Malý princ bol teraz celý bledý od hnevu.

The little prince was now white with rage.

— Už milióny rokov si kvetiny vytvárajú tŕne. Napriek tomu ovečky už milióny rokov žerú kvetiny. A to nie je vážna vec, keď sa usilujeme pochopiť, prečo sa tak namáhajú, aby si vytvorili tŕne, ktoré sú im celkom nanič? Vari nie je dôležitý boj ovečiek a kvetín? Nie je to oveľa vážnejšie a dôležitejšie ako zratúvanie toho tučného červenolíceho pána?

“The flowers have been growing thorns for millions of years. For millions of years the sheep have been eating them just the same. And is it not a matter of consequence to try to understand why the flowers go to so much trouble to grow thorns which are never of any use to them? Is the warfare between the sheep and the flowers not important? Is this not of more consequence than a fat red-faced gentleman’s sums?

A čo ak ja poznám kvetinu, jedinú na svete, ktorá rastie iba na mojej planéte a ktorú môže ovečka zničiť jediným zahryznutím, len tak, niekedy ráno, ani si neuvedomí, čo robí? A to vraj nie je dôležité!

And if I know — I, myself — one flower which is unique in the world, which grows nowhere but on my planet, but which one little sheep can destroy in a single bite some morning, without even noticing what he is doing — Oh! You think that is not important!”

Očervenel, potom pokračoval:

His face turned from white to red as he continued:

— Ak má niekto rád kvetinu, jedinú svojho druhu, aká nerastie na ostatných miliónoch a miliónoch hviezd, postačí mu, aby bol šťastný, keď sa na tie hviezdy zadíva. Povie si: „Moja kvetina je niekde tam…“ Ale ak ovečka tú kvetinu zožerie, bude to preňho, akoby odrazu všetky hviezdy zhasli! A to vraj nieje dôležité!

“If some one loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars. He can say to himself, ‘Somewhere, my flower is there…’ But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened… And you think that is not important!”

Nemohol už ďalej hovoriť. Odrazu sa rozvzlykal. Nastala noc. Odhodil som nástroje. Bolo mi všetko jedno, čo tam po kladive, svorníku, smäde a smrti. Na jednej hviezde, na planéte, na tej mojej, na Zemi, bolo treba utešiť Malého princa! Vzal som ho do náručia. Kolísal som ho. Vravel som mu:

He could not say anything more. His words were choked by sobbing. The night had fallen. I had let my tools drop from my hands. Of what moment now was my hammer, my bolt, or thirst, or death? On one star, one planet, my planet, the Earth, there was a little prince to be comforted. I took him in my arms, and rocked him. I said to him:

„Kvetine, ktorú máš rád, nehrozí nebezpečenstvo… Nakreslím tvojej ovečke náhubok… Nakreslím pre tvoju kvetinu ohrádku… Nakreslím…“

“The flower that you love is not in danger. I will draw you a muzzle for your sheep. I will draw you a railing to put around your flower. I will — ”

Nevedel som, čo by som mal ešte povedať. Nevedel som, ako sa mu priblížiť, ako sa mu prihovoriť. Svet sĺz je taký záhadný.

I did not know what to say to him. I felt awkward and blundering. I did not know how I could reach him, where I could overtake him and go on hand in hand with him once more. It is such a secret place, the land of tears.

VIII

VIII

Čoskoro som tú kvetinu poznal lepšie. Na planéte Malého princa rástli odjakživa jednoduché kvetiny, ozdobené iba jediným radom korunných lupienkov, ktoré zaberali málo miesta a nikoho nerušili. Ráno sa zjavovali v tráve a večer vädli.

I soon learned to know this flower better. On the little prince’s planet the flowers had always been very simple. They had only one ring of petals; they took up no room at all; they were a trouble to nobody. One morning they would appear in the grass, and by night they would have faded peacefully away.

Ale táto vyklíčila jedného dňa zo semienka, priviateho ktovie odkiaľ, a Malý princ starostlivo strážil výhonok, čo sa nepodobal na ostatné. Mohol to byť nový druh baobabu. No kríček odrazu prestal rásť a chystal

But one day, from a seed blown from no one knew where, a new flower had come up; and the little prince had watched very closely over this small sprout which was not like any other small sprouts on his planet. It might, you see, have been a new kind of baobab.

sa kvitnúť. Malý princ sledoval, ako sa vytvára velikánsky puk. Tušil, že z neho vyrazí niečo zázračné, ale kvetina, ukrytá vo svojej zelenej izbičke, sa akosi nekonečne dlho pripravovala, aby bola pekná.

