Ale po krátkej úvahe dodal:

But, after some thought, he added:

— Čo znamená skrotiť?

“What does that mean — ‘tame’?”

— Ty nie si odtiaľto, — povedala líška, — čo tu hľadáš?

“You do not live here,” said the fox. “What is it that you are looking for?”

— Hľadám ľudí, — odpovedal Malý princ. — Čo znamená skrotiť?

“I am looking for men,” said the little prince. “What does that mean — ‘tame’?”

— Ľudia, — povedala líška, — majú pušky a poľujú. Je to veľmi nepríjemné! Chovajú aj sliepky. Je to ich jediná prednosť. Hľadáš sliepky?

“Men,” said the fox. “They have guns, and they hunt. It is very disturbing. They also raise chickens. These are their only interests. Are you looking for chickens?”

— Nie, — odpovedal Malý princ. — Hľadám priateľov. Čo znamená skrotiť?

“No,” said the little prince. “I am looking for friends. What does that mean — ‘tame’?”

— Je to už takmer zabudnutá vec, — povedala líška. — Znamená to vytvoriť putá.

“It is an act too often neglected,” said the fox. “It means to establish ties.”

— Vytvoriť putá?

“‘To establish ties’?”

— Pravdaže, — povedala líška. — Ty si pre mňa zatiaľ len malý chlapec podobný stotisícom malých chlapcov. A nepotrebujem ťa. A ani ty ma nepotrebuješ. Ja som pre teba líška podobná stotisícom líšok. No ak si ma skrotíš, budeme jeden druhého potrebovať. Budeš pre mňa jediný na svete. Ja budem pre teba jediná na svete…

“Just that,” said the fox. “To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world…”

— Začínam rozumieť, — povedal Malý princ. — Jestvuje jedna kvetina… myslím, že si ma skrotila…

“I am beginning to understand,” said the little prince. “There is a flower… I think that she has tamed me…”

— To je možné, — poznamenala líška. — Na Zemi sa dá všeličo zažiť…

“It is possible,” said the fox. “On the Earth one sees all sorts of things.”

— Och, to nie je na Zemi! — povedal Malý princ.

“Oh, but this is not on the Earth!” said the little prince.

Zdalo sa, že to v líške vzbudilo veľký záujem.

The fox seemed perplexed, and very curious.

— Na nejakej inej planéte?

“On another planet?”

— Áno.

“Yes.”

— Sú na tej planéte poľovníci?

“Are there hunters on that planet?”

— Nie.

“No.”

— To je zaujímavé! A sliepky?

“Ah, that is interesting! Are there chickens?”

— Nie.

“No.”

— Nič nie je dokonalé, — vzdychla si líška.

“Nothing is perfect,” sighed the fox.

Ale vrátila sa k svojej myšlienke:

But he came back to his idea.

Môj život je jednotvárny. Poľujem na sliepky a ľudia poľujú na mňa. Všetky sliepky sú si podobné a všetci ľudia sa navzájom podobajú. Tak sa trochu nudím. No ak si ma skrotíš, môj život bude akoby ožiarený slnkom. Spoznám zvuk krokov, ktorý bude iný ako všetky ostatné. Tie ostatné kroky ma zaháňajú pod zem. Tie tvoje ma privolajú z nory ako nejaká hudba.

“My life is very monotonous,” the fox said. “I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow.

A potom, pozri! Vidíš tamtie obilné polia? Ja chlieb nejem. Obilie je pre mňa zbytočné. Obilné polia mi nič nepripomínajú. A to je smutné! Ale ty máš zlaté vlasy. Bude to teda skvelé, keď si ma skrotíš! Zlaté obilie mi ťa bude pripomínať. A ja budem mať rada šumenie vetra v obilí…

And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat…”

Líška zmĺkla a nadlho sa zahľadela na Malého princa.

The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.

— Prosím ťa… skroť si ma! — povedala.

“Please — tame me!” he said.

— Veľmi rád, — odpovedal Malý princ, — ale nemám veľa času. Musím si nájsť priateľov a spoznať veľa vecí.

“I want to, very much,” the little prince replied. “But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand.”

— Spoznáme len tie veci, ktoré si skrotíme, — poveda— la líška. — Ľudia už nemajú čas, aby niečo spoznávali. Kupujú si u obchodníkov celkom nové veci. Ale pretože nejestvujú obchodníci, čo by predávali priateľov, ľudia už priateľov nemajú. Ak chceš mať priateľa, skroť si ma!

