小王子 13 | 机关算尽

The fourth planet belonged to a businessman. This man was so much occupied that he did not even raise his head at the little prince's arrival ...

第四个星球属于一个商人。这个人忙得不可开交，小王子来到的时候，他连头都顾不得抬一抬。

" Good morning," the little prince said to him,"Your cigarette has gone out."

“早上好，” 小王子打了个招呼，“ 你的烟灭了。”

"Three and two make five. Five and seven make twelve. Twelve and three make fifteen. Good morning. Fifteen and seven make twenty-two. Twenty-two and six make twenty-eight. I haven't time to light it again. Twenty-six and five make thirty-one. Phew! Then that makes five-hundred-and-one-million, six-hundred-twenty-two-thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one."

“三加二等于五，五加七等于十二，十二加三等于十五。早上好。十五加七等于二十二， 二十二加六等于二十八。我没空点烟。 二十六加五等于三十一。呦！总共是，五亿零一百万六十二万二千七百三十一。”

"Five hundred million what?" asked the little prince.

“五亿什么东西？”小王子问道。

"Eh? Are you still there? Five-hundred-and-one million ... I can't stop ... I have so much to do! I am concerned with matters of consequence, I don't amuse myself with balderdash. Two and five make seven ... "

“啊？你还在这儿？五亿零一百万 ... 我不能停下来 ...忙死我了！我操心的都是些大事，没工夫瞎扯。二加五等于七 ... "

"Five-hundred-and-one million what?" replied the little prince, who never in his life let go of a question once he had asked it.

“ 五亿零一百万什么啊？”小王子追问，他从来都是打破砂锅问到底。

The businessman raise his head.

这时，商人抬起头来。

"During the fifty-four years that I have inhabited this planet, I have been disturbed only three times. The first time was twenty-two years ago, when some giddy goose fell from goodness knows where. He made the most frightful noise that resounded all over the place, and I made four mistakes in my addition. The second time, eleven years ago, I was disturbed by an attack of rheumatism. I don't get enough exercise. I have no time for loafing. The third time - well, this is it! I was saying, then, five-hundred-and -one millions ... "

“我在这个星球住了五十四年，一共被人打扰了三次。第一次是二十二年前，有只不知从哪里来的大鹅，晕头转向地落到这里。它发出可怕的叫声，到处回荡，弄得我加错了四次。第二次是十一年前，我犯了风湿病，平时锻炼不够，没时间瞎逛。第三次，就是这次！刚才正加到五亿零一百万 ... ”

"Millions of what?"

“百万个什么呀？”

The businessman suddenly realized that there was no hope of being left in peace until he answered this question.

商人这时才突然明白，除非他回答这个问题，否则是清净不了了。

"Millions of these little objects" he said, "which one sometimes sees in the  sky."

“千百万个这些小物体”， 他说，“有时能在空中看到。”

"Flies?"

“苍蝇？”

"Oh, no. Little glittering objects."

“ 不是。闪闪发亮的小东西。”

"Bees?"

“蜜蜂？”

"Oh, no. Little golden objects that set lazy men to idle dreaming. As for me, I am concerned with matters of consequence. There is no time for idle dreaming in my life."

“不。金光闪闪的小东西，能让懒汉想入非非的。我可没功夫做白日梦，我关心的都是要紧事。”

"Ah! You mean the stars?"

“啊! 你是说星星？”

"Yes, that's it. The stars."

“是的。就是星星。”

"And what do you do with five-hundred millions of stars?"

“那你弄这么多星星干嘛用啊？”

"Five-hundred-and-one million, six-hundred-twenty-two thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one. I am concerned with matters of consequence, I am accurate."

“那是五亿零一百万六十二万二千七百三十一。我操心的都是要紧事，很注重精确。”

"And what do you do with them?"

“那你用它们干什么呢？”

"What do I do with them?"

“我用来干嘛？”

"yes."

“是的。”

"Nothing. I own then."

“不做什么。我拥有它们。”

" You own the stars?"

“你拥有星星？”

"Yes."

“是的。”

"But I have already seen a king who ... "

“但我见过一个国王，他 ... "

"Kings do not own, they reign over. It is a very different matter."

