Chapter 17 地球上的蛇

Chapter 17

When one wishes to play the wit, he sometimes wanders a little from the truth.

当人们想要卖弄机智的时候，他有时候会偏离一点真相。

I have not been altogether honest in what I have told you about the lamplighters.

在给你们讲点灯人的时候，我就不是完全诚实的。

And I realize that I run the risk of giving a false idea of our planet to those who do not know it.

然后我意识到我很可能会给不了解我们这个星球的人们一个错误的概念。

Men occupy a very small place upon the Earth.

在地球上，人们所占的位置非常小。

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,

如果居住在地球上的二十亿居民，像他们在某些公众集会上那样站直，聚在一起，

they could easily be put into one public square twenty miles long and twenty miles wide.

他们能轻易地被放进一个20海里长20海里宽的广场。

All humanity could be piled up on a small Pacific islet.

所有的人类能被堆积在太平洋的一个小岛上。

The grown-ups, to be sure, will not believe you when you tell them that.

成人们，肯定，不会相信你的当你那样告诉他们的时候。

They imagine that they fill a great deal of space.

他们认为他们填充了大量的空间。

They fancy themselves as important as the baobabs.

他们幻想他们自己和像猴面包树那样重要。

You should advise them, then, to make their own calculations.

你们可以建议他们，自己计算一下。

They adore figures, and that will please them.

他们崇拜数字，那会使他们很高兴的。

But do not waste your time on this extra task. It is unnecessary.

但别在这额外的任务上浪费你的时间。这没有必要。

You have, I know, confidence in me.

我知道，你对我有信心。

When the little prince arrived on the Earth, he was very much surprised not to see any people.

小王子到了地球上时，他觉得很惊讶没有看见任何人。

He was beginning to be afraid he had come to the wrong planet, when a coil of gold, the colour of the moonlight, flashed across the sand.

他正要开始担心自己跑错了星球，这时，一圈金色，月光的颜色，从沙滩上闪过。

"Good evening," said the little prince courteously.

“晚上好，”小王子有礼貌地说。

"Good evening," said the snake.

“晚上好。”蛇说道。

"What planet is this on which I have come down"? asked the little prince.

“我落在的这个行星是什么？”小王子问道。

"This is the Earth; this is Africa," the snake answered.

“这是地球，这是非洲。”蛇回答道。

"Ah! Then there are no people on the Earth"?

“啊！那么地球上没有人吗？”

"This is the desert. There are no people in the desert. The Earth is large," said the snake.

“这里是沙漠。沙漠中没有人。地球是很大的。”蛇说。

The little prince sat down on a stone, and raised his eyes toward the sky.

小王子坐在一块石头上，抬眼望向天空。

"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. . .

“我想知道，”他说，“这些星星是不是被设置成在天上发亮的，所以总有一天我们中的每个人都会重新找到他自己的星星。

Look at my planet. It is right there above us. But how far away it is"!

看我的行星。它恰好在我们头顶上。但它是多么远啊！”

"It is beautiful," the snake said. "What has brought you here"?

“它很美。”蛇说，“你到这里来干什么呢？”

"I have been having some trouble with a flower," said the little prince.

“我和一朵花闹了别扭。”小王子说。

"Ah"! said the snake. And they were both silent.

“啊！”蛇说道。于是他们都沉默下来。

"Where are the men"? the little prince at last took up the conversation again.

“人在什么地方？”小王子终于重新开始了对话。

"It is a little lonely in the desert. . ."

“在沙漠上有点孤独……”

"It is also lonely among men," the snake said.

“在人们中间也会孤独。”蛇说。

The little prince gazed at him for a long time.

小王子凝视了他很久。

"You are a funny animal," he said at last. "You are no thicker than a finger. . ."

“你是个有趣的动物，”小王子终于说道，“你跟一根手指一样细……”

"But I am more powerful than the finger of a king," said the snake.

“但我比一个国王的手指更有威力。”蛇说道。

The little prince smiled.

小王子笑了。

"You are not very powerful. You haven't even any feet. . ." You cannot even travel.

“你没那么有威力。你连脚都没有。你甚至都不能旅行。”

"I can carry you farther than any ship could take you," said the snake.

“我可以带你去比任何船只能带你去的更远的地方。”蛇说道。

He twined himself around the little prince's ankle, like a golden bracelet.

他把自己盘结在小王子的脚踝上，象一只金镯子。

"Whomever I touch, I send back to the earth from whence he came," the snake spoke again.

“被我碰触的人，我把他送回他来的地方。”蛇又说话了，

"But you are innocent and true, and you come from a star. . ."

“可是你是无辜且真实的，而且你来自一颗星星……”

The little prince made no reply.

小王子没有回答。

"You move me to pity -- you are so weak on this Earth made of granite," the snake said.

“在这个花岗石做成的地球上，你这么弱小，你让我同情。”蛇说。

"I can help you, some day, if you grow too homesick for your own planet. I can".

“我能帮助你，如果有一天你非常想念你的星球的话。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。”小王子说，“但是你为什么总是用谜语说话？”

"I solve them all," said the snake. And they were both silent.

“我解决了他们全部。”蛇说。于是他们又都沉默起来。