"You're lovely, but you're empty," he went on. "One couldn't die for you. Of course an ordinary passerby would think my rose looked just like you. But my rose, all on her own, is more important than you altogether, since she's the one I've wanted. Since she's the one I put under glass. Since she's the one I sheltered behind a screen. Since she's the one for whom I killed the caterpillars (except for two or three butterflies). Since she's the one I listened to when she complained, or when she boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing at all. Since she's my rose."
The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince), by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery, was published in 1943. Saint-Exupery wrote the novel in the United States while spending time in New York. Most versions of the novel also include a number of drawings by the author. The novel has been translated into 180 languages and sold more than 80 million copies making it one of the best-selling books ever.
