The fourth planet belonged to a businessman. This man was so busy that he did not even raise his head at the little prince's arrival.

'Good day,' said the latter. 'Your cigarette has gone out.'

'Three and two make five. Five and seven make twelve. Twelve and three make fifteen. Good day. Fifteen and seven make twenty-two. Twenty-two and six make twenty-eight. I've no time to relight it. Twenty-six and five make thirty-one. Phew! That makes five-hundred-and-one million  six-hundred-and-twenty-two thousand seven-hundred-and-thirty-one.'

'Five hundred million what?'

'Eh? Are you still there? Five-hundred-and-one million ... I can't remember what. I have too much to do! I happen to be a serious person, I've no time for idle chatter! Two and five make seven ...'

'Five-hundred-and-one-million what?' repeated the little prince, who had never in his life given up on a question once he had asked it.

The businessman raised his head.

'During the fifty-four years I have lived on this planet, I have been disturbed on only three occasions. The first was twenty-two years ago, when some May-bug dropped from heaven knows where. He made the most dreadful din that resounded all over the place, and I made four mistakes in my addition. The second time was eleven years ago, brought on by an attack of rheumatism. I need exercise. I have no time for sauntering about. The third time - the third is standing right in front of me now! As I was saying, then, five-hundred-and-one million ...'

'Millions of what?'

The businessman could see there was no hope of being left in peace.

'Millions of those small objects you sometimes see up in the sky.'

'Flies?'

'No, no, no. Small glittering objects.'

'Bees?'

'No, no, no. Small gilded objects that set idle minds daydreaming. Though I, for my part, happen to be a serious person! I've no time for daydreaming.'

'Ah! You mean stars?'

'Just so. Stars.'

'And what can you do with five hundred million stars?'

'Five-hundred-and-one million six-hundred-and-twenty-two thousand seven-hundred-and-thirty-one. I happen to be a serious person, a precise person.'

'And what do you do with these stars?'

'Do with them?'

'Yes.'

'Nothing. I own them.'

'You own the stars?'

'Yes.'

'But I have just seen a king who —'

'Kings do not "own". Kings "reign over". There is a large difference.'

'And of what use is it to you to own the stars?'

'Its use is to make me rich.'

'And of what use is it to you to be rich?'

'To buy more stars, if there are any more to be discovered.'

'This fellow.' the little prince said to himself, 'reasons a little like my drunkard.'

Nevertheless, he had a few more questions to ask:

'How can you own the stars?'

'To whom do they belong?' snapped the businessman peevishly.

'I don't know. To nobody.'

'Then they belong to me, since I thought of it first.'

'Is that all it takes?'

'Naturally. When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody, it belongs to you. When you discover an island that belongs to nobody, it belongs to you. When you are the first to have an idea, you take out a patent on it: it belongs to you. And the stars belong to me, because nobody before me ever thought of owning them.'

'That much is true.' said the little prince. 'And what do you do with them?'

'I administer them. I count them and I recount them,' said the businessman. 'It is hard work. But then I happen to be a serious person!'

The little prince was still not satisfied.

'If I own a scarf,' he said, 'I can put it round my neck and take it with me. If I own a flower, I can gather my flower and take it with me. But you cannot gather the stars!'

'No, but I can deposit them in the bank.'

'What does that mean?'

'It means that I write down the number of stars I own on a piece of paper. Then I lock this paper up in a drawer.'

'And is that all?'

'That is enough!'

'It is amusing,' thought the little prince. 'It is even rather poetic. But it's not terribly serious.'

About serious things, the little prince had very different ideas to those of grown-ups.

'I myself own a flower,' he persisted, 'which I water every day. I own three volcanoes, which I sweep out every week (for I also sweep out the extinct volcano: one never knows). It is of use to my volcanoes, and it is of use to my flower, that I own them. But you are of no use to the stars.'

The businessman opened his mouth, but found nothing to say in answer, and the little prince went away.

'Grown-ups are decidedly altogether extraordinary.' he merely said to himself, as he continued on his voyage.