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The Little Prince / Le Petit Prince — ĐœĐ° Đ°ĐœĐłĐ»Ń–ĐčсĐșĐ°Đč і Ń„Ń€Đ°ĐœŃ†ŃƒĐ·ŃĐșĐ°Đč ĐŒĐŸĐČах. ĐĄŃ‚Đ°Ń€ĐŸĐœĐșĐ° 5

ĐĐœĐłĐ»Ń–ĐčсĐșĐ°-Ń„Ń€Đ°ĐœŃ†ŃƒĐ·ŃĐșая ĐșĐœŃ–ĐłĐ°-Đ±Ń–Đ»Ń–ĐœĐłĐČĐ°

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Le Petit Prince

“I don’t know. To nobody.”

— Je ne sais pas. À personne.

“Then they belong to me, because I was the first person to think of it.”

— Alors elles sont Ă  moi, car j’y ai pensĂ© le premier.

“Is that all that is necessary?”

— Ça suffit?

“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.”

— Bien sĂ»r. Quand tu trouves un diamant qui n’est Ă  personne, il est Ă  toi. Quand tu trouves une Ăźle qui n’est Ă  personne, elle est Ă  toi. Quand tu as une idĂ©e le premier, tu la fais breveter: elle est Ă  toi. Et moi je possĂšde les Ă©toiles, puisque jamais personne avant moi n’a songĂ© Ă  les possĂ©der.

“Yes, that is true,” said the little prince. “And what do you do with them?”

— Ça c’est vrai, dit le petit prince. Et qu’en fais-tu?

“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.”

— Je les gĂšre. Je les compte et je les recompte, dit le businessman. C’est difficile. Mais je suis un homme sĂ©rieux!

The little prince was still not satisfied.

Le petit prince n’était pas satisfait encore.

“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
”

— Moi, si je possĂšde un foulard, je puis le mettre autour de mon cou et l’emporter. Moi, si je possĂšde une fleur, je puis cueillir ma fleur et l’emporter. Mais tu ne peux pas cueillir les Ă©toiles!

“No. But I can put them in the bank.”

— Non, mais je puis les placer en banque.

“Whatever does that mean?”

— Qu’est-ce que ça veut dire?

“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.”

— Ça veut dire que j’écris sur un petit papier le nombre de mes Ă©toiles. Et puis j’enferme Ă  clef ce papier-lĂ  dans un tiroir.

“And that is all?”

— Et c’est tout?

“That is enough,” said the businessman.

— Ça suffit!

“It is entertaining,” thought the little prince. “It is rather poetic. But it is of no great consequence.”

C’est amusant, pensa le petit prince. C’est assez poĂ©tique. Mais ce n’est pas trĂšs sĂ©rieux.

On matters of consequence, the little prince had ideas which were very different from those of the grown-ups.

Le petit prince avait sur les choses sérieuses des idées trÚs différentes des idées des grandes personnes.

“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
”

— Moi, dit-il encore, je possĂšde une fleur que j’arrose tous les jours. Je possĂšde trois volcans que je ramone toutes les semaines. Car je ramone aussi celui qui est Ă©teint. On ne sait jamais. C’est utile Ă  mes volcans, et c’est utile Ă  ma fleur, que je les possĂšde. Mais tu n’es pas utile aux Ă©toiles


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

Le businessman ouvrit la bouche mais ne trouva rien Ă  rĂ©pondre, et le petit prince s’en fut.

“The grown-ups are certainly altogether extraordinary,” he said simply, talking to himself as he continued on his journey.

Les grandes personnes sont dĂ©cidĂ©ment tout Ă  fait extraordinaires, se disait-il simplement en lui-mĂȘme durant le voyage.

XIV

CHAPITRE XIV

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.

La cinquiĂšme planĂšte Ă©tait trĂšs curieuse. C’était la plus petite de toutes. Il y avait lĂ  juste assez de place pour loger un rĂ©verbĂšre et un allumeur de rĂ©verbĂšres.

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:

Le petit prince ne parvenait pas Ă  s’expliquer Ă  quoi pouvaient servir, quelque part dans le ciel, sur une planĂšte sans maison, ni population, un rĂ©verbĂšre et un allumeur de rĂ©verbĂšres. Cependant il se dit en lui-mĂȘme:

“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.”

