Little Prince 适合大人读的童话书：《小王子》 第9章

When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters.

当你对大人们讲起你的一个新朋友时，他们从来不向你提出实质性的问题。

 

They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like?"

他们从来不讲：“他说话声音如何啊?”

 

What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?

他喜爱什么样的游戏啊?他是否收集蝴蝶标本呀?

 

Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he?"

他们却问你：“他多大年纪呀?弟兄几个呀?”

 

How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?

体重多少呀?他父亲挣多少钱呀?

 

Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

他们以为这样才算了解朋友。

 

If you were to say to the grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof,"

如果你对大人们说：“我看到一幢用玫瑰色的砖盖成的漂亮的房子，它的窗户上有天竺葵，屋顶上还有鸽子…”

 

they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all.

他们怎么也想象不出这种房子有多么好。

 

You would have to say to them: "I saw a house that cost $20,000."

必须对他们说：“我看见了一幢价值十万法郎的房子。”

 

Then they would exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house that is!"

那么他们就惊叫道：“多么漂亮的房子啊!”

 

Just so, you might say to them: "The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming."

要是你对他们说：“小王子存在的证据就是他非常漂亮。

 

that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep.

他笑着，想要一只羊。

 

If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists.

他想要一只小羊，这就证明他的存在。

 

And what good would it do to tell them that?

告诉他们,将会带来什么好处呢?

 

They would shrug their shoulders, and treat you like a child.

他们一定会耸耸肩膀，把你当作孩子看待!

 

But if you said to them: "The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612,"

但是，如果你对他们说：“小王子来自的星球就是小行星B612”，

 

then they would be convinced, and leave you in peace from their questions.

那么他们就十分信服，他们就不会提出一大堆问题来和你纠缠。

 

They are like that.

他们就是这样的。

 

One must not hold it against them.

不要介怀。

 

Children should always show great forbearance toward grown-up people.

小孩子们对大人们应该宽厚些，不要埋怨他们。

 

But certainly, for us who understand life, figures are a matter of indifference.

当然，对我们懂得生活的人来说，我们才不在乎那些编号呢!

 

I should have liked to begin this story in the fashion of the fairy-tales.

我真愿意象讲神话那样来开始这个故事。

 

I should have like to say: "Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet that was scarcely any bigger than himself, and who had need of a sheep..."

我真想这样说：“从前呀，有一个小王子，他住在一个和他身体差不多大的星球上，他希望有一个朋友…”

 

To those who understand life, that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story.

对懂得生活的人来说，这样说就显得真实。

For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly.

我可不喜欢人们轻率地读我的书。

 

I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories.

我在讲述这些往事时心情是很难过的。