— Chlapček môj, chcem ešte počuť, ako sa smeješ…

“Little man,” I said, “I want to hear you laugh again.”

Ale on mi povedal:

But he said to me:

— Túto noc to bude rok. Moja hviezda sa ocitne práve nad miestom, kam som vlani spadol…

“Tonight, it will be a year… My star, then, can be found right above the place where I came to the Earth, a year ago…”

— Chlapček môj, však je tá historka o hadovi, o schôdzke s ním a o hviezde len zlým snom?

“Little man,” I said, “tell me that it is only a bad dream — this affair of the snake, and the meeting-place, and the star…”

Ale on mi neodpovedal na túto otázku.

But he did not answer my plea.

Povedal:
— To, čo je dôležité, je neviditeľné…

He said to me, instead:
“The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen…”

— Pravdaže…

“Yes, I know…”

— Je to ako s tou kvetinou. Ak máš rád jednu kvetinu, ktorá je na nejakej hviezde, je veľmi príjemné hľadieť v noci na nebo. Všetky hviezdy zakvitnú.

“It is just as it is with the flower. If you love a flower that lives on a star, it is sweet to look at the sky at night. All the stars are a-bloom with flowers…”

— Pravdaže…

“Yes, I know…”

— Je to ako s tou vodou. Tá, z ktorej si sa mi dal napiť, bola ako hudba, vďaka hriadeľu a povrazu… spomínaš si… bola dobrá.

“It is just as it is with the water. Because of the pulley, and the rope, what you gave me to drink was like music. You remember — how good it was.”

— Pravdaže…

“Yes, I know…”

— V noci sa budeš dívať na hviezdy. Tá moja je primalá, aby som ti mohol ukázať, kde je. Je to tak lepšie. Moja hviezda bude pre teba jedna z mnohých hviezd. Budeš sa teda rád dívať na všetky hviezdy… Všetky budú tvojimi priateľkami. A ešte ti dám darček…

“And at night you will look up at the stars. Where I live everything is so small that I cannot show you where my star is to be found. It is better, like that. My star will just be one of the stars, for you. And so you will love to watch all the stars in the heavens… they will all be your friends. And, besides, I am going to make you a present…”

Opäť sa zasmial.

He laughed again.

— Ach, chlapček, chlapček môj, tak rád počúvam tento smiech!

“Ah, little prince, dear little prince! I love to hear that laughter!”

— Práve to bude môj darček… bude to ako s tou vodou…

“That is my present. Just that. It will be as it was when we drank the water…”

— Čo tým chceš povedať?

“What are you trying to say?”

— Ľudia majú svoje hviezdy, ale ony neznamenajú pre všetkých to isté. Pre jedných, čo cestujú, sú hviezdy sprievodcami. Pre druhých sú iba malými svetielkami. Pre iných, čo sú učencami, znamenajú problémy. Pre môj ho biznismena boli zo zlata. Ale všetky tie hviezdy mlčia. Ty budeš mať také hviezdy, aké nemá nikto…

“All men have the stars,” he answered, “but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman they were wealth. But all these stars are silent. You — you alone — will have the stars as no one else has them — ”

— Čo tým chceš povedať?

“What are you trying to say?”

— Keď budeš v noci hľadieť na nebo, bude sa ti zdať, akoby sa všetky hviezdy smiali, pretože ja budem bývať na jednej z nich, pretože ja sa budem na jednej z nich smiať. Ty budeš mať hviezdy, ktoré sa vedia smiať.

“In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night… You — only you — will have stars that can laugh!”

A znova sa zasmial.

And he laughed again.

— A keď sa utešíš (človek sa vždy uteší), budeš rád, že si ma poznal. Budeš navždy mojím priateľom. Budeš mať chuť smiať sa spolu so mnou. A zavše otvoríš oblok iba tak pre potešenie…

“And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure…

A tvoji priatelia budú veľmi prekvapení, že ťa vidia, ako sa pri pohľade na nebo smeješ. Vtedy im povieš: „Áno, hviezdy ma vždy rozosmejú.“ A oni si budú myslieť, že si sa zbláznil. Vyvediem ti tak pekný kúsok…

And your friends will be properly astonished to see you laughing as you look up at the sky! Then you will say to them, ‘Yes, the stars always make me laugh!’ And they will think you are crazy. It will be a very shabby trick that I shall have played on you…”

A znovu sa zasmial.

And he laughed again.

— Bude to, akoby som ti dal namiesto hviezd množstvo malých zvončekov, čo sa vedia smiať…

“It will be as if, in place of the stars, I had given you a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh…”

A opäť sa zasmial. Potom zvážnel.