“One only understands the things that one tames,” said the fox. “Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me…”

— Čo mám urobiť? — spýtal sa Malý princ.

“What must I do, to tame you?” asked the little prince.

— Musíš byť veľmi trpezlivý, — odpovedala líška. — Najprv si sadneš do trávy trochu ďalej odo mňa, asi tak to. Ja sa budem na teba pozerať kútikmi očí, a ty nebudeš nič vravieť. Reč je prameňom nedorozumení. Ale každý deň si budeš môcť sadnúť trochu bližšie.

“You must be very patient,” replied the fox. “First you will sit down at a little distance from me — like that — in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day…”

Na druhý deň prišiel Malý princ zasa.

The next day the little prince came back.

— Bolo by lepšie, keby si prichádzal v tú istú hodinu, — povedala líška. — Ak napríklad prídeš o štvrtej popoludní, už od tretej začnem byť šťastná. Čím väčšmi čas pokročí, tým budem šťastnejšia. O štvrtej už budem vzrušená a nepokojná; Ak chceš mať priateľa, skroť si ma! objavím cenu šťastia! No ak budeš chodiť hocikedy, nebudem nikdy vedieť, na ktorú hodinu si mám pristrojiť srdce… Je potrebné zachovávať isté zvyky.

“It would have been better to come back at the same hour,” said the fox. “If, for example, you come at four o’clock in the afternoon, then at three o’clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o’clock, I shall already be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you… One must observe the proper rites…”

— Čo je to zvyk? — spýtal sa Malý princ.

“What is a rite?” asked the little prince.

— Aj to je čosi, na čo sa veľmi zabúda, — povedala líška. — Je to niečo, čo odlišuje jeden deň od ostatných dní, jednu hodinu od ostatných hodín. Napríklad aj moji poľovníci majú jeden zvyk. Vo štvrtok tancujú s dedinskými dievčencami. A tak je štvrtok nádherný deň! Chodím sa vtedy prechádzať až do vinice. Keby poľovníci tancovali hocikedy, všetky dni by sa navzájom podobali a ja by som nemala prázdniny.

“Those also are actions too often neglected,” said the fox. “They are what make one day different from other days, one hour from other hours. There is a rite, for example, among my hunters. Every Thursday they dance with the village girls. So Thursday is a wonderful day for me! I can take a walk as far as the vineyards. But if the hunters danced at just any time, every day would be like every other day, and I should never have any vacation at all.”

Tak si Malý princ skrotil líšku. A keď sa priblížila hodina odchodu, líška povedala:

So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near —

— Ach! Budem plakať…

“Ah,” said the fox, “I shall cry.”

— Je to tvoja vina, — povedal Malý princ, — neželal som ti nič zlé, ale ty si chcela, aby som si ťa skrotil…

“It is your own fault,” said the little prince. “I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you…”

— Pravdaže, — povedala líška.

“Yes, that is so,” said the fox.

— Ale ty budeš plakať! — povedal Malý princ.

“But now you are going to cry!” said the little prince.

— Pravdaže, — povedala líška.

“Yes, that is so,” said the fox.

— Teda z toho nebudeš mať nič!

“Then it has done you no good at all!”

— Budem, — povedala líška, — vďaka farbe obilia.

“It has done me good,” said the fox, “because of the color of the wheat fields.”

Potom dodala:

And then he added:

— Choď sa ešte raz pozrieť na ruže. Pochopíš, že tá tvoja je jediná na svete. Vrátiš sa ku mne, aby si mi dal zbohom, a ja ti darujem tajomstvo.

“Go and look again at the roses. You will understand now that yours is unique in all the world. Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret.”

Malý princ sa šiel znova pozrieť na ruže.

The little prince went away, to look again at the roses.

— Vy sa na moju ružu vôbec nepodobáte, vy ešte nie ste nič, — povedal im. — Nikto si vás neskrotil a vy ste si neskrotili nikoho. Ste také, ako bola moja líška. Bola iba líškou, čo sa podobala stotisícom ostatných líšok. Ale ja som si z nej urobil priateľku a teraz je jediná na svete.

“You are not at all like my rose,” he said. “As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world.”

A ruže boli veľmi zarazené.

And the roses were very much embarrassed.

