IV

IV

我还了解到另一件重要的事，就是他老家所在的那个星球比一座房子大不了多少。

I had thus learned a second fact of great importance: this was that the planet the little prince came from was scarcely any larger than a house!

这倒并没有使我感到太奇怪。我知道除地球、木星、火星、金星这几个有名称的大行星以外，还有成百个别的星球，它们有的小得很，就是用望远镜也很难看见。

But that did not really surprise me much. I knew very well that in addition to the great planets — such as the Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Venus — to which we have given names, there are also hundreds of others, some of which are so small that one has a hard time seeing them through the telescope.

当一个天文学者发现了其中一个星星，他就给它编上一个号码，例如把它称作“325小行星”。

When an astronomer discovers one of these he does not give it a name, but only a number. He might call it, for example, “Asteroid 325”.

我有重要的根据认为小王子所来自的那个星球是小行星B612。

I have serious reason to believe that the planet from which the little prince came is the asteroid known as B-612.

这颗小行星仅仅在1909年被一个土耳其天文学家用望远镜看见过一次。

This asteroid has only once been seen through the telescope. That was by a Turkish astronomer, in 1909.

当时他曾经在一次国际天文学家代表大会上对他的发现作了重要的论证。但由于他所穿衣服的缘故，那时没有人相信他。那些大人们就是这样。

On making his discovery, the astronomer had presented it to the International Astronomical Congress, in a great demonstration. But he was in Turkish costume, and so nobody would believe what he said. Grown-ups are like that…

幸好，土耳其的一个独裁者，为了小行星B612的声誉，迫使他的人民都要穿欧式服装，否则就处以死刑。

Fortunately, however, for the reputation of Asteroid B-612, a Turkish dictator made a law that his subjects, under pain of death, should change to European costume.

1920年，这位天文学家穿了一身非常漂亮的服装，重新作了一次论证。这一次所有的人都同意他的看法。

So in 1920 the astronomer gave his demonstration all over again, dressed with impressive style and elegance. And this time everybody accepted his report.

我给你们讲关于小行星B612的这些细节，并且告诉你们它的编号，这是由于这些大人的缘故。这些大人们就爱数目字。

If I have told you these details about the asteroid, and made a note of its number for you, it is on account of the grown-ups and their ways.

当你对大人们讲起你的一个新朋友时，他们从来不向你提出实质性的问题。他们从来不讲：“他说话声音如何啊？他喜爱什么样的游戏啊？他是否收集蝴蝶标本呀？”

When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, “What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?”

他们却问你：“他多大年纪呀？弟兄几个呀？体重多少呀？他父亲挣多少钱呀？”他们以为这样才算了解朋友。

Instead, they demand: “How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?” Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

如果你对大人们说：“我看到一幢用玫瑰色的砖盖成的漂亮的房子，它的窗户上有天竺葵，屋顶上还有鸽子……”他们怎么也想象不出这种房子有多么好。必须对他们说：“我看见了一幢价值十万法郎的房子。”那么他们就惊叫道：“多么漂亮的房子啊！”

If you were to say to the grown-ups: “I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof,” they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them: “I saw a house that cost $20,000.” Then they would exclaim: “Oh, what a pretty house that is!”

要是你对他们说：“小王子存在的证据就是他非常漂亮，他笑着，想要一只羊。他想要一只小羊，这就证明他的存在。”他们一定会耸耸肩膀，把你当作孩子看待！

Just so, you might say to them: “The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists.” And what good would it do to tell them that? They would shrug their shoulders, and treat you like a child.

但是，如果你对他们说：“小王子来自的星球就是小行星B612”，那么他们就十分信服，他们就不会提出一大堆问题来和你纠缠。他们就是这样的。小孩子们对大人们应该宽厚些，不要埋怨他们。

But if you said to them: “The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612,” then they would be convinced, and leave you in peace from their questions. They are like that. One must not hold it against them. Children should always show great forbearance toward grown-up people.