— Peut-ĂȘtre bien que cet homme est absurde. Cependant il est moins absurde que le roi, que le vaniteux, que le businessman et que le buveur. Au moins son travail a-t-il un sens. Quand il allume son rĂ©verbĂšre, c’est comme s’il faisait naĂźtre une Ă©toile de plus, ou une fleur. Quand il Ă©teint son rĂ©verbĂšre ça endort la fleur ou l’étoile. C’est une occupation trĂšs jolie. C’est vĂ©ritablement utile puisque c’est joli.

When he arrived on the planet he respectfully saluted the lamplighter.

Lorsqu’il aborda la planùte il salua respectueusement l’allumeur:

“Good morning. Why have you just put out your lamp?”

— Bonjour. Pourquoi viens-tu d’éteindre ton rĂ©verbĂšre?

“Those are the orders,” replied the lamplighter. “Good morning.”

— C’est la consigne, rĂ©pondit l’allumeur. Bonjour.

“What are the orders?”

— Qu’est-ce que la consigne?

“The orders are that I put out my lamp. Good evening.”

— C’est d’éteindre mon rĂ©verbĂšre. Bonsoir.

And he lighted his lamp again.

Et il le ralluma.

“But why have you just lighted it again?”

— Mais pourquoi viens-tu de le rallumer?

“Those are the orders,” replied the lamplighter.

— C’est la consigne, rĂ©pondit l’allumeur.

“I do not understand,” said the little prince.

— Je ne comprends pas, dit le petit prince.

“There is nothing to understand,” said the lamplighter. “Orders are orders. Good morning.”

— Il n’y a rien à comprendre, dit l’allumeur. La consigne c’est la consigne. Bonjour.

And he put out his lamp.

Et il éteignit son réverbÚre.

Then he mopped his forehead with a handkerchief decorated with red squares.

Puis il s’épongea le front avec un mouchoir Ă  carreaux rouges.

“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.”

— Je fais lĂ  un mĂ©tier terrible. C’était raisonnable autrefois. J’éteignais le matin et j’allumais le soir. J’avais le reste du jour pour me reposer, et le reste de la nuit pour dormir


“And the orders have been changed since that time?”

— Et, depuis cette Ă©poque, la consigne a changĂ©?

“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!”

— La consigne n’a pas changĂ©, dit l’allumeur. C’est bien lĂ  le drame! La planĂšte d’annĂ©e en annĂ©e a tournĂ© de plus en plus vite, et la consigne n’a pas changĂ©!

“Then what?” asked the little prince.

— Alors? dit le petit 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!”

— Alors maintenant qu’elle fait un tour par minute, je n’ai plus une seconde de repos. J’allume et j’éteins une fois par minute!

“That is very funny! A day lasts only one minute, here where you live!”

— Ça c’est drîle! Les jours chez toi durent une minute!

“It is not funny at all!” said the lamplighter. “While we have been talking together a month has gone by.”

— Ce n’est pas drĂŽle du tout, dit l’allumeur. Ça fait dĂ©jĂ  un mois que nous parlons ensemble.

“A month?”

— Un mois?

“Yes, a month. Thirty minutes. Thirty days. Good evening.”

— Oui. Trente minutes. Trente jours! Bonsoir.

And he lighted his lamp again.

Et il ralluma son réverbÚre.

As the little prince watched him, he felt that he loved this lamplighter who was so faithful to his orders.

Le petit prince le regarda et il aima cet allumeur qui Ă©tait tellement fidĂšle Ă  la consigne.

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.

Il se souvint des couchers de soleil que lui-mĂȘme allait autrefois chercher, en tirant sa chaise. Il voulut aider son ami:

“You know,” he said, “I can tell you a way you can rest whenever you want to
”

— Tu sais
 je connais un moyen de te reposer quand tu voudras


“I always want to rest,” said the lamplighter.

— Je veux toujours, dit l’allumeur.

For it is possible for a man to be faithful and lazy at the same time. The little prince went on with his explanation:

Car on peut ĂȘtre, Ă  la fois, fidĂšle et paresseux.

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.”

Le petit prince poursuivit:
— Ta planĂšte est tellement petite que tu en fais le tour en trois enjambĂ©es. Tu n’as qu’à marcher assez lentement pour rester toujours au soleil. Quand tu voudras te reposer tu marcheras
 et le jour durera aussi longtemps que tu voudras.

“That doesn’t do me much good,” said the lamplighter. “The one thing I love in life is to sleep.”

— Ça ne m’avance pas à grand’chose, dit l’allumeur. Ce que j’aime dans la vie, c’est dormir.

“Then you’re unlucky,” said the little prince.

