Little Prince小王子

oneline

小王子所访问的下一个星球上住着一个酒鬼。访问时间非常短，可是它却使小王子非常忧伤。
    “你在干什么？”小王子问酒鬼，这个酒鬼默默地坐在那里，面前有一堆酒瓶子，有的装着酒，有的是空的。
    “我喝酒。”他阴沉忧郁地回答道。
    “你为什么喝酒？”小王子问道。
    “为了忘却。”酒鬼回答。
    小王子已经有些可怜酒鬼。他问道：“忘却什么呢？”
    酒鬼垂下脑袋坦白道：“为了忘却我的羞愧。”
    “你羞愧什么呢？”小王子很想救助他。
    “我羞愧我喝酒。”酒鬼说完以后就再也不开口了。                                               
    小王子迷惑不解地离开了。
    在旅途中，他自言自语地说道：“这些大人确实真叫怪。”

oneline

Chapter 13


- the little prince visits the businessman  
The fourth planet belonged to a businessman. This man was so much occupied that he did not even raise his head at the little prince's arrival.
"Good morning," the little prince said to him. "Your cigarette has gone out."
"Three and two make five. Five and seven make twelve. Twelve and three make fifteen. Good morning. Fifteen and seven make twenty-two. Twenty-two and six make twenty-eight. I haven't time to light it again. Twenty-six and five make thirty-one. Phew! Then that makes five-hundred-and-one-million, six-hundred-twenty-two-thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one."
"Five hundred million what?" asked the little prince.
"Eh? Are you still there? Five-hundred-and-one million-- I can't stop... I have so much to do! I am concerned with matters of consequence. I don't amuse myself with balderdash. Two and five make seven..."
"Five-hundred-and-one million what?" repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question once he had asked it.
The businessman raised his head.
"During the fifty-four years that I have inhabited this planet, I have been disturbed only three times. The first time was twenty-two years ago, when some giddy goose fell from goodness knows where. He made the most frightful noise that resounded all over the place, and I made four mistakes in my addition. The second time, eleven years ago, I was disturbed by an attack of rheumatism. I don't get enough exercise. I have no time for loafing. The third time-- well, this is it! I was saying, then, five -hundred-and-one millions--"
"Millions of what?"
The businessman suddenly realized that there was no hope of being left in peace until he answered this question.
"Millions of those little objects," he said, "which one sometimes sees in the sky."
"Flies?"
"Oh, no. Little glittering objects."
"Bees?"
"Oh, no. Little golden objects that set lazy men to idle dreaming. As for me, I am concerned with matters of consequence. There is no time for idle dreaming in my life."
"Ah! You mean the stars?"
"Yes, that's it. The stars."
"And what do you do with five-hundred millions of stars?"
"Five-hundred-and-one million, six-hundred-twenty-two thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one. I am concerned with matters of consequence: I am accurate."
"And what do you do with these stars?"
"What do I do with them?"
"Yes."
"Nothing. I own them."
"You own the stars?"
"Yes."
"But I have already seen a king who--"
"Kings do not own, they reign over. It is a very different matter."
"And what good does it do you to own the stars?"
"It does me the good of making me rich."
"And what good does it do you to be rich?"
"It makes it possible for me to buy more stars, if any are ever discovered."
"This man," the little prince said to himself, "reasons a little like my poor tippler..."
Nevertheless, he still had some more questions.
"How is it possible for one to own the stars?"
"To whom do they belong?" the businessman retorted, peevishly.
"I don't know. To nobody."
"Then they belong to me, because I was the first person to think of it."
"Is that all that is necessary?"
"Certainly. When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you discover an island that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you get an idea before any one else, you take out a patent on it: it is yours. So with me: I own the stars, because nobody else before me ever thought of owning them."
"Yes, that is true," said the little prince. "And what do you do with them?"
"I administer them," replied the businessman. "I count them and recount them. It is difficult. But I am a man who is naturally interested in matters of consequence."
The little prince was still not satisfied.
"If I owned a silk scarf," he said, "I could put it around my neck and take it away with me. If I owned a flower, I could pluck that flower and take it away with me. But you cannot pluck the stars from heaven..."
"No. But I can put them in the bank."
"Whatever does that mean?"
"That means that I write the number of my stars on a little paper. And then I put this paper in a drawer and lock it with a key."
"And that is all?"
"That is enough," said the businessman.
"It is entertaining," thought the little prince. "It is rather poetic. But it is of no great consequence."
On matters of consequence, the little prince had ideas which were very different from those of the grown-ups.
"I myself own a flower," he continued his conversation with the businessman, "which I water every day. I own three volcanoes, which I clean out every week (for I also clean out the one that is extinct; one never knows). It is of some use to my volcanoes, and it is of some use to my flower, that I own them. But you are of no use to the stars..."
The businessman opened his mouth, but he found nothing to say in answer. And the little prince went away.
"The grown-ups are certainly altogether extraordinary," he said simply, talking to himself as he continued on his journey.

