小王子-chapter13（上）

The Little Prince Chapter 13 

The fourth planet belonged to a businessman. This man was so much occupied that he did not even raise his head at the little prince's arrival.

第四个行星是一个实业家的星球。这个人忙得不可开交，小王子到来的时候，他甚至连头都没有抬一下。

"Good morning," the little prince said to him. "Your cigarette has gone out."

小王子对他说：“您好，您的烟已经熄灭了。”

"Three and two make five. Five and seven make twelve. Twelve and three make fifteen. Good morning. Fifteen and seven make twenty-two. Twenty-two and six make twenty-eight. I haven't time to light it again. Twenty-six and five make thirty-one. Phew! Then that makes five-hundred-and-one-million, six-hundred-twenty-two-thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one."

“三加二等于五。五加七等于十二。十二加三等于十五。你好。十五加七等于二十二。二十二加六等于二十八。没有时间去再点着它。二十六加五等于三十一。哎哟！一共是五亿一百六十二万二千七百三十一。”

"Five hundred million what?" asked the little prince.

“五亿什么呀？”

"Eh? Are you still there? Five-hundred-and-one million-- I can't stop… I have so much to do! I am concerned with matters of consequence. I don't amuse myself with balderdash.Two and five make seven…"

“嗯？你还待在这儿？五亿一百万……我也不知道是什么了。我的工作很多……我是很严肃的，我可是从来也没有功夫去闲聊！二加五得七……”

"Five-hundred-and-one million what?" replied the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question once he had asked it.

“五亿一百万什么呀？”小王子又问道。一旦他提出了一个问题，是从来也不会放弃的。

The businessman raised his head.

这位实业家抬起头，说：

"During the fifty-four years that I have inhabited this planet, I have been disturbed only three times. 

“我住在这个星球上五十四年以来，只被打搅过三次。

The first time was twenty-two years ago, when some giddy goose fell from goodness knows where. He made the most frightful noise that resounded all over the place, and I made four mistakes in my addition.

第一次是二十二年前，不知从哪里跑来了一只金龟子来打搅我。它发出一种可怕的噪音，使我在一笔帐目中出了四个差错。

 The second time, eleven years ago, I was disturbed by an attack of rheumatism. I don't get enough exercise. I have no time for loafing. The third time-- well, this is it! I was saying, then, five-hundred-and-one millions--"

第二次，在十一年前，是风湿病发作，因为我缺乏锻炼所致。我没有功夫闲逛，我可是个严肃的人。现在……这是第三次！我计算的结果是五亿一百万……” 

"Millions of what?"

“几百万什么？”

The businessman suddenly realized that there was no hope of being left in peace until he answered this question.

这位实业家知道要想安宁是无望的了，就说道：

"Millions of those little objects," he said, "which one sometimes sees in the sky."

“几百万个小东西，这些小东西有时出现在天空中。”

"Flies?"

“苍蝇吗？”

"Oh, no. Little glittering objects."

“不是，是些闪闪发亮的小东西。”

"Bees?"

“是蜜蜂吗？”

"Oh, no. Little golden objects that set lazy men to idle dreaming. As for me, I am concerned with matters of consequence.There is no time for idle dreaming in my life."

“不是，是金黄色的小东西，这些小东西叫那些懒汉们胡思乱想。我是个严肃的人，我没有时间胡思乱想。”

"Ah! You mean the stars?"

“啊，是星星吗？”

"Yes, that's it. The stars."

“对了，就是星星。”

"And what do you do with five-hundred millions of stars?"

“你要拿这五亿星星做什么？”

"Five-hundred-and-one million, six-hundred-twenty-two thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one. I am concerned with matters of consequence: I am accurate."

“五亿一百六十二万七百三十一颗星星。我是注重结果的：我追求精确。”

"And what do you do with these stars?"

“你拿这些星星做什么？”

"What do I do with them?"

“我要它们做什么？”

"Yes."

“是呀。”

"Nothing. I own them."

“什么也不做。它们都是属于我的。”

"You own the stars?"

“星星是属于你的？”

"Yes."

“是的。”

"But I have already seen a king who--"

“可是我已经见到过一个国王，他……”

"Kings do not own, they reign over. It is a very different matter."

“国王并不占有，他们只是进行‘统治’。这不是一码事。”

"And what good does it do you to own the stars?"

“你拥有这许多星星有什么用？”

"It does me the good of making me rich."

“这可以让我变富有。”

"And what good does it do you to be rich?"

“那变富有了有什么用呢？”

"It makes it possible for me to buy more stars, if any are ever discovered."

“富了就可以去买别的星星，如果有人发现了别的星星的话。”

"This man," the little prince said to himself, "reasons a little like my poor tippler…"

小王子自言自语地说：“这个人想问题有点像那个酒鬼一样。”

Nevertheless, he still had some more questions.

可是他又提了一些问题：