“One only understands the things one tames,” the fox teaches. In order to tame, one must be “very patient.”
First you will 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 will sit a little closer to me every day.
The fox asks the Little Prince to “tame” him, explaining that this means to establish ties. But even more than that, taming, will transform their relationship into something special, making the other unique in all the world. Then different things will remind them of each other, seeing each other in other things, reflections reflected, a kaleidoscope of connections.
The fox then advises the Little Prince to observe “rites” that come at the same time everyday, these are the rituals that the Little Prince performs as markers of time; the days, the hours and the minutes that make each day distinct yet familiar.
“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”
from Mary Watkins,
Waking Dreams, Spring Publications Inc. 1984
and of course:
Susan Leopold Illustration 