小王子-chapter17

The Little Prince 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，说话就可能会不大实在。

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. 

在给你们讲点灯人时，我就不那么诚实，很可能对那些不了解我们星球的人造成了误解。

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

如果地球上的二十亿居民全部站着，并像开大会一样靠得紧些，那么就可以从容地站在一个二十英里见方的广场上。

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

也就是说，可以把全人类集中在太平洋中一个最小的岛屿上。

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. 

当然，大人们是不会相信你的。他们自以为要占很大地方，把自己看得像猴面包树那样了不起。

You should advise them, then, to make their own calculations. They adore figures, and that will please them. 

你可以建议大人们自己计算一下，这样会使他们很高兴，因为他们非常喜欢数字。

But do not waste your time on this extra task. It is unnecessary. You have, I know, confidence in me.

可是你不必浪费时间，去做这种乏味的、连篇累牍的演算。这没有必要，你可以相信我。

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，他一个人也没有看到。他正担心自己跑错了星球，这时，在沙地上有一个月光色的圆环在蠕动。

"Good evening," said the little prince courteously.

小王子客气地问候：“晚安。”

"Good evening," said the snake.

“晚安。”蛇说道。

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

“我降落在什么行星上？”小王子问道。

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

“在地球上，这里是非洲。”蛇回答道。

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

“啊！难道说地球上没有人吗？”

"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，抬眼望着天空，说道：

"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!"

“我想知道，这些星星在空中闪闪发亮，是不是为了让每个人将来都能重新找到自己的星球。看，我来自那颗星星。它恰好在我们头顶上……可是，它离我们好远哟！”

"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.

“啊！”蛇说道。

And they were both silent.

接着他们都沉默下来。

"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？”小王子终于又开了腔。“在沙漠上，真有点孤独……“

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

“到了有人的地方，也一样孤独。”蛇说。

The little prince gazed at him for a long time.

小王子一直盯着蛇看。

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

“你是个奇怪的家伙，细得像个手指头……。”小王子终于说道。

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

小王子微笑着说，“你没有这么厉害……你连脚都没有……甚至都不能旅行……”

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

“我可以把你带到很远的地方去，比一只船能去的地方还要远。”蛇说道。

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

蛇盘在小王子的脚踝上，像一只金镯子。

"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…"

“被我触到的人，我就把他送回老家去。”蛇还说，“可是你是纯洁的，而且是从另一个星球上来的……”

The little prince made no reply.

小王子什么也没有回答。

"You move me to pity-- you are so weak on this Earth made of granite," the snake said. "I can help you, someday, if you grow too homesick for your own planet. I can--"

“在这个花岗石的地球上，你这么弱小，我很可怜你。如果你非常怀念你的星球，那时我可以帮助你。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。”小王子说，“但是你为什么说话总是像让人猜谜语似的？”

"I solve them all," said the snake.

“这些谜语我都能解开的。”蛇说。

And they were both silent.

接着他们又都沉默起来。