"[...] What does it mean, 'to tame'?"
"It is something all-too forgotten," said the fox. "It means 'to establish ties.'"
"Establish ties?"
"That is correct," said the fox. "As it stands, to me you are but a little boy indistinguishable from a million other little boys. And thus I have no need for you. And likewise, to you I am but a single fox alike a million other foxes. However, if you tame me, we will grow to need one another. You will be to me unique among the entire world, as I will be to you."
"I'm beginning to understand," said the little prince. "There is a flower... I think she has tamed me."
"That's possible," said the fox. "You see all kinds of things on Earth--"
"Oh! It's not on Earth," said the little prince. The fox looked quite intrigued.
"It is on another planet?"
"Yes."
"There are hunters on this planet of yours?"
"No."
"Ah, that is interesting! And what about chickens?"
"No."
"Alas, nothing is perfect," sighed the fox.
But the fox resumed its speech. "My life is quite dull. I hunt the chickens, the men hunt me. All the chickens look alike, as do all the men. Thus I grow somewhat weary.
"But if you were to tame me, my life would be lit up as if by the sun. I will recognize a footstep that shall be different from all the others. The other footsteps bid me hide beneath the earth. Yours will call me above ground, like a beckoning melody.
"And look there! Do you see those yonder fields of wheat? I do not partake of bread. Wheat is of no use to me. And so fields of wheat have no meaning.
"How sad that is! But you, you have hair that shines like gold. And thus, it will be so marvelous when you tame me! The wheat, which is also golden, will make me think of you. And I will love the sound of wind whistling through wheat."
The fox fell silent, and gazed at the little prince for a long time.
Finally, it said, "Tame me... I plead you!"
"I'd like to," replied the little prince, "but I don't have much time. I have friends to discover and plenty of things to learn."
"You will only know that which you tame," said the fox. "The men no longer have time to get to know anything. They buy all sorts of things from the merchants. But as they do not exist to befriend the merchants, they do not have any more friends. If you wish to have a friend, then tame me!"
"What must I do?" asked the prince.
"You must have generous patience," said the fox. "You will first sit some distance from me, like so, within the grass. I shall watch you from the corner of my eye, and you will not speak. Language can only birth misunderstanding. But, each day, you may sit just a bit closer to me..."