By Antoine de Saint-Exupery
作者：安東尼·德·圣-肮克蘇佩里
The fourth planet belonged to a businessman. This man was so much occupied that he did not even raise his head at the little prince's arrival.
"Good morning," the little prince said to him. "Your cigarette has gone out."
"Three and two make five. Five and seven make twelve. Twelve and three make fifteen. Good morning. Fifteen and seven make twenty-two. Twenty-two and six make twenty-eight. I haven't time to light it again. Twenty-six and five make thirty-one. Phew! Then that makes five-hundred-and-one-million, six-hundred-twenty-two-thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one."
"Five hundred million what?" asked the little prince.
"Eh? Are you still there? Five-hundred-and-one million-- I can't stop… I have so much to do! I am concerned with matters of consequence. I don't amuse myself with balderdash. Two and five make seven…"
"Five-hundred-and-one million what?" repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question once he had asked it.
The businessman raised his head.
"During the fifty-four years that I have inhabited this planet, I have been disturbed only three times. The first time was twenty-two years ago, when some giddy goose fell from goodness knows where. He made the most frightful noise that resounded all over the place, and I made four mistakes in my addition. The second time, eleven years ago, I was disturbed by an attack of rheumatism. I don't get enough exercise. I have no time for loafing. The third time-- well, this is it! I was saying, then, five -hundred-and-one millions--"
"Millions of what?"
The businessman suddenly realized that there was no hope of being left in peace until he answered this question.
"Millions of those little objects," he said, "which one sometimes sees in the sky."
"Flies?"
"Oh, no. Little glittering objects."
"Bees?"
"Oh, no. Little golden objects that set lazy men to idle dreaming. As for me, I am concerned with matters of consequence. There is no time for idle dreaming in my life."
"Ah! You mean the stars?"
"Yes, that's it. The stars."
"And what do you do with five-hundred millions of stars?"
"Five-hundred-and-one million, six-hundred-twenty-two thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one. I am concerned with matters of consequence: I am accurate."
"And what do you do with these stars?"
"What do I do with them?"
"Yes."
"Nothing. I own them."
"You own the stars?"
"Yes."
"But I have already seen a king who--"
"Kings do not own, they reign over. It is a very different matter."
"And what good does it do you to own the stars?"
"It does me the good of making me rich."
"And what good does it do you to be rich?"
"It makes it possible for me to buy more stars, if any are ever discovered."
"This man," the little prince said to himself, "reasons a little like my poor tippler…"
Nevertheless, he still had some more questions.
"How is it possible for one to own the stars?"
"To whom do they belong?" the businessman retorted, peevishly.
"I don't know. To nobody."
"Then they belong to me, because I was the first person to think of it."
"Is that all that is necessary?"
"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. 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."
"Yes, that is true," said the little prince. "And what do you do with them?"
"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."
The little prince was still not satisfied.
"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…"
"No. But I can put them in the bank."
"Whatever does that mean?"
"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."
"And that is all?"
"That is enough," said the businessman.
"It is entertaining," thought the little prince. "It is rather poetic. But it is of no great consequence."
On matters of consequence, the little prince had ideas which were very different from those of the grown-ups.
"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…"
The businessman opened his mouth, but he found nothing to say in answer. And the little prince went away.
"The grown-ups are certainly altogether extraordinary," he said simply, talking to himself as he continued on his journey.
