第十五章Chapter 15

The Little Prince: CHapter 15

So then the seventh planet was the Earth. 

The Earth is not just an ordinary planet! One can count, there 111 kings (not forgetting, to be sure, the Negro kings among them), 7000 geographers, 900,000 businessmen, 7,500,000 tipplers, 311,000,000 conceited men-- that is to say, about 2,000,000,000 grown-ups. 

To give you an idea of the size of the Earth, I will tell you that before the invention of electricity it was necessary to maintain, over the whole of the six continents, a veritable army of 462,511 lamplighters for the street lamps. 

Seen from a slight distance, that would make a splendid spectacle. The movements of this army would be regulated like those of the ballet in the opera. First would come the turn of the lamplighters of New Zealand and Australia. Having set their lamps alight, these would go off to sleep. Next, the lamplighters of China and Siberia would enter for their steps in the dance, and then they too would be waved back into the wings. After that would come the turn of the lamplighters of Russia and the Indies; then those of Africa and Europe, then those of South America; then those of South America; then those of North America. And never would they make a mistake in the order of their entry upon the stage. It would be magnificent. 

Only the man who was in charge of the single lamp at the North Pole, and his colleague who was responsible for the single lamp at the South Pole-- only these two would live free from toil and care: they would be busy twice a year.

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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. 

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 figures, 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. 

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. 

"Good evening," said the little prince courteously. 

"Good evening," said the snake. 

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

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

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

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

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

"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!" 

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

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

"Ah!" said the snake. 

And they were both silent. 

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

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

The little prince gazed at him for a long time. 

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

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

The little prince smiled. 

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

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

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

"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..." 

The little prince made no reply. 

"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--" 

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

"I solve them all," said the snake. 

And they were both silent.

《小王子》：第十五章

所以，第七颗行星就是地球了。

地球可不是普普通通的行星！它上面有一百十一个国王（当然，黑人国王也包括在内），七千万个地理学家，九十万个商人，七百五十万个酒鬼，三亿一千一百个爱虚荣的人，总共大约有二十亿个大人。

为了让你们对地球的大小有个概念，我就这么对你们说吧，在发明电以前，地球的六大洲上，需要维持一支四十六万二千五百十一人的浩浩荡荡的点灯人大军。

从稍远些的地方看去，这是一幅壮丽的景观。这支大军行动起来，就像在歌剧院里跳芭蕾舞那样有条不紊。最先上场的是新西兰和澳大利亚的点灯人。点着了灯，他们就退下去睡觉。接着是中国和西伯利亚的点灯人上场，随后他们也退到幕后。下面轮到了俄罗斯和印度的点灯人。接下去是非洲和欧洲的，而后是南美的。再后来是北美的。所有这些点灯人从来不会搞乱上场的次序。这场面真是蔚为壮观。

只有北极（那儿只有唯一一盏路灯）的点灯人和南极（那儿也只有唯一一盏路灯）的那个同行，过着悠闲懒散的生活：他俩一年干两回活儿。

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一个人如果想把话说得有趣些，免不了会稍稍撒点谎。我给你们讲点灯人大军的那会儿，就不是很诚实。那些不了解我们行星的人，听了我讲的故事，可能会造成一种错觉。其实人在地球上只占一点点地方。倘若让地球上的二十亿居民全都挨个儿站着，就像集会时那样，那么二十海里长、二十海里宽的一个广场就容得下他们。全人类可以挤在太平洋中最小的一个岛屿上。

当然，大人是不会相信你们的。他们自以为占了好多好多地方。他们把自己看得跟猴面包树一样重要。你们不妨劝他们好好算一算。他们喜欢数字，说到计算就来劲。不过你们可别浪费时间，去做这种叫人厌烦的事情。根本不用去做。你们相信我就行了。所以小王子一踏上地球，就觉得奇怪，怎么一个人也看不见呢。他正在担心是不是来错了星球，忽然看见沙地上一个月白色的圆环在挪动。

“晚上好，”小王子没把握地招呼说。

“晚上好，”蛇说。

“我落在哪个行星上了？”小王子问。

“在地球上，这是非洲，”蛇回答。

“噢！难道地球上一个人也没有吗？”

“这儿是沙漠。在沙漠里是一个人也没有的。地球大着呢，”蛇说。

小王子在一块石头上坐下，抬头望着天空：

“我在想，”他说，“这些星星闪闪发亮，大概是要让每个人总有一天能找到自己的那颗星星吧。瞧我的那颗星星。它正好在我们头顶上……可是它离得那么远！”

“它很美，”蛇说，“你到这儿来干吗？”

“我和一朵花儿闹了别扭，”小王子说。

“噢！”蛇说。

他俩都沉默了。

“哪儿见得到人呢？”小王子终于又开口了，“在沙漠里真有点孤独……”

“在人群中间，你也会感到孤独，”蛇说。

小王子久久地注视着蛇：

“你真是种奇怪的动物，”最后他说，“细得像根手指……”

“可我比一个国王的手指还厉害呢，”蛇说。

小王子笑了：

“你厉害不到哪儿去……你连脚都没有……要出远门你就不行吧？”

“我可以把你带到很远很远的地方去，比一艘船去的地方还远，”蛇说。

它盘在小王子的脚踝上，像一只金镯子：

“凡是我碰过的人，我都把他们送回老家去，”它又说，“可你这么纯洁，又是从一颗星星那儿来的……”

小王子没有作声。

“在这个花岗石的地球上，你是这么弱小，我很可怜你。哪天你要是想念你的星星了，我可以帮助你。我可以……”

“噢！我明白你的意思，”小王子说，“可为什么你说的话都像谜似的？”

“这些谜我都能解开，”蛇说。

然后他们又都沉默了。