当然，对我们懂得生活的人来说，我们才不在乎那些编号呢！我真愿意象讲神话那样来开始这个故事，我真想这样说：

But certainly, for us who understand life, figures are a matter of indifference. I should have liked to begin this story in the fashion of the fairy-tales. I should have like to say:

“从前呀，有一个小王子，他住在一个和他身体差不多大的星球上，他希望有一个朋友……”对懂得生活的人来说，这样说就显得真实。

“Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet that was scarcely any bigger than himself, and who had need of a sheep…” To those who understand life, that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story.

我可不喜欢人们轻率地读我的书。我在讲述这些往事时心情是很难过的。我的朋友带着他的小羊已经离去六年了。我之所以在这里尽力把他描写出来，就是为了不要忘记他。

For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly. I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories. Six years have already passed since my friend went away from me, with his sheep. If I try to describe him here, it is to make sure that I shall not forget him.

忘记一个朋友，这太叫人悲伤了。并不是所有的人都有过一个朋友。再说，我也可能变成那些大人那样，只对数字感兴趣。

To forget a friend is sad. Not every one has had a friend. And if I forget him, I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures…

也正是为了这个缘故，我买了一盒颜料和一些铅笔。象我这样年纪的人，而且除了六岁时画过闭着肚皮的和开着肚皮的巨蟒外，别的什么也没有尝试过，现在，重新再来画画，真费劲啊！

It is for that purpose, again, that I have bought a box of paints and some pencils. It is hard to take up drawing again at my age, when I have never made any pictures except those of the boa constrictor from the outside and the boa constrictor from the inside, since I was six.

当然，我一定要把这些画尽量地画得逼真，但我自己也没有把握。一张画得还可以，另一张就不象了。

I shall certainly try to make my portraits as true to life as possible. But I am not at all sure of success. One drawing goes along all right, and another has no resemblance to its subject.

还有身材大小，我画得有点不准确。在这个地方小王子画得太大了些，另一个地方又画得太小了些。对他衣服的颜色我也拿不准。于是我就摸索着这么试试那么改改，画个大概齐。

I make some errors, too, in the little prince’s height: in one place he is too tall and in another too short. And I feel some doubts about the color of his costume. So I fumble along as best I can, now good, now bad, and I hope generally fair-to-middling.

我很可能在某些重要的细节上画错了。这就得请大家原谅我了。因为我的这个朋友，从来也不加说明解释。他认为我同他一样。可是，很遗憾，我却不能透过盒子看见小羊。我大概有点和大人们差不多。我一定是变老了。

In certain more important details I shall make mistakes, also. But that is something that will not be my fault. My friend never explained anything to me. He thought, perhaps, that I was like himself. But I, alas, do not know how to see sheep through the walls of boxes. Perhaps I am a little like the grown-ups. I have had to grow old.

V

V

每天我都了解到一些关于小王子的星球，他的出走和旅行等事情。这些都是偶然从各种反应中慢慢得到的。就这样，第三天我就了解到关于猴面包树的悲剧。

As each day passed I would learn, in our talk, something about the little prince’s planet, his departure from it, his journey. The information would come very slowly, as it might chance to fall from his thoughts. It was in this way that I heard, on the third day, about the catastrophe of the baobabs.

这一次又是因为羊的事情，突然小王子好象是非常担心地问我道：

This time, once more, I had the sheep to thank for it. For the little prince asked me abruptly — as if seized by a grave doubt.

“羊吃小灌木，这是真的吗？”

“It is true, isn’t it, that sheep eat little bushes?”

“是的，是真的。”

“Yes, that is true.”

“啊，我真高兴。”

“Ah! I am glad!”

我不明白羊吃小灌木这件事为什么如此重要。可小王子又说道：

I did not understand why it was so important that sheep should eat little bushes. But the little prince added:

“因此，它们也吃猴面包树罗？”

“Then it follows that they also eat baobabs?”

我对小王子说，猴面包树可不是小灌木，而是象教堂那么大的大树；即便是带回一群大象，也啃不了一棵猴面包树。

I pointed out to the little prince that baobabs were not little bushes, but, on the contrary, trees as big as castles; and that even if he took a whole herd of elephants away with him, the herd would not eat up one single baobab.

