u will understand now that yours is unique in all the world.then came back to say goodbye to me,and i will make u a present of secret."
the little prince went away,to look again at the roses.
"u r not at all like my rose,"he said."and yet u r nothing.no one has tamed u,and u have tamed no one.u r like my fox when i first knew him.he was only a fox like a hunderd thousand other foxes.but i have made him my friend,an now he is unique in all the world."
and the roses were very much embarrassed.
"u r beautiful,but u r empty."he went on."one cannot die for u,to be sure,an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like u—the rose that belongs to me.but in herself alone she is more important than all the hunderds of u 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 i have kill the caterpillars;because it is she that i have listend to,wehn 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 u have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."
"it is the time i have wasted for my rose—"said the little prince,so that he would be sure to remember.
"men have forgotten the truth,"said the fox."but u must not forget it.u become responsible,forever,for what u have tamed.u r responsible for you rose..."
"i am reponsible for my rose,"the little prince repeated,so that he would be sure to remember.