" 国王们不拥有星星，他们只是统治。完全不是一码事。”

"And what good does it do you to own the stars?"

“那你拥有星星对你有什么好处？”

"It does me the good of making me rich."

“这能让我非常富有。”

"And what good does it do you to be rich?"

“那么富有又有什么好处呢？”

"It makes it possible for me to buy more stars, if any are ever discovered."

“能让我可以买更多的星星，一旦被人发现的话。”

"This man," the little prince said to himself, "reasons a little like my poor tippler ... "

“这个人！” 小王子自言自语，“讲起理来有点像那个可怜的酒鬼 ... ”

Nevertheless, he still had some more questions.

尽管如此，他还是想问几个问题。

" How is it possible for one to own the stars?"

“一个人怎么可能拥有星星呢？”

"To whom do they belong?" the businessman retorted, peevishly. 

“那他们属于谁？” 商人急忙反问道。

"I don't know. To nobody."

“我不知道。不属于任何人。”

"Then they belong to me, because I was the first person to think of it,"

“那就属于我， 因为是我首先想到的。”

"Is that all that is necessary?"

“那就行啦？”

“Certainly. When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you discover an island that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you get an idea before anyone else, you take out a patent on it: it is yours. So with me: I own the stars, because nobody else before me ever thought of owning them."

“当然喽。如果你发现一个钻石，不属于任何人，那就是你的了。你如果发现了一个荒岛，不属于任何人，那就是你的了。如果你首先想到了一个创意，你就可以获得专利权，是你的了。这和我的情况是一样一样的，我拥有这些星星，因为没人在我之前想到过拥有它们。”

"Yes, that is true," said the little prince,"And what do you do with them?"

“是的，这倒是真的，” 小王子说，“那你拿它们来做什么用？”

"I administer them," replied the businessman. "I count them and recount them. It is difficult. But I am a man who is naturally interested in matters of consequence."

“我管理它们，” 商人回答，“我反复计算它们的数量。这不容易，但我可是天生对要紧事感兴趣的人。”

The little prince was still not satisfied.

小王子的好奇心还没得到满足。

"If I owned a silk scarf," he said,"I could put it around my neck and take it away with me. If I owned a flower, I could pluck that flower  and take it away with me. But you cannot pluck the stars from heaven ... "

“如果我有一条丝巾，”他说，“我可以围在脖子上带走。如果有一棵花，可以摘下花儿带走。但是，你不能从天上摘星星吧 ...”

"No. But I can put them in the bank."

“是不能。但我可以把它们存在银行。”

"Whatever does that mean?"

“这到底是什么意思？”

"That means that I write the number of my stars on a little paper. And then I put this paper in a drawer and lock it with a key."

“意思就是，我把星星的数量写在一张小纸条上，然后，把小纸条放进抽屉里，再把抽屉锁上

"And that is all?"

”这样就行啦？“

"It is entertaining," thought the little prince. "It is rather poetic. But it is of no great consequence."

“这真是有风趣，” 小王子心想，“甚至有点诗意。但这些无关紧要。“

On matters of consequence, the little prince had ideas which were very different from those of the grown-ups.

在有关什么是要紧事的问题上，小王子与大人们的看法是大相径庭的。

"I myself own a flower," he continued his conversation with the businessman, "which I water every day. I own three volcanoes, which I clean out every week. It is of some use to my volcanoes, and it is is of some use to my flower, that I own them. But you are of no use to the stars ... "

“我自己拥有一棵花，” 他继续与商人聊道，“ 我天天给它浇水。我还有三座火山，每星期我都彻底打扫一遍。我拥有火山和花儿，对它们都有好的作用。但是，你对于这些星星而言，毫无用处 ... '

The businessman opened his mouth, but he found nothing to say in answer. And the little prince went away.

生意人张大嘴，却无言以对。于是，小王子走开了。

"The grown-ups are certainly altogether extraordinary," he said simply, talking to himself as he continued on his journey.

”大人们真是古怪至极，” 他坦率地说道，自言自语地，继续开始了他的旅行。