— Ce n’est pas de chance, dit le petit prince.

“I am unlucky,” said the lamplighter. “Good morning.”

— Ce n’est pas de chance, dit l’allumeur. Bonjour.

And he put out his lamp.

Et il éteignit son réverbÚre.

“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.”

«Celui-lĂ , se dit le petit prince, tandis qu’il poursuivait plus loin son voyage, celui-lĂ  serait mĂ©prisĂ© par tous les autres, par le roi, par le vaniteux, par le buveur, par le businessman. Cependant c’est le seul qui ne me paraisse pas ridicule. C’est peut-ĂȘtre parce qu’il s’occupe d’autre chose que de soi-mĂȘme.»

He breathed a sigh of regret, and said to himself, again:

Il eut un soupir de regret et se dit encore:

“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
”

«Celui-lĂ  est le seul dont j’eusse pu faire mon ami. Mais sa planĂšte est vraiment trop petite. Il n’y a pas de place pour deux »

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!

Ce que le petit prince n’osait pas s’avouer, c’est qu’il regrettait cette planĂšte bĂ©nie Ă  cause, surtout, des mille quatre cent quarante couchers de soleil par vingt-quatre heures!

XV

CHAPITRE XV

The sixth planet was ten times larger than the last one. It was inhabited by an old gentleman who wrote voluminous books.

La sixiĂšme planĂšte Ă©tait une planĂšte dix fois plus vaste. Elle Ă©tait habitĂ©e par un vieux Monsieur qui Ă©crivait d’énormes livres.

“Oh, look! Here is an explorer!” he exclaimed to himself when he saw the little prince coming.

— Tiens! voilĂ  un explorateur! s’écria-t-il, quand il aperçut le petit prince.

The little prince sat down on the table and panted a little. He had already traveled so much and so far!

Le petit prince s’assit sur la table et souffla un peu. Il avait dĂ©jĂ  tant voyagĂ©!

“Where do you come from?” the old gentleman said to him.

— D’oĂč viens-tu? lui dit le vieux Monsieur.

“What is that big book?” said the little prince. “What are you doing?”

— Quel est ce gros livre? dit le petit prince. Que faites-vous ici?

“I am a geographer,” said the old gentleman.

— Je suis gĂ©ographe, dit le vieux Monsieur.

“What is a geographer?” asked the little prince.

— Qu’est-ce qu’un gĂ©ographe?

“A geographer is a scholar who knows the location of all the seas, rivers, towns, mountains, and deserts.”

— C’est un savant qui connaĂźt oĂč se trouvent les mers, les fleuves, les villes, les montagnes et les dĂ©serts.

“That is very interesting,” said the little prince. “Here at last is a man who has a real profession!”

— Ça c’est bien intĂ©ressant, dit le petit prince. Ça c’est enfin un vĂ©ritable mĂ©tier!

And he cast a look around him at the planet of the geographer. It was the most magnificent and stately planet that he had ever seen.

Et il jeta un coup d’Ɠil autour de lui sur la planĂšte du gĂ©ographe. Il n’avait jamais vu encore une planĂšte aussi majestueuse.

“Your planet is very beautiful,” he said. “Has it any oceans?”

— Elle est bien belle, votre planĂšte. Est-ce qu’il y a des ocĂ©ans?

“I couldn’t tell you,” said the geographer.

— Je ne puis pas le savoir, dit le gĂ©ographe.

“Ah!” The little prince was disappointed. “Has it any mountains?”

— Ah! (Le petit prince Ă©tait déçu.) Et des montagnes?

“I couldn’t tell you,” said the geographer.

— Je ne puis pas le savoir, dit le gĂ©ographe.

“And towns, and rivers, and deserts?”

— Et des villes et des fleuves et des dĂ©serts?

“I couldn’t tell you that, either.”

— Je ne puis pas le savoir non plus, dit le gĂ©ographe.

“But you are a geographer!”

— Mais vous ĂȘtes gĂ©ographe!

“Exactly,” the geographer said. “But I am not an explorer. I haven’t a single explorer on my planet. It is not the geographer who goes out to count the towns, the rivers, the mountains, the seas, the oceans, and the deserts.

— C’est exact, dit le gĂ©ographe, mais je ne suis pas explorateur. Je manque absolument d’explorateurs. Ce n’est pas le gĂ©ographe qui va faire le compte des villes, des fleuves, des montagnes, des mers, des ocĂ©ans et des dĂ©serts.