— Ste krásne, ale ste prázdne, — povedal im ešte. — Nemožno pre vás zomrieť. Prirodzene, obyčajný okoloidúci by si myslel, že moja ruža sa vám podobá. Ale ona jediná je dôležitejšia ako vy všetky, pretože práve ju som polieval. Pretože ju som dával pod sklený zvon. Pretože ju som chránil zástenou. Pretože jej som pozabíjal húsenice (okrem dvoch alebo troch, z ktorých majú byť motýle). Pretože ju som počúval, ako sa žaluje alebo vystatuje, alebo dokonca ako niekedy mlčí. Pretože je to moja ruža.

“You are beautiful, but you are empty,” he went on. “One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you — the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or ever sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose.”

A vrátil sa k líške.

And he went back to meet the fox.

— Zbohom, — povedal.

“Goodbye,” he said.

— Zbohom, — povedala líška. — Tu je moje tajomstvo. Je veľmi jednoduché: dobre vidíme iba srdcom. To hlavné je očiam neviditeľné.

“Goodbye,” said the fox. “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

— To hlavné je očiam neviditeľné, — opakoval Malý princ, aby si to zapamätal.

“What is essential is invisible to the eye,” the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

— Čas, ktorý si strácal pre svoju ružu, robí tvoju ružu takou dôležitou.

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”

— Čas, ktorý som strácal pre svoju ružu… — opakoval Malý princ, aby si to zapamätal.

“It is the time I have wasted for my rose — ” said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.

— Ľudia zabudli na túto pravdu, — povedala líška. — Ale ty na ňu nesmieš zabudnúť. Ty budeš navždy zodpovedný za všetko, čo si skrotíš. Si zodpovedný za svoju ružu…

“Men have forgotten this truth,” said the fox. “But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose…”

— Som zodpovedný za svoju ružu… — opakoval Malý princ, aby si to zapamätal.

“I am responsible for my rose,” the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

XXII

XXII

— Dobrý deň, — povedal Malý princ.

Good morning,” said the little prince.

— Dobrý deň, — povedal výhybkár.

“Good morning”, said the railway switchman.

— Čo tu robíš? — spýtal sa Malý princ.

“What do you do here?” the little prince asked.

— Rozdeľujem cestujúcich po tisícových skupinách, — povedal výhybkár. — Vypravujem vlaky, čo ich odvážajú raz napravo, raz naľavo.

“I sort out travelers, in bundles of a thousand” , said the switchman. “I send off the trains that carry them: now to the right, now to the left.”

A vysvietený rýchlik, duniac ako hrom, otriasol výhybkárovou búdkou.

And a brilliantly lighted express train shook the switchman’s cabin as it rushed by with a roar like thunder.

— Veľmi sa ponáhľajú, — povedal Malý princ. — Čo hľadajú?

“They are in a great hurry,” said the little prince. “What are they looking for?”

— Ani človek na rušni to nevie, — odpovedal výhybkár.

“Not even the locomotive engineer knows that,” said the switchman.

A v opačnom smere zadunel druhý vysvietený rýchlik.

And a second brilliantly lighted express thundered by, in the opposite direction.

— Už sa vracajú? — spýtal sa Malý princ.

“Are they coming back already?” demanded the little prince.

— To nie sú tí istí, — povedal výhybkár. — Vymieňajú sa.

“These are not the same ones,” said the switchman. “It is an exchange.”

— Neboli spokojní tam, kde boli?

“Were they not satisfied where they were?” asked the little prince.

— Človek nikdy nie je spokojný tam, kde je, — povedal výhybkár.

“No one is ever satisfied where he is,” said the switchman.

Vtom ako hrom zadunel tretí vysvietený rýchlik.

And they heard the roaring thunder of a third brilliantly lighted express.

— Idú za tými prvými cestujúcimi? — spýtal sa Malý princ.

“Are they pursuing the first travelers?” demanded the little prince.

— Nejdú vôbec za ničím, — povedal výhybkár. — Spia tam vnútri, alebo poriadne zívajú. Len deti si pritískajú nos na okenné tabuľky.

“They are pursuing nothing at all,” said the switchman. “They are asleep in there, or if they are not asleep they are yawning. Only the children are flattening their noses against the windowpanes.”