oneline

第四个行星是一个实业家的星球。这个人忙得不可开交，小王子到来的时候，他甚至连头都没有抬一下。
    小王子对他说：“您好。您的烟卷灭了。”
    “三加二等于五。五加七等于十二。十二加三等于十五。你好。十五加七，二十二。二十二加六，二十八。没有时间去再点着它。二十六加五，三十一。哎哟！一共是五亿一百六十二万二千七百三十一。”
    “五亿什么呀？”
    “嗯？你还待在这儿那？五亿一百万…我也不知道是什么了。我的工作很多…我是很严肃的，我可是从来也没有功夫去闲聊！二加五得七…”
    “五亿一百万什么呀？”小王子重复问道。一旦他提出了一个问题，是从来也不会放弃的。
    这位实业家抬起头，说：
    “我住在这个星球上五十四年以来，只被打搅过三次。第一次是二十二年前，不知从哪里跑来了一只金龟子来打搅我。它发出一种可怕的噪音，使我在一笔帐目中出了四个差错。第二次，在十一年前，是风湿病发作，因为我缺乏锻炼所致。我没有功夫闲逛。我可是个严肃的人。现在…这是第三次！我计算的结果是五亿一百万…”
    “几百万什么？”
    这位实业家知道要想安宁是无望的了，就说道：
    “几百万个小东西，这些小东西有时出现在天空中。”
    “苍蝇吗？”
    “不是，是些闪闪发亮的小东西。”
    “是蜜蜂吗？”
    “不是，是金黄色的小东西，这些小东西叫那些懒汉们胡思乱想。我是个严肃的人。我没有时间胡思乱想。”
    “啊，是星星吗？”
    “对了，就是星星。”
    “你要拿这五亿星星做什么？”
    “五亿一百六十二万七百三十一颗星星。我是严肃的人，我是非常精确的。”
    “你拿这些星星做什么？”   
    “我要它做什么？”
    “是呀。”   
    “什么也不做。它们都是属于我的。”
    “星星是属于你的？”
    “是的。”
    “可是我已经见到过一个国王，他…”
    “国王并不占有，他们只是进行‘统治’。这不是一码事。”
    “你拥有这许多星星有什么用？”
    “富了就可以去买别的星星，如果有人发现了别的星星的话。”
    小王子自言自语地说：“这个人想问题有点象那个酒鬼一样。”
    可是他又提了一些问题：
    “你怎么能占有星星呢？”
    “那么你说星星是谁的呀？”实业家不高兴地顶了小王子一句。
    “我不知道，不属于任何人。”
    “那么，它们就是我的，因为是我第一个想到了这件事情的。”
    “这就行了吗？”
    “那当然。如果你发现了一颗没有主人的钻石，那么这颗钻石就是属于你的。当你发现一个岛是没有主的，那么这个岛就是你的。当你首先想出了一个办法，你就去领一个专利证，这个办法就是属于你的。既然在我之前不曾有任何人想到要占有这些星星，那我就占有这些星星。”
    “这倒也是。可是你用它们来干什么？”小王子说。
    “我经营管理这些星星。我一遍又一遍地计算它们的数目。这是一件困难的事。但我是一个严肃认真的人！”
    小王子仍然还不满足，他说：
    “对我来说，如果我有一条围巾，我可以用它来围着我的脖子，并且能带走它。我有一朵花的话，我就可以摘下我的花，并且把它带走。可你却不能摘下这些星星呀！”
    “我不能摘，但我可以把它们存在银行里。”
    “这是什么意思呢？”
    “这就是说，我把星星的数目写在一片小纸头上，然后把这片纸头锁在一个抽屉里。”   
    “这就算完事了吗？”
    “这样就行了。”
    小王子想道：“真好玩。这倒蛮有诗意，可是，并不算是了不起的正经事。”
    关于什么是正经事，小王子的看法与大人们的看法非常不同。他接着又说：
    “我有一朵花，我每天都给她浇水。我还有三座火山，我每星期把它们全都打扫一遍。连死火山也打扫。谁知道它会不会再复活。我拥有火山和花，这对我的火山有益处，对我的花也有益处。但是你对星星并没有用处…”
    实业家张口结舌无言以对。于是小王子就走了。
    在旅途中，小王子只是自言自语地说了一句：“这些大人们真是奇怪极了。”

