14.The little prince

14.The little prince

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The fifth planet is very strange, being the smallest of these stars. There is just enough room on the planet for a
street lamp and a man who lights it. The young prince could not explain why a street lamp and a man lighting a street lamp on this planet, which was situated in a corner of the sky and had neither houses nor inhabitants, were needed.
on a planet with no houses or inhabitants, what would be the use of a street lamp and a man to light it.
But he thought to himself: "Perhaps this man is not in his right mind. But he is more than a king, more than that vanity-loving
The industrialist and the drunkard, but better. At least his work has some meaning. When he lit his
When he lit his street lamp, it was as if he had added a star or a flower. When he extinguishes the lamp, it is as if he has put the star or flower to sleep.
When he puts out a streetlight, it is as if he has put a star or a flower to sleep. It's a wonderful job, just really useful."
As soon as the little prince arrived on the planet, he greeted the man who lit the streetlights with respect.
"Good morning. --Why did you just put out the street light?"
"Good morning. --It was an order." The lighter replied.
"What was the order?"
"It's to put out my street light. --good evening."
So he lit the street lamp again.
"Then why have you lit it again?"
"It was an order." The man who lit the lamp replied.
"I don't understand." The little prince said.
"There is nothing to understand. An order is an order." The one who lit the lamp replied. "Good morning."
So he extinguished the street lamp again.
Then he took a handkerchief with a red chevron on it and wiped his forehead.
"I'm in a terrible profession. It used to be fair enough, lights out in the morning, lights up at night, and the rest of the
time, I rested during the day and I slept at night..."
"So, the order changed, did it?"
The man who lit the lamp said, "The orders haven't changed, but that's the trouble! The planet is turning faster and faster every year, and the order hasn't changed.
The planet is spinning faster every year, and the order hasn't changed."
"And what happened?" The little prince asked.
"The result is that it is now going round every minute and I don't even have a second's rest. Every minute I have to
light the lamp once and put it out once!"
"That's funny, you only have a minute long here every day?"
"Not interesting at all," said the lighter, "we've both been talking together for a month
A month."
"A month?"
"Yes. Thirty minutes. Thirty days! --good evening."
So he lit his street lamp again.
The little prince looked at him, and he liked the fact that the lamplighter was so faithful to his orders. At that moment he remembered that he himself had moved from
front of his chair in search of the sunset. He was eager to help his friend.
"I tell you, I know a way to make you rest, and you can rest whenever you want."
"I always want to rest." The lamplighter said.
For a man can be faithful and lazy at the same time.
The little prince went on to say."This planet of yours is so small that you can go around it in three steps. You have only to go slowly and you can
always in the light of the sun, and when you want to rest, you go like this... Then how long you want the day to be it
is as long as you want it to be."
"That won't help me much, all I like in life is to sleep." The lamplighter said.
"That's unlucky." The little prince said.
"Unlucky." The lamplighter said. "Good morning."
So he put out the street lamp again.
The little prince said to himself as he continued his journey onward."This man must be despised by all those other people, kings, vanity lovers, drunkards, industrialists, etc.
He must be despised by all those other people, kings, vanities, drunkards, industrialists. But he is the only one who does not make me feel ridiculous. This is probably because he is concerned with other things
and not himself."
He sighed regretfully and said to himself.
"This would have been the only person I could have made friends with. But his planet is really too small for two people.
for two people..."
What the little prince didn't have the courage to admit was that he was attached to this marvellous star, especially because there
There are fourteen hundred and forty sunsets every twenty-four hours!
译文:
第五颗行星非常奇怪,是这些星星中最小的一颗。行星上刚好能容得下一盏
路灯和一个点路灯的人。小王子怎么也解释不通:这个坐落在天空某一角落,既
没有房屋又没有居民的行星上,要一盏路灯和一个点灯的人做什么用。
但他自己猜想:“可能这个人思想不正常。但他比起国王,比起那个爱虚荣
的人,那个实业家和酒鬼,却要好些。至少他的工作还有点意义。当他点着了他
的路灯时,就象他增添了一颗星星,或是一朵花。当他熄灭了路灯时,就象让星
星或花朵睡着了似的。这差事真美妙,就是真正有用的了。”
小王子一到了这个行星上,就很尊敬地向点路灯的人打招呼:
“早上好。——你刚才为什么把路灯灭了呢?”
“早上好。——这是命令。”点灯的回答道。
“命令是什么?”
“就是熄掉我的路灯。——晚上好。”
于是他又点燃了路灯。
“那么为什么你又把它点着了呢?”
“这是命令。”点灯的人回答道。
“我不明白。”小王子说。
“没什么要明白的。命令就是命令。”点灯的回答说。“早上好。”
于是他又熄灭了路灯。
然后他拿一块有红方格子的手绢擦着额头。
“我干的是一种可怕的职业。以前还说得过去,早上熄灯,晚上点灯,剩下
时间,白天我就休息,夜晚我就睡觉⋯”
“那么,后来命令改变了,是吗?”
点灯的人说:“命令没有改,惨就惨在这里了!这颗行星一年比一年转得更
快,而命令却没有改。”
“结果呢?”小王子问。
“结果现在每分钟转一圈,我连一秒钟的休息时间都没有了。每分钟我就要
点一次灯,熄一次灯!”
“真有趣,你这里每天只有一分钟长?”
“一点趣味也没有,”点灯的说,“我们俩在一块说话就已经有一个月的时
间了。”
“一个月?”
“对。三十分钟。三十天!——晚上好。”
于是他又点着了了他的路灯。
小王子瞅着他,他喜欢这个点灯人如此忠守命令。这时,他想起了他自己从
前挪动椅子寻找日落的事。他很想帮助他的这位朋友。
“告诉你,我知道一种能使你休息的办法,你要什么时候休息都可以。”
“我老是想休息。”点灯人说。
因为,一个人可以同时是忠实的,又是懒惰的。
小王子接着说:
“你的这颗行星这样小,你三步就可以绕它一圈。你只要慢慢地走,就可以
一直在太阳的照耀下,你想休息的时候,你就这样走⋯那么,你要白天又多长它
就有多长。”
“这办法帮不了我多打忙,生活中我喜欢的就是睡觉。”点灯人说。
“真不走运。”小王子说。
“真不走运。”点灯人说。“早上好。”
于是他又熄灭了路灯。
小王子在他继续往前旅行的途中,自言自语地说道:
“这个人一定会被其他那些人,国王呀,爱虚荣的呀,酒鬼呀,实业家呀,
所瞧不起。可是唯有他不使我感到荒唐可笑。这可能是因为他所关心的是别的事,
而不是他自己。”
他惋惜地叹了口气,并且又对自己说道:
“本来这是我唯一可以和他交成朋友的人。可是他的星球确实太小了,住不
下两个人⋯”
小王子没有勇气承认的是:他留恋这颗令人赞美的星星,特别是因为在那里
每二十四小时就有一千四百四十次日落!

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