The geographer is much too important to go loafing about. He does not leave his desk. But he receives the explorers in his study. He asks them questions, and he notes down what they recall of their travels. And if the recollections of any one among them seem interesting to him, the geographer orders an inquiry into that explorer’s moral character.”

Le gĂ©ographe est trop important pour flĂąner. Il ne quitte pas son bureau. Mais il y reçoit les explorateurs. Il les interroge, et il prend en note leurs souvenirs. Et si les souvenirs de l’un d’entre eux lui paraissent intĂ©ressants, le gĂ©ographe fait faire une enquĂȘte sur la moralitĂ© de l’explorateur.

“Why is that?”

— Pourquoi ça?

“Because an explorer who told lies would bring disaster on the books of the geographer. So would an explorer who drank too much.”

— Parce qu’un explorateur qui mentirait entraĂźnerait des catastrophes dans les livres de gĂ©ographie. Et aussi un explorateur qui boirait trop.

“Why is that?” asked the little prince.

— Pourquoi ça? fit le petit prince.

“Because intoxicated men see double. Then the geographer would note down two mountains in a place where there was only one.”

— Parce que les ivrognes voient double. Alors le gĂ©ographe noterait deux montagnes, lĂ  oĂč il n’y en a qu’une seule.

“I know some one,” said the little prince, “who would make a bad explorer.”

— Je connais quelqu’un, dit le petit prince, qui serait mauvais explorateur.

“That is possible. Then, when the moral character of the explorer is shown to be good, an inquiry is ordered into his discovery.”

— C’est possible. Donc, quand la moralitĂ© de l’explorateur paraĂźt bonne, on fait une enquĂȘte sur sa dĂ©couverte.

“One goes to see it?”

— On va voir?

“No. That would be too complicated. But one requires the explorer to furnish proofs. For example, if the discovery in question is that of a large mountain, one requires that large stones be brought back from it.”

— Non. C’est trop compliquĂ©. Mais on exige de l’explorateur qu’il fournisse des preuves. S’il s’agit par exemple de la dĂ©couverte d’une grosse montagne, on exige qu’il en rapporte de grosses pierres.

The geographer was suddenly stirred to excitement.

Le gĂ©ographe soudain s’émut.

“But you — you come from far away! You are an explorer! You shall describe your planet to me!”

— Mais toi, tu viens de loin! Tu es explorateur! Tu vas me dĂ©crire ta planĂšte!

And, having opened his big register, the geographer sharpened his pencil. The recitals of explorers are put down first in pencil. One waits until the explorer has furnished proofs, before putting them down in ink.

Et le gĂ©ographe, ayant ouvert son registre, tailla son crayon. On note d’abord au crayon les rĂ©cits des explorateurs. On attend, pour noter Ă  l’encre, que l’explorateur ait fourni des preuves.

“Well?” said the geographer expectantly.

— Alors? interrogea le gĂ©ographe.

“Oh, where I live,” said the little prince, “it is not very interesting. It is all so small. I have three volcanoes. Two volcanoes are active and the other is extinct. But one never knows.”

— Oh! chez moi, dit le petit prince, ce n’est pas trĂšs intĂ©ressant, c’est tout petit. J’ai trois volcans. Deux volcans en activitĂ©, et un volcan Ă©teint. Mais on ne sait jamais.

“One never knows,” said the geographer.

— On ne sait jamais, dit le gĂ©ographe.

“I have also a flower.”

— J’ai aussi une fleur.

“We do not record flowers,” said the geographer.

— Nous ne notons pas les fleurs, dit le gĂ©ographe.

“Why is that? The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!”

— Pourquoi ça! c’est le plus joli!

“We do not record them,” said the geographer, “because they are ephemeral.”

— Parce que les fleurs sont Ă©phĂ©mĂšres.

“What does that mean — ‘ephemeral’?”

— Qu’est ce que signifie: «éphĂ©mĂšre»?

“Geographies,” said the geographer, “are the books which, of all books, are most concerned with matters of consequence. They never become old-fashioned. It is very rarely that a mountain changes its position. It is very rarely that an ocean empties itself of its waters. We write of eternal things.”

— Les gĂ©ographies, dit le gĂ©ographe, sont les livres les plus prĂ©cieux de tous les livres. Elles ne se dĂ©modent jamais. Il est trĂšs rare qu’une montagne change de place. Il est trĂšs rare qu’un ocĂ©an se vide de son eau. Nous Ă©crivons des choses Ă©ternelles.

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