一群大象这种想法使小王子发笑：

The idea of the herd of elephants made the little prince laugh.

“那可得把这些大象一只叠一只地垒起来。”

“We would have to put them one on top of the other,” he said.

他很有见识地说：

But he made a wise comment:

“猴面包树在长大之前，开始也是小小的。”

“Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little.”

“不错。可是为什么你想叫你的羊去吃小猴面包树呢？”

“That is strictly correct,” I said. “But why do you want the sheep to eat the little baobabs?”

他回答我道：“唉！这还用说！”似乎这是不言而喻的。

He answered me at once, “Oh, come, come!”, as if he were speaking of something that was self-evident.

可是我自己要费很大的心劲才能弄懂这个问题。

And I was obliged to make a great mental effort to solve this problem, without any assistance.

原来，在小王子的星球上就象其他所有星球上一样，有好草和坏草；因此，也就有益草的草籽和毒草的草籽。

Indeed, as I learned, there were on the planet where the little prince lived — as on all planets — good plants and bad plants. In consequence, there were good seeds from good plants, and bad seeds from bad plants.

可是草籽是看不见的。它们沉睡在泥土里，直到其中的一粒忽然想要苏醒过来……于是它就伸展开身子，开始腼腆地朝着太阳长出一棵秀丽可爱的小嫩苗。

But seeds are invisible. They sleep deep in the heart of the earth’s darkness, until some one among them is seized with the desire to awaken. Then this little seed will stretch itself and begin — timidly at first — to push a charming little sprig inoffensively upward toward the sun.

如果是小萝卜或是玫瑰的嫩苗，就让它去自由地生长。如果是一棵坏苗，一旦被辨认出来，就应该马上把它拔掉。

If it is only a sprout of radish or the sprig of a rose-bush, one would let it grow wherever it might wish. But when it is a bad plant, one must destroy it as soon as possible, the very first instant that one recognizes it.

因为在小王子的星球上，有些非常可怕的种子……这就是猴面包树的种子。在那里的泥土里，这种种子多得成灾。

Now there were some terrible seeds on the planet that was the home of the little prince; and these were the seeds of the baobab. The soil of that planet was infested with them.

而一棵猴面包树苗，假如你拔得太迟，就再也无法把它清除掉。它就会盘踞整个星球。它的树根能把星球钻透，如果星球很小，而猴面包树很多，它就把整个星球搞得支离破碎。

A baobab is something you will never, never be able to get rid of if you attend to it too late. It spreads over the entire planet. It bores clear through it with its roots. And if the planet is too small, and the baobabs are too many, they split it in pieces…

“这是个纪律问题。”小王子后来向我解释道。“当你早上梳洗完毕以后，必须仔细地给星球梳洗，必须规定自己按时去拔掉猴面包树苗。这种树苗小的时候与玫瑰苗差不多，一旦可以把它们区别开的时候，就要把它拔掉。这是一件非常乏味的工作，但很容易。”

“It is a question of discipline,” the little prince said to me later on. “When you’ve finished your own toilet in the morning, then it is time to attend to the toilet of your planet, just so, with the greatest care. You must see to it that you pull up regularly all the baobabs, at the very first moment when they can be distinguished from the rosebushes which they resemble so closely in their earliest youth. It is very tedious work,” the little prince added, “but very easy.”

有一天，他劝我用心地画一副漂亮的图画，好叫我家乡的孩子们对这件事有一个深刻的印象。

And one day he said to me: “You ought to make a beautiful drawing, so that the children where you live can see exactly how all this is.

