17.The little prince

When people want to be playful, they can be less than truthful. In telling you about the lamplighters
I am not so faithful when I tell you about the lamplighters, and I am likely to give a wrong idea to people who do not know our planet.
The concept of On Earth, people occupy a very small place. If all the two billion inhabitants of the planet were to stand up and close together as in a conference, they could comfortably stand in a square twenty nautical miles square. In other words, the entire human race could be concentrated on the smallest island in the Pacific Ocean.
Of course, the adults won't believe you. They think they have to take up a lot of space, and they see themselves
They see themselves as big as baobabs. You could suggest that they do some calculations. This will make them very happy
They are very fond of numerals. But you do not need to waste your time with such tedious and tedious
of arithmetic. It is not necessary. You can trust me completely.
The little prince felt very strange when he arrived on Earth, he saw no one and he was worried that he had gone to the wrong planet.
He was worried that he had run away to the wrong planet. Then, on the sand, there was a moonlight-coloured circle wriggling.
The little prince said casually and unsurely, "Good night."
"Good night." The snake said.
"What planet did I land on?" The little prince asked.
"On Earth, in Africa." The snake replied.
"Ah! ⋯. how, does that mean there are no people on Earth?"
"This is a desert, and there are no people in the desert. The earth is big." The snake said.
The little prince sat down on a rock, looked up at the sky, and said.
"I catch whether these stars are shining brightly so that each person may one day find his or her way back to
planet. Look, my planet. It is just above us... but it is so far away!"
"It is beautiful." The snake said, "What are you doing here?"
"I had a problem with a flower." The little prince said.
"Ah!" The snake said.
So they both fell silent.
"Where are the people?" The little prince finally opened his mouth again. "It's a bit lonely out there on the desert..."
"It's just as lonely when you're in a place where there are people." The snake said.
The little prince looked at the snake for a long time.
"You're a strange creature, thin as a finger..." The little prince finally said.
"But I am more powerful than the finger of a king." The snake said.
The little prince smiled and said.
"You are not so powerful... you don't even have feet... you can't even travel..."
"I can take you farther than a boat can go." The snake said.
The snake was coiled around the little prince's ankle, like a golden bracelet.
"The one I touch, I will send back to his old home." The snake added, "But you are pure, and
and have come from another planet..."
The little prince answered nothing.
"I pity you for being so weak on this granite earth. If you miss your
planet, I can help you then. I can..."
"Ah! I understand you very well." said the little prince, "but why do you always talk as if you were asking people to guess
riddles?"
"I can solve all these riddles." said the snake.
So they were both silent again.
译文：
当人们想要说得俏皮些的时候，说话就可能会不大实在。在给你们讲点灯人
的时候，我就不那么忠实，很可能给不了解我们这个星球的人们造成一个错误的
概念。在地球上，人们所占的位置非常小。如果住在地球上的二十亿居民全站着，并且象开大会一样靠得紧些，那么就可以从容地站在一个二十海里见方的广场上。也就是说可以把整个人类集中在太平洋中一个最小的岛屿上。
当然，大人们是不会相信你们的。他们自以为要占很大地方，他们把自己看
得象猴面包树那样大得了不起。你们可以建议他们计算一下。这样会使他们很高
兴，因为他们非常喜欢数目字。可是你们无须浪费时间去做这种乏味的连篇累牍
的演算。这没有必要。你们可以完全相信我。
小王子到了地球上感到非常奇怪，他一个人也没有看到，他正担心自己跑错
了星球。这时，在沙地上有一个月光色的圆环在蠕动。
小王子毫无把握地随便说了声：“晚安。”
“晚安。”蛇说道。
“我落在什么行星上？”小王子问道。
“在地球上，在非洲。”蛇回答道。
“啊！⋯怎么，难道说地球上没有人吗？”
“这里是沙漠，沙漠中没有人。地球是很大的。”蛇说。
小王子坐在一块石头上，抬眼望着天空，说道：
“我捉摸这些星星闪闪发亮是否为了让每个人将来有一天都能重新找到自己
的星球。看，我那颗行星。它恰好在我们头顶上⋯可是，它离我们好远哟！”
“它很美。”蛇说，“你到这里来干什么呢？”
“我和一朵花闹了别扭。”小王子说。
“啊！”蛇说道。
于是他们都沉默下来。
“人在什么地方？”小王子终于又开了腔。“在沙漠上，真有点孤独⋯”
“到了有人的地方，也一样孤独。”蛇说。
小王子长时间地看着蛇。
“你是个奇怪的动物，细得象个手指头⋯。”小王子终于说道。
“但我比一个国王的手指更有威力。”蛇说道。
小王子微笑着说：
“你并不那么有威力⋯⋯你连脚都没有⋯⋯你甚至都不能旅行⋯”
“我可以把你带到很远的地方去，比一只船能去的地方还要远。”蛇说道。
蛇就盘结在小王子的脚腕子上，象一只金镯子。
“被我碰触的人，我就把他送回老家去。”蛇还说，“可是你是纯洁的，而
且是从另一个星球上来的⋯”
小王子什么也没有回答。
“在这个花岗石的地球上，你这么弱小，我很可怜你。如果你非常怀念你的
星球，那时我可以帮助你。我可以⋯”
“啊！我很明白你的意思。”小王子说，“但是你为什么说话总是象让人猜
谜语似的？”
“这些谜语我都能解开的。”蛇说。
于是他们又都沉默起来。