英文小說連載《小王子》No.4“畫山羊”

　　I had thus learned a second fact of great importance： this was that the planet the little prince came from was scarcely any larger than a house！

　　But that did not really surprise me much. I knew very well that in addition to the great planets-- such as the Earth， Jupiter， Mars， Venus-- to which we have given names， there are also hundreds of others， some of which are so small that one has a hard time seeing them through the telescope. When an astronomer discovers one of these he does not give it a name， but only a number. He might call it， for example， "Asteroid 325."

　　I have serious reason to believe that the planet from which the little prince came is the asteroid known as B-612.

　　This asteroid has only once been seen through the telescope. That was by a Turkish astronomer， in 1909.

　　On making his discovery， the astronomer had presented it to the International Astronomical Congress， in a great demonstration. But he was in Turkish costume， and so nobody would believe what he said.

　　Grown-ups are like that...

　　Fortunately， however， for the reputation of Asteroid B-612， a Turkish dictator made a law that his subjects， under pain of death， should change to European costume. So in 1920 the astronomer gave his demonstration all over again， dressed with impressive style and elegance. And this time everybody accepted his report.

　　If I have told you these details about the asteroid， and made a note of its number for you， it is on account of the grown-ups and their ways. When you tell them that you have made a new friend， they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you， "What does his voice sound like？ What games does he love best？ Does he collect butterflies？" Instead， they demand： "How old is he？ How many brothers has he？ How much does he weigh？ How much money does his father make？" Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

　　If you were to say to the grown-ups： "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick， with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof，" they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them： "I saw a house that cost $20，000." Then they would exclaim： "Oh， what a pretty house that is！"

　　Just so， you might say to them： "The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming， that he laughed， and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep， that is a proof that he exists." And what good would it do to tell them that？ They would shrug their shoulders， and treat you like a child. But if you said to them： "The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612，" then they would be convinced， and leave you in peace from their questions. They are like that. One must not hold it against them. Children should always show great forbearance toward grown-up people.

　　But certainly， for us who understand life， figures are a matter of indifference. I should have liked to begin this story in the fashion of the fairy-tales. I should have like to say： "Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet that was scarcely any bigger than himself， and who had need of a sheep..."

　　To those who understand life， that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story.

　　For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly. I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories. Six years have already passed since my friend went away from me， with his sheep. If I try to describe him here， it is to make sure that I shall not forget him. To forget a friend is sad. Not every one has had a friend. And if I forget him， I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures...

　　It is for that purpose， again， that I have bought a box of paints and some pencils. It is hard to take up drawing again at my age， when I have never made any pictures except those of the boa constrictor from the outside and the boa constrictor from the inside， since I was six. I shall certainly try to make my portraits as true to life as possible. But I am not at all sure of success. One drawing goes along all right， and another has no resemblance to its subject. I make some errors， too， in the littl e prince's height： in one place he is too tall and in another too short. And I feel some doubts about the color of his costume. So I fumble along as best I can， now good， now bad， and I hope generally fair-to-middling.

　　In certain more important details I shall make mistakes， also. But that is something that will not be my fault. My friend never explained anything to me. He thought， perhaps， that I was like himself. But I， alas， do not know how to see sheep through t he walls of boxes. Perhaps I am a little like the grown-ups. I have had to grow old.

　　我還了解到另一件重要的事，就是他老家所在的那個星球比一座房子大不了多少。

　　這倒并沒有使我感到太奇怪。我知道除地球、木星、火星、金星這幾個有名稱的大行星以外，還有成百個別的星球，它們有的小得很，就是用望遠鏡也很難看見。當一個天文學者發(fā)現(xiàn)了其中一個星星，他就給它編上一個號碼，例如把它稱作“325小行星”。

　　我有重要的根據(jù)認為小王子所來自的那個星球是小行星B612。這顆小行星僅僅在1909年被一個土耳其天文學家用望遠鏡看見過一次。

　　當時他曾經(jīng)在一次國際天文學家代表大會上對他的發(fā)現(xiàn)作了重要的論證。但由于他所穿衣服的緣故，那時沒有人相信他。那些大人們就是這樣。

　　幸好，土耳其的一個獨裁者，為了小行星B612的聲譽，迫使他的人民都要穿歐式服裝，否則就處以死刑。1920年，這位天文學家穿了一身非常漂亮的服裝，重新作了一次論證。這一次所有的人都同意他的看法。

　　我給你們講關(guān)于小行星B612的這些細節(jié)，并且告訴你們它的編號，這是由于這些大人的緣故。這些大人們就愛數(shù)目字。當你對大人們講起你的一個新朋友時，他們從來不向你提出實質(zhì)性的問題。他們從來不講：“他說話聲音如何啊？他喜愛什么樣的游戲啊？他是否收集蝴蝶標本呀？”他們卻問你：“他多大年紀呀？弟兄幾個呀？體重多少呀？他父親掙多少錢呀？”他們以為這樣才算了解朋友。如果你對大人們說：“我看到一幢用玫瑰色的磚蓋成的漂亮的房子，它的窗戶上有天竺葵，屋頂上還有鴿子…”他們怎么也想象不出這種房子有多么好。必須對他們說：“我看見了一幢價值十萬法郎的房子。”那么他們就驚叫道：“多么漂亮的房子啊！”

　　要是你對他們說：“小王子存在的證據(jù)就是他非常漂亮，他笑著，想要一只羊。他想要一只小羊，這就證明他的存在。”他們一定會聳聳肩膀，把你當作孩子看待！但是，如果你對他們說：“小王子來自的星球就是小行星B612”，那么他們就十分信服，他們就不會提出一大堆問題來和你糾纏。他們就是這樣的。小孩子們對大人們應該寬厚些，不要埋怨他們。

　　當然，對我們懂得生活的人來說，我們才不在乎那些編號呢！我真愿意象講神話那樣來開始這個故事，我真想這樣說：

　　“從前呀，有一個小王子，他住在一個和他身體差不多大的星球上，他希望有一個朋友…”對懂得生活的人來說，這樣說就顯得真實。

　　我可不喜歡人們輕率地讀我的書。我在講述這些往事時心情是很難過的。我的朋友帶著他的小羊已經(jīng)離去六年了。我之所以在這里盡力把他描寫出來，就是為了不要忘記他。忘記一個朋友，這太叫人悲傷了。并不是所有的人都有過一個朋友。再說，我也可能變成那些大人那樣，只對數(shù)字感興趣。也正是為了這個緣故，我買了一盒顏料和一些鉛筆。象我這樣年紀的人，而且除了六歲時畫過閉著肚皮的和開著肚皮的巨蟒外，別的什么也沒有嘗試過，現(xiàn)在，重新再來畫畫，真費勁啊！當然，我一定要把這些畫盡量地畫得逼真，但我自己也沒有把握。一張畫得還可以，另一張就不象了。還有身材大小，我畫得有點不準確。在這個地方小王子畫得太大了些，另一個地方又畫得太小了些。對他衣服的顏色我也拿不準。于是我就摸索著這么試試那么改改，畫個大概齊。我很可能在某些重要的細節(jié)上畫錯了。這就得請大家原諒我了。因為我的這個朋友，從來也不加說明解釋。他認為我同他一樣。可是，很遺憾，我卻不能透過盒子看見小羊。我大概有點和大人們差不多。我一定是變老了。