The shrub soon stopped growing, and began to get ready to produce a flower. The little prince, who was present at the first appearance of a huge bud, felt at once that some sort of miraculous apparition must emerge from it. But the flower was not satisfied to complete the preparations for her beauty in the shelter of her green chamber.

Starostlivo si vyberala farby. Obliekala sa pomaly, upravovala si jeden po druhom korunné lupienky. Nechcela sa ukázať taká skrkvaná ako vlčie maky. Chcela sa zjaviť až v celej svojej žiarivej kráse. Ach áno. Veľmi sa chcela páčiť!

She chose her colors with the greatest care. She dressed herself slowly. She adjusted her petals one by one. She did not wish to go out into the world all rumpled, like the field poppies. It was only in the full radiance of her beauty that she wished to appear. Oh, yes! She was a coquettish creature!

Atak jej tajuplná úprava trvala premnoho dní. A potom raz ráno, práve pri východe slnka, sa ukázala.

And her mysterious adornment lasted for days and days. Then one morning, exactly at sunrise, she suddenly showed herself.

Hoci sa predtým dôkladne pripravovala, povedala zívajúc:

And, after working with all this painstaking precision, she yawned and said:

— Ach, horko-ťažko som sa zobudila. Prepáčte, prosím… Som ešte celá rozstrapatená…

“Ah! I am scarcely awake. I beg that you will excuse me. My petals are still all disarranged…”

Malý princ v tej chvíli nemohol skryť svoj obdiv:

But the little prince could not restrain his admiration:

— Aká ste krásna!

“Oh! How beautiful you are!”

— Však? — odpovedala tíško kvetina. — A prišla som na svet v tej istej chvíli ako slnko…

“Am I not?” the flower responded, sweetly. “And I was born at the same moment as the sun…”

Malý princ dobre vytušil, že nie je veľmi skromná, ale bola taká dojímavá!

The little prince could guess easily enough that she was not any too modest — but how moving — and exciting — she was!

— Myslím, že je čas na raňajky, — dodala hneď nato, — buďte taký dobrý a nezabudnite na mňa…

“I think it is time for breakfast,” she added an instant later. “If you would have the kindness to think of my needs…”

A Malý princ, celý zmätený, šiel po kanvu s čerstvou vodou a kvetinu obslúžil.

And the little prince, completely abashed, went to look for a sprinkling-can of fresh water.

Takto ho veľmi skoro potrápila svojou trochu nedotklivou namyslenosťou. Napríklad, keď jedného dňa hovorila o svojich štyroch tŕňoch, povedala Malému princovi:

So, he tended the flower. So, too, she began very quickly to torment him with her vanity — which was, if the truth be known, a little difficult to deal with. One day, for instance, when she was speaking of her four thorns, she said to the little prince:

— Nech len prídu tie tigre so svojimi pazúrmi!

“Let the tigers come with their claws!”

— Na mojej planéte tigre nie sú, — ohradil sa Malý princ, — a tigre byliny nežerú.

“There are no tigers on my planet,” the little prince objected. “And, anyway, tigers do not eat weeds.”

— Ja nie som bylina, — odpovedala nežným hlás kom kvetina.

“I am not a weed,” the flower replied, sweetly.

— Prepáčte…

“Please excuse me…”

— Ja sa tigrov ani trochu nebojím, ale mám veľký strach z prievanu. Nemali by ste nejakú zástenu?

“I am not at all afraid of tigers,” she went on, “but I have a horror of drafts. I suppose you wouldn’t have a screen for me?”

„Veľký strach z prievanu… to nie je najlepšia vyhliadka pre rastlinu,“ povedal si Malý princ. „Táto kvetina je naozaj zložitá povaha.“

“A horror of drafts — that is bad luck, for a plant,” remarked the little prince, and added to himself, “This flower is a very complex creature…”

— Večer ma dáte pod sklený zvon. U vás je veľmi chlad no. Máte zlú polohu. Tam, odkiaľ pochádzam…

“At night I want you to put me under a glass globe. It is very cold where you live. In the place I came from — ”

No zarazila sa. Prišla sem ako semienko. Nemohla poznať nič z iných svetov. Zahanbená, že sa nechala pristihnúť pri pokuse o takú naivnú lož, dva či tri razy zakašlala, aby zvalila vinu na Malého princa.

But she interrupted herself at that point. She had come in the form of a seed. She could not have known anything of any other worlds. Embarrassed over having let herself be caught on the verge of such a naïve untruth, she coughed two or three times, in order to put the little prince in the wrong.

