The Little Prince 小王子
To Leon Werth 献给利昂·沃思。
I ask children to forgive me for dedicating this book to a grown-up. I have a serious excuse: this grown-up is the best friend I have in the world. I have another excuse: this grown-up can understand everything, even books for children. I have a third excuse: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs to be comforted. If all these excuses are not enough, then I want to dedicate this book to the child whom this grown-up once was. AII grown-ups were children first. (But few of them remember it.) So I correct my dedication:
我请求孩子们原谅，因为我把这本书献给某个大人。我有非常重要的理由：这个人是我在这个世界上最好的朋友。我有另一个理由：这个人能明白一切，包括给孩子的书。我还有第三个理由，他住在法国，又饿又冷。他需要被安慰。如果所有上述理由都不足够，我将这本书献给小时候的这个人。所有的大人都是经由儿童而来（但很少有人记得）我更正我的措辞。
To Leon Werth when he was a little boy.
致童年的利昂·沃思
Chapter 1 第一章
Once when I was six I saw a magnificent picture in a book about the jungle, called Ture Stories. It showed a boa constrictor swallowing a wild beast. Here is a copy of the picture.
当我六岁的时候，在一本书里看到一张惊奇的图片，是关于丛林的，名字叫《真实故事》。画着一条蟒蛇正试图吞咽一只野兽。这是这张图的复制品。
In the book it said: “ Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing. Afterward they are no longer able to move, and they sleep during the six months of their digestion.”
书中写到：蟒蛇完整地吞下了整个野兽，没有咀嚼。大蟒蛇之后一动都不能动，等着肚子里食物消化，睡了六个月长觉。
In those days I thought a lot about jungle adventures, and eventually managed to make my first drawing, using a colored pencil. My drawing Number One looked like this: I showed the grown-ups my masterpiece, and I asked them if my drawing scared them.
那时，我想了很多丛林冒险的画面，于是我用了彩色铅笔，画了人生中的第一幅作品。我的画就像这样。 我给大人们看我的杰作，我问他们，我的画是否吓到了他们。
hey answered, “ Why be scared of a hat ?”
他们答到：一只帽子有什么可怕的？
My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. Then I drew the inside of the boa constrictor, so the grown-ups could understand. They always need explanations. My drawing Number Two looked like this:
我的画作不是帽子，而是一条蟒蛇吞噬了一头大象。我画了蟒蛇的透视图，大人们可以了解了。他们总是需要解释。我的第二幅画作像这样。
The grown-ups advised me to put away my drawings of boa constrictors, outside or inside, and apply myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar. That is why I abandoned, at the age of six, a magnificent career as an artist. I had been discouraged by the failure of my drawing Number One and of my drawing Number Two. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again.
大人们建议我放弃绘画，不要画大蟒蛇，无论外观还是透视。我应该花时间去学习地理，历史，艺术和语法。这就是为什么在我六岁的时候放弃画画，结束了作为一个艺术家的事业。我在第一幅画作和第二幅画作失败，倍受打击。大人们从不主动了解任何事物，并且一遍又一遍地要求小孩们解释。
So then I had to choose another career, and I learned to pilot airplanes. I have flown almost everywhere in the world. And, as a matter of fact, geography has been a big help to me. I could tell China from Arizona at first glance, which is very useful if you get lost during the night.
所以我不得不选择另一个职业，学习驾驶飞机。我差不多飞遍了世界各地。事实上，地理是对我最有帮助的学科。我可以扫一眼就分辨出中国和美国亚利桑那州，在夜航中迷路时非常有用。
So I have had, in the course of my life, lots of encounters with lots of serious people. I have spent lots of time with grown-ups. I have seen them at close range . . . which hasn't much improved my opinion of them.
所以，在我的生命中，遇到很多重要的人。我和他们一起渡过了很多时间，我和他们近距离接触，但是并没有改善我对他们的看法。
Whenever I encountered a grown-up who seemed to me at all enlightened, I would experiment on him with my drawing Number One, which I have always kept. I wanted to see if he really understood anything. But he would always answer, “ That's a hat.” Then I wouldn't talk about boa constrictors or jungles or stars. I would put myself on his level and talk about bridge and golf and politics and neckties. And my grown-up was glad to know such a reasonable person.
无论何时，只有我遇见看起来头脑清楚的大人，我将会和他解释我的第一幅作品，这幅作品总是随声携带。我想知道是否有人真正看得懂。如果对方说，“那是一顶帽子”，我就不会继续和他讲蟒蛇和丛林，而是调整到和他一样的水平，谈谈桥牌，高尔夫，政治还有领带，他们也很开心遇见我这样通情达理的人。