星球B612《The Little Prince》(第四章)

1. 原文

[ Chapter 4 ] the narrator speculates as to which asteroid from which the little prince came

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 B­612. 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, so nobody would believe what he said. Grown­ups are like that...

Fortunately, however, for the reputation of Asteroid B­612, 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 grown­ups 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 any thing about him.

If you were to say to the grown­ups:" 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 B­612," 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 grown­up 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 fairy­tales. 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 everyone has had a friend. And if I forget him, I may become like the grown­ups 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 little 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 the walls of boxes. Perhaps I am a little like the grown­ups.I have had to grow old.

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2. 疑难词汇

speculate：vt. 推测

asteroid：n. 小行星

scarcely：adv. 几乎不

telescope：n. 望远镜

astronomer：n. 天文学家

costume：n. 服装

reputation：n. 名声

dictator：n. 独裁者

on account of： 因为...

essential： adj. 关键的，重要的

geranium：n. 天竺葵

exclaim：v. 惊叫

convince：v. 说服

hold it against sb. ：责罚，责怪

forbearance：n. 自制，忍耐；宽容

in the fashion of：以...的方式

portrait：n. 肖像；描写；

resemblance：n. 相似；相似之处；

fumble：vt. 摸索；笨拙地做

fair to ­middling：马马虎虎；过得去

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3. 内容概要

作者终于弄清楚小王子是来自哪里的了。在成年人世界里，这个星球叫做B­612，是由土耳其的一位天文学家发现的。这位天文学家在向国际天文学大会报告他的发现时，竟然因为汇报时穿着土耳其当地的服装而被所有人不屑。11年以后这位天文学家在国王的命令下穿上了欧式服装重新再做报告，这次人们才相信他。

成年人就是这样，你跟他们说你认识了一位新朋友，他们从不问到关键问题比如他的声音是什么样的？他最喜欢什么运动？他收集蝴蝶吗？而是问：他多大了？他有兄弟姐妹吗？他多重？他爸爸挣多少钱？成年人们只能从数字里了解一个人。

诸如此类的例子还有很多。小孩子们应该对大人们宽容一点。对于我们这些真正懂得生活的人，数字根本没有意义。

作者费尽心思的回想小王子的样子，就是为了不要忘记他。忘记一个朋友是很悲伤的。可是这个朋友在六年前就带着他的小羊离开了，所以在画他的时候很多地方都画的不逼真，但是作者已经尽力了。

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4. 碎碎念

成年人的世界就是由一串串数字组成：手机号，车牌号，房门号，财务报，营业额，利润率，银行存款，房屋面积大小......这些数字像精确的指令输入大人们的脑子，指引着他们的行动。无聊的成年人哦，看不到玫瑰色的砖墙，看不到窗户上的天竺葵，听不出声音的美妙。而小孩子们，才是真正的生活家。他们深谙生活的真谛藏在蝴蝶翅膀的花纹里，而不是利润表或者房子面积；他们知道一个人的独特在于他大笑时嘴角上扬的角度，跟他的身高体重月薪都没有关系。而忘记一个朋友，那真真是世界上最令人难过的事情了，无论如何，都不能允许自己忘记朋友。

谢谢你们许给世界的温柔，谢谢你们对大人的宽容，孩子们。