— A čo bude s tou zástenou…?

“The screen?”

— Chcel som ísť po ňu, ale vy ste sa so mnou rozprávali!

“I was just going to look for it when you spoke to me…”

Tu ešte silnejšie zakašlala, aby v ňom predsa len vzbudila výčitky svedomia.

Then she forced her cough a little more so that he should suffer from remorse just the same.

A tak Malý princ, hoci naozaj chcel mať kvetinu rád, čoskoro o nej zapochyboval. Bral vážne jej bezvýznamné slová a cítil sa veľmi nešťastný.

So the little prince, in spite of all the good will that was inseparable from his love, had soon come to doubt her. He had taken seriously words which were without importance, and it made him very unhappy.

„Nemal som ju počúvať,“ zdôveril sa mi jedného dňa, „kvetiny netreba nikdy počúvať. Treba sa na ne dívať a vdychovať ich vôňu. Tá moja napĺňala vôňou celú planétu, ale ja som sa z toho nevedel tešiť. Tá historka s pazúrmi, čo ma tak podráždila, mala ma skôr dojať…“

“I ought not to have listened to her,” he confided to me one day. “One never ought to listen to the flowers. One should simply look at them and breathe their fragrance. Mine perfumed all my planet. But I did not know how to take pleasure in all her grace. This tale of claws, which disturbed me so much, should only have filled my heart with tenderness and pity.”

A ešte sa mi zveril:

And he continued his confidences:

„Vtedy som nevedel nič pochopiť! Mal som ju posudzovať podľa skutkov, a nie podľa slov. Zaplavovala ma vôňou a jasom. Nemal som nikdy utiecť! Mal som za jej priehľadnými úskokmi vytušiť, aká je nežná. Kvetiny si tak protirečia! Ale bol som primladý, aby som ju vedel mať rád.“

“The fact is that I did not know how to understand anything! I ought to have judged by deeds and not by words. She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her… I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little stratagems. Flowers are so inconsistent! But I was too young to know how to love her …”

IX

IX

Myslím, že na svoj útek využil sťahovanie divých vtákov. Ráno pred odchodom dal planétu pekne do poriadku. Svedomito vymietol svoje činné sopky. Mal dve sopky, čo boli ešte v činnosti. Bolo to veľmi pohodlné, keď si ráno zohrieval raňajky.

I believe that for his escape he took advantage of the migration of a flock of wild birds. On the morning of his departure he put his planet in perfect order. He carefully cleaned out his active volcanoes. He possessed two active volcanoes; and they were very convenient for heating his breakfast in the morning.

Mal aj jednu vyhasnutú sopku. Ale, ako vravieval: „Človek nikdy nevie!“ A tak rovnako svedomito vymietol i tú vyhasnutú sopku. Ak sú sopky dobre vymetené, horí v nich pomaly a pravidelne, nevybuchujú. Sopečná činnosť je ako oheň v kozube.

He also had one volcano that was extinct. But, as he said, “One never knows!” So he cleaned out the extinct volcano, too. If they are well cleaned out, volcanoes burn slowly and steadily, without any eruptions. Volcanic eruptions are like fires in a chimney.

Prirodzene, my sme na našej zemi príliš maličkí, aby sme mohli vymetať naše sopky. A preto nám spôsobujú toľko starostí.

On our earth we are obviously much too small to clean out our volcanoes. That is why they bring no end of trouble upon us.

Malý princ vytrhal aj posledné výhonky baobabov a bol trošku skľúčený. Myslel si, že sa už možno nikdy nevráti. Ale všetky tieto zvyčajné práce sa mu v to ráno zdali neobyčajne milé.

The little prince also pulled up, with a certain sense of dejection, the last little shoots of the baobabs. He believed that he would never want to return. But on this last morning all these familiar tasks seemed very precious to him.

A keď' posledný raz polial kvetinu a chystal sa ju prikryť skleným zvonom, pocítil, že je mu do plaču.

And when he watered the flower for the last time, and prepared to place her under the shelter of her glass globe, he realized that he was very close to tears.

— Zbohom, — povedal kvetine.

 “Goodbye,” he said to the flower.

Ale kvetina mu neodpovedala.

But she made no answer.

— Zbohom, — zopakoval.

“Goodbye,” he said again.

Kvetina zakašlala. Ale nie preto, že by mala zápal priedušiek.

The flower coughed. But it was not because she had a cold.

— Bola som hlúpa, — povedala napokon. — Odpusť mi. Usiluj sa byť šťastný.

