小王子17章

When one wishes to play the wit, he sometimes wanders a little from the truth. 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 k now it. Men occupy a very small place upon the Earth. 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. All humanity could be piled up on a small Pacific islet.

如果人们想要把话说得俏皮些，有时就可能说的不怎么实在。我在给你们讲到点灯人的时候，说话就不怎么实在。我突然意识到，我是在冒着给那些不了解我们这颗星球的人一个错误概念的风险说了那些话。其实，人们在地球上占据的空间很小。如果住在地球上的20亿居民都站着，并且像集会时那样站得稍微拥挤一些，那么一个20英里见方的广场就可以轻松的容纳下他们。也就是说可以把全人类都集中到太平洋中的一个小岛上。

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. You should advise them, then, to make their own calculations. They adore fig ures, and that will please them. But do not waste your time on this extra task. It is unnecessary. You have, I know, confidence in me.

当然，你给大人们说这些。他们是不会相信的，他们以为自己占了很大的地方，他们自以为自己和猴面包树一样重要。你可以建议他们亲自去算一算，大人们很喜欢数字，他们会乐意这么做的。不过你不要把时间浪费在这种无意义的事情上，你可以完全相信我。

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.

到达了地球后，小王子感到非常奇怪。因为他一个人都没有看到，小王子有些担心自己是不是走错了星球。这时一道像月光一样金色的圆环在沙地上移动了起来。

"Good evening," said the little prince courteously.

“晚上好，”小王子礼貌地说。

"Good evening," said the snake.

“晚上好，”蛇说。

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

“我这是落在什么星球上的”小王子问。

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

“你这是地球，这是非洲。”蛇回答说。

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

“啊！......难道地球上没有人吗？”

"This is the desert. There are no people in the desert. The Earth is large," said the snake.

“这里是沙漠，沙漠里没有人。地球是很大的。”蛇说。

The little prince sat down on a stone, and raised his eyes toward the sky.

小王子坐在了一块石头上，抬眼望着天空。

"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!"

“我在想，”他说，“这些星星在天空中闪闪发光，是不是为了让我们每个人在将来的某天都能重新找回那颗属于我们的星星。你看我的星球，他就在我们头顶上方......可它离我们那么远！”

"It is beautiful," the snake said. "What has brought you here?"

“它很漂亮。”蛇说，“你来这里做什么？”

"I have been having some trouble with a flower," said the little prince.

“我和一朵花闹了点别扭。”小王子说。

"Ah!" said the snake.

“啊！”蛇说。

And they were both silent.

于是他们都沉默了下来。

"Where are the men?" the little prince at last took up the conversation again. "It is a little lonely in the desert…"

“哪里有人？”小王子终于又开了口，“在沙漠里，有点孤独......”

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

“在人群里一样孤独。”蛇说。

The little prince gazed at him for a long time.

小王子望着那条蛇看了很长时间。

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

“你真是个奇怪的动物，”他说，“你还没有一根手指粗......”

"But I am more powerful than the finger of a king," said the snake.

“但我比国王的手指还要厉害。”蛇说。

The little prince smiled.

小王子笑了笑。

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

“你并没有那么强大，你连脚都没有，你甚至不能去旅行......”

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

“我能把你送到很远的地方，比你坐任何一艘轮船，能到的地方都远。”蛇说。

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

它盘上了小王子的脚踝，看上去就像一只金色的镯子。

"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…"

“无论是谁，只要我碰一下，就能把他送回老家。”蛇接着说，“可你这么单纯，又是从一颗星星上来的......”

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, some day, if you grow too homesick for your own planet. I can--"

“你在这颗冰冷而坚硬的地球上，是那么脆弱，我挺可怜你的。”蛇说，“我可以帮助你，如果哪天你非常想念你的星球，我可以......”

"Oh! I understand you very well," said the little prince. "But why do you always speak in riddles?"

“哦！我完全明白你的意思。”小王子说，“可为什么你说话总像打谜语一样呢？”

"I solve them all," said the snake.

“这些谜语我都能解开的。”蛇说。

And they were both silent.

于是他们又都沉默起来。