Prince Roger & Rex

Some of the characters inspired by the children's story The Little Prince (French: Le Petit Prince, written by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.)

The Prince Roger of Peru crash landed in his personal hand-made rocket on a faraway planet in a faraway galaxy. He was on a mission, searching the universe in his quest to discover gold. He was unharmed in the crash landing, but his personal hand-made rocket was irreparable. Gold was everything to the people of Peru, nothing in the universe was more important. He could never return to the jungles of Peru, and his beloved kingdom, without gold. It was his gift, and at the same time his inheritance. It was an unspoken vow, a promise to his people, and a pledge to his loving father the King of Peru. Prince Roger must find gold, and earn his rightful place amongst his people, and his subjects.

Unfortunately, having survived the rocket crash Prince Roger realized he had no rocket, no vehicle to move around exploring space, and he had no gold. He was marooned and completely lost in space. No one would find him, and he had no means of telling anybody where he was.

“I wouldn’t sit there if I was you. You might get a painful backside, when that volcano erupts.” said the red fox with a dazzling white tip on the end to the brush of his reddish-brown tail.

The prince jumped up and looked around at the red fox standing behind him. Prince Roger of Peru was shocked for a number of reasons, he had been deep in thought, pondering over his desperate situation, missing his home, his loving family. The sudden awareness of the voice of the fox, and the warning announcement that he was sitting on a volcano all combined to create a mixture of a jolt, a jump and a shock to his wandering mind. It brought him rapidly back to the present, which was unwelcome to Prince Roger as he turned and faced the red fox full of apprehension.

“Who are you?” The prince put on a superior questioning voice. It was the default and defensive voice of a young prince commanding authority over the sudden and yet strange appearance of the red fox with the bushy tail with the brightest white tipped tail.

“Rex.” Came the instant reply.

“Where I come from volcano’s are larger than this planet. It’s impossible to sit on them.” Prince Roger was annoyed by the tiny volcanoes, he was annoyed by the crash landing on this small barren grey planet, and he was annoyed with the red fox named Rex coming up and surprising him from behind. Prince Roger was annoyed with everyone and everything.

“Why are you here, what is your purpose?” Asked Rex the red fox.

“I am the Prince of Peru, and I search for precious gold in the universe, to make my people, my father the King of Peru proud. This is my birthright.” Prince Roger said proudly.

Rex the red fox said no more, and remained quiet, he was wise enough to let the prince compose himself and wait for him to speak next. The wise red fox was the only inhabitant on the small grey-coloured planet, but in the prince’s abrupt replies, the fox had already gained an impression that the young man was facing some unpleasant facts of life and not liking any of his current circumstances. A flawed mission and plan, from a flawed community and origins, which had misled the young man to his abandoned circumstances. Nonetheless, the wise red fox knew that hiding behind his façade of annoyance, and rudeness lay a brave heart and active mind of young inexperienced young man trying to assert himself. So that one day he would become a King in his own right by searching and finding gold in the vast universe. The wise red fox thought of the saying; a peasant that reads is a prince in waiting. The young prince possessed all the tools of leadership, demonstrated resourcefulness by building his own personal rocket. Then traveling and searching in space for gold. But the wise red fox had met many men, like the prince, who spent their ambitious thoughts on impossible and injudicious callings.

Rex the wise red fox thought about mankind in general, with their conceited ideals, being easily misled from a balanced life, a higher calling, seeking the bottle as comfort, when times became tough. Their obsessive mannerisms and behaviour, which imprisoned a good heart and mind. The red fox decided that he would help the lost Prince to find his true purpose and show the young prince the true desires of his heart.

Finally, when the young prince had gathered his thoughts, he asked the red fox named Rex.

“Where am I? Are there any other living creatures on this planet?” Prince Roger asked.

“Is there any gold on this planet?” He added.

“No. You and I are the only inhabitants. But the planet moves independently like your rocket, so we can move around space anywhere we want. Sometimes, when I get bored, I travel and visit other neighbouring planets, where other living creatures live.” Rex, the red fox replied.

“There is one important characteristic. This planet has a reverse cycle for human living beings. Which means instead of growing older, from the moment you arrive you will start to reverse in age and become younger. If you stay here long enough, you will become a child, then a baby, and finally disappear altogether.”

