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A character guide

Le Petit Prince

by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Augment your reading experience with a guide to the cast. Revisit familiar faces and passing voices, with descriptions grounded in what the book tells us about them.

Descriptions in EnglishDownload JSON ↗

This guide covers the whole book and includes spoilers. Descriptions are generated by AI and may contain mistakes.

The cast

Names as they appear in this edition

  1. The narrator

    An unnamed pilot who meets the petit prince after his airplane breaks down in the Sahara and forms a deep friendship with him. He repairs his airplane but witnesses the prince fall after a serpent's bite; finding no body the next morning, he believes his friend returned to his planet. Six years later, he remains saddened and worries whether the sheep has eaten the prince's flower.

  2. Le petit prince

    Also known as The little prince

    A golden-haired boy from a tiny planet that the narrator believes is asteroid B 612. His friendship with the fox teaches him that his care makes his beloved rose unique and that he is responsible for her. On the anniversary of his arrival on Earth, he accepts the serpent's bite to return home, telling his friend the narrator that his body is too heavy to take with him.

  3. The petit prince's sheep

    A sheep the narrator draws as hidden inside a box, which the petit prince accepts and intends for his planet. It might eat young baobabs but also threatens his beloved rose; because the drawn muzzle lacks a strap, the narrator remains uncertain whether it has eaten her.

  4. The Turkish astronomer

    An astronomer mentioned by the narrator who discovered asteroid B 612 in 1909. His discovery was dismissed because of his clothing, then accepted when he presented it again in European dress in 1920.

  5. The Turkish dictator

    A ruler mentioned by the narrator who required his people to wear European clothing under penalty of death. This change enabled the Turkish astronomer's discovery to gain recognition.

  6. The lazy man

    An inhabitant of a planet mentioned by the petit prince who neglected three young baobabs. His negligence illustrates the danger of failing to care for a small planet.

  7. The crimson-faced gentleman

    Also known as The big red gentleman

    A man on another planet whom the petit prince describes as devoted entirely to calculations and proud of being serious. According to the prince, he has never loved anyone or appreciated flowers or stars.

  8. The petit prince's flower

    Also known as The petit prince's rose

    A beautiful, vain, and proud rose whom the petit prince loves and tends on his planet. Her pretenses conceal tenderness; at his departure, she admits her love and apologizes while hiding her tears. His responsibility for her motivates his return, but her fate remains uncertain because the sheep might have eaten her.

  9. The king

    Also known as The monarch

    An elderly ruler on the first planet the petit prince visits, who claims authority over everything but insists that orders must be reasonable. Eager to retain a subject, he offers the prince a ministry and finally names him ambassador as he leaves.

  10. The king's old rat

    A single old rat the king believes lives on his planet and says he hears at night. The king proposes that the petit prince repeatedly condemn and pardon it to exercise justice.

  11. The vain man

    The sole inhabitant of the second planet the petit prince visits. He treats the prince as an admirer and seeks applause and praise, hearing only compliments.

  12. The drinker

    Also known as The drunkard

    An inhabitant of the third planet the petit prince visits. He drinks to forget his shame about drinking, leaving the prince saddened and perplexed.

  13. The businessman

    An inhabitant of the fourth planet the petit prince visits who counts stars and claims to own them to become rich. Proud of his seriousness and precision, he cannot explain how his ownership benefits the stars.

  14. The cockchafer

    A beetle mentioned by the businessman that landed on his planet twenty-two years earlier. Its noise distracted him and caused four errors in an addition.

  15. The lamplighter

    An inhabitant of the fifth planet who faithfully lights and extinguishes its lamp under an unchanged instruction, despite the planet now rotating once a minute. Exhausted and fond of sleep, he earns the petit prince's affection and respect for serving something beyond himself.

  16. The geographer

    Also known as The old gentleman

    An elderly scholar on the sixth planet who records explorers' discoveries but never explores himself. His explanation that flowers are ephemeral makes the petit prince regret leaving his flower unprotected. He recommends visiting Earth.

  17. The North Pole lamplighter

    The keeper of the North Pole's sole streetlamp, mentioned by the narrator. He works only twice a year and otherwise leads an idle life.

  18. The South Pole lamplighter

    The keeper of the South Pole's sole streetlamp, mentioned by the narrator. Like his North Pole counterpart, he works only twice a year.

  19. The serpent

    A serpent the petit prince meets in the African desert who claims his touch can return people to the earth and offers to help him return to his planet. On the anniversary of the prince's arrival, he bites the prince's ankle, causing him to fall silently; his body is gone by morning.

  20. The desert flower

    A small flower with three petals whom the petit prince meets while crossing the desert. Having once seen a caravan, she believes only six or seven humans exist and says their lack of roots makes them wander.

  21. The echo

    An echo on a high mountain that answers the petit prince by repeating his words. He mistakes its replies for those of people and concludes that Earth's inhabitants lack imagination.

  22. The fox

    A fox whom the petit prince befriends by patiently taming him and establishing regular visits. He teaches the prince that bonds make individuals unique, that what matters most is invisible to the eyes, and that caring for someone brings lasting responsibility.

  23. The railway switchman

    A railway worker who directs trains carrying thousands of travelers. He tells the petit prince that adults are restless and dissatisfied, while children pay attention to their journeys.

  24. The locomotive driver

    The driver of a passing express train, mentioned by the railway switchman. The switchman says that even the driver does not know what the hurried travelers are seeking.

  25. The merchant

    A merchant who sells pills that eliminate thirst for a week. He promotes them as saving fifty-three minutes weekly, prompting the petit prince to imagine spending that time walking toward a fountain.