HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My hope for 2019 and all the years that follow is for The Little Prince and his tender care for his small Asteroid 325 and his beloved rose to be a lesson for grown-ups and children on planet Earth. May we learn to tenderly care for all Earth's living inhabitants, and the land, water, and air that keep us alive.

Dougie MacLean's version of the auld song from Robert Burns' poem of the same title is my favorite. The lyrics are below.



AULD LANG SYNE

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 
And never brought tae mind? 
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 
And days of auld lang syne? 

Chorus: 

For auld lang syne, my dear, 
For auld lang syne. 
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, 
For auld lang syne. 

We twa hae run aboot the braes, 
And pou’d the gowans fine; 
We’ve wander’d mony a weary fit, 
Sin' days of auld lang syne.

Chorus

And we twa hae paidl’d i' the burn, 
Frae morning sun till dine; 
But seas between us braid hae roar’d 
Sin' days of auld lang syne. 

Chorus 

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere! 
And gie's a hand o’ thine! 
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught, 
For auld lang syne.

Chorus x 2 

(The following verse in Robert Burn's poem is not included in this version of the song.)

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp! 
And surely I’ll be mine! 
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, 
For auld lang syne.
 Edit: As one of my Facebook friends said, "...a cup o' kindness" may be the most important words in the song.

LE PETIT PRINCE

As I reread Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince for the umpteenth time, I realize, once again, what a lovely story and charming illustrations the author offers his readers.  Alas, even after the many readings, I still must look up the occasional French word in the dictionary which follows the tale in the study edition pictured on the left.  I bought the book second-hand many years ago for a French class, and my copy is old and tattered.  The illustrations are in black and white, and not all are included in the inexpensive study edition.   

 
On the right is the beautifully illustrated (in watercolor)  English edition which I bought for my children when they were young.  The Little Prince is a tale for children and grown-ups, and, though my children enjoyed the book, none were quite as taken with it as I, for I never tire of reading the story over again.

Once again, I reread the story, and I loved the enchanting little prince even more than I remembered.

In the course of the tale, the little prince visits Earth from his home on the tiny Asteroid B-612, where he's left behind his flower and three small volcanos, two active and one extinct. He lands in the Sahara Desert, where he meets a fox who asks the boy to tame him.  The fox explains to the little prince, "Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé". ("You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.")  The boy tames the fox but eventually leaves to search for humans.  As the prince prepares to leave, the fox speaks my favorite words in the entire book: "On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." ("One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.")

If you are unfamiliar with the book and want to know more, further information on the author, a description of the characters, and a summary of the plot may be found here.