Many years passed, with Prince Roger growing backwards to a child again. Prince Roger and Rex, the red fox had become close friends. They both traveled around the galaxy, visiting strange planets inhabited by even stranger people, and often planets completely uninhabited. In the beginning of these travels Prince Roger was looking for gold, but as time went by and he became younger, those thoughts, and those ambitions disappeared. Every night they would sit together, always careful not to sit close to a volcano, and look at the stars above, and marvel at the sparkling night stars, which never became dull or boring. Sometimes the planet they visited had several suns, and even more moons. They were both mesmerized by these constant wonderful sights.

One night as they sat watching the stars together. Rex said something very profound.

“Prince Roger, in your search for gold, and what you consider other people’s expectations on your life. In the end it will not matter at all, and it might lead you to a heartfelt regret that you did not sit watching the night sky and not consider anybody’s opinion but your own.” Observed the wise Rex.

The young prince did not reply, but he considered all that the wise fox said.

Prince Roger soon forgot about his mission to find gold, and his previous inner values, his life’s compass started to change direction. He became younger in age but still possessed all the memories of his life and his times. His ambitions dissolved at the same time his thoughts started to regain a childlike wonderment, a thirst for a better understanding of the creativity of the universe, its chaos and yet its hidden rules. Finding magic in both the commonplace as well as the unusual. However, one clear memory remained distinct in his heart, his mind, body and soul, and that was the memory of his homeland in Peru, and his loving parents. When he thought about these memories, it triggered strong emotions of loneliness and absence, longing to be with his parents once again. That feeling of heartfelt loss always lingered as the years progressed.

Rex, the red fox with the white tipped tail, always recognized those moments of heavy silence in his close friend, and sensitively said nothing. Rex remained quietly beside his friend the prince of Peru.

“I want to take you to a special planet. The planet of “look from the heart”, which is only inhabited by children who are reborn or wake up each new day with no memory. The only feelings and experiences they possess come from the heart, never mindful of sight and mind. As they approached the green planet, children appeared from everywhere on the surface. The planet was covered in bright green, green vegetation, green meadows, and tall green trees. The children seemed to have the ability of flight, as they hovered and stood amongst the tops of the tall green trees, waving their arms in welcome of the approaching small grey planet containing Prince Roger and Rex, the wise red fox.

The children were so excited to greet Prince Roger and Rex, the fox. They all hugged the visitors and started to ask endless questions. The children’s welcome was overwhelming, and very heartfelt, and warm.

“Welcome Prince Roger, and his friend Rex the fox, welcome to our green planet. We don’t possess memories other than the early dew on the sweet meadows, our sights and sounds of every day go straight to our hearts, which never forgets. Not much enters our minds, or memory, and whatever remains at the end of the day, has vanished forever from our minds by our waking the next morning. Our minds in the morning are like the clean white sheets on bed, which means we don’t store anger, or vengeful thoughts, our thoughts are pure and clean like the early morning dew.”

The children greeted their visitors with a symbol of the heart shape made from pressing together both the fingers and thumbs of their hands.

“Tell us about yourselves Prince Roger and friend Rex.” They all chorused.

When Prince Roger started to recount his life, and the whereabouts of the lands of Peru, he was ashamed and avoided telling the children about his quest for gold. He did tell them about his loving parents, and he described the luscious jungles, and the animals that lived in the jungles of Peru. As he was recalling his previous life to the children, the loneliness and the absence of his country and his people overcame his emotions. He started to weep in front of the children as he related his story.

“Why don’t you travel back to your home, Prince Roger.” The listening children asked.

“My planet earth is faraway, and I am lost, I don’t know the way home.” Prince Roger admitted miserably.

“But it is easy to find your way home, just listen to your heart. Plus, Nova will take you.” The children replied.

“Who is Nova?” said the prince.

“Nova – is the white stallion of all the galaxies in the universe. Get on its back, and close your eyes, listen and feel your heart for your home and your people, and Nova will take you there.” The children advised.

It was at that moment Prince Roger had discovered his way home, but he knew that his dear friend, the wise red fox, Rex, had led him intentionally towards this moment. The prince’s heart, mind and soul had been reset, and he was ready to return to Peru and the King, empty handed, no fortune of gold, but instead with pure and true feelings for his country, his people and his King.

He turned to red fox, his close friend, and realized Rex the red fox was his best and closest friend. The sad red fox with bushy tail finally said.

“Letting go is the hardest part of love, but the most necessary.” As the wise red fox waved at the departing white stallion Nova departing into the distance, with the child Prince Roger on his back.