ĐĐœĐłĐ»ŃĐčŃĐșĐ°-ŃŃĐ°ĐœŃŃĐ·ŃĐșĐ°Ń ĐșĐœŃга-бŃĐ»ŃĐœĐłĐČĐ°
âWhether volcanoes are extinct or alive, it comes to the same thing for us,â said the geographer. âThe thing that matters to us is the mountain. It does not change.â
â Que les volcans soient Ă©teints ou soient Ă©veillĂ©s, ça revient au mĂȘme pour nous autres, dit le gĂ©ographe. Ce qui compte pour nous, câest la montagne. Elle ne change pas.
âBut what does that mean â âephemeralâ?â repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question, once he had asked it.
â Mais quâest-ce que signifie «éphĂ©mĂšre»? rĂ©pĂ©ta le petit prince qui, de sa vie, nâavait renoncĂ© Ă une question, une fois quâil lâavait posĂ©e.
âIt means, âwhich is in danger of speedy disappearance.ââ
â Ăa signifie «qui est menacĂ© de disparition prochaine».
âIs my flower in danger of speedy disappearance?â
â Ma fleur est menacĂ©e de disparition prochaine?
âCertainly it is.â
â Bien sĂ»r.
âMy flower is ephemeral,â the little prince said to himself, âand she has only four thorns to defend herself against the world. And I have left her on my planet, all alone!â
Ma fleur est Ă©phĂ©mĂšre, se dit le petit prince, et elle nâa que quatre Ă©pines pour se dĂ©fendre contre le monde! Et je lâai laissĂ©e toute seule chez moi!
That was his first moment of regret. But he took courage once more.
Ce fut lĂ son premier mouvement de regret. Mais il reprit courage:
âWhat place would you advise me to visit now?â he asked.
â Que me conseillez-vous dâaller visiter? demanda-t-il.
âThe planet Earth,â replied the geographer. âIt has a good reputation.â
â La planĂšte Terre, lui rĂ©pondit le gĂ©ographe. Elle a une bonne rĂ©putationâŠ
And the little prince went away, thinking of his flower.
Et le petit prince sâen fut, songeant Ă sa fleur.
XVI
CHAPITRE XVI
So then the seventh planet was the Earth.
La Terre nâest pas une planĂšte quelconque!
The Earth is not just an ordinary planet! One can count, there, 111 kings (not forgetting, to be sure, the Negro kings among them), 7000 geographers, 900,000 businessmen, 7,500,000 tipplers, 311,000,000 conceited men â that is to say, about 2,000,000,000 grown-ups.
On y compte cent onze rois (en nâoubliant pas, bien sĂ»r, les rois nĂšgres), sept mille gĂ©ographes, neuf cent mille businessmen, sept millions et demi dâivrognes, trois cent onze millions de vaniteux, câest-Ă -dire environ deux milliards de grandes personnes.
To give you an idea of the size of the Earth, I will tell you that before the invention of electricity it was necessary to maintain, over the whole of the six continents, a veritable army of 462,511 lamplighters for the street lamps.
Pour vous donner une idĂ©e des dimensions de la Terre je vous dirai quâavant lâinvention de lâĂ©lectricitĂ© on y devait entretenir, sur lâensemble des six continents, une vĂ©ritable armĂ©e de quatre cent soixante-deux mille cinq cent onze allumeurs de rĂ©verbĂšres.
Seen from a slight distance, that would make a splendid spectacle. The movements of this army would be regulated like those of the ballet in the opera.
Vu dâun peu loin ça faisait un effet splendide. Les mouvements de cette armĂ©e Ă©taient rĂ©glĂ©s comme ceux dâun ballet dâopĂ©ra.
First would come the turn of the lamplighters of New Zealand and Australia. Having set their lamps alight, these would go off to sleep. Next, the lamplighters of China and Siberia would enter for their steps in the dance, and then they too would be waved back into the wings.
Dâabord venait le tour des allumeurs de rĂ©verbĂšres de Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande et dâAustralie. Puis ceux-ci, ayant allumĂ© leurs lampions, sâen allaient dormir. Alors entraient Ă leur tour dans la danse les allumeurs de rĂ©verbĂšres de Chine et de SibĂ©rie. Puis eux aussi sâescamotaient dans les coulisses.
After that would come the turn of the lamplighters of Russia and the Indies; then those of Africa and Europe; then those of South America; then those of South America; then those of North America.
Alors venait le tour des allumeurs de rĂ©verbĂšres de Russie et des Indes. Puis de ceux dâAfrique et dâEurope. Puis de ceux dâAmĂ©rique du Sud. Puis de ceux dâAmĂ©rique du Nord.
And never would they make a mistake in the order of their entry upon the stage. It would be magnificent.
