小王子-chapter13（下）

The Little Prince Chapter 13（下）

"How is it possible for one to own the stars?"

“你怎么能占有星星呢？”

"To whom do they belong?" the businessman retorted, peevishly.

“那么你说星星是谁的呀？”实业家不高兴地顶了小王子一句。

"I don't know. To nobody."

“我不知道，不属于任何人。”

"Then they belong to me, because I was the first person to think of it."

“那么，它们就是我的，因为是我第一个想到了这件事情的。”

"Is that all that is necessary?"

“这就行了吗？”

"Certainly. When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you discover an island that belongs to nobody, it is yours. 

“那当然。如果你发现了一颗没有主人的钻石，那么这颗钻石就是属于你的。当你发现一个岛是没有主人的，那么这个岛就是你的。

When you get an idea before any one else, you take out a patent on it: it is yours. So with me: I own the stars, because nobody else before me ever thought of owning them."

当你首先想出了一个办法，你就去领一个专利证，这个办法就是属于你的。既然在我之前不曾有任何人想到要占有这些星星，那我就占有这些星星。”

"Yes, that is true," said the little prince. "And what do you do with them?"

“这倒也是。可是你用它们来干什么？”小王子说。

"I administer them," replied the businessman. "I count them and recount them. It is difficult. But I am a man who is naturally interested in matters of consequence."

“我经营管理这些星星。我一遍又一遍地计算它们的数目。这是一件困难的事。但我是一个严肃认真的人！”

The little prince was still not satisfied.

小王子仍然还不满足，他说：

"If I owned a silk scarf," he said, "I could put it around my neck and take it away with me. If I owned a flower, I could pluck that flower and take it away with me. But you cannot pluck the stars from heaven…"

“对我来说，如果我有一条围巾，我可以用它来围着我的脖子，并且能带走它。我有一朵花的话，我就可以摘下我的花，并且把它带走。可你却不能摘下这些星星呀！”

"No. But I can put them in the bank."

“我不能摘，但我可以把它们存在银行里。”

"What does that mean?"

“这是什么意思呢？”

"That means that I write the number of my stars on a little paper. And then I put this paper in a drawer and lock it with a key."

“这就是说，我把星星的数目写在一片小纸条上，然后把这片纸条锁在一个抽屉里。”

"And that is all?"

“这就算完事了吗？”

"That is enough," said the businessman.

“这样就行了。”

"It is entertaining," thought the little prince. "It is rather poetic. But it is of no great consequence."

小王子想道：“真好玩。这倒蛮有诗意，可是，并不算是了不起的正经事。”

On matters of consequence, the little prince had ideas which were very different from those of the grown-ups.

关于什么是正经事，小王子的看法与大人们的看法非常不同。他接着又说：

"I myself own a flower," he continued his conversation with the businessman, "which I water every day. I own three volcanoes, which I clean out every week (for I also clean out the one that is extinct; one never knows). It is of some use to my volcanoes, and it is of some use to my flower, that I own them. But you are of no use to the stars…"

“我有一朵花，我每天都给她浇水。我还有三座火山，我每星期把它们全都打扫一遍，连死火山也打扫，谁知道它会不会再复活。我拥有火山和花，这对我的火山有益处，对我的花也有益处。但是你对星星并没有用处……”

The businessman opened his mouth, but he found nothing to say in answer. And the little prince went away.

实业家张口结舌无言以对。于是小王子就走了。

"The grown-ups are certainly altogether extraordinary," he said simply, talking to himself as he continued on his journey.

在旅途中，小王子只是自言自语地说了一句：“这些大人们真是奇怪极了。”