The Little Prince: here’s what he taught us

The Little Prince, a story by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, is one of the most beautiful fairy tales ever. A book that has moved us from an early age making us learn small and big life lessons. A contemporary fairy tale that never goes out of style. It offers many reflections for adults as well. The Little Prince begins his journey in the Sahara desert. A pilot crashed with his plane and meets a lonely traveler. Both have sincere and authentic friendships, even if they have a big age difference.

The Little Prince comes from a distant asteroid and has a rose, which he takes care of. But he and the rose have different characters. A space trip allowed him to meet an old lonely tyrant king, a businessman and a geographer. A historical sentence of the story remains:

Here is my secret. It’s very simple: it can only be seen with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.

A beautiful life lesson for adults and children, a way to make us understand not to stop at appearances , but to investigate other people’s worlds. All this to discover the beauty they hide.

Another existential lesson reminds us that adults must always learn from children. Further teachings come about friendship and love , which need to be cultivated and take time. However, time often slips from our hands and makes us forget the most important things in life. 

Loving means wanting the best from each other, even when the motivations are different. Loving is allowing the other to be happy , even when their path is different from ours. It is a disinterested feeling that arises from the will to give oneself, to offer oneself completely from the bottom of one’s heart. For this reason, love will never be a source of suffering.

Little Prince to his rose

Other important themes are freedom, curiosity, courage. In short, an unforgettable and timeless book for its history and for its teaching of life.