小王子第22－23章

第二十二章

"Good morning," said the little prince.

“早上好。”小王子说。

"Good morning," said the railway switchman.

“早上好。”扳道工说。

"What do you do here?" the little prince asked.

“你在这里做什么？”小王子问。

"I sort out travelers, in bundles of a thousand," said the switchman. "I send off the trains that carry them; now to the right, now to the left."

“我把旅客分批送走，每批1000人。”扳道工说，“我负责发送乘坐旅客的列车，有时让他们向右开，有时让他们向左开。”

And a brilliantly lighted express train shook the switchman's cabin as it rushed by with a roar like thunder.

这时，一列灯火通明的特快列车呼啸而过，发出轰隆隆的声音，把扳道工的小屋震得晃晃悠悠。

"They are in a great hurry," said the little prince. "What are they looking for?"

“他们匆匆忙忙的，是在找什么？”小王子说。

"Not even the locomotive engineer knows that," said the switchman.

“就连开火车的司机也不知道。”扳道工说。

And a second brilliantly lighted express thundered by, in the opposite direction.

紧接着，从相反的方向，第二辆灯火通明的特快列车呼啸而来。

"Are they coming back already?" demanded the little prince.

“他们已经回来了吗？”小王子接着又问。

"These are not the same ones," said the switchman. "It is an exchange."

“这不是刚才的那批人。”扳道工说，“这是从对面开来的另一列。”

"Were they not satisfied where they were?" asked the little prince.

“他们不满意他们原来所在的地方吗？”小王子问。

"No one is ever satisfied where he is," said the switchman.

“人们是从来不会满意自己所在的地方的。”扳道工说。

And they heard the roaring thunder of a third brilliantly lighted express.

这时，他们又听见了轰隆隆的声音，是第三列灯火通明的特快列车呼啸而过。

"Are they pursuing the first travelers?" demanded the little prince.

“他们是在追赶第一批旅客吗？”小王子问。

"They are pursuing nothing at all," said the switchman. "They are asleep in there, or if they are not asleep they are yawning. Only the children are flattening their noses against the windowpanes."

“他们什么也不追。”扳道工说，“他们要么在里面睡觉，要么在里面打哈欠，只有孩子们把鼻子贴在玻璃窗上往外看。”

"Only the children know what they are looking for," said the little prince. "They waste their time over a rag doll and it becomes very important to them; and if anybody takes it away from them, they cry…"

“只有孩子们知道自己在找什么。”小王子说，“他们把时间花在布娃娃身上，于是这个布娃娃对他们来说就变得很重要。如果有人拿走了布娃娃，他们就会哭······”

"They are lucky," the switchman said.

“他们真幸运。”扳道工说。

第二十三章

"Good morning," said the little prince.

“早上好。”小王子说。

"Good morning," said the merchant.

“早上好。”商人说。

This was a merchant who sold pills that had been invented to quench thirst. You need only swallow one pill a week, and you would feel no need of anything to drink.

这是一位卖止渴药丸的商人。你只需要每周服用一颗这样的药丸，就不会感到口渴。

"Why are you selling those?" asked the little prince.

“你为什么要卖这种东西呢？”小王子问。

"Because they save a tremendous amount of time," said the merchant. "Computations have been made by experts. With these pills, you save fifty-three minutes in every week."

“因为他们能节省很多时间。”商人回答说，“你只需要每周服用一颗这样的药丸，就不会感到口渴，专家们可是计算过的。吃了这种药，每周能节省出53分钟。”

"And what do I do with those fifty-three minutes?"

“那用这53分钟来做什么呢？”

"Anything you like…"

“做任何你想做的事呀······”

"As for me," said the little prince to himself, "if I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water."

“如果是我”小王子自言自语地说，“如果我有53分钟的时间，让我自由支配，那我就慢悠悠的走向一汪清泉······”