Here, we have “The Little Prince” Chapters 13–16 Summary and Analysis
Summary: Chapter 13
The Little Prince Chapters 13–16 Summary and Analysis, we are generating for you help you understand the story well. In this chapter, the little prince arrives on the fourth planet, where he meets a very busy businessman. The man is so lost in his work and calculations that he hardly notices the little prince. Curious as always, the Little Prince keeps asking questions about what the man is doing. The businessman, clearly annoyed, insists that he is a serious person and has no time for silly questions.
Finally, he explains that he is counting “those little golden things that make people dream.” The little prince quickly realizes that the man is talking about the stars. The businessman proudly claims that he owns all the stars because he was the first to think of claiming them. He spends his time counting and recording how many stars he owns, keeping the numbers safe in a bank.
The little prince is puzzled by this strange logic. He finds it as foolish as the tippler’s behavior. He points out that it’s not real ownership if you don’t take care of what you claim to own. The little prince explains that he owns a rose and three volcanoes, and he looks after them — so his ownership means something. The businessman, having no answer, sits in silence. As the little prince continues his journey, he can’t help thinking once again that grown-ups are truly extraordinary.
Summary: Chapter 14
The little prince’s next stop is the fifth planet, which is the tiniest one he has seen so far. It is so small that it only has room for a single street lamp and its lamplighter. The little prince thinks the lamplighter’s job seems a bit strange, but he also finds it meaningful and beautiful. The lamplighter’s duty is to light the lamp at night and put it out during the day. However, his planet now spins so quickly that day and night come every single minute!
Because of this, the poor lamplighter is constantly lighting and putting out his lamp without rest. He tells the little prince that his orders made sense long ago, but now he has no time to sleep. The little prince feels sorry for him and admires his faithfulness to his duty. Among all the grown-ups he has met so far, the prince feels that the lamplighter is the only one he could truly be friends with because he works for something beyond himself.
The prince even suggests that the lamplighter walk around the planet to keep up with the sunset, so he wouldn’t have to light and extinguish the lamp over and over. But the lamplighter sadly replies that all he really wants is a little sleep. The planet is too small for both of them to stay, so the little prince continues his journey, feeling sad to leave the kind lamplighter behind on a planet where there are 1,440 sunsets every day.
Summary: Chapter 15
On the sixth planet, the little prince meets a man who writes books and calls himself a geographer. The geographer explains that his job is to know where all the seas, mountains, cities, and deserts are. However, he never explores the lands himself. Instead, he relies on explorers to bring him information, and he only records discoveries if he trusts the explorer’s character.
Curious, the little prince asks the geographer about his own planet. The geographer admits that he doesn’t know anything about it because he hasn’t explored it himself. The little prince then describes his planet, mentioning his three volcanoes and his beloved flower. The geographer tells him that he doesn’t record flowers because they are “ephemeral,” which means they might disappear soon.
Hearing this, the little prince becomes worried about his rose and starts to regret leaving her behind. Finally, the little prince asks the geographer where he should go next. The geographer recommends Earth, saying it has a good reputation. Thinking of his rose and wanting to protect her, the little prince sets off on his journey to Earth.
Hope you find “The Little Prince” Chapters 13–16 Summary and Analysis easy and helpful.
Summary: Chapter 16
The narrator introduces the little prince to Earth, a planet much larger than any he has visited before. The little prince is amazed by its size and the number of people living on it. The narrator explains that Earth has almost two billion adults, including hundreds of kings, thousands of geographers, hundreds of thousands of businessmen, and millions of drunkards and vain men.
The narrator also discusses the lamplighters who existed before the advent of electricity. There were 462,511 lamplighters who performed a kind of daily global dance, lighting and extinguishing lamps in a rhythm that followed the movement of the sun. Only the lamplighters at the North and South Poles were not part of this choreography, as they had to work just twice a year. The little prince learns that Earth is full of people, each busy with their own routines and responsibilities, which feels very different from his tiny home planet.
Analysis: Chapters 13–16
In these chapters, the little prince continues his journey and meets more grown-ups, each showing different adult habits and flaws. The businessman, for example, is obsessed with counting and owning things. He doesn’t listen to the little prince’s questions because he thinks daydreaming is a waste of time. The little prince finds this strange, as he values caring for the things he owns, like his volcanoes and his rose. To him, relationships and love are far more important than possessions. The businessman, on the other hand, owns many things but has no real connection to any of them, which shows that owning without caring is empty.
Next, the lamplighter performs a useful and meaningful task—lighting and extinguishing his lamp—but his life is sad because he never explores his planet or enjoys the world around him. The little prince admires his dedication and sees him as the least ridiculous of the adults he has met so far. This shows one of the story’s main lessons: building meaningful connections, even with small responsibilities, gives life value.
The geographer seems important at first because he studies the world, but he turns out to be narrow-minded. He only records things that are “eternal” and refuses to explore or observe for himself. This makes him miss the value of the little prince’s flower, which is temporary but precious. The little prince understands that ephemeral things, like his rose, are valuable because they are limited, and this teaches him to treasure love and care.
Finally, the pilot reflects that Earth is full of adults who share the same flaws as the grown-ups the little prince has met on other planets. They focus on numbers, rules, and abstract ideas, often missing what is truly important: relationships, love, and the beauty of the world around them. Through these encounters, the story emphasizes the importance of seeing with the heart, valuing connections, and appreciating life’s small but meaningful moments.