oneline

Chapter 14


- the little prince visits the lamplighter  
The fifth planet was very strange. It was the smallest of all. There was just enough room on it for a street lamp and a lamplighter. The little prince was not able to reach any explanation of the use of a street lamp and a lamplighter, somewhere in the heavens, on a planet which had no people, and not one house. But he said to himself, nevertheless:
"It may well be that this man is absurd. But he is not so absurd as the king, the conceited man, the businessman, and the tippler. For at least his work has some meaning. When he lights his street lamp, it is as if he brought one more star to life, or one flower. When he puts out his lamp, he sends the flower, or the star, to sleep. That is a beautiful occupation. And since it is beautiful, it is truly useful."
When he arrived on the planet he respectfully saluted the lamplighter.
"Good morning. Why have you just put out your lamp?"
"Those are the orders," replied the lamplighter. "Good morning."
"What are the orders?"
"The orders are that I put out my lamp. Good evening."
And he lighted his lamp again.
"But why have you just lighted it again?"
"Those are the orders," replied the lamplighter.
"I do not understand," said the little prince.
"There is nothing to understand," said the lamplighter. "Orders are orders. Good morning."
And he put out his lamp.
Then he mopped his forehead with a handkerchief decorated with red squares.
"I follow a terrible profession. In the old days it was reasonable. I put the lamp out in the morning, and in the evening I lighted it again. I had the rest of the day for relaxation and the rest of the night for sleep."
"And the orders have been changed since that time?"
"The orders have not been changed," said the lamplighter. "That is the tragedy! From year to year the planet has turned more rapidly and the orders have not been changed!"
"Then what?" asked the little prince.
"Then-- the planet now makes a complete turn every minute, and I no longer have a single second for repose. Once every minute I have to light my lamp and put it out!"
"That is very funny! A day lasts only one minute, here where you live!"
"It is not funny at all!" said the lamplighter. "While we have been talking together a month has gone by."
"A month?"
"Yes, a month. Thirty minutes. Thirty days. Good evening."
And he lighted his lamp again.
As the little prince watched him, he felt that he loved this lamplighter who was so faithful to his orders. He remembered the sunsets which he himself had gone to seek, in other days, merely by pulling up his chair; and he wanted to help his friend.
"You know," he said, "I can tell you a way you can rest whenever you want to..."
"I always want to rest," said the lamplighter.
For it is possible for a man to be faithful and lazy at the same time.
The little prince went on with his explanation:
"Your planet is so small that three strides will take you all the way around it. To be always in the sunshine, you need only walk along rather slowly. When you want to rest, you will walk-- and the day will last as long as you like."
"That doesn't do me much good," said the lamplighter. "The one thing I love in life is to sleep."
"Then you're unlucky," said the little prince.
"I am unlucky," said the lamplighter. "Good morning."
And he put out his lamp.
"That man," said the little prince to himself, as he continued farther on his journey, "that man would be scorned by all the others: by the king, by the conceited man, by the tippler, by the businessman. Nevertheless he is the only one of them all who does not seem to me ridiculous. Perhaps that is because he is thinking of something else besides himself."
He breathed a sigh of regret, and said to himself, again:
"That man is the only one of them all whom I could have made my friend. But his planet is indeed too small. There is no room on it for two people..."
What the little prince did not dare confess was that he was sorry most of all to leave this planet, because it was blest every day with 1440 sunsets!

