By Antoine de Saint-Exupery
作者：安東尼·德·圣-埃克蘇佩里
The sixth planet was ten times larger than the last one. It was inhabited by an old gentleman who wrote voluminous books.
"Oh, look! Here is an explorer!" he exclaimed to himself when he saw the little prince coming.
The little prince sat down on the table and panted a little. He had already traveled so much and so far!
"Where do you come from?" the old gentleman said to him.
"What is that big book?" said the little prince. "What are you doing?"
"I am a geographer," the old gentleman said to him.
"What is a geographer?" asked the little prince.
"A geographer is a scholar who knows the location of all the seas, rivers, towns, mountains, and deserts."
"That is very interesting," said the little prince. "Here at last is a man who has a real profession!" And he cast a look around him at the planet of the geographer. It was the most magnificent and stately planet that he had ever seen.
"Your planet is very beautiful," he said. "Has it any oceans?"
"I couldn't tell you," said the geographer.
"Ah!" The little prince was disappointed. "Has it any mountains?"
"I couldn't tell you," said the geographer.
"And towns, and rivers, and deserts?"
"I couldn't tell you that, either."
"But you are a geographer!"
"Exactly," the geographer said. "But I am not an explorer. I haven't a single explorer on my planet. It is not the geographer who goes out to count the towns, the rivers, the mountains, the seas, the oceans, and the deserts. The geographer is much too important to go loafing about. He does not leave his desk. But he receives the explorers in his study. He asks them questions, and he notes down what they recall of their travels. And if the recollections of any one among them seem interesting to him, the geographer orders an inquiry into that explorer's moral character."
"Why is that?"
"Because an explorer who told lies would bring disaster on the books of the geographer. So would an explorer who drank too much."
"Why is that?" asked the little prince.
"Because intoxicated men see double. Then the geographer would note down two mountains in a place where there was only one."
"I know some one," said the little prince, "who would make a bad explorer."
"That is possible. Then, when the moral character of the explorer is shown to be good, an inquiry is ordered into his discovery."
"One goes to see it?"
"No. That would be too complicated. But one requires the explorer to furnish proofs. For example, if the discovery in question is that of a large mountain, one requires that large stones be brought back from it."
The geographer was suddenly stirred to excitement.
"But you-- you come from far away! You are an explorer! You shall describe your planet to me!"
And, having opened his big register, the geographer sharpened his pencil. The recitals of explorers are put down first in pencil. One waits until the explorer has furnished proofs, before putting them down in ink.
"Well?" said the geographer expectantly.
"Oh, where I live," said the little prince, "it is not very interesting. It is all so small. I have three volcanoes. Two volcanoes are active and the other is extinct. But one never knows."
"One never knows," said the geographer.
"I have also a flower."
"We do not record flowers," said the geographer.
"Why is that? The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!"
"We do not record them," said the geographer, "because they are ephemeral."
"What does that mean-- 'ephemeral'?"
"Geographies," said the geographer, "are the books which, of all books, are most concerned with matters of consequence. They never become old-fashioned. It is very rarely that a mountain changes its position. It is very rarely that an ocean empties itself of its waters. We write of eternal things."
"But extinct volcanoes may come to life again," the little prince interrupted. "What does that mean-- 'ephemeral'?"
"Whether volcanoes are extinct or alive, it comes to the same thing for us," said the geographer. "The thing that matters to us is the mountain. It does not change."
"But what does that mean-- 'ephemeral'?" repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question, once he had asked it.
"It means, 'which is in danger of speedy disappearance.'"
"Is my flower in danger of speedy disappearance?"
"Certainly it is."
"My flower is ephemeral," the little prince said to himself, "and she has only four thorns to defend herself against the world. And I have left her on my planet, all alone!"
That was his first moment of regret. But he took courage once more.
"What place would you advise me to visit now?" he asked.
"The planet Earth," replied the geographer. "It has a good reputation."
And the little prince went away, thinking of his flower.
