The Color of the Wheat Fields

Whenever I see a wheat field, I think of a little prince with golden hair. I admit he’s a silly person to think about since I’ve never met him myself, but that is the power of a good story. The story is called “The Little Prince,” which was published in 1944 by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

If you've never read it, “The Little Prince” is a children's story about a pilot who crash lands in the Sahara Desert. There, in the vast sands, the pilot meets a mysterious little prince, and through this encounter the pilot learns the importance of wonder, of friendship, and the beauty of life.

One part of the story that has changed me the most is where the Little Prince meets a fox. The little prince wants the fox to play with him, but the fox refuses saying, “I am not tamed,”

The fox explains that there are millions of foxes in the world, and millions of little boys in world, but through the process of taming, the one among the millions can become ‘unique in all the world.’

The fox summarizes this idea in a simple statement:

“Wheat fields say nothing to me. Which 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.”

This passage has changed me because the story taught me that we don’t live in a vacuum, but the way we perceive the world is influenced by the people we’ve met and the experiences we’ve had. It’s made me more aware that my favorite memories revolve around the people I shared the places with, and not the places themselves.

That is part of the beauty of the story too, because it also taught me that even our positive actions (like taming a fox or making a friend) have deeper consequences.

I see this in the next phase of the story, when the little prince prepares to leave the fox:

“And when the hour of his departure drew near-

"Ah," said the Fox, "I shall weep,"

“It’s your own fault,” said the little prince, “I never wished you any harm; but you wanted me to tame you…”

“Yes, this is so,” said the fox.

“But now you’re going to weep!” said the little prince.

“Yes, this is so.” Said the fox.

“Then it has done you no good at all!”

"It has done me good,” said the fox, “because the color of the wheat fields." “

This passage has stayed with me over the years because it captures so well the joy and the ache of forming bonds. There is joy because of the memories of moments shared; the anticipation of seeing each other to make new memories; and the way certain things become associated with certain people. But there is ache too because people have a way of coming and going in life.

It’s stuck with me as well because I’ve had too many partings over the years. Some have been temporary; the by-product of changing states and towns, but too many have been that far too real parting of death- I think it aches because we know that how things were won’t continue to be.

When I think of the fox and the little prince, I am reminded to be grateful for the times shared with those who have gone before me; and, though I weep, I am comforted because I’ve learned to look for the beauty of the memories in the simple things: like the color of the wheat fields.