On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Spoiler Alert: Plot Summary
I do not wish to share the plot of this particular novel, since it is truly an all-time favorite, and if you haven't read it, you simply must read it for yourself. Suffice it to say that there is a little prince, more than one planet, a rose, a sheep, a pilot, and a beautiful friendship. I wish to share no more.
Spoiler Over: Continue Here

Dear Readers, 

Happy Easter, a belated chag sameach/happy Pesach, and happy Sunday to everyone else! It has been some time since my last blob - over a month! Which might make you think that I have not been reading. But in fact, I have been reading voraciously! I simply have not been blobbing immediately. Et pour ça, je suis désolée. Maintenant, je vais partager mes pensées sur un livre très petite et aussi magnifique. 

Oh, you don't want me to write the whole blob in French? Zut alors! Back to English, then. As it were, I read this book side by side in English and French, so I may share thoughts in a blend of the two languages.

Away we go! 

On children, and writing books to and for them
I love the way that Saint-Exupéry talks about adults in this book, particularly as they think compared to children. At one point, he talks about how much grown-ups love numbers, and the price of things, and how they never ask you the critical questions when you tell them you have a new friend.

Quand vous leur parlez d’un nouvel ami, elles ne vous questionnent jamais sur l’essentiel. Elles ne vous disent jamais : « Quel est le son de sa voix ? Quels sont les jeux qu’il préfère ? Est-ce qu’il collectionne les papillons ? » 

When you last told an adult about a new acquaintance, did you lead with the sound of their voice? Their laugh? Their face? Did you talk about how they collect butterflies and think about their favorite games? I like the idea of us shifting to this method of introduction: "Here is my new friend, XYZ - she loves the smell of a campfire and playing hearts, and her voice sounds like wind chimes."

The dedication of this book, to the child version of Léon Werth: 

"I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew."

Reminded me of one of my favorite C.S. Lewis lines: "One day, you will be old enough to read fairy tales again."

On friends; wanting them, having them, and losing them
Once again, I find it un-difficult (YES, that's Definitely a word) to connect the previous book on my list to the next one. Both the pilot/narrator and the little prince are lonely and low-key desperate for friends, which reminded me of how Anne started her diary because she wanted a true friend she could talk to.

Here's the pilot: "So I lived my life alone, without anyone that I could really talk to, until I had an accident with my plane..."

And later the fox asks the little prince: 
"Are you looking for chickens?'
And the little prince answers: "'No, I am looking for friends.'"

And the pilot, later on: 
"C'est triste d'oublier un ami. Tout le monde n'a pas eu un ami."

On having to grow old, like Peter
Those of you who have read this yourselves will likely remember fondly the drawing of sheep and boxes for said sheep. This line from the narrator:

"But I, alas, do not know how to see sheep through the walls of boxes. Perhaps I am a little like the grown-ups. I have had to grow old."

Reminded me of this scene from Hook:

Peter: Remember what?
Wendy: Peter, don't you know who you are? [turns the page of a storybook to reveal an illustration of Peter Pan]
[Peter remembers the last time he came for Wendy] Peter, I can't come with you. I've forgotten how to fly. I'm old, Peter. Ever so much more than twenty. I grew up a long time ago.

Proving you exist
In case you would like to prove to anyone that you exist, it's easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. Here's an example: 

The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists.

So if I want to prove that I exist, I can say, "The proof that Meredith is existed is that she was compassionate, she crafted, and she was often snuggling with her cat." Now you try!

Waiting for the sunset to be fully baked
There's an amazing exchange with the little prince where he realizes that he cannot have a sunset as often as he might on his planet or other planets: 

"I am very fond of sunsets. Come, let us go look at a sunset now.'
 'But we must wait,' I said.
'Wait? For what?'
'For the sunset. We must wait until it is time.'"

It reminded me of when my sisters and I watched a sunset in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, and the various bystanders were discussing its progress like it was a cake in the oven: (Nearly there! Almost ready!)

Ministers of Magic and Sundry Other Matters
The little prince has many adventures on other planets, and he recounts these adventures to the narrator. One of my favorite visits was the king who offered to make the prince a Minister on his planet so he wouldn't leave:

"Do not go! I will make you a Minister!'
'Minister of what?'
'Minister of - of Justice!'"

The offer is not handsome enough to tempt the little prince, but it did remind me of this article about Great Britain's appointment of a Minister of Loneliness.

Other favorite lines:

• De quelle planète es-tu? But we're not on my planet, are we? 

• What makes the desert beautiful,' said the little prince, 'is that somewhere it hides a well.

• C'est tellement mystérieux, le pays des larmes. (It is such a secret place, the land of tears.)

• But you are innocent and true, and you come from a star..."

With that, I leave you to enjoy (or re-enjoy) the little prince, with its tales of ephemeral flowers, boxed sheep, endless baobabs, and volcanoes in desperate need of cleaning. 

Here are two of my favorite moments.

"All men have the stars, but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night. You - only you - will have stars that can laugh!"

And this one, which still makes me want to cry: "If you see the little prince, please comfort me. Send me word that he has come back."

I have (SPOILER ALERT) already read the next TWO books, but I will save their blobs for another day. Adieu, mes amis!