#譯文：
第四個行星是一個企業(yè)家的星球昨登。
這個人忙得不可開交，小王子到來的時候贯底，他甚至連頭都沒有抬一下丰辣。
小王子對他說：「您好。您的煙卷滅了◇鲜玻」
「三加二等于五飘哨。五加七等于十二。十二加三等于十五得湘。你好杖玲。十五加七， 二十二淘正。二十二加六摆马，二十八。沒有時間去再點著它。二十六加五，三十一慧起。哎喲！一共是五億一百六十二萬二千七百三十一蕉毯。」
「五億什么呀思犁？」
「嗯代虾？你還待在這兒吶？五億一百萬……我也不知道是什么了激蹲。我的工作很多……我是很嚴(yán)肅的棉磨，我可是從來也沒有功夫去閑聊！二加五得七……」
「五億一百萬什么呀学辱？」小王子重復(fù)問道乘瓤。一旦他提出了一個問題，是從來也不會放棄的策泣。
這位企業(yè)家抬起頭衙傀，說：
「我住在這個星球上五十四年以來，只被打攪過三次萨咕。第一次是二十二年前统抬，不知從哪里跑來了一只金龜子來打攪我。它發(fā)出一種可怕的噪音危队，使我在一筆帳目中出了四個差錯蓄喇。第二次，在十一年前交掏，是風(fēng)濕病發(fā)作，因為我缺乏鍛煉所致刃鳄。我沒有功夫閑逛盅弛，我可是個嚴(yán)肅的人。現(xiàn)在……這是第三次！我計算的結(jié)果是五億一百萬……」
「幾百萬什么挪鹏？」
這位企業(yè)家知道要想安寧是無望的了见秽，就說道：
「幾百萬個小東西，這些小東西有時出現(xiàn)在天空中讨盒〗馊。」
「蒼蠅嗎？」
「不是返顺，是些閃閃發(fā)亮的小東西禀苦。」
「是蜜蜂嗎遂鹊？」
「不是振乏，是金黃色的小東西，這些小東西叫那些懶漢們胡思亂想秉扑。我是個嚴(yán)肅的人慧邮。我沒有時間胡思亂想≈勐剑」
「啊误澳，是星星嗎？」
「對了秦躯，就是星星忆谓。」
「你要拿這五億星星做什么宦赠？」
「五億一百六十二萬七百三十一顆星星陪毡。我是嚴(yán)肅的人，我是非常精確的勾扭≌绷穑」
「你拿這些星星做什么？」
「我要它做什么妙色？」
「是呀桅滋。」
「什么也不做身辨。它們都是屬于我的丐谋。」
「星星是屬于你的煌珊？」
「是的号俐。」
「可是我已經(jīng)見到過一個國王定庵，他……」
「國王并不占有吏饿，他們只是進(jìn)行統(tǒng)治踪危。這不是一碼事≈砺洌」
「你擁有這許多星星有什么用贞远？」
「我擁有這些星星就可以去買別的星星，如果有人發(fā)現(xiàn)了別的星星的話笨忌±吨伲」
小王子自言自語地說：「這個人想問題有點像那個酒鬼一樣」倨＃」
可是他又提了一些問題：
「你怎么能占有星星呢袱结？」
「那么你說星星是誰的呀？」企業(yè)家不高興地頂了小王子一句袁余。
「我不知道擎勘，不屬于任何人∮卑瘢」
「那么棚饵，它們就是我的，因為是我第一個想到了這件事情的掩完≡胙」
「這就行了嗎？」
「那當(dāng)然且蓬。如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)了一顆沒有主人的鉆石欣硼，那么這顆鉆石就是屬于你的。當(dāng)你發(fā)現(xiàn)一個島是沒有主人的恶阴，那么這個島就是你的诈胜。當(dāng)你首先有了一個想法，你就去領(lǐng)一個專利證冯事，這個想法就是屬于你的焦匈。既然在我之前不曾有任何人想到要占有這些星星，那我就占有這些星星昵仅』菏欤」
「這倒也是∷ん裕可是你用它們來干什么够滑？」小王子說。
「我經(jīng)營管理這些星星吕世。我一遍又一遍地計算它們的數(shù)目彰触。這是一件困難的事。但我是一個嚴(yán)肅認(rèn)真的人命辖！」
小王子仍然還不滿足渴析，他說：
「對我來說晚伙，如果我有一條圍巾，我可以用它來圍著我的脖子俭茧，并且能帶走它。我有一朵花的話漓帚，我就可以摘下我的花母债，并且把它帶走〕⒍叮可你卻不能摘下這些星星呀毡们！」
「我不能摘，但我可以把它們存在銀行里昧辽⊙萌郏」
「這是什么意思呢？」
「這就是說搅荞，我把星星的數(shù)目寫在一片小紙頭上红氯，然后把這片紙頭鎖在一個抽屜里」就矗」
「這就算完事了嗎痢甘？」
「這樣就行了≤怨保」
小王子想道：「真好玩塞栅。這倒蠻有詩意，可是腔丧，并不算是了不起的正經(jīng)事放椰。」
關(guān)于什么是正經(jīng)事愉粤，小王子的看法與大人們的看法非常不同砾医。他接著又說：
「我有一朵花，我每天都給她澆水科汗。我還有三座火山藻烤，我每星期把它們?nèi)即驋咭槐椤＿B死火山也打掃头滔。誰知道它會不會再復(fù)活怖亭。我擁有火山和花，這對我的火山有益處坤检，對我的花也有益處兴猩。但是你對星星并沒有用處……」
企業(yè)家張口結(jié)舌無言以對。于是小王子就走了早歇。