“I have been silly,” she said to him, at last. “I ask your forgiveness. Try to be happy…”

Bol prekvapený, že mu nič nevyčíta. Stál tam celý zmätený, so zvonom vo vystretej ruke. Nechápal tú pokojnú láskavosť.

He was surprised by this absence of reproaches. He stood there all bewildered, the glass globe held arrested in mid-air. He did not understand this quiet sweetness.

— Ale áno, mám ťa rada, — povedala mu kvetina. — Ty si o tom mojou vinou nevedel. Teraz to nie je dôležité. No ty si bol práve taký hlúpy ako ja. Usiluj sa byť šťastný… Nechaj tak ten zvon. Už ho nechcem.

“Of course I love you,” the flower said to him. “It is my fault that you have not known it all the while. That is of no importance. But you — you have been just as foolish as I. Try to be happy… Let the glass globe be. I don’t want it any more.”

—Ale vietor…

“But the wind — ”

— Nie som až taká prechladnutá… Čerstvý nočný vzduch mi urobí dobre. Som predsa kvetina.

“My cold is not so bad as all that… The cool night air will do me good. I am a flower.”

— Ale zvieratá…

“But the animals — ”

— Musím predsa strpieť dve či tri húsenice, ak chcem poznať motýle. Je to vraj veľmi krásne. Kto by ma inak navštívil? Ty budeš ďaleko. A veľkých zvierat sa vôbec nebojím. Aj ja mám pazúry.

“Well, I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies. It seems that they are very beautiful. And if not the butterflies — and the caterpillars — who will call upon me? You will be far away… As for the large animals — I am not at all afraid of any of them. I have my claws.”

A prostomyseľne ukázala svoje štyri tŕne. Potom dodala:

And, naïvely, she showed her four thorns. Then she added:

— Nepreťahuj to toľko, rozčuľuje ma to. Rozhodol si sa odísť. Tak choď.

“Don’t linger like this. You have decided to go away. Now go!”

Nechcela, aby ju videl plakať. Bola to veľmi pyšná kvetina…

For she did not want him to see her crying. She was such a proud flower.

X

X

Žil v oblasti asteroidov 325, 326, 327, 328, 329 a 330. Najprv sa teda vybral na ne, aby tam hľadal nejaké zamestnanie a poučenie.

He found himself in the neighborhood of the asteroids 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, and 330. He began, therefore, by visiting them, in order to add to his knowledge.

Na prvom prebýval kráľ. Oblečený do purpuru a hermelínu sedel na veľmi jednoduchom, a predsa majestátnom tróne.

The first of them was inhabited by a king. Clad in royal purple and ermine, he was seated upon a throne which was at the same time both simple and majestic.

— Ach! Tu máme poddaného, — vykríkol kráľ, keď zazrel Malého princa.

“Ah! Here is a subject,” exclaimed the king, when he saw the little prince coming.

A Malý princ sa v duchu spýtal: „Ako ma mohol spoznať, keď ma ešte nikdy nevidel?“

And the little prince asked himself:
“How could he recognize me when he had never seen me before?”

Nevedel, že pre kráľov je svet veľmi zjednodušený. Všetci ľudia sú poddaní.

He did not know how the world is simplified for kings. To them, all men are subjects.

— Pristúp bližšie, nech ťa lepšie vidím, — povedal mu kráľ, ktorý bol veľmi pyšný, že je pre niekoho kráľom.

“Approach, so that I may see you better,” said the king, who felt consumingly proud of being at last a king over somebody.

Malý princ sa obzeral, kam by si sadol, ale planéta bola celá zatarasená nádherným hermelínovým plášťom. Ostal teda stáť, a pretože bol unavený, zívol.

The little prince looked everywhere to find a place to sit down; but the entire planet was crammed and obstructed by the king’s magnificent ermine robe. So he remained standing upright, and, since he was tired, he yawned.

— Je proti pravidlám etikety zívať v prítomnosti kráľa, — povedal mu vládca. — Zakazujem ti to.

“It is contrary to etiquette to yawn in the presence of a king,” the monarch said to him. “I forbid you to do so.”

— Nemôžem sa ubrániť, — odpovedal Malý princ celý zahanbený. — Prekonal som dlhú cestu a nespal som…

“I can’t help it. I can’t stop myself,” replied the little prince, thoroughly embarrassed. “I have come on a long journey, and I have had no sleep…”

— Prikazujem ti teda, — povedal mu kráľ, — aby si zíval. Už celé roky som nevidel nikoho zívať. Zívanie je pre mňa zvláštnosťou. No tak, zívaj ešte raz! Je to rozkaz.

