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Le Petit Prince | The Little Prince

7.05.2012




In the beautiful and mysterious winding spaces of a child's imagination are corridors apparently reserved for only the young, innocent and true — said in so many words in Le Petit Prince, and it can't be revoked — even though as an adult, it feels I never fully left the realm of childhood.

Today I earnestly try to nudge my way into those sacred burroughs as my son describes to me his own simple drawings. Along the way, in frustration, he will sigh, "Maman, tu ne comprends rien" (Mom, you don't understand anything). I want to convince him that I do, I really do. I can see beyond the hat; I understand the cumbersome baobabs and the importance of a beloved rose. I still remember the lenses from which he sees the world — how can I forget when so often they're still the only ones available to me... 

But like the pilot caught up in fixing his airplane, I am forever flitting around "concerned with matters of consequence", my moments encumbered by numbers and facts and order.

"Perhaps I am a little like the grown-ups. I have had to grow old...

Grownups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again... 

Children should always show great forbearance toward grown-up people."


* Italicized text and photographed images are from Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

12 comments

  1. Hurrah! thank you for it, your boy turned out to be an incredibly wonderful ..
    link and then flipped)

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    1. Hurray for sure Valentina! He is certainly my little prince ;) ... Merci + Bon week-end!

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  2. It is a very interesting book. I read it in school once. The boy comes to be completely wonderful.

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    1. We must read it together sometime Alexa... as you said, The Little Prince is completely wonderful and holds so much wisdom. It's a book for all ages and stages of life, and I find it now more relevant than ever before :)

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  3. Oh how I love Le Petit Prince! Thank you for this lovely post :)

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    1. Merci Melinda! It was my beloved French teacher who introduced me to Le Petit Prince,... and I've loved it ever since.

      P.S. I'll bet your students love their French teacher as much as I adored mine ;)

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  4. This is one of the most precious books in the mind of a child. It is nice that our sons still remind us, isn't it? We might need a revisit to the special planet this summer too :)

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    1. Exactly Charmaine! Children are simply the best teachers - and how wonderful we've each got two to help guide us on our way. Enjoy the read with your two little princes ;)

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  5. Sigh, one of my favorite childhood books. How special that you can now (re)enjoy it through your son's eyes! Another lovely post - hope you've been having a good weekend & keeping cool in this terrible heat!

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    1. Aww thanks LondonLuLu... Le Petit Prince is like a little reference guide for me! I'm hoping my sons will one day have the same love for it - and share it with their little ones, and so on :)

      It was really hard to be outside more than 5 minutes on Saturday... good news is that temps are supposed to drop this week, hope you get a reprieve too! Bonne semaine ;)

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