【听&读】真实与虚伪

When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters.

当你对大人们讲起你的一个新朋友时,他们从来不向你提出实质性的问题。

They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like?"

他们从来不讲:“他说话声音如何啊?”

What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?

他喜爱什么样的游戏啊? 他是否收集蝴蝶标本呀?

Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he?"

他们却问你:“他多大年纪呀?弟兄几个呀?”

How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?

体重多少呀? 他父亲挣多少钱呀?

Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

他们以为这样才算了解朋友。

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,"

如果你对大人们说:“我看到一幢用玫瑰色的砖盖成的漂亮的房子,它的窗户上有天竺葵,屋顶上还有鸽子…”

they would not be able to getanyidea of that house at all.

他们怎么也想象不出这种房子有多么好。

You would have to say to them: "I saw a house that cost $20,000."

必须对他们说:“我看见了一幢价值十万法郎的房子。”

Then they would exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house that is!"

那么他们就惊叫道:“多么漂亮的房子啊!”

Just so, you might say to them: "The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming."

要是你对他们说:“小王子存在的证据就是他非常漂亮。

that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep.

他笑着,想要一只羊。

If anybody wants a sheep, that isa proofthat he exists.

他想要一只小羊,这就证明他的存在。

And what good would it do to tell them that?

告诉他们,将会带来什么好处呢?

They would shrug their shoulders and treat you like a child.

他们一定会耸耸肩膀,把你当作孩子看待!

But if you said to them: "The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612,"

但是,如果你对他们说:“小王子来自的星球就是小行星B612”,

then they would be convinced, and leave you in peace from their questions.

那么他们就十分信服,他们就不会提出一大堆问题来和你纠缠。

They are like that.

他们就是这样的。

One must not hold it against them.

不要介怀。

Children should always show great forbearance toward grown-up people.

小孩子们对大人们应该宽厚些,不要埋怨他们。

But certainly, for us who understand life, figures are a matter of indifference.

当然,对我们懂得生活的人来说,我们才不在乎那些编号呢!

I should have liked to begin this story in the fashion of the fairy-tales.

我真愿意象讲神话那样来开始这个故事。

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..."

我真想这样说:“从前呀,有一个小王子,他住在一个和他身体差不多大的星球上,他希望有一个朋友…”

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

对懂得生活的人来说,这样说就显得真实。

For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly.

我可不喜欢人们轻率地读我的书。

I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories.

我在讲述这些往事时心情是很难过的。