THE CITIZEN INDEX

Friday, April 8, 2011

Tamed

My world as captured by my iPhone

Les hommes ont oublié cette vérité, 
dit le renard. 
Mais tu ne dois pas l’oublier. 
Tu deviens responsable pour toujours
de ce que tu as apprivoisé.

The quote comes from a book that has had a tremendous influence on me. The book is titled The Little Princeand there are so many quotes from the story that have shaped the way I take in the world. These photos were taken from my iPhone as I ran about around my neighborhood in Sacramento. 

While I went about my day this story from the Little Prince played itself out in my head: 


"Good morning" said the fox. 

"Good morning" the little prince responded politely although when he turned around he saw nothing. 

"I'm right here" the voice said, "under the apple tree." 

"Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You're very pretty to look at." 

"I'm a fox", the fox said. 

"Come and play with me," proposed the little prince.

"I can't play with you," the fox said, "I'm not tamed." 

"Ah! Please excuse me,"said the little prince. But after some thought, he added: "What does that mean---'tame'?" 

"It's an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties." 

"To establish ties?" 

"Just that," said the fox. "to me, you're still nothing more than a little boy who's 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'm 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'll be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world ..." 

"I'm beginning to understand," said the little prince. "There's a flower. . .I think she has tamed me..." 

"It is possible," said the fox. "On earth one sees all sorts of things." 
  
"...if you tame me, it'll be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I'll know the sound of a step that'll be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat..." 

The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time. "Please---tame me!" he said. 

"I want to, very much," the little prince replied. "But I've not much time. I've friends to discover, and a great many things to understand." 

"One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox. "Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there's no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me..." 

"What must I do, to tame you? asked the little prince. 

"You must be very patient," replied the fox. First you'll sit down at a little distance from me - like that - in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you'll sit a little closer to me, every day..." 

The next day the little prince came back. 

"It would have been better to come back at the same hour," said the fox. "If for example, you came at four o'clock in the afternoon, then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o'clock, I shall be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is ready to greet you... One must observe the proper rites..."

So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near---
"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry." 

"It's your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you..." 

"Yes that is so," said the fox. 

"But now you're going to cry!" said the little prince. 

"Yes that is so" said the fox. 

"Then it has done you no good at all!" 

"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields." And then he added: "go and look again at the roses. You'll understand now that yours is unique in all the world. Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret." 

The little prince went away, to look again at the roses. "You're not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You're like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made a friend, and now he's unique in all the world." 

And he went back to meet the fox. "Goodbye" he said. 

"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here's my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." 

"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. " 
"I am responsible..." the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.
From The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry



21 comments:

Franca said...

I love le petit prince - thank you for reminding me of it!

Unknown said...

Oh Bella, that's just so beautiful! My mom always loved that book, but I never read it. Now I see, that it's a priority. I must read it right away! Thanks for sharing that! Big Hug! ~Serene

Pam @ over50feeling40 said...

It has been a long time since I read this book...I think I will pick it up again with a new perspective. Thanks Bella!
BTW...I was intrigued by your title because I would never use the words TAMED & BELLA in the same sentence!!!
Loved the Sacramento shots!

Collette Osuna said...

I love quotes too..thanks for sharing hunnie.....Happy Friday!

GRIT AND GLAMOUR said...

I love iPhone snaps. They are really the most revealing things, aren't they?

And the quote in the second photo is fab. But really, the fox story from The Little Prince. Damn near made me cry.

Happy weekend!

Fashnlvr said...

The Little Prince tamed me long ago when I was but a girl! I love that book and re-read it all the time.
BellaQ - you have tamed me too! I love your fierce look in the first photo and your rose is beautiful indeed.

mispapelicos said...

I read it a long time ago, and I had forgotten all about it.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, so beautiful.
I will make sure never to forget:
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
I was tamed by you as first sight.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Good Eye said...

Oh my gosh, I love you!

Sarah said...

Quite thought-provoking. I like the idea of "mutual" taming; mutual respect, care, learning, loyalty, and compromise...it's something to think of in friendships, romance, and business relationships, even between boss and subordinate.

What brought on the thoughts of taming as you wandered? Are you feeling contentedly tamed by Sacramento? Are you taming Sacramento? Both? Something else?

Thanks again for the Lovely Blog tag. I've returned compliments at the end of this entry here.

the Citizen Rosebud said...

I LOVE YOU TOO, Nickie Frye!

ashley said...

I have yet to read Le Petit Prince, but it has been recommended to me so many times! I just got sucked into this snippet- I am going to have to find a copy ASAP at the Bookery! Thanks for sharing this! I'm so excited to finally read it!

ps- Love the primary color shots you gathered around town (red yellow blue!) Nice to see some color was still lurking about on such a gray day.


xoxo

The Style Crone said...

Your iphone shots around your city are truly beautiful, as are you in your leopard print. I too love 'The Little Prince.'

Ofelia said...

Bella, The Little Prince is one of my old times favorite book!!!
My favorite line as a child was:
“But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart…”
I gave the book to an ex-boyfriend when I broke up with him and told him to read it because it may help him be a better human being!!!!

Rosalind said...

The Little Prince is hiding somewhere on our bookshelves, and you have inspired me with the beautiful quote here to dig it out. I have never read it, but it seems that this issue needs to be addressed.
Aside from that, I think the vibrancy of the Sacramento photos are wonderful. They really reflect the sunshine outside.

http://clothescamerasandcoffee.blogspot.com/

Elle Sees said...

such a fave of mine too.

Unknown said...

Wooo I love your leopard print jacket that's awesome you should have posted up a full picture of it!

Marissa said...

Oh, god - this brings back terrible memories of high school French class. This exact scene! I remember being so confused by it when I tried to read this scene in French.

Jill said...

I need to read that book to my son. I love the picture of you in the leopard coat. You look so mysterious and wonderful!

My Heart Blogged said...

I really liked the story. The line "Words are the source of misunderstandings." stood out to me so much. Also, that corn dog poster is so funny, and I want one for my wall.
My Heart Blogged

Anonymous said...

You become responsible forever for what you have tamed..." I am pondering this and it seems most poignant in relation to my daughters, but describes the way I feel about so many blogger friends. I probably do not verbalize that enough...thank you for this excerpt.

Reddest Roar said...

That's really touching - I must read it. You've reminded me that I watched a really beautiful puppet show as a child - I'd totally forgotten.