Et jamais ils ne se trompaient dans leur ordre dâentrĂ©e en scĂšne. CâĂ©tait grandiose.
Only the man who was in charge of the single lamp at the North Pole, and his colleague who was responsible for the single lamp at the South Pole â only these two would live free from toil and care: they would be busy twice a year.
Seuls, lâallumeur de lâunique rĂ©verbĂšre du pĂŽle Nord, et son confrĂšre de lâunique rĂ©verbĂšre du pĂŽle Sud, menaient des vies dâoisivetĂ© et de nonchalance: ils travaillaient deux fois par an.
Đ„VII
CHAPITRE XVII
When one wishes to play the wit, he sometimes wanders a little from the truth. I have not been altogether honest in what I have told you about the lamplighters. And I realize that I run the risk of giving a false idea of our planet to those who do not know it. Men occupy a very small place upon the Earth.
Quand on veut faire de lâesprit, il arrive que lâon mente un peu. Je nâai pas Ă©tĂ© trĂšs honnĂȘte en vous parlant des allumeurs de rĂ©verbĂšres. Je risque de donner une fausse idĂ©e de notre planĂšte Ă ceux qui ne la connaissent pas. Les hommes occupent trĂšs peu de place sur la terre.
If the two billion inhabitants who people its surface were all to stand upright and somewhat crowded together, as they do for some big public assembly, they could easily be put into one public square twenty miles long and twenty miles wide. All humanity could be piled up on a small Pacific islet.
Si les deux milliards dâhabitants qui peuplent la terre se tenaient debout et un peu serrĂ©s, comme pour un meeting, ils logeraient aisĂ©ment sur une place publique de vingt milles de long sur vingt milles de large. On pourrait entasser lâhumanitĂ© sur le moindre petit Ăźlot du Pacifique.
The grown-ups, to be sure, will not believe you when you tell them that. They imagine that they fill a great deal of space. They fancy themselves as important as the baobabs. You should advise them, then, to make their own calculations. They adore figures, and that will please them. But do not waste your time on this extra task. It is unnecessary. You have, I know, confidence in me.
Les grandes personnes, bien sĂ»r, ne vous croiront pas. Elles sâimaginent tenir beaucoup de place. Elles se voient importantes comme des baobabs. Vous leur conseillerez donc de faire le calcul. Elles adorent les chiffres: ça leur plaira. Mais ne perdez pas votre temps Ă ce pensum. Câest inutile. Vous avez confiance en moi.
When the little prince arrived on the Earth, he was very much surprised not to see any people. He was beginning to be afraid he had come to the wrong planet, when a coil of gold, the color of the moonlight, flashed across the sand.
Le petit prince, une fois sur terre, fut donc bien surpris de ne voir personne. Il avait dĂ©jĂ peur de sâĂȘtre trompĂ© de planĂšte, quand un anneau couleur de lune remua dans le sable.
âGood evening,â said the little prince courteously.
â Bonne nuit, fit le petit prince Ă tout hasard.
âGood evening,â said the snake.
â Bonne nuit, fit le serpent.
âWhat planet is this on which I have come down?â asked the little prince.
â Sur quelle planĂšte suis-je tombĂ©? demanda le petit prince.
âThis is the Earth; this is Africa,â the snake answered.
â Sur la Terre, en Afrique, rĂ©pondit le serpent.
âAh! Then there are no people on the Earth?â
â Ah!⊠Il nây a donc personne sur la Terre?
âThis is the desert. There are no people in the desert. The Earth is large,â said the snake.
â Ici câest le dĂ©sert. Il nây a personne dans les dĂ©serts. La Terre est grande, dit le serpent.
The little prince sat down on a stone, and raised his eyes toward the sky.
Le petit prince sâassit sur une pierre et leva les yeux vers le ciel:
âI wonder,â he said, âwhether the stars are set alight in heaven so that one day each one of us may find his own again⊠Look at my planet. It is right there above us. But how far away it is!â
â Je me demande, dit-il, si les Ă©toiles sont Ă©clairĂ©es afin que chacun puisse un jour retrouver la sienne. Regarde ma planĂšte. Elle est juste au-dessus de nous⊠Mais comme elle est loin!
âIt is beautiful,â the snake said. âWhat has brought you here?â
â Elle est belle, dit le serpent. Que viens-tu faire ici?
âI have been having some trouble with a flower,â said the little prince.
â Jâai des difficultĂ©s avec une fleur, dit le petit prince.
âAh!â said the snake.
â Ah! fit le serpent.
And they were both silent.
Et ils se turent.