他还对我说：“如果将来有一天他们出外旅行，这对他们是很有用的。有时候，人们把自己的工作推到以后去做，并没有什么妨害，但要遇到拔猴面包树苗这种事，那就非造成大灾难不可。我遇到过一个星球，上面住着一个懒家伙，他放过了三棵小树苗……”

That would be very useful to them if they were to travel some day. Sometimes,” he added, “there is no harm in putting off a piece of work until another day. But when it is a matter of baobabs, that always means a catastrophe. I knew a planet that was inhabited by a lazy man. He neglected three little bushes…”

于是，根据小王子的说明，我把这个星球画了下来。我从来不大愿意以道学家的口吻来说话，可是猴面包树的危险，大家都不大了解，对迷失在小行星上的人来说，危险性非常之大，因此这一回，我贸然打破了我的这种不喜欢教训人的惯例。我说：

So, as the little prince described it to me, I have made a drawing of that planet. I do not much like to take the tone of a moralist. But the danger of the baobabs is so little understood, and such considerable risks would be run by anyone who might get lost on an asteroid, that for once I am breaking through my reserve.

“孩子们，要当心那些猴面包树呀！”为了叫我的朋友们警惕这种危险——他们同我一样长期以来和这种危险接触，却没有意识到它的危险性—— 我花了很大的功夫画了这副画。我提出的这个教训意义是很重大的，花点功夫是很值得的。

“Children,” I say plainly, “watch out for the baobabs!” My friends, like myself, have been skirting this danger for a long time, without ever knowing it; and so it is for them that I have worked so hard over this drawing. The lesson which I pass on by this means is worth all the trouble it has cost me.

你们也许要问，为什么这本书中别的画都没有这副画那么壮观呢？回答很简单：别的画我也曾经试图画得好些，却没成功。而当我画猴面包树时，有一种急切的心情在激励着我。

Perhaps you will ask me, “Why are there no other drawing in this book as magnificent and impressive as this drawing of the baobabs?” The reply is simple. I have tried. But with the others I have not been successful. When I made the drawing of the baobabs I was carried beyond myself by the inspiring force of urgent necessity.

VI

VI

啊！小王子，就这样，我逐渐懂得了你那忧郁的生活。过去相当长的时间里你唯一的乐趣就是观赏那夕阳西下的温柔晚景。这个新的细节，是我在第四天早晨知道的。你当时对我说道：

Oh, little prince! Bit by bit I came to understand the secrets of your sad little life… For a long time you had found your only entertainment in the quiet pleasure of looking at the sunset. I learned that new detail on the morning of the fourth day, when you said to me:

“我喜欢看日落。我们去看一回日落吧！”

“I am very fond of sunsets. Come, let us go look at a sunset now.”

“可是得等着……”

“But we must wait,” I said.

“等什么？”

“Wait? For what?”

“等太阳落山。”

“For the sunset. We must wait until it is time.”

开始，你显得很惊奇的样子，随后你笑自己的糊涂。你对我说：

At first you seemed to be very much surprised. And then you laughed to yourself. You said to me:

“我总以为是在我的家乡呢！”

“I am always thinking that I am at home!”

确实，大家都知道，在美国是正午时分，在法国，正夕阳西下，只要在一分钟内赶到法国就可看到日落。

Just so. Everybody knows that when it is noon in the United States the sun is setting over France. If you could fly to France in one minute, you could go straight into the sunset, right from noon.

可惜法国是那么的遥远。而在你那样的小行星上，你只要把你的椅子挪动几步就行了。这样，你便可随时看到你想看的夕阳余辉……

Unfortunately, France is too far away for that. But on your tiny planet, my little prince, all you need do is move your chair a few steps. You can see the day end and the twilight falling whenever you like…

“一天，我看见过四十三次日落。”

“One day,” you said to me, “I saw the sunset forty-four times!”

过一会儿，你又说：

And a little later you added:

“你知道，当人们感到非常苦闷时，总是喜欢日落的。”

“You know — one loves the sunset, when one is so sad…”

“一天四十三次，你怎么会这么苦闷？”

“Were you so sad, then?” I asked, “on the day of the forty-four sunsets?”

小王子没有回答。

But the little prince made no reply.

VII

VII

第五天，还是羊的事，把小王子的生活秘密向我揭开了。好象默默地思索了很长时间以后，得出了什么结果一样，他突然没头没脑地问我：

On the fifth day — again, as always, it was thanks to the sheep — the secret of the little prince’s life was revealed to me. Abruptly, without anything to lead up to it, and as if the question had been born of long and silent meditation on his problem, he demanded:

“羊，要是吃小灌木，它也要吃花罗？”

“A sheep — if it eats little bushes, does it eat flowers, too?”

