适合大人读的童话书：《小王子》 第24章

小说简介

《小王子》是作家安东尼·德·圣埃克苏佩里于1942写成的著名法国儿童文学短篇小说。本书的主人公是来自外星球的小王子。书中以一位飞行员作为故事叙述者，讲述了小王子从自己星球出发前往地球的过程中，所经历的各种历险。作者以小王子的孩子式的眼光，透视出成人的空虚、盲目和愚妄，用浅显天真的语言写出了人类的孤独寂寞、没有根基随风流浪的命运。同时，也表达出作者对金钱关系的批判，对真善美的讴歌。

 

 

章节连载

“That frightens me...I cannot, any more...” murmured the little prince, now completely abashed. “Hum! Hum!” replied the king. “Then I – I order you sometimes to yawn and sometimes to -”

“这倒叫我有点紧张……我打不出哈欠来了……”小王子红着脸说。“嗯！嗯！”国王回答道：“那么我……命令你忽而打哈欠，忽而……”

 

He sputtered a little, and seemed vexed. For what the king fundamentally insisted upon was that his authority should be respected. He tolerated no disobedience. He was an absolute monarch. But, because he was a very good man, he made his orders reasonable.

他嘟嘟囔囔，显出有点恼怒。因为国王所要求的主要是保持他的威严受到尊敬。他不能容忍不听他的命令。他是一位绝对的君主。可是，他却很善良，他下的命令都是有理智的。

 

"If I ordered a general," he would say, by way of example, "if I ordered a general to change himself into a sea bird, and if the general did not obey me, that would not be the fault of the general. It would be my fault."

“如果我命令一个将军，”他会说，举个例子，“如果我命令一个将军改变自己变成一个海鸟，而这位将军不服从我的命令，那么这就不是将军的过错，而是我的过错。”

 

"May I sit down?" came now a timid inquiry from the little prince. "I order you to do so," the king answered him, and majestically gathered in a fold of his ermine mantle.

小王子腼腆地试探道：“我可以坐下吗？”“我命令你坐下。”国王一边回答，一边庄重地把他那白底黑花皮袍大襟挪动了一下。

 

But the little prince was wondering... The planet was tiny. Over what could this king really rule? "Sire," he said to him, "I beg that you will excuse my asking you a question..." "I order you to ask me a question," the king hastened to assure him.

可是小王子感到很奇怪。这么小的行星，国王他对什么进行统治呢？他对国王说：“陛下……请原谅，我想问您……”国王急忙抢着说道：“我命令你问我。”

 

Sire – over what do you rule? "Over everything," said the king, with magnificent simplicity. Over everything?

陛下……你统治什么呢？国王非常简单明了地说：“我统治一切。”一切？

 

The king made a gesture, which took in his planet, the other planets, and all the stars. "Over all that?" asked the little prince. "Over all that," the king answered.

国王轻轻地用手指着他的行星和其他的行星，以及所有的星星。小王子说：“统治这一切？”“统治这一切。”国王回答。

 

For his rule was not only absolute: it was also universal. And the stars obey you? "Certainly they do," the king said. "They obey instantly. I do not permit insubordination."

原来他不仅是一个绝对的君主，而且是整个宇宙的君主。那么，星星都服从您吗?“那当然！”国王对他说，“它们立即就得服从。我是不允许无纪律的。”