Explore Chapter 16 of 'The Little Prince' with the original English text, English translation, detailed IELTS vocabulary and explanations, and audio of the English original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
The Earth is not just a normal planet! You can count, there, 111 kings (including the Negro kings), 7000 geographers, 900,000 businessmen, 7,500,000 drinkers, 311,000,000 proud men—that is to say, about 2,000,000,000 adults.
To give you an idea of how big the Earth is, I will tell you that before electricity was invented, it was needed to keep, across all six continents, a real army of 462,511 lamplighters for the street lamps.
From a little distance, that would make a great show. The moves of this army would be set like a ballet dance. First would come the turn of the lamplighters of New Zealand and Australia. After lighting their lamps, these would go to sleep. Next, the lamplighters of China and Siberia would take their steps in the dance, and then they too would go back off stage. After that would come the turn of the lamplighters of Russia and the Indies; then those of Africa and Europe; then those of South America; then those of North America. And they would never make a mistake in the order they come on stage. It would be wonderful.
Only the man in charge of the one lamp at the North Pole, and his colleague who was responsible for the one lamp at the South Pole—only these two would live without hard work and worry: they would be busy twice a year.