And he laughed again. Then he quickly became serious:

— Vieš… túto noc… nepríď.

“Tonight — you know… Do not come.”

— Neopustím ťa.

“I shall not leave you,” I said.

— Budem vyzerať, akoby ma niečo bolelo… budem trochu vyzerať, akoby som umieral. Tak to býva. Nepríď sa na to pozerať, nie je to potrebné…

“I shall look as if I were suffering. I shall look a little as if I were dying. It is like that. Do not come to see that. It is not worth the trouble…”

— Neopustím ťa.

“I shall not leave you.”

Ale jemu to robilo starosti.

But he was worried.

— Vravím ti to… aj pre toho hada. Nesmie ťa uštipnúť… Hady sú zlé. Môžu uštipnúť len pre potešenie…

“I tell you — it is also because of the snake. He must not bite you. Snakes — they are malicious creatures. This one might bite you just for fun…”

— Neopustím ťa.

“I shall not leave you.”

Ale čosi ho upokojilo.

But a thought came to reassure him:

— Je pravda, že na druhé uštipnutie už jed nemajú…

“It is true that they have no more poison for a second bite.”

Tú noc som nezbadal, kedy sa vydal na cestu. Tichučko sa vytratil. Keď sa mi ho podarilo dohoniť, odhodlane, rýchlo kráčal dopredu. Povedal mi iba:

That night I did not see him set out on his way. He got away from me without making a sound. When I succeeded in catching up with him he was walking along with a quick and resolute step. He said to me merely:

— Ach! Ty si tu…

“Ah! You are there…”

A chytil sa ma za ruku. Ale znova ho to začalo trápiť.

And he took me by the hand. But he was still worrying.

— Neurobil si dobre. Spôsobí ti to bolesť. Budem vyzerať ako mŕtvy, a nebude to pravda…

“It was wrong of you to come. You will suffer. I shall look as if I were dead; and that will not be true…”

Mlčal som.

I said nothing.

— Pochop, je to veľmi ďaleko. Nemôžem vziať so sebou toto telo. Je veľmi ťažké.

“You understand… it is too far. I cannot carry this body with me. It is too heavy.”

Mlčal som.

I said nothing.

— Ale to bude len ako stará opustená škrupina. A staré škrupiny, to nie je nič smutné.

“But it will be like an old abandoned shell. There is nothing sad about old shells…”

Mlčal som.

I said nothing.

Stratil trochu odvahu. Ale pozbieral ešte všetky sily:

He was a little discouraged. But he made one more effort:

— Vieš, bude to pekné. Aj ja sa budem dívať na hviezdy. Všetky hviezdy budú studne so zhrdzaveným hriadeľom. Všetky hviezdy mi budú nalievať vodu…

“You know, it will be very nice. I, too, shall look at the stars. All the stars will be wells with a rusty pulley. All the stars will pour out fresh water for me to drink…”

Mlčal som.

I said nothing.

— Bude to také zábavné! Ty budeš mať päťsto miliónov malých zvončekov, ja budem mať päťsto miliónov studničiek…

“That will be so amusing! You will have five hundred million little bells, and I shall have five hundred million springs of fresh water…”

A zmĺkol aj on, pretože plakal…

And he too said nothing more, because he was crying…

— Tu je to. Nechaj ma urobiť jeden krok samého.

“Here it is. Let me go on by myself.”

A sadol si, lebo sa bál.

And he sat down, because he was afraid.

Ešte dodal:

Then he said, again:

— Vieš… moja ruža… som za ňu zodpovedný! Je taká slabá! A taká naivná! Má iba štyri naničsúce tŕne, a tie ju majú chrániť proti svetu…

“You know — my flower… I am responsible for her. And she is so weak! She is so naïve! She has four thorns, of no use at all, to protect herself against all the world…”

Aj ja som si sadol, pretože som už nevládal stáť. Povedal:

I too sat down, because I was not able to stand up any longer.

— Tak… To je všetko…

“There now — that is all…”

Ešte trochu váhal, potom vstal. Urobil krok. Ja som sa nemohol ani pohnúť.

He still hesitated a little; then he got up. He took one step. I could not move.

Pri jeho členku sa iba mihol žltý záblesk. Chvíľu nehybne stál. Nevykríkol. Padal pomaly, ako padá strom. Dokonca to na piesku nespôsobilo nijaký hluk.

There was nothing but a flash of yellow close to his ankle. He remained motionless for an instant. He did not cry out. He fell as gently as a tree falls. There was not even any sound, because of the sand.

