Chapter 14 🔊✎

The fifth planet was very odd. 🔊✎ It was the smallest one of all. 🔊✎ There was just enough room for a streetlight and a lamplighter. 🔊✎ The little prince could n’t figure out the point of having a streetlight and a lamplighter on a planet somewhere in the sky, where there were no houses and no other people. 🔊✎ But all the same he said to himself:

“Maybe this guy is ridiculous. 🔊✎ But he’s less ridiculous than the king, the vain man, the businessman and the drunk. 🔊✎ At least his job makes sense. 🔊✎ When he lights up his streetlight, it’s like there was another star, or a flower has opened. 🔊✎ When he puts out the streetlight, it’s like the star or the flower goes to sleep. 🔊✎ It’s a beautiful job. And it’s useful because it’s beautiful.” 🔊✎

When he arrived on the planet, he greeted the lamplighter respectfully. 🔊✎

“Hello. Why have you just put out your streetlight?” 🔊✎

“Orders,” said the lamplighter. “Good morning.” 🔊✎

“What orders?” 🔊✎

“To put out my streetlight. Good evening.” 🔊✎

And he lit it again. 🔊✎

“But why did you light it again?” 🔊✎

“Those are my orders,” said the lamplighter. 🔊✎

“I do n’t understand,” said the little prince. 🔊✎

“There is nothing to understand,” said the lamplighter. “Orders are orders. Good morning.” 🔊✎

And he put out the streetlight. Then he mopped his forehead with a red checked handkerchief. 🔊✎

“This really is a terrible job. 🔊✎ It used to be okay. I put out the streetlight in the morning and I lit it again in the evening. 🔊✎ I had the whole day to rest and the whole night to sleep…” 🔊✎

“So your orders have changed?” 🔊✎

“My orders have n’t changed!” 🔊✎ said the lamplighter. 🔊✎ “That’s the problem! Year after year, the planet keeps turning faster, but my orders have n’t changed!” 🔊✎

“And?” asked the little prince. 🔊✎

“And now it turns once a minute, and I do n’t have a moment of rest. I put out the streetlight and then I light it again once a minute!”

“That’s funny! A day on your planet is just a minute long!”

“It’s not funny at all,” said the lamplighter. “We have been talking for a month.” 🔊✎

“A month?” 🔊✎

“Yes. Thirty minutes. That makes thirty days! Good evening.” 🔊✎

And he lit up his streetlight. 🔊✎

The little prince looked at him, and he found he loved this lamplighter who followed his orders so scrupulously. 🔊✎ He remembered all the sunsets he used to find just by moving his chair, and he thought he could help his friend. 🔊✎

“You know,” he said, “I think I see a way for you to rest when you want to…” 🔊✎

“I always want to,” said the lamplighter. 🔊✎ Because it’s quite possible to be scrupulous and lazy at the same time. 🔊✎

The little prince continued:

“Your planet is so small that you can walk round it in three steps. 🔊✎ All you have to do is walk slowly enough that you stay in the sun. 🔊✎ When you need a rest, you just start walking… and the day will last as long as you like.” 🔊✎

“It would n’t help much,” said the lamplighter. “What I really like doing is sleeping.” 🔊✎

“That’s too bad,” said the little prince. 🔊✎

“It’s too bad,” said the lamplighter. “Good morning.” 🔊✎

And he put out his streetlight. 🔊✎

“This guy,” thought the little prince as he travelled along, “none of the others would think much of him. 🔊✎ Not the king, not the vain man, not the drunk, not the businessman. 🔊✎ But he’s the only one who does n’t look ridiculous to me. 🔊✎ Maybe it’s because he cares about something apart from himself.” 🔊✎

He gave a sigh of regret. 🔊✎

“He’s the only one who could have been my friend. 🔊✎ But his planet’s too small. There’s no room for two people.” 🔊✎

What the little prince did n’t dare admit to himself was that he was mostly sad to be missing all the sunsets on this wonderful planet, one thousand four hundred and forty of them every twenty-four hours! 🔊✎