The Prince falls in love with the rose, who appears not to return his love due to her vain nature. The Prince loses his trust in the rose after she lies to him, and grows lonely.After he reconciles with his rose, the prince leaves to see what the rest of the universe is like.....
The little prince remembers his own flower. And then he realizes how special his flower is. He writes to her:
"You are beautiful, but you are empty. One could not die for you...But, It is you that I have watered; because it is you that I have put under the glass globe; because it is you that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for you that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is you that I have listened to, when you grumbled, or boasted, or ever sometimes when you said nothing. Because you are my rose."

*Saint-Exupéry may have drawn inspiration for the prince's character and appearance from himself as a youth. The Rose was very likely inspired by his Salvadoran wife Consuelo de Saint Exupéry, with the small home planet being inspired by her small home country El Salvador, also known as "The Land of Volcanoes" due to the area having so many of them.*