Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

‘The eyes do not see that which is most important,’ the little prince repeated, so that he would remember.

‘It is the time you have spent with your rose that makes your rose so important.’

‘It is the time I have spent with my rose …’ repeated the little prince, so that he wouldn’t forget

"Children," I say plainly, "watch out for the baobabs!"

You know-- one loves the sunset, when one is so sad...

I don't believe you! Flowers are weak creatures. They are naive. They reassure themselves as best they can. They believe that their thorns are terrible weapons...

Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?" Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?" Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

But the grown-ups need explanations for everything

Grown-ups find it hard to understand anything on their own, and it is tiring for children to always have to explain things to them.

I have given you these details about the asteroid, because of the grown-ups – they seem to love numbers. When they hear that you have made a new friend, they ask the most unimportant questions. They never say, ‘What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?’ Instead, they ask: ‘How old is he? How many brothers has he? What is his weight? Does his father make much money?’ From these numbers alone they think they have learned everything about him. For instance, if you were to say to the grown-ups: ‘I saw a beautiful brick house with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof,’ they would be confused. But if you say, ‘I saw a house worth a million dollars,’ they would remark, ‘What a pretty house!

Sometimes it is all right to put something off for a later day. But baobabs need to be uprooted at once, otherwise they would lead to a disaster.