In her tribute to Michael Jackson this afternoon at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Brooke Shields explained that she saw the singer like the titular character in "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Her tearful speech generated a stream of spontaneous tributes to the book and Jackson. "What moves me so deeply about this sleeping prince is his loyalty to a flower," explained the actress, telling the audience to remember Jackson not as the king of pop, but the little prince. In the book, the prince lives on a barren asteroid, caring for a little rose.

Shields quoted one famous line about the fragile, beautiful side of life we often overlook, taken here from Wikiquote: "Here is my secret. It is very simple: one sees well only with the heart. The essential is invisible to the eyes."