IV

IV

Tak som sa dozvedel druhú veľmi dôležitú vec: že jeho rodná planéta je sotva väčšia ako dom!

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!

To ma nemohlo veľmi prekvapiť. Dobre som vedel, že okrem veľkých planét, ako je Zem, Jupiter, Mars, Venuša, ktorým ľudia dali meno, jestvujú ešte stovky iných, a niektoré sú také malé, že sa iba horko-ťažko dajú spozorovať hvezdárskym ďalekohľadom.

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.

Keď nejaký hvezdár niektorú z nich objaví, namiesto mena jej dá číslo. Nazve ju napríklad: „asteroid 3251“.

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”.

Mám vážne dôvody domnievať sa, že planéta, odkiaľ prišiel Malý princ, je asteroid B 612. Tento asteroid iba jediný raz spozoroval v teleskope v roku 1909 akýsi turecký hvezdár.

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

Podal vtedy obšírny a názorný výklad o svojom objave na medzinárodnom astronomickom kongrese. No nikto mu neveril, a zavinilo to jeho oblečenie. Dospelí sú už takí.

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

Našťastie pre dobrú povesť asteroidu B 612 jeden turecký diktátor nariadil svojmu národu pod trestom smrti, aby sa obliekal po európsky. Hvezdár zopakoval svoj názorný výklad v roku 1920 vo veľmi elegantnom fraku. A tentoraz všetci prijali jeho názor.

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…

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.

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

Ak som vám porozprával tieto podrobnosti o asteroide B 612 a prezradil jeho číslo, bolo to iba kvôli dospelým. Dospelí majú záľubu v číslach.

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.

Keď im rozprávate o nejakom novom priateľovi, nikdy sa vás nespýtajú na podstatné veci. Nikdy vám nepovedia: „Aký má hlas?“ „Ako sa najradšej zabáva?“ „Zbiera motýle?“

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?”

Spýtajú sa vás: „Koľko má rokov?“ „Koľko má bratov?“ „Koľko váži?“ „Koľko zarobí jeho otec?“ Až potom si myslia, že vedia, aký je.

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.

Ak dospelým poviete: „Videl som pekný dom z červených tehál, s muškátmi v oblokoch a s holubmi na streche…“ nevedia si ten dom predstaviť. Treba im povedať: „Videl som dom za stotisíc frankov.“ Vtedy vykríknu: „To je krásne!“

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!”

Ak im teda poviete: „Dôkazom, že Malý princ jestvoval, je to, že bol očarujúci, že sa smial a že chcel ovečku. Keď niekto chce ovečku, je to dôkaz, že jestvuje,“ pohodia plecom a názvu vás dieťaťom.

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.

No ak im poviete: „Planéta, odkiaľ prišiel, je asteroid B 612,“ vtedy ich presvedčíte, a dajú vám pokoj s ďalšími otázkami. Oni sú už takí. Netreba sa preto na nich hnevať. Deti musia byť k dospelým veľmi zhovievavé.

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.

Ale my, čo rozumieme životu, prirodzene, o čísla veľmi nedbáme. Tento príbeh by som bol rád začal rozprávať tak, ako sa začínajú rozprávky. Rád by som bol povedal:

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:

„Bol raz jeden Malý princ, ktorý býval na planéte iba o niečo väčšej ako on sám, a potreboval nejakého priateľa…“ Tým, čo rozumejú životu, by sa to zdalo oveľa pravdivejšie.

“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.

A ja nechcem, aby sa moja knižka čítala ľahkovážne. Cítim veľký žiaľ, keď rozprávam tieto spomienky. Je už šesť rokov odvtedy, čo môj priateľ odišiel i s ovečkou. Ak sa ho tu pokúšam opísať, robím to preto, aby som naňho nezabudol.

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.

Zabudnúť na priateľa je smutné. Každý človek nemal priateľa. A môžem sa stať takým ako dospelí, čo sa nezaujímajú o nič, len o čísla.

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…

A preto som si aj kúpil škatuľku farieb a ceruzky. Je veľmi ťažké pustiť sa znova do kreslenia v mojom veku, keď som to skúšal iba ako šesťročný s kresbami zatvorených a otvorených veľhadov!

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.

Prirodzene, pokúsim sa urobiť čo najvernejšie portréty. Ale nie som si celkom istý, či sa mi to podarí. Jedna kresba je dosť dobrá, a druhá sa mu ani nepodobá.

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.

Trochu zle som odhadol aj jeho postavu. Tu je Malý princ priveľký. Tam je primalý. Som aj v rozpakoch, akú farbu dať jeho obleku. Nuž to skúšam raz tak, raz onak, ako mi to kedy ide.

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.

Nakoniec sa zmýlim v niektorých dôležitých podrobnostiach. Ale to mi už musíte prepáčiť. Môj priateľ nikdy nič nevysvetľoval. Možno si o mne myslel, že som taký ako on. Ale bohužiaľ, ja nedokážem vidieť ovečky cez debničky. Hádam som už trochu ako tí dospelí. Akiste som zostarol.