“Ah, then,” the king said. “I order you to yawn. It is years since I have seen anyone yawning. Yawns, to me, are objects of curiosity. Come, now! Yawn again! It is an order.”

— Zastrašuje ma to… už nemôžem… — povedal Malý princ a veľmi sa začervenal.

“That frightens me… I cannot, any more…” murmured the little prince, now completely abashed.

— Hm, hm, — odpovedal kráľ. — Teda… teda ti rozkazu jem chvíľku zívať a chvíľku…

“Hum! Hum!” replied the king. “Then I — I order you sometimes to yawn and sometimes to — ”

Zamotal sa a zdal sa akýsi urazený.

He sputtered a little, and seemed vexed.

Ako kráľ trval totiž predovšetkým na tom, aby sa uznávala jeho autorita. Nestrpel neposlušnosť. Bol to neobmedzený vládca. Ale bol aj veľmi dobrosrdečný, a tak dával rozumné rozkazy.

For what the king fundamentally insisted upon was that his authority should be respected. He tolerated no disobedience. He was an absolute monarch. But, because he was a very good man, he made his orders reasonable.

„Keby som prikázal,“ vravieval zvyčajne, „keby som prikázal niektorému generálovi, aby sa premenil na morského vtáka, a keby ten generál neposlúchol, nebola by to generálova vina, ale moja.“

“If I ordered a general,” he would say, by way of example, “if I ordered a general to change himself into a sea bird, and if the general did not obey me, that would not be the fault of the general. It would be my fault.”

— Môžem si sadnúť? — nesmelo sa spýtal Malý princ.

“May I sit down?” came now a timid inquiry from the little prince.

— Prikazujem ti, aby si si sadol, — odpovedal mu kráľ a majestátnym pohybom potiahol polu svojho hermelínového plášťa.

“I order you to do so,” the king answered him, and majestically gathered in a fold of his ermine mantle.

Malý princ sa začudoval. Planéta bola maličká. Nad čím vlastne mohol kráľ vládnuť?

But the little prince was wondering… The planet was tiny. Over what could this king really rule?

— Vaše veličenstvo, — oslovil ho, — prosím o prepáčenie, že sa vás pýtam…

“Sire,” he said to him, “I beg that you will excuse my asking you a question — ”

— Prikazujem ti, aby si sa ma pýtal, — poponáhľal sa povedať kráľ.

“I order you to ask me a question,” the king hastened to assure him.

— Vaše veličenstvo… nad čím vládnete?

“Sire — over what do you rule?”

— Nad všetkým, — odpovedal veľmi prostodušne kráľ.

“Over everything,” said the king, with magnificent simplicity.

— Nad všetkým?

“Over everything?”

Kráľ zdržanlivým posunkom ukázal na svoju planétu, na ostatné planéty a na hviezdy.

The king made a gesture, which took in his planet, the other planets, and all the stars.

— Nad tým všetkým? — žasol Malý princ.

“Over all that?” asked the little prince.

— Nad tým všetkým… — odpovedal kráľ.

“Over all that,” the king answered.

Nebol to teda iba neobmedzený vládca, ale aj svetovládny.

For his rule was not only absolute: it was also universal.

— A hviezdy vás poslúchajú?

“And the stars obey you?”

— Prirodzene, — povedal mu kráľ. — Poslúchnu okamžite. Nestrpím nedisciplinovanosť.

“Certainly they do,” the king said. “They obey instantly. I do not permit insubordination.”

Taká veľká moc Malého princa naplnila obdivom. Keby ju mal on, nebol by videl štyridsaťštyri, ale sedemdesiatdva alebo dokonca sto, ba aj dvesto západov slnka v ten istý deň, a nebol by musel ani posunúť stoličku!

Such power was a thing for the little prince to marvel at. If he had been master of such complete authority, he would have been able to watch the sunset, not forty-four times in one day, but seventy-two, or even a hundred, or even two hundred times, without ever having to move his chair.

A pretože mu bolo trošku smutno, keď si spomenul na svoju malú opustenú planétu, osmelil sa a požiadal kráľa o jednu láskavosť:

And because he felt a bit sad as he remembered his little planet which he had forsaken, he plucked up his courage to ask the king a favor:

— Chcel by som vidieť západ slnka… Urobte mi tú radosť… Prikážte slnku, aby zapadlo…

“I should like to see a sunset… Do me that kindness… Order the sun to set…”