âWhere are the men?â the little prince at last took up the conversation again. âIt is a little lonely in the desertâŠâ
â OĂč sont les hommes? reprit enfin le petit prince. On est un peu seul dans le dĂ©sertâŠ
âIt is also lonely among men,â the snake said.
â On est seul aussi chez les hommes, dit le serpent.
The little prince gazed at him for a long time.
Le petit prince le regarda longtemps:
âYou are a funny animal,â he said at last. âYou are no thicker than a fingerâŠâ
â Tu es une drĂŽle de bĂȘte, lui dit-il enfin, mince comme un doigtâŠ
âBut I am more powerful than the finger of a king,â said the snake.
â Mais je suis plus puissant que le doigt dâun roi, dit le serpent.
The little prince smiled.
Le petit prince eut un sourire:
âYou are not very powerful. You havenât even any feet. You cannot even travelâŠâ
â Tu nâes pas bien puissant⊠tu nâas mĂȘme pas de pattes⊠tu ne peux mĂȘme pas voyagerâŠ
âI can carry you farther than any ship could take you,â said the snake.
â Je puis tâemporter plus loin quâun navire, dit le serpent.
He twined himself around the little princeâs ankle, like a golden bracelet.
Il sâenroula autour de la cheville du petit prince, comme un bracelet dâor:
âWhomever I touch, I send back to the earth from whence he came,â the snake spoke again. âBut you are innocent and true, and you come from a starâŠâ
â Celui que je touche, je le rends Ă la terre dont il est sorti, dit-il encore. Mais tu es pur et tu viens dâune Ă©toileâŠ
The little prince made no reply.
Le petit prince ne répondit rien.
âYou move me to pity â you are so weak on this Earth made of granite,â the snake said. âI can help you, some day, if you grow too homesick for your own planet. I can â â
â Tu me fais pitiĂ©, toi si faible, sur cette Terre de granit. Je puis tâaider un jour si tu regrettes trop ta planĂšte. Je puisâŠ
âOh! I understand you very well,â said the little prince. âBut why do you always speak in riddles?â
â Oh! Jâai trĂšs bien compris, fit le petit prince, mais pourquoi parles-tu toujours par Ă©nigmes?
âI solve them all,â said the snake.
â Je les rĂ©sous toutes, dit le serpent.
And they were both silent.
Et ils se turent.
XVIII
CHAPITRE XVIII
The little prince crossed the desert and met with only one flower. It was a flower with three petals, a flower of no account at all.
Le petit prince traversa le dĂ©sert et ne rencontra quâune fleur. Une fleur Ă trois pĂ©tales, une fleur de rien du toutâŠ
âGood morning,â said the little prince.
â Bonjour, dit le petit prince.
âGood morning,â said the flower.
â Bonjour, dit la fleur.
âWhere are the men?â the little prince asked, politely.
â OĂč sont les hommes? demanda poliment le petit prince.
The flower had once seen a caravan passing.
La fleur, un jour, avait vu passer une caravane:
âMen?â she echoed. âI think there are six or seven of them in existence. I saw them, several years ago. But one never knows where to find them. The wind blows them away. They have no roots, and that makes their life very difficult.â
â Les hommes? Il en existe, je crois, six ou sept. Je les ai aperçus il y a des annĂ©es. Mais on ne sait jamais oĂč les trouver. Le vent les promĂšne. Ils manquent de racines, ça les gĂȘne beaucoup.
âGoodbye,â said the little prince.
â Adieu, fit le petit prince.
âGoodbye,â said the flower.
â Adieu, dit la fleur.
XIX
CHAPITRE XIX
After that, the little prince climbed a high mountain. The only mountains he had ever known were the three volcanoes, which came up to his knees. And he used the extinct volcano as a footstool. âFrom a mountain as high as this one,â he said to himself, âI shall be able to see the whole planet at one glance, and all the peopleâŠâ But he saw nothing, save peaks of rock that were sharpened like needles.
Le petit prince fit lâascension dâune haute montagne. Les seules montagnes quâil eĂ»t jamais connues Ă©taient les trois volcans qui lui arrivaient au genou. Et il se servait du volcan Ă©teint comme dâun tabouret. «Dâune montagne haute comme celle-ci, se dit-il donc, jâapercevrai dâun coup toute la planĂšte et tous les hommesâŠÂ» Mais il nâaperçut rien que des aiguilles de roc bien aiguisĂ©es.
âGood morning,â he said courteously.
â Bonjour, dit-il Ă tout hasard.
âGood morning â Good morning â Good morning,â answered the echo.
â Bonjour⊠Bonjour⊠Bonjour⊠rĂ©pondit lâĂ©cho.
âWho are you?â said the little prince.
â Qui ĂȘtes-vous? dit le petit prince.
âWho are you â Who are you â Who are you?â answered the echo.