oneline

第五颗行星非常奇怪，是这些星星中最小的一颗。行星上刚好能容得下一盏路灯和一个点路灯的人。小王子怎么也解释不通：这个坐落在天空某一角落，既没有房屋又没有居民的行星上，要一盏路灯和一个点灯的人做什么用。
    但他自己猜想：“可能这个人思想不正常。但他比起国王，比起那个爱虚荣的人，那个实业家和酒鬼，却要好些。至少他的工作还有点意义。当他点着了他的路灯时，就象他增添了一颗星星，或是一朵花。当他熄灭了路灯时，就象让星星或花朵睡着了似的。这差事真美妙，就是真正有用的了。”
    小王子一到了这个行星上，就很尊敬地向点路灯的人打招呼：
    “早上好。——你刚才为什么把路灯灭了呢？”
    “早上好。——这是命令。”点灯的回答道。
    “命令是什么？”
    “就是熄掉我的路灯。——晚上好。”
    于是他又点燃了路灯。
    “那么为什么你又把它点着了呢？”
    “这是命令。”点灯的人回答道。
    “我不明白。”小王子说。
    “没什么要明白的。命令就是命令。”点灯的回答说。“早上好。”
    于是他又熄灭了路灯。
    然后他拿一块有红方格子的手绢擦着额头。
    “我干的是一种可怕的职业。以前还说得过去，早上熄灯，晚上点灯，剩下时间，白天我就休息，夜晚我就睡觉…”
    “那么，后来命令改变了，是吗？”
    点灯的人说：“命令没有改，惨就惨在这里了！这颗行星一年比一年转得更快，而命令却没有改。”
    “结果呢？”小王子问。
    “结果现在每分钟转一圈，我连一秒钟的休息时间都没有了。每分钟我就要点一次灯，熄一次灯！”
    “真有趣，你这里每天只有一分钟长？”
    “一点趣味也没有，”点灯的说，“我们俩在一块说话就已经有一个月的时间了。”
    “一个月？”
    “对。三十分钟。三十天！——晚上好。”
    于是他又点着了了他的路灯。
    小王子瞅着他，他喜欢这个点灯人如此忠守命令。这时，他想起了他自己从前挪动椅子寻找日落的事。他很想帮助他的这位朋友。
    “告诉你，我知道一种能使你休息的办法，你要什么时候休息都可以。”
    “我老是想休息。”点灯人说。
    因为，一个人可以同时是忠实的，又是懒惰的。
    小王子接着说：
    “你的这颗行星这样小，你三步就可以绕它一圈。你只要慢慢地走，就可以一直在太阳的照耀下，你想休息的时候，你就这样走…那么，你要白天又多长它就有多长。”
    “这办法帮不了我多打忙，生活中我喜欢的就是睡觉。”点灯人说。
    “真不走运。”小王子说。
    “真不走运。”点灯人说。“早上好。”
    于是他又熄灭了路灯。
    小王子在他继续往前旅行的途中，自言自语地说道：
    “这个人一定会被其他那些人，国王呀，爱虚荣的呀，酒鬼呀，实业家呀，所瞧不起。可是唯有他不使我感到荒唐可笑。这可能是因为他所关心的是别的事，而不是他自己。”
    他惋惜地叹了口气，并且又对自己说道：
    “本来这是我唯一可以和他交成朋友的人。可是他的星球确实太小了，住不下两个人…”
    小王子没有勇气承认的是：他留恋这颗令人赞美的星星，特别是因为在那里每二十四小时就有一千四百四十次日落！