Monday, July 16, 2007
The Little Prince
Posted by Zach in News

Some time ago, I worked at Barnes and Noble. Once, as I made my way up to the register, I passed a girl who had angelic hair so fair it was almost white. She was excruciatingly pretty in that way that girls are when the concentrate very hard on something like counting change, or writing a check. This girl was looking earnestly for a book and moving her lips slightly as she ran her finger along the titles. In time she came up to pay. As it was late morning and not very crowded, I was the only cashier at the front. She set Antoine De Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince on the counter. Because she was too pretty not to engage in conversation, I asked her if the book was any good. It was as though I had just questioned the authenticity of the law of gravity.

“You have not read it?” she asked.
I paused for a moment because I was startled. I was startled both by her intensity, and by her remarkably French accent. It was as though she had used it to punch me in the solar plexus. If you’re wondering how someone might use an accent to punch you in the solar plexus than it is obvious that you have never encountered an excruciatingly beautiful French girl who has a fondness for children’s literature.

With as much self-loathing as I could muster, I confessed that I had not read the book.

“You must. You must!” She repeated. Realizing that she had become impassioned, she blushed a little in embarrassment. I nearly passed out. The middle-aged woman in line began to suspect that I was drawing out the transaction longer than was reasonable. Partly, because I was, and partly because she was desperate to get home and start reading her Chicken Soup for the Soul book. She was intent on having her heart warmed and every second’s delay was a twist of the knife. She stamped her feet and looked at her wrist conspicuously as though a watch might suddenly materialize. I asked the girl about her visit to the States and pretended to be an admirer of France. Finally, having run out of excuses to keep her longer, I gave her the book and receipt and wished her a good day. She left, and the poor, neglected lady, next in line, nearly sprinted to the register and snapped her book on the wooden countertop.

It’s been several years since that day and I’ve only just tonight finished The Little Prince. Corey lent it to me a few days ago. The book has a flattering view toward children, and though one might accuse it of possessing more style than substance, it is as charming and endearing as an angelic French girl.

Here’s a sample:

“Grown-ups like numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask about what really matters. They never ask: ‘What does his voice sound like?’ ‘What games does he like best?’ ‘Does he collect butterflies?’ They ask: ‘How old is he?’ ‘How many brothers does he have?’ ‘How much does he weigh?’ ‘How much money does his father make?’ Only then do they think they know him. If you tell grown-ups, ‘I saw a beautiful red brick house, with geraniums at the windows and doves on the roof…,’ they won’t be able to imagine such a house. You have to tell them, ‘I saw a house worth a hundred thousand francs.’ Then they exclaim, ‘What a pretty house!’”
The Little Prince is a great book. It is beloved by children whom it idolizes and cherished by adults whom it criticizes. So if you’re an adult or a child, you should read it.

You must!

One Response to “The Little Prince”

dcr comments:
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007

many of us adults could grow in maturity by becoming more childlike.. i’ll have to pick up the book. thanks for writing.

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