'The Little Prince': Born in Asharoken

A PILOT crash-lands in the Sahara Desert in the 1940's and crawls out of the wreckage quite alive. He sets about fixing his engine, when a child, dressed like a prince, suddenly appears. The little prince is from a distant asteroid, no bigger than a house, and has been moved by the beauty of a rose to travel the universe in search of the important things in life.

So goes the surreal tale of ''The Little Prince,'' who finally has the secret of life revealed to him by a wise brown fox. The prince shares that secret with the pilot.

The other secret that many Long Island residents may not know is that Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the French writer, aviator and visionary, wrote ''The Little Prince,'' his most famous book, in Asharoken in 1943, perhaps looking up now and then to stare out the parlor window of the Bevin House, a local landmark, at a lawn that slopes down to Duck Island Bay. (Those were the days before power station smokestacks could ruin the view.)

This year is the centenary of Saint-Exupery's birth, and Yvette Cariou O'Brien, a 30-year Northport resident and Paris native, wants to make it special. Stopping for lunch recently at the Sweet Shoppe on Main Street in Northport, she looked up from a thick folder spilling papers onto the table before her. On a trip to France in October, she was inspired by a meeting with the Saint-Exupery Foundation to create an exhibition back home in Northport honoring the author, her personal hero.

''I made it a mission because I live in Northport, because I am French and because I want to promote his philosophy, which is to create bonds among people, which I believe in very strongly,'' Mrs. O'Brien said. The show will open today at the Northport Historical Society, at 215 Main Street.

In conjunction with the opening, a full afternoon of events is scheduled at the American Legion Hall, at 7 Woodside Avenue behind the historical society, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Reservations can be made by calling (631) 757-9859; the society suggests a donation of $2 a person.

The program will include readings from ''The Little Prince'' by Northport High School students. Saint-Exupery's great-niece Nathalie des Vallieres, an art historian who has published a book in France about Saint-Exupery and his family, will speak about him and his life. Dr. Robert Lecat, an aeronautical engineer and a former fighter in the French Resistance, will talk about early aviation and describe the kind of plane Saint-Exupery once flew.

But the core of the exhibition, which runs through Nov. 5, is a series of 24 posters, sent to Mrs. O'Brien from a similar show in Paris, chronicling the life and times of Saint-Exupery.

''Some people say, what kind of exhibit is a bunch of posters?'' Mrs. O'Brien said, not waiting for the question to be raised. ''But it isn't just 24 posters. It is 24 posters about Saint-Exupery, who wrote 'The Little Prince.' ''

Lunch over, Mrs. O'Brien's next stop was the Wilkes Gallery, where the posters for the show were being framed. Judy Hartman brought out the sheaf of posters and stood watch as Mrs. O'Brien leafed through them, stopping now and then to discuss the philosophical quotations printed amid the collage of photos and illustrations.

Translating a Saint-Exupery quote from one poster, Mrs. O'Brien said, ''Citadel, I shall build you in the hearts of men,'' placing a hand over her heart.

Ms. Hartman listened closely. ''Who doesn't have a copy of 'The Little Prince' at home?'' she said, adding that she had been surprised to learn that Saint-Exupery wrote the book in Asharoken.

One reason may be because Saint-Exupery's stay was kept secret by the War Department. ''He fled France because of the German occupation and came to New York under a veil of secrecy,'' said Ed Carr, the author of ''Faded Laurels,'' a history of Asharoken and Eatons Neck. ''It wasn't known to many people that he was here, and he left the same way.''

Saint Exupery and his wife, Consuelo, had grown tired of the noise and continuous activity of Manhattan, where they lived on the East Side, and sought refuge at the Bevin House in Asharoken. The big white house, built in the French Second Empire style, sits nearly hidden behind a cluster of tall trees at the tip of Bevin Road.

''When the sun came up in the morning, Saint-Exupery kept an easel in the library and would work on sketches and watercolors,'' Mr. Carr said, quoting from his interview with May Cornell Bevin, who owned the house while Saint-Exupery and his wife were guests. ''As the sun moved across the sky, he'd move with the sun toward the parlor, where there was light. Then he'd write in there.''

In ''The Little Prince,'' the boy's asteroid home is so small that he can see the sun set 44 times in a single day. ''But on your tiny planet, my little prince, all you need do is move your chair a few steps,'' the pilot says in the book. ''You can see the day end and the twilight falling whenever you like.''

When Saint-Exupery lived in Asharoken, he hired Adele Breaux, who taught French at Northport High School, to tutor him in English. He described the Bevin House to her as ''a haven for writing, the best place I have ever had anywhere in my life,'' Ms. Breaux wrote in her memoir of the experience (the book is available at the Northport Public Library).

Asharoken's mayor, William Kelly, will be at the opening ceremonies as an official admirer. He explained that he is also a pilot and has read some of Saint-Exupery's books in the original French. In one of them, ''Night Flight,'' Saint-Exupery describes the harrowing adventures of pilots who delivered the mail in South America and Europe in the early days of aviation, through the darkest nights and rainstorms.

''From a pilot's point of view, the man was a wonderful writer,'' Mr. Kelly said. ''It's exciting -- if you've never done that and been up there late at night.''

Saint-Exupery returned to France after finishing ''The Little Prince'' and joined the Allied war effort as a pilot. He was reported missing in action on July 31, 1944. It is believed that he was shot down during a reconnaissance flight over southern France.

For Mrs. O'Brien, the last few months have been hectic, finding sponsors and raising about $6,000 for the show, racing to get the posters, arranging for a speaker from the French Embassy, coordinating the high school performances and preparing her house to receive Saint-Exupery's great-niece. Despite all the time and effort, she has no regrets.

''You know, this is a work of the soul,'' she said. ''Doing this exhibit is part of my citadelle interieure. It builds the citadel in my heart.''