暖心小說(shuō)《小王子》第17章

When one wishes to play the wit, he sometimes wanders a little from the truth. I have not been altogether honest in what I have told you about the lamplighters. And I realize that I run the risk of giving a false idea of our planet to those who do not know it. Men occupy a very small place upon the Earth. If the two billion inhabitants who people its surface were all to stand upright and somewhat crowded together, as they do for some big public assembly, they could easily be put into one public square twenty miles long and twenty miles wide. All humanity could be piled up on a small Pacific islet.
當(dāng)人們想要說(shuō)得俏皮些的時(shí)候，說(shuō)話就可能會(huì)不大實(shí)在。在給你們講點(diǎn)燈人的時(shí)候，我就不那么忠實(shí)，很可能給不了解我們這個(gè)星球的人們?cè)斐梢粋€(gè)錯(cuò)誤的概念。在地球上，人們所占的位置非常小。如果住在地球上的二十億居民全站著，并且像開(kāi)大會(huì)一樣靠得緊些，那么就可以從容地站在一個(gè)二十海里見(jiàn)方的廣場(chǎng)上。也就是說(shuō)可以把整個(gè)人類集中在太平洋中一個(gè)最小的島嶼上。

The grown-ups, to be sure, will not believe you when you tell them that. They imagine that they fill a great deal of space. They fancy themselves as important as the baobabs. You should advise them, then, to make their own calculations. They adore figures, and that will please them. But do not waste your time on this extra task. It is unnecessary. You have, I know, confidence in me.
當(dāng)然，大人們是不會(huì)相信你們的。他們自以為要占很大地方，他們把自己看得象猴面包樹(shù)那樣大得了不起。你們可以建議他們計(jì)算一下。這樣會(huì)使他們很高興，因?yàn)樗麄兎浅Ｏ矚g數(shù)字。可是你們無(wú)須浪費(fèi)時(shí)間去做這種乏味的連篇累牘的演算。這沒(méi)有必要。你們可以完全相信我。

When the little prince arrived on the Earth, he was very much surprised not to see any people. He was beginning to be afraid he had come to the wrong planet, when a coil of gold, the color of the moonlight, flashed across the sand.
小王子到了地球上感到非常奇怪，他一個(gè)人也沒(méi)有看到，他正擔(dān)心自己跑錯(cuò)了星球。這時(shí)，在沙地上有一個(gè)月光色的圓環(huán)在蠕動(dòng)。

"Good evening," said the little prince courteously.
小王子毫無(wú)把握地隨便說(shuō)了聲：“晚安。”

"Good evening," said the snake.
“晚安。”蛇說(shuō)道。

"What planet is this on which I have come down?" asked the little prince.
“我落在什么行星上？”小王子問(wèn)道。

"This is the Earth; this is Africa," the snake answered.
“在地球上，在非洲。”蛇回答道。

"Ah! Then there are no people on the Earth?"
“啊！……怎么，難道說(shuō)地球上沒(méi)有人嗎？”

"This is the desert. There are no people in the desert. The Earth is large," said the snake.
“這里是沙漠，沙漠中沒(méi)有人。地球是很大的。”蛇說(shuō)。

The little prince sat down on a stone, and raised his eyes toward the sky.
小王子坐在一塊石頭上，抬眼望著天空，說(shuō)道：

"I wonder," he said, "whether the stars are set alight in heaven so that one day each one of us may find his own again… Look at my planet. It is right there above us. But how far away it is!"
“我捉摸這些星星閃閃發(fā)亮是否為了讓每個(gè)人將來(lái)有一天都能重新找到自己的星球。看，我那顆行星。它恰好在我們頭頂上……可是，它離我們好遠(yuǎn)喲！”

"It is beautiful," the snake said. "What has brought you here?"
“它很美。”蛇說(shuō)，“你到這里來(lái)干什么呢?”

"I have been having some trouble with a flower," said the little prince.
“我和一朵花鬧了別扭。”小王子說(shuō)。

"Ah!" said the snake.
“啊！”蛇說(shuō)道。

And they were both silent.
于是他們都沉默下來(lái)。

"Where are the men?" the little prince at last took up the conversation again. "It is a little lonely in the desert…"
“人在什么地方?”小王子終于又開(kāi)了腔。“在沙漠上，真有點(diǎn)孤獨(dú)……”

"It is also lonely among men," the snake said.
“到了有人的地方，也一樣孤獨(dú)。”蛇說(shuō)。

The little prince gazed at him for a long time.
小王子長(zhǎng)時(shí)間地看著蛇。

"You are a funny animal," he said at last. "You are no thicker than a finger…"
“你是個(gè)奇怪的動(dòng)物，細(xì)得象個(gè)手指頭……。”小王子終于說(shuō)道。

"But I am more powerful than the finger of a king," said the snake.
“但我比一個(gè)國(guó)王的手指更有威力。”蛇說(shuō)道。

The little prince smiled.
小王子微笑著說(shuō)：

"You are not very powerful. You haven't even any feet. You cannot even travel…"
“你并不那么有威力……你連腳都沒(méi)有……你甚至都不能旅行……”

"I can carry you farther than any ship could take you," said the snake.
“我可以把你帶到很遠(yuǎn)的地方去，比一只船能去的地方還要遠(yuǎn)。”蛇說(shuō)道。

He twined himself around the little prince's ankle, like a golden bracelet.
蛇就盤(pán)結(jié)在小王子的腳腕子上，象一只金鐲子。

"Whomever I touch, I send back to the earth from whence he came," the snake spoke again. "But you are innocent and true, and you come from a star…"
“被我碰觸的人，我就把他送回老家去。”蛇還說(shuō)，“可是你是純潔的，而且是從另一個(gè)星球上來(lái)的……”

The little prince made no reply.
小王子什么也沒(méi)有回答。

"You move me to pity-- you are so weak on this Earth made of granite," the snake said. "I can help you, some day, if you grow too homesick for your own planet. I can--"
“在這個(gè)花崗石的地球上，你這么弱小，我很可憐你。如果你非常懷念你的星球，那時(shí)我可以幫助你。我可以……”

"Oh! I understand you very well," said the little prince. "But why do you always speak in riddles?"
“啊！我很明白你的意思。”小王子說(shuō)，“但是你為什么說(shuō)話總是像讓人猜謎語(yǔ)似的?”

"I solve them all," said the snake.
“這些謎語(yǔ)我都能解開(kāi)的。”蛇說(shuō)。

And they were both silent.
于是他們又都沉默起來(lái)。

（來(lái)源：愛(ài)詞霸 編輯：丹妮）