— Len deti vedia, čo hľadajú, — povedal Malý princ. — Strácajú čas pre handrovú bábiku, ona sa stáva pre ne veľmi dôležitá, a keď im ju niekto vezme, plačú…

“Only the children know what they are looking for,” said the little prince. “They waste their time over a rag doll and it becomes very important to them; and if anybody takes it away from them, they cry…”

— Majú šťastie, — povedal výhybkár.

“They are lucky,” the switchman said.

XXIII

XXIII

— Dobrý deň, — povedal Malý princ.

“Good morning,” said the little prince.

— Dobrý deň, — povedal obchodník.

“Good morning,” said the merchant.

Bol to obchodník, čo predával vylepšené pilulky proti smädu. Stačilo raz za týždeň jednu zhltnúť, a človek nepociťoval potrebu napiť sa.

This was a merchant who sold pills that had been invented to quench thirst. You need only swallow one pill a week, and you would feel no need of anything to drink.

— Prečo to predávaš? — spýtal sa Malý princ.

“Why are you selling those?” asked the little prince.

— Je to veľká úspora času, — odpovedal obchodník. — Vypočítali to odborníci. Ušetrí sa päťdesiattri minút za týždeň.

“Because they save a tremendous amount of time,” said the merchant. “Computations have been made by experts. With these pills, you save fifty-three minutes in every week.”

— A čo sa urobí s tými päťdesiatimi tromi minútami?

“And what do I do with those fifty-three minutes?”

— Každý si s nimi urobí, čo chce…

“Anything you like…”

— Keby som ja mal premárniť päťdesiattri minút, šiel by som celkom pomaličky k studničke…

“As for me,” said the little prince to himself, “if I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water.”

XXIV

ХXIV

Bolo to ôsmeho dňa po mojej nehode na púšti, a keď som počúval príbeh o obchodníkovi, pil som poslednú kvapku zo svojej zásoby vody.

It was now the eighth day since I had had my accident in the desert, and I had listened to the story of the merchant as I was drinking the last drop of my water supply.

— Ach, — povedal som Malému princovi, — tvoje spomienky sú veľmi pekné, ale ja som ešte neopravil lietadlo, nemám už čo piť, a takisto by som bol šťastný, keby som mohol celkom pomaličky kráčať k nejakej studničke!

“Ah,” I said to the little prince, “these memories of yours are very charming; but I have not yet succeeded in repairing my plane; I have nothing more to drink; and I, too, should be very happy if I could walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water!”

— Moja priateľka líška… — povedal mi.

“My friend the fox — ” the little prince said to me.

— Chlapček môj, už nejde viac o líšku!

“My dear little man, this is no longer a matter that has anything to do with the fox!”

— Prečo?

“Why not?”

— Pretože čoskoro umrieme od smädu…

“Because I am about to die of thirst…”

Nepochopil moju námietku a povedal mi:

He did not follow my reasoning, and he answered me:

— Je dobre, že sme mali priateľa, aj keď máme zomrieť. Ja som veľmi rád, že som mal priateľku líšku…

“It is a good thing to have had a friend, even if one is about to die. I, for instance, am very glad to have had a fox as a friend…”

„Nevie odhadnúť nebezpečenstvo,“ vravel som si. „Nikdy necíti ani hlad, ani smäd. Stačí mu trochu slnka…“

“He has no way of guessing the danger,” I said to myself. “He has never been either hungry or thirsty. A little sunshine is all he needs…”

Ale on na mňa pozrel a odpovedal na moju myšlienku:

But he looked at me steadily, and replied to my thought:

— Aj ja som smädný… pohľadajme studňu…

“I am thirsty, too. Let us look for a well…”

Hodil som unavene rukou: je nezmyselné hľadať naslepo studňu v nekonečnej púšti. A predsa sme sa vydali na cestu.

I made a gesture of weariness. It is absurd to look for a well, at random, in the immensity of the desert. But nevertheless we started walking.

Ako sme tak celé hodiny tíško kráčali, nastala noc a začali sa zažíhať hviezdy. Zazrel som ich ako vo sne, lebo som mal od smädu slabú horúčku. Slová Malého princa mi vírili v mysli.

When we had trudged along for several hours, in silence, the darkness fell, and the stars began to come out. Thirst had made me a little feverish, and I looked at them as if I were in a dream. The little prince’s last words came reeling back into my memory:

— Tak aj ty si smädný? — spýtal som sa ho.

“Then you are thirsty, too?” I demanded.