“它碰到什么吃什么。”

“A sheep,” I answered, “eats anything it finds in its reach.”

“连有刺的花也吃吗？”

“Even flowers that have thorns?”

“有刺的也吃！”

“Yes, even flowers that have thorns.”

“那么刺有什么用呢？”

“Then the thorns — what use are they?”

我不知道该怎么回答。那会儿我正忙着要从发动机上卸下一颗拧得太紧的螺丝。我发现机器故障似乎很严重，饮水也快完了，担心可能发生最坏的情况，心里很着急。

I did not know. At that moment I was very busy trying to unscrew a bolt that had got stuck in my engine. I was very much worried, for it was becoming clear to me that the breakdown of my plane was extremely serious. And I had so little drinking-water left that I had to fear for the worst.

“那么刺有什么用呢？”

“The thorns — what use are they?”

小王子一旦提出了问题，从来不会放过。这个该死的螺丝使我很恼火，我于是就随便回答了他一句：

The little prince never let go of a question, once he had asked it. As for me, I was upset over that bolt. And I answered with the first thing that came into my head:

“刺么，什么用都没有，这纯粹是花的恶劣表现。”

“The thorns are of no use at all. Flowers have thorns just for spite!”

“噢！”

“Oh!”

可是他沉默了一会儿之后，怀着不满的心情冲我说：

There was a moment of complete silence. Then the little prince flashed back at me, with a kind of resentfulness:

“我不信！花是弱小的、淳朴的，它们总是设法保护自己，以为有了刺就可以显出自己的厉害……”

“I don’t believe you! Flowers are weak creatures. They are naïve. They reassure themselves as best they can. They believe that their thorns are terrible weapons…”

我默不作声。我当时想的，如果这个螺丝再和我作对，我就一锤子敲掉它。小王子又来打搅我的思绪了：

I did not answer. At that instant I was saying to myself: “If this bolt still won’t turn, I am going to knock it out with the hammer.” Again the little prince disturbed my thoughts:

“你却认为花……”

“And you actually believe that the flowers — ”

“算了吧，算了吧！我什么也不认为！我是随便回答你的。我可有正经事要做。”

“Oh, no!” I cried. “No, no, no! I don’t believe anything. I answered you with the first thing that came into my head. Don’t you see — I am very busy with matters of consequence!”

他惊讶地看着我。

He stared at me, thunderstruck.

“正经事？”

“Matters of consequence!”

他瞅着我手拿锤子，手指沾满了油污，伏在一个在他看来丑不可言的机件上。

He looked at me there, with my hammer in my hand, my fingers black with engine-grease, bending down over an object which seemed to him extremely ugly…

“你说话就和那些大人一样！”

“You talk just like the grown-ups!”

这话使我有点难堪。可是他又尖刻无情地说道：

That made me a little ashamed. But he went on, relentlessly:

“你什么都分不清……你把什么都混在一起！”

“You mix everything up together… You confuse everything…”

他着实非常恼火。摇动着脑袋，金黄色的头发随风颤动着。

He was really very angry. He tossed his golden curls in the breeze.

“我到过一个星球，上面住着一个红脸先生。他从来没闻过一朵花。他从来没有看过一颗星星。他什么人也没有喜欢过。除了算帐以外，他什么也没有做过。他整天同你一样老是说：‘我有正经事，我是个严肃的人’。这使他傲气十足。他简直不象是个人，他是个蘑菇。”

“I know a planet where there is a certain red-faced gentleman. He has never smelled a flower. He has never looked at a star. He has never loved any one. He has never done anything in his life but add up figures. And all day he says over and over, just like you: ‘I am busy with matters of consequence!’ And that makes him swell up with pride. But he is not a man — he is a mushroom!”

“是个什么？”

“A what?”

“是个蘑菇！”

“A mushroom!”