XXVII

XXVII

A odvtedy už veru prešlo šesť rokov… Nikdy som ešte tento príbeh nikomu nerozprával. Keď som sa znova stretol s priateľmi, boli veľmi radi, že ma vidia živého. Bol som smutný, ale vravel som im: „To je z únavy…“

And now six years have already gone by… I have never yet told this story. The companions who met me on my return were well content to see me alive. I was sad, but I told them: “I am tired.”

Už som sa trošku utešil. To znamená.., nie celkom. Ale dobre viem, že sa vrátil na svoju planétu, pretože na svitaní som jeho telo nenašiel. Nebolo to až také ťažké telo… V noci rád počúvam hviezdy. Je to ako päťsto miliónov zvončekov…

Now my sorrow is comforted a little. That is to say — not entirely. But I know that he did go back to his planet, because I did not find his body at daybreak. It was not such a heavy body… and at night I love to listen to the stars. It is like five hundred million little bells…

Ale stala sa mimoriadna vec. K náhubku, čo som nakreslil Malému princovi, zabudol som pripojiť kožený remienok! Nikdy ho nemohol ovečke priviazať. A tak sa pýtam: „Čo sa asi stalo na jeho planéte? Je veru možné, že ovečka zožrala ružu…“

But there is one extraordinary thing… when I drew the muzzle for the little prince, I forgot to add the leather strap to it. He will never have been able to fasten it on his sheep. So now I keep wondering: what is happening on his planet? Perhaps the sheep has eaten the flower…

Raz si poviem: „Určite nie! Malý princ ju každú noc zakrýva skleným zvonom a ovečku si dobre stráži…“ Vtedy som šťastný. A všetky hviezdy sa tichučko smejú.

At one time I say to myself: “Surely not! The little prince shuts his flower under her glass globe every night, and he watches over his sheep very carefully…” Then I am happy. And there is sweetness in the laughter of all the stars.

Raz si zasa poviem: „Niekedy je človek roztržitý, a to stačí! Jedného večera Malý princ možno zabudol na sklený zvon, alebo sa ovečka v noci ticho vykradla…“ Vtedy sa mi všetky zvončeky menia na slzy…!

But at another time I say to myself: “At some moment or other one is absent-minded, and that is enough! On some one evening he forgot the glass globe, or the sheep got out, without making any noise, in the night…” And then the little bells are changed to tears…

Je to naozaj veľká záhada. Pre vás, čo máte radi Malého princa, práve tak ako pre mňa nebude vesmír rovnaký ako predtým, ak niekde, nevie sa kde, ovečka, ktorú nepoznáme, zožrala, možno áno, možno nie, jednu ružu…

Here, then, is a great mystery. For you who also love the little prince, and for me, nothing in the universe can be the same if somewhere, we do not know where, a sheep that we never saw has — yes or no? — eaten a rose…

Zahľaďte sa na nebo. Pýtajte sa: zožrala ovečka ružu — áno, alebo nie? A uvidíte, ako sa všetko zmení…

Look up at the sky. Ask yourselves: is it yes or no? Has the sheep eaten the flower? And you will see how everything changes…

A nijaký dospelý nikdy nepochopí, že je to také dôležité!

And no grown-up will ever understand that this is a matter of so much importance!

Toto je pre mňa tá najkrajšia a najsmutnejšia krajina na svete. Je to tá istá krajina ako na predchádzajúcej strane, ale nakreslil som ju ešte raz, aby som vám ju dobre ukázal. Tu sa Malý princ zjavil na Zemi, potom zmizol.

This is, to me, the loveliest and saddest landscape in the world. It is the same as that on the preceding page, but I have drawn it again to impress it on your memory. It is here that the little prince appeared on Earth, and disappeared.

Zahľaďte sa pozorne na túto krajinu, aby ste si boli istí, že ju spoznáte, keď budete jedného dňa cestovať v Afrike po púšti. A keď tadiaľ náhodou budete prechádzať, naliehavo vás prosím, neponáhľajte sa, čakajte chvíľu tesne pod hviezdou!

Look at it carefully so that you will be sure to recognize it in case you travel some day to the African desert. And, if you should come upon this spot, please do not hurry on. Wait for a time, exactly under the star.

Ak potom príde k vám dieťa, ak sa bude smiať, ak bude mať zlaté vlasy, ak nebude odpovedať, keď sa ho budete pýtať, ľahko uhádnete, kto to je. Buďte potom ku mne láskaví! Nenechávajte ma takého zarmúteného: rýchlo mi napíšte, že sa vrátil...

Then, if a little man appears who laughs, who has golden hair and who refuses to answer questions, you will know who he is. If this should happen, please comfort me. Send me word that he has come back.

1943

1943