国王说道：“如果我命令一个将军象一只蝴蝶那样从这朵花飞到那朵花，或者命令他写作一个悲剧剧本或者变一只海鸟，而如果这位将军接到命令不执行的话，那么，是他不对还是我不对呢？”

“If I ordered a general to fly from one flower to another like a butterfly, or to write a tragic drama, or to change himself into a sea bird, and if the general did not carry out the order that he had received, which one of us would be in the wrong?” the king demanded. “The general, or myself?”

“那当然是您的不对。”小王子肯定地回答。

“You,” said the little prince firmly.

“一点也不错，”国王接着说，“向每个人提出的要求应该是他们所能做到的。权威首先应该建立在理性的基础上。如果命令你的老百姓去投海，他们非起来革命不可。我的命令是合理的，所以我有权要别人服从。”

“Exactly. One must require from each one the duty which each one can perform,” the king went on. “Accepted authority rests first of all on reason. If you ordered your people to go and throw themselves into the sea, they would rise up in revolution. I have the right to require obedience because my orders are reasonable.”

“那么我提出的日落呢？”小王子一旦提出一个问题，他是不会忘记这个问题的。

“Then my sunset?” the little prince reminded him: for he never forgot a question once he had asked it.

“日落么，你会看到的。我一定要太阳落山，不过按照我的统治科学，我得等到条件成熟的时候。”

“You shall have your sunset. I shall command it. But, according to my science of government, I shall wait until conditions are favorable.”

小王子问道：“这要等到什么时候呢？”

“When will that be?” inquired the little prince.

国王在回答之前，首先翻阅了一本厚厚的日历，嘴里慢慢说道：“嗯！嗯！日落大约……大约……在今晚七时四十分的时候！你将看到我的命令一定会被服从的。”

“Hum! Hum!” replied the king; and before saying anything else he consulted a bulky almanac. “Hum! Hum! That will be about — about — that will be this evening about twenty minutes to eight. And you will see how well I am obeyed!”

小王子又打起哈欠来了。他遗憾没有看到日落。他有点厌烦了，他对国王说：

The little prince yawned. He was regretting his lost sunset. And then, too, he was already beginning to be a little bored.

“我没有必要再呆在这儿了。我要走了。”

“I have nothing more to do here,” he said to the king. “So I shall set out on my way again.”

这位因为刚刚有了一个臣民而十分骄傲自得的国王说道：
“别走，别走。我任命你当大臣。”

“Do not go,” said the king, who was very proud of having a subject. “Do not go. I will make you a Minister!”

“什么大臣”

“Minister of what?”

“嗯……司法大臣！”

“Minster of — of Justice!”

“可是，这儿没有一个要审判的人。”

“But there is nobody here to judge!”

“很难说呀，”国王说道。“我很老了，我这地方又小，没有放銮驾的地方，另外，一走路我就累。因此我还没有巡视过我的王国呢！”

“We do not know that,” the king said to him. “I have not yet made a complete tour of my kingdom. I am very old. There is no room here for a carriage. And it tires me to walk.”

“噢！可是我已经看过了。”小王子说道，并探身朝星球的那一侧看了看。那边也没有一个人……

“Oh, but I have looked already!” said the little prince, turning around to give one more glance to the other side of the planet. On that side, as on this, there was nobody at all…

“那么你就审判你自己呀！”国王回答他说。“这可是最难的了。审判自己比审判别人要难得多啊！你要是能审判好自己，你就是一个真正有才智的人。”

“Then you shall judge yourself,” the king answered. “that is the most difficult thing of all. It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.”

“我吗，随便在什么地方我都可以审度自己。我没有必要留在这里。”

“Yes,” said the little prince, “but I can judge myself anywhere. I do not need to live on this planet.”

国王又说：“嗯……嗯……我想，在我的星球上有一只老耗子。夜里，我听见它的声音。你可以审判它，不时地判处它死刑。因此它的生命取决于你的判决。可是，你要有节制地使用这只耗子，每次判刑后都要赦免它，因为只有这一只耗子。”

“Hum! Hum!” said the king. “I have good reason to believe that somewhere on my planet there is an old rat. I hear him at night. You can judge this old rat. From time to time you will condemn him to death. Thus his life will depend on your justice. But you will pardon him on each occasion; for he must be treated thriftily. He is the only one we have.”

