Chapter 11 🔊✎

The second planet was inhabited by a vain man. 🔊✎

“Ah! Ah! Here comes an admirer!” cried the vain man when saw the little prince in the distance. 🔊✎ Because for vain people, everyone else is an admirer. 🔊✎

“Hello,” said the little prince. “That’s a weird hat you’ve got there.” 🔊✎

“It’s my saluting hat,” said the vain man. “It’s to salute people when they tell me how great I am. 🔊✎ Unfortunately, no one ever passes by.” 🔊✎

“Oh really?” said the little prince, who didn’t understand a word. 🔊✎

“Clap your hands,” said the vain man. 🔊✎

The little prince clapped his hands. The vain man saluted him modestly by raising his hat. 🔊✎

“Well, this is more fun than the king,” the little prince said to himself. And he clapped his hands again. 🔊✎ The vain man saluted him again by raising his hat. 🔊✎

After five minutes, the little prince started to find the game a bit dull. 🔊✎

“What do you do,” he asked, “to make the hat come down again?” 🔊✎

But the vain man didn’t hear him. Vain people only listen when you tell them how great they are. 🔊✎

“Do you really admire me?” he asked the little prince. 🔊✎

“What does that mean, admire?” 🔊✎

“Admire means you think I am the handsomest, best dressed, richest and smartest person on the planet.” 🔊✎

“But you are the only person on the planet!” 🔊✎

“Do me a favour. Admire me all the same.” 🔊✎

“I admire you,” said the little prince, shrugging his shoulders, “but why is that such a big deal?” 🔊✎

And the little prince left. 🔊✎

“The grown-ups are really strange,” he said to himself as he travelled along. 🔊✎