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

Každý deň som sa dozvedel niečo o jeho planéte, o odchode, o ceste. Pomaličky, z náhodou vyslovených poznámok, keď o niečom rozmýšľal. Tak som sa na tretí deň oboznámil s drámou baobabov.

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.

Aj tentoraz to bolo vďaka ovečke, pretože Malý princ sa ma znenazdajky spýtal, akoby sa ho zmocnili vážne pochybnosti:

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.

— Je to pravda, že ovečky ohrýzajú kríky, však?

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

— Áno. Je to pravda.

“Yes, that is true.”

— Ach! To som rád.

“Ah! I am glad!”

Nepochopil som, prečo je také dôležité, aby ovečky ohrýzali kríky. No Malý princ dodal:

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

— Teda ohrýzajú aj baobaby?

“Then it follows that they also eat baobabs?”

Upozornil som Malého princa, že baobaby nie sú kríky, ale stromy veľké ako kostoly, a keby so sebou odviezol aj celé stádo slonov, toto stádo by si neporadilo ani s jedným baobabom.

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.

Myšlienka o stáde slonov Malého princa rozosmiala:

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

— Museli by sa postaviť jeden na druhého…

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

Ale múdro poznamenal:

But he made a wise comment:

— Skôr než tie baobaby narastú, najprv sú malé.

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

— Správne! Ale pre čo chceš, aby tvoje ovečky ohrýzali malé baobaby?

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

Odpovedal mi: „Len tak!“ akoby išlo o niečo samozrejmé.

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

A musel som vynaložiť veľa dôvtipu, aby som tento problém sám pochopil.

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

A naozaj, na planéte Malého princa ako na všetkých planétach rástli užitočné i neužitočné rastliny. Teda z dobrých semien užitočné rastliny a zo zlých semien burina.

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.

Lenže semená sú neviditeľné. Spia hlboko v zemi, kým niektorému z nich nepríde na um, že sa zobudí. Nuž sa povystiera a najprv bojazlivo vyženie k slnku pôvabný neškodný výhonček.

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.

Ak je to výhonček reďkovky alebo ruže, môžeme ho nechať, nech rastie. No ak ide o burinu, treba ju vytrhnúť hneď, ako ju vieme rozoznať.

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.

Nuž a na planéte Malého princa sa vyskytovali hrozné semená… boli to semená baobabov. Pôda planéty bola nimi zamorená.

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.

Ak sa do baobabu pustíme príliš neskoro, nikdy sa ho už nezbavíme. Zaplní celú planétu. Prevŕta ju svojimi koreňmi. Ak je planéta veľmi malá a ak je baobabov veľmi veľa, roztrhnú ju na kusy.

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…

„Je to otázka disciplíny,“ povedal mi neskôr Malý princ. „Keď dám ráno do poriadku seba, treba starostlivo upratať aj planétu. Musím sa prinútiť pravidelne vytrhávať aj baobaby, hneď ako sa dajú rozoznať od ruží, na ktoré sa veľmi podobajú, keď sú ešte malé. Je to veľmi nudná, ale veľmi ľahká robota.“

“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.”

A jedného dňa mi poradil, aby som sa pousiloval urobiť výstižnú a peknú kresbu, nech si to deti u nás doma dobre vštepia do pamäti.

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.

„Ak budú raz cestovať,“ vravel mi, „môže sa im to zísť. Niekedy to nemá nepríjemné následky, keď si prácu odložíme na neskoršie. No ak ide o baobaby, je to vždy katastrofa. Poznal som jednu planétu, na ktorej býval lenivec. Zanedbal tri kríky…“

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…”

A tak som podľa údajov Malého princa túto planétu nakreslil. Nerád poučujem. Ale nebezpečenstvo baobabov je tak málo známe a riziko, ktorému sa vystavuje každý, kto by zablúdil na nejakom asteroide, je také veľké, že tento jediný raz urobím vo svojej zdržanlivosti výnimku.

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.

Hovorím: „Deti! Dajte si pozor na baobaby!“ Túto kresbu som vypracoval tak dôkladne preto, aby som svojich priateľov varoval pred nebezpečenstvom, ktoré im už dlho hrozí, práve tak ako mne, a ktoré nepoznajú. Ponaučenie, čo som im dal, stálo za tú námahu.

“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.

Možno sa opýtate: „Prečo iné kresby v tejto knižke nie sú také veľkolepé ako obrázok baobabov?“ Odpoveď je naozaj jednoduchá: pokúšal som sa, ale nepodarilo sa mi to. Keď som kreslil baobaby, povzbudzovalo ma vedomie, že je to naliehavá záležitosť.

