Lesson on The Little Prince

I received a textbook from one of my fellow teachers to use for my summer honours classes. I was pleased to find a lesson on The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. I have had that book on my mind lately because I saw a statue of the Little Prince recently. I have also read a blog about the Fox on a fellow blogger's site. I think the book is one of those great works that teach us about life like The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, The Alchemist by Paul Coelho, Siddhartha by Herman Hesse and The Pearl by John Steinbeck. I think what makes The Little Prince so good is that it is told through the eyes of a child. The Little Prince's points of view are innocent that they bring out a simple truth in the things he experiences.
The book has the excerpt when the Prince meets the Fox. I think it's the best part. The Prince and the Fox met each other.
The Little Prince He had a special rose at home that he cared for. He watered her and killed caterpillars for her (except for a few that he left to become butterflies).


One day he saw a rose garden. He saw five thousand roses in it. They all looked like his rose. He was very unhappy. He thought his rose was unique. Now he didn't think his rose was very special.


It was then that he met the Fox.



"Come and play with me," proposed the little prince, "I am so unhappy."

"I cannot play with you," the fox said, "I am not tamed."

"Ah please excuse me," said the little prince. But after some thought, he added: "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, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world . . ."
That is how he learned again that his rose was special. He cared for her and spent time with her, and that is what made her unique to him.