“可是我不愿判死刑，我想我还是应该走。”小王子回答道。

“I,” replied the little prince, “do not like to condemn anyone to death. And now I think I will go on my way.”

“不行。”国王说。

“No,” said the king.

但是小王子，准备完毕之后，不想使老君主难过，说道：

But the little prince, having now completed his preparations for departure, had no wish to grieve the old monarch.

“如果国王陛下想要不折不扣地得到服从，你可以给我下一个合理的命令。比如说，你可以命令我，一分钟之内必须离开。我认为这个条件是成熟的……”

“If Your Majesty wishes to be promptly obeyed,” he said, “he should be able to give me a reasonable order. He should be able, for example, to order me to be gone by the end of one minute. It seems to me that conditions are favorable…”

国王什么也没有回答。起初，小王子有些犹疑不决，随后叹了口气，就离开了……

As the king made no answer, the little prince hesitated a moment. Then, with a sigh, he took his leave.

“我派你当我的大使。”国王匆忙地喊道。

“I make you my Ambassador,” the king called out, hastily.

国王显出非常有权威的样子。

He had a magnificent air of authority.

小王子在旅途中自言自语地说：“这些大人真奇怪。”

“The grown-ups are very strange,” the little prince said to himself, as he continued on his journey.

XI

XI

第二个行星上住着一个爱虚荣的人。

The second planet was inhabited by a conceited man.

“喔唷！一个崇拜我的人来拜访了！”这个爱虚荣的人一见到小王子，老远就叫喊起来。

“Ah! Ah! I am about to receive a visit from an admirer!” he exclaimed from afar, when he first saw the little prince coming.

在那些爱虚荣的人眼里，别人都成了他们的崇拜者。

For, to conceited men, all other men are admirers.

“你好！”小王子说道。“你的帽子很奇怪。”

“Good morning,” said the little prince. “That is a queer hat you are wearing.”

“这是为了向人致意用的。”爱虚荣的人回答道，“当人们向我欢呼的时候，我就用帽子向他们致意。可惜，没有一个人经过这里。”

“It is a hat for salutes,” the conceited man replied. “It is to raise in salute when people acclaim me. Unfortunately, nobody at all ever passes this way.”

小王子不解其意。说道：“啊？是吗？”

“Yes?” said the little prince, who did not understand what the conceited man was talking about.

爱虚荣的人向小王子建议道：“你用一只手去拍另一只手。”

“Clap your hands, one against the other,” the conceited man now directed him.

小王子就拍起巴掌来。这位爱虚荣者就谦逊地举起帽子向小王子致意。

The little prince clapped his hands. The conceited man raised his hat in a modest salute.

小王子心想：“这比访问那位国王有趣。”于是他又拍起巴掌来。爱虚荣者又举起帽子来向他致意。

“This is more entertaining than the visit to the king,” the little prince said to himself. And he began again to clap his hands, one against the other. The conceited man again raised his hat in salute.

小王子这样做了五分钟，之后对这种单调的把戏有点厌倦了，说道：

After five minutes of this exercise the little prince grew tired of the game’s monotony.

“要想叫你的帽子掉下来，该怎么做呢？”

“And what should one do to make the hat come down?” he asked.

可这回爱虚荣者听不进他的话，因为凡是爱虚荣的人只听得进赞美的话。

But the conceited man did not hear him. Conceited people never hear anything but praise.

他问小王子道：“你真的钦佩我吗？”

“Do you really admire me very much?” he demanded of the little prince.

“钦佩是什么意思？”

“What does that mean — ‘admire’?”

“钦佩么，就是承认我是星球上最美的人，服饰最好的人，最富有的人，最聪明的人。”

“To admire means that you regard me as the handsomest, the best-dressed, the richest, and the most intelligent man on this planet.”

“可您是您的星球上唯一的人呀！”

“But you are the only man on your planet!”

“让我高兴吧，请你还是来钦佩我吧！”

“Do me this kindness. Admire me just the same.”

小王子轻轻地耸了耸肩膀，说道：“我钦佩你，可是，这有什么能使你这样感兴趣的？”

“I admire you,” said the little prince, shrugging his shoulders slightly, “but what is there in that to interest you so much?”

