  The generalized Cartan-Hadamard conjecture says that if $\Omega$ is a domain
with fixed volume in a complete, simply connected Riemannian $n$-manifold $M$
with sectional curvature $K \le \kappa \le 0$, then the boundary of $\Omega$
has the least possible boundary volume when $\Omega$ is a round $n$-ball with
constant curvature $K=\kappa$. The case $n=2$ and $\kappa=0$ is an old result
of Weil. We give a unified proof of this conjecture in dimensions $n=2$ and
$n=4$ when $\kappa=0$, and a special case of the conjecture for $\kappa
\textless{} 0$ and a version for $\kappa \textgreater{} 0$. Our argument uses a
new interpretation, based on optical transport, optimal transport, and linear
programming, of Croke's proof for $n=4$ and $\kappa=0$. The generalization to
$n=4$ and $\kappa \ne 0$ is a new result. As Croke implicitly did, we relax the
curvature condition $K \le \kappa$ to a weaker candle condition
$Candle(\kappa)$ or $LCD(\kappa)$.We also find counterexamples to a na\"ive
version of the Cartan-Hadamard conjecture: For every $\varepsilon
\textgreater{} 0$, there is a Riemannian 3-ball $\Omega$ with
$(1-\varepsilon)$-pinched negative curvature, and with boundary volume bounded
by a function of $\varepsilon$ and with arbitrarily large volume.We begin with
a pointwise isoperimetric problem called "the problem of the Little Prince."
Its proof becomes part of the more general method.
