小王子13章

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.

第四颗行星是一个生意人的星球。他忙得不可开交，在小王子到来的时候甚至连头都没有抬一下。

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

“早上好，”小王子说“你的香烟已经熄灭了，”

"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."

“3+2=5，5+7=12，12+3=15，早上好，15+7=22，22+6=28，我没时间再点燃它，26+5=31哦，总共是五亿零一百六十二万二千七百三十一。”

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

“五亿什么？”小王子问，

"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，五一零一百万......额，我也不知道是什么了......，我有很多事要做！我在做正经事，可没功夫做废话！2+5=7......”

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

“五亿零一百万什么呀？”小王子又问了一遍。他一旦提出了什么问题，是不会放弃的。

The businessman raised his head.

这位生意人抬起了头。

"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--"

“我在这颗星球上住了54年，这期间只被打搅过三次。第一次是在22年前，天上突然掉下了一只，不知是从哪儿来的金龟子，他发出了一种很可怕的噪声，这害得我的加法算错了四处。第二次是11年前，我的风湿病犯了。我缺乏运动。我没有时间闲逛。第三次......就是这一次！我刚刚说的是多少，五亿零一百万......”

"Millions of what?"

“几百万什么？”

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

这位生意人突然意识到，如果他不回答这个问题，他就别想获得片刻的安宁。

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

“几百万个小东西，他说，有时能看见他们在天上。”

"Flies?"

“苍蝇吗？”

"Oh, no. Little glittering objects."

“哦，不是，是闪闪发光的小东西。”

"Bees?"

“蜜蜂吗？”

"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."

“不是，是金黄色的小东西，那些小东西让懒人们白日做梦。至于我，我有正经事要做，可没时间做白日梦。”

"Ah! You mean the stars?"

“啊！你说的是星星吧？”

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

“是的，没错，就是星星。”

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

“可你要五亿多颗星星，有什么用呢？”

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

“五亿零一百六十二万二千七百三十一颗。我是个严肃认真的人，非常讲求精确。”

"And what do you do with these stars?"

“那你用这些星星做什么呢？”

"What do I do with them?"

“我用它们做什么？”

"Yes."

“是的。”

"Nothing. I own them."

“什么都不做。我拥有它们。”

"You own the stars?"

“你拥有这些星星”

"Yes."

“是的。”

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

“但我曾见过一位国王，他......”

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

“国王并不占有，他们只是统治。这是完全不同的。”

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

“那你拥有这么多星星，有什么好处呢？”

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

“好处就是能使我变得更富有。”

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

“变得富有又有什么用呢？”

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

“这能让我买更多的星星，如果有人发现的话。”

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

“这个人，”小王子心里想，“他说起话来有点像那个可怜的酒鬼。”

Nevertheless, he still had some more questions.

不过，他还是有很多问题要问。

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

“人怎么能拥有星星呢？”

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

“那你说他们属于谁？”生意人不耐烦的反驳道。

"I don't know. To nobody."

“我不知道不属于任何人吧。”

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

“那就属于我，因为我是第一个想到拥有它们的人。”

"Is that all that is necessary?"

“这样就行了吗？”

"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 any one 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。如果你发现了一颗没有主人的钻石，那么这颗钻石就是属于你的。如果你发现了一座没有主人的小岛，那么这座小岛就是属于你的。如果你最先想到的一个创意，并去申请了专利，那么这个创意就是属于你的。所以我拥有这些星星，因为在我之前没有人想到过拥有它们。”

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

“那倒没错。”小王子说，“那你用它们来做什么呢？”

"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."

“我管理他们。”商人回答说，“我一遍又一遍地计算他们的数量，这是件很困难的事，但我生来就是个喜欢做正经事的人。”

The little prince was still not satisfied.

小王子还是不满意。

"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…"

“如果我拥有一条丝绸围巾，他说，我可以把它围在脖子上，随身带走。如果我拥有一朵花，我可以把它摘下来，随身带走。但你不能把星星从天上摘下来......”

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

“是不能。但我可以把它们存进银行里。”

"Whatever does that mean?"

“这又是什么意思？”

"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."

“这就是说，我把星星的编号写在一张纸条上。然后再把纸条放进抽屉里，再用钥匙把抽屉锁上。”

"And that is all?"

“这样就行了吗？”

"That is enough," said the businessman.

“这就够了。”生意人说。

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

“这还挺有趣的，”小王子心里想“这很有诗意。但这可算不上什么正经事。”

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

对于什么是正经事，小王子的看法和那些大人们完全不同。

"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 (for I also clean out the one that is extinct; one never knows). It is of some use to my volcanoes, and it is of some use to my flower, that I own them. But you are of no use to the stars…"

“我有一朵花，”他接着对生意人说，“我每天都给它浇水。我还有三座火山，我每周都清扫它们，连这蜜蜂座死火山也清扫，谁知道他还会不会喷发呢。我对于我所拥有的火山和我拥有的花是有用的。可你对于星星来说并没有什么用......”

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

生意人张了张嘴，却无言以对。于是小王子就离开了。

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

“这些大人们真是奇怪极了。”小王子心里想继续踏上了他的旅途。