于是小王子就走开了。

And the little prince went away.

小王子在路上自言自语地说了一句：“这些大人，肯定是十分古怪的。”

“The grown-ups are certainly very odd,” he said to himself, as he continued on his journey.

XII

ХII

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。

The next planet was inhabited by a tippler. This was a very short visit, but it plunged the little prince into deep dejection.

“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。

“What are you doing there?” he said to the tippler, whom he found settled down in silence before a collection of empty bottles and also a collection of full bottles.

“我喝酒。”他阴沉忧郁地回答道。

“I am drinking,” replied the tippler, with a lugubrious air.

“你为什么喝酒？”小王子问道。

“Why are you drinking?” demanded the little prince.

“为了忘却。”酒鬼回答。

“So that I may forget,” replied the tippler.

小王子已经有些可怜酒鬼。他问道：“忘却什么呢？”

“Forget what?” inquired the little prince, who already was sorry for him.

酒鬼垂下脑袋坦白道：“为了忘却我的羞愧。”

“Forget that I am ashamed,” the tippler confessed, hanging his head.

“你羞愧什么呢？”小王子很想救助他。

“Ashamed of what?” insisted the little prince, who wanted to help him.

“我羞愧我喝酒。”酒鬼说完以后就再也不开口了。

“Ashamed of drinking!” The tippler brought his speech to an end, and shut himself up in an impregnable silence.

小王子迷惑不解地离开了。

And the little prince went away, puzzled.

在旅途中，他自言自语地说道：“这些大人确实真叫怪。”

“The grown-ups are certainly very, very odd,” he said to himself, as he continued on his journey.

XIII

XIII

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。

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.

小王子对他说：“您好。您的烟卷灭了。”

“Good morning,” the little prince said to him. “Your cigarette has gone out.”

“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。”

“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.”

“五亿什么呀？”

“Five hundred million what?” asked the little prince.

“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……”

“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…”

“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。

“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.

这位实业家抬起头，说：

The businessman raised his head.

“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。

“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.

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……”

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 — ”

“几百万什么？”

“Millions of what?”

这位实业家知道要想安宁是无望的了，就说道：

The businessman suddenly realized that there was no hope of being left in peace until he answered this question.

“几百万个小东西，这些小东西有时出现在天空中。”

“Millions of those little objects,” he said, “which one sometimes sees in the sky.”

“苍蝇吗？”

“Flies?”

“不是，是些闪闪发亮的小东西。”

“Oh, no. Little glittering objects.”

“是蜜蜂吗？”

“Bees?”

“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。”

“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.”

“啊，是星星吗？”

“Ah! You mean the stars?”

“对了，就是星星。”

“Yes, that’s it. The stars.”

“你要拿这五亿星星做什么？”

“And what do you do with five-hundred millions of stars?”

“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。”

“Five-hundred-and-one million, six-hundred-twenty-two thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one. I am concerned with matters of consequence: I am accurate.”

“你拿这些星星做什么？”

“And what do you do with these stars?”

“我要它做什么？”

“What do I do with them?”

“是呀。”

“Yes.”

“什么也不做。它们都是属于我的。”

“Nothing. I own them.”

“星星是属于你的？”

“You own the stars?”

“是的。”

“Yes.”

“可是我已经见到过一个国王，他……”

“But I have already seen a king who — ”

“国王并不占有，他们只是进行‘统治’。这不是一码事。”

“Kings do not own, they reign over. It is a very different matter.”

“你拥有这许多星星有什么用？”

“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?”

“富了就可以去买别的星星，如果有人发现了别的星星的话。”

“It makes it possible for me to buy more stars, if any are discovered.”

小王子自言自语地说：“这个人想问题有点象那个酒鬼一样。”

“This man,” the little prince said to himself, “reasons a little like my poor tippler…”

可是他又提了一些问题：

Nevertheless, he still had some more questions.

“你怎么能占有星星呢？”

“How is it possible for one to own the stars?”

“那么你说星星是谁的呀？”实业家不高兴地顶了小王子一句。

“To whom do they belong?” the businessman retorted, peevishly.

“我不知道，不属于任何人。”

“I don’t know. To nobody.”