Who are you? the little prince said,
you look so pretty.
I am a fox, the fox said.
Do you want to play with me?
the little prince asked. I feel so sad.
I can't play with you, the fox replied.
I have not been tamed.
Oh, i'm sorry, the little prince said.
But after a little while he added:
What does it mean to be tamed?
Something most people have forgotten.
It means making relations. Making relations?
Sure, the fox said. Right now you are just a
little boy to me, like thousands of other boys.
I don't need you and you don't need me either.
Because to you I am just a fox like thousands
of other foxes.
But if you make me tame, then we will need each
other. Then you will be the only one in the
world for me and I will the only one in
the world for you.
The fox stopped talking and looked at the
little prince for a long time. Oh, please.
Please make me tame? it said.
How do I do that? the little prince asked.
You have to be very patient, the fox replied.
First you sit some distance from me, like this,
in the grass. I look at you and you look at me,
but you say nothing. Words are the source of
misunderstanding. But for every day you will
be able to move a bit closer to me.
The next day the little prince came back.
It would be better if you came at the same time
every day, the fox said.
If you for example came at four o'clock in the
afternoon then I could start looking forward to
it at three o'clock. The closer the time gets,
the more exited I will be. At four I'm already
restless and starting to worry.
I learn that happiness has it's price.
But if you come at a different time every day,
I will never know when to let my heart expect you.
There has to be a ritual. What is a ritual? the
little prince asked. That is another thing that
most people have forgotten about.
It is what makes one day different from all the
others, an hour different from all other hours.