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

Ach, Malý princ, takto som pomaly pochopil tvoj prostý smutný život. Dlhý čas boli tvojím jediným rozptýlením iba čarovné západy slnka. Túto novú podrobnosť som sa dozvedel ráno štvrtého dňa, keď si mi povedal:

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:

— Mám veľmi rád západy slnka. Poďme sa pozrieť na jeden západ slnka…

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

— Ale musíme počkať…

“But we must wait,” I said.

— Na čo máme počkať?

“Wait? For what?”

— Musíme počkať, kým slnko začne zapadať.

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

Najprv si bol veľmi prekvapený, ale potom si sa zasmial sám nad sebou. A povedal si mi:

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

— Stále si myslím, že som doma!

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

Skutočne. Keď je v Spojených štátoch poludnie, každý vie, že nad Francúzskom slnko zapadá. Postačilo by, keby sme sa za minútku dostali z Ameriky do Francúzska, a mohli by sme sa pozerať na západ slnka.

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.

Bohužiaľ, Francúzsko je príliš ďaleko. Ale na tvojej maličkej planéte ti stačilo potiahnuť stoličku o niekoľko krokov. A díval si sa na zmrákanie zakaždým, keď sa ti zachcelo…

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…

— Jedného dňa som videl zapadať slnko štyridsaťštyri ráz!

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

O chvíľu si dodal:

And a little later you added:

— Vieš… keď je človeku veľmi smutno, rád hľadí na západ slnka…

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

— Teda v ten deň, keď si ho videl štyridsaťštyri ráz, bol si až taký veľmi smutný?

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

Ale Malý princ neodpovedal.

But the little prince made no reply.

VII

VII

Piateho dňa sa mi opäť vďaka ovečke odhalilo ďalšie tajomstvo Malého princa. Znenazdajky, bez okolkov sa ma spýtal, akoby to bol výsledok dlhého uvažovania nad nejakým problémom:

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:

— Ak ovečka ohrýza kríky, žerie aj kvetiny?

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

— Ovečka zožerie všetko, na čo natrafí.

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

— Aj kvetiny, čo majú tŕne?

“Even flowers that have thorns?”

— Áno. Aj kvetiny, čo majú tŕne.

“Yes, even flowers that have thorns.”

— Tak načo sú tie tŕne?

“Then the thorns — what use are they?”

Nevedel som to. Bol som práve veľmi zaneprázdnený, pokúšal som sa odskrutkovať silne pritiahnutý svorník na motore. A bol som naozaj ustarostený, lebo sa ukazovalo, že porucha motora je veľmi vážna. A pretože sa mi pitná voda míňala, obával som sa toho najhoršieho.

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.

— Načo sú tie tŕne?

“The thorns — what use are they?”

Malý princ sa nikdy nevzdal otázky, keď ju už raz položil. Zlostil som sa na svorník a odpovedal som mu, čo mi prišlo na jazyk:

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:

— Tŕne nie sú nanič, je to od kvetín číra zlomyseľnosť!

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

— Och!

“Oh!”

Ale po chvíli ticha s akousi nenávisťou v hlase zvolal:

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

— Neverím ti! Kvetiny sú slabé. Sú prostoduché. Zabezpečujú sa, ako môžu. Myslia si, že sú strašné, keď majú tŕne…

“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…”

Neodpovedal som. V tej chvíli som si vravel: „Ak ten svorník nepovolí, vyrazím ho kladivom.“ Malý princ znova prerušil moje úvahy:

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:

— A ty si myslíš, že kvetiny…

“And you actually believe that the flowers — ”

— Ale nie! Kdežeby! Ja si nič nemyslím! Odpovedal som ti len tak, čo mi prišlo na jazyk. Ja sa predsa zaoberám vážnymi vecami!

“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!”

Hľadel na mňa celý užasnutý.

He stared at me, thunderstruck.

—Vážnymi vecami!

“Matters of consequence!”

Videl ma, ako sa s kladivom v ruke, prsty čierne od starého oleja, skláňam nad akýmsi predmetom, čo sa mu zdal veľmi škaredý.

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…

— Hovoríš ako dospelí!

“You talk just like the grown-ups!”

To ma trochu zahanbilo. Ale on nemilosrdne dodal:

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

— Všetko popletieš… všetko pomiešaš!

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

Bol naozaj veľmi nahnevaný. Pohadzoval vo vetre svojimi zlatožltými vlasmi. Pokračoval:

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

— Poznám planétu, kde býva jeden pán, celý červený v tvári. Nikdy neprivoňal ku kvetu. Nikdy sa nezahľadel na hviezdu. Nikdy nemal nikoho rád. Nikdy nerobil nič iné, iba spočítaval. A po celý deň opakuje ako ty: „Ja som vážny človek! Ja som vážny človek!“ A to ho napĺňa pýchou. Ale to nie je človek, to je hríb!

“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!”

— Čoje to?

“A what?”

— Hríb!

“A mushroom!”