â Qui ĂȘtes-vous⊠qui ĂȘtes-vous⊠qui ĂȘtes-vous⊠rĂ©pondit lâĂ©cho.
âBe my friends. I am all alone,â he said.
â Soyez mes amis, je suis seul, dit-il.
âI am all alone â all alone â all alone,â answered the echo.
â Je suis seul⊠je suis seul⊠je suis seul⊠rĂ©pondit lâĂ©cho.
âWhat a queer planet!â he thought. âIt is altogether dry, and altogether pointed, and altogether harsh and forbidding.
«Quelle drÎle de planÚte! pensa-t-il alors. Elle est toute sÚche, et toute pointue et toute salée.
And the people have no imagination. They repeat whatever one says to them⊠On my planet I had a flower; she always was the first to speakâŠâ
Et les hommes manquent dâimagination. Ils rĂ©pĂštent ce quâon leur dit⊠Chez moi jâavais une fleur: elle parlait toujours la premiĂšreâŠÂ»
Đ„X
CHAPITRE XX
ce at last came upon a road. And all roads lead to the abodes of men.
Mais il arriva que le petit prince, ayant longtemps marché à travers les sables, les rocs et les neiges, découvrit enfin une route. Et les routes vont toutes chez les hommes.
âGood morning,â he said.
â Bonjour, dit-il.
He was standing before a garden, all a-bloom with roses.
CâĂ©tait un jardin fleuri de roses.
âGood morning,â said the roses.
â Bonjour, dirent les roses.
The little prince gazed at them. They all looked like his flower.
Le petit prince les regarda. Elles ressemblaient toutes Ă sa fleur.
âWho are you?â he demanded, thunderstruck.
â Qui ĂȘtes-vous? leur demanda-t-il, stupĂ©fait.
âWe are roses,â the roses said.
â Nous sommes des roses, dirent les roses.
â Ah! fit le petit princeâŠ
And he was overcome with sadness. His flower had told him that she was the only one of her kind in all the universe. And here were five thousand of them, all alike, in one single garden!
Et il se sentit trĂšs malheureux. Sa fleur lui avait racontĂ© quâelle Ă©tait seule de son espĂšce dans lâunivers. Et voici quâil en Ă©tait cinq mille, toutes semblables, dans un seul jardin!
âShe would be very much annoyed,â he said to himself, âif she should see that⊠She would cough most dreadfully, and she would pretend that she was dying, to avoid being laughed at. And I should be obliged to pretend that I was nursing her back to life â for if I did not do that, to humble myself also, she would really allow herself to dieâŠâ
«Elle serait bien vexĂ©e, se dit-il, si elle voyait ça⊠elle tousserait Ă©normĂ©ment et ferait semblant de mourir pour Ă©chapper au ridicule. Et je serais bien obligĂ© de faire semblant de la soigner, car, sinon, pour mâhumilier moi aussi, elle se laisserait vraiment mourirâŠÂ»
Then he went on with his reflections: âI thought that I was rich, with a flower that was unique in all the world; and all I had was a common rose. A common rose, and three volcanoes that come up to my knees â and one of them perhaps extinct forever⊠That doesnât make me a very great princeâŠâ
Puis il se dit encore: «Je me croyais riche dâune fleur unique, et je ne possĂšde quâune rose ordinaire. Ăa et mes trois volcans qui mâarrivent au genou, et dont lâun, peut-ĂȘtre, est Ă©teint pour toujours, ça ne fait pas de moi un bien grand princeâŠÂ»
And he lay down in the grass and cried.
Et, couchĂ© dans lâherbe, il pleura.
XXI
CHAPITRE XXI
It was then that the fox appeared.
Câest alors quâapparut le renard:
âGood morning,â said the fox.
â Bonjour, dit le renard.
âGood morning,â the little prince responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing.
â Bonjour, rĂ©pondit poliment le petit prince, qui se retourna mais ne vit rien.
âI am right here,â the voice said, âunder the apple tree.â
â Je suis lĂ , dit la voix, sous le pommier.
âWho are you?â asked the little prince, and added, âYou are very pretty to look at.â
â Qui es-tu? dit le petit prince. Tu es bien joliâŠ
âI am a fox,â the fox said.
â Je suis un renard, dit le renard.
âCome and play with me,â proposed the little prince. âI am so unhappy.â
â Viens jouer avec moi, lui proposa le petit prince. Je suis tellement tristeâŠ
âI cannot play with you,â the fox said. âI am not tamed.â
â Je ne puis pas jouer avec toi, dit le renard. Je ne suis pas apprivoisĂ©.
âAh! Please excuse me,â said the little prince.
â Ah! pardon, fit le petit prince.
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