第六顆行星則要大十倍聊闯。上面住著一位老先生堤瘤，他在寫作大部頭的書。
[圖片上傳失敗...(image-2d93-1523712364769)]
「瞧保礼！來了一位探險家。」老先生看到小王子時喊式，叫了起來。
小王子在桌旁坐下萧朝，有點(diǎn)氣喘吁吁岔留。他跑了多少路啊检柬！
「你從哪里來的呀献联？」老先生問小王子。
「這一大本是什么書何址？你在這里干什么里逆？」小王子問道。
「我是地理學(xué)家用爪≡海」老先生答道。
「什么是地理學(xué)家偎血？」
「地理學(xué)家诸衔，就是一種學(xué)者盯漂，他知道哪里有海洋，哪里有江河笨农、城市就缆、山脈、 沙漠磁餐∥コ纾」
「這倒挺有意思≌锱」小王子說羞延。「這才是一種真正的行當(dāng)脾还“槁幔」他朝四周圍看了看這位地理學(xué)家的星球。他還從來沒有見過一顆如此壯觀的行星鄙漏。
「您的星球真美呀嗤谚。上面有海洋嗎？」
「這我沒法知道怔蚌」剑」地理學(xué)家說。
「拌胗弧椅野！」小王子大失所望〖瑁「那么竟闪，山脈呢？」
「這杖狼，我沒法知道炼蛤。」地理學(xué)家說蝶涩。
「那么理朋，有城市、河流子寓、沙漠嗎暗挑？」
「這，我也沒法知道斜友。」地理學(xué)家說垃它。
「可您還是地理學(xué)家呢鲜屏！」
「一點(diǎn)不錯烹看，」地理學(xué)家說，「但是我不是探險家洛史。我手下一個探險家都沒有惯殊。地理學(xué)家是不去計算城市、河流也殖、山脈土思、海洋、沙漠的忆嗜。地理學(xué)家很重要己儒，不能到處跑。他不能離開他的辦公室捆毫。但他可以在辦公室里接見探險家闪湾。他詢問探險家，把他們的回憶記錄下來绩卤。如果他認(rèn)為其中有個探險家的回憶是有意思的途样，那么地理學(xué)家就對這個探險家的品德做一番調(diào)查”舯铮」
「這是為什么呢何暇？」
「因為一個說假話的探險家會給地理書帶來災(zāi)難性的后果。同樣凛驮，一個太愛喝酒的探險家也是如此裆站。」
「這又是為什么辐烂？」小王子說遏插。
「因為喝醉了酒的人把一個看成兩個，那么纠修，地理學(xué)家就會把只有一座山的地方寫成兩座山胳嘲。」
「我認(rèn)識一個人扣草，他要是探險家的話了牛，就很可能是個不好的探險家〕矫睿」小王子說鹰祸。
「這是可能的。因此密浑，如果探險家的品德不錯蛙婴，就對他的發(fā)現(xiàn)進(jìn)行調(diào)查《疲」
「去看一看嗎街图？」
「不浇衬。那太復(fù)雜了。但是要求探險家提出證據(jù)來餐济。例如耘擂，假使他發(fā)現(xiàn)了一座大山，就要求他帶來一些大石頭絮姆∽碓」
地理學(xué)家忽然忙亂起來。
「正好篙悯，你是從老遠(yuǎn)來的么蚁阳！你是個探險家！你來給我介紹一下你的星球吧辕近！」
于是韵吨，已經(jīng)打開登記簿的地理學(xué)家，削起他的鉛筆來移宅。他首先是用鉛筆記下探險家的敘述归粉，等到探險家提出了證據(jù)以后再用墨水筆記下來。
「怎么樣漏峰？」地理學(xué)家詢問道糠悼。
「啊浅乔！我那里倔喂，」小王子說道，「沒有多大意思靖苇，那兒很小席噩。我有三座火山， 兩座是活的贤壁，一座是熄滅了的悼枢。但是也很難說∑⒉穑」
「很難說馒索。」地理學(xué)家說道名船。
「我還有一朵花绰上。」
「我們是不記載花卉的渠驼◎诳椋」地理學(xué)家說。
「這是為什么？花是最美麗的東西疯趟【猩冢」
「因為花卉是短暫的谋梭⌒啪」
「什么叫短暫？」
「地理學(xué)書籍是所有書中最嚴(yán)肅的書瓮床№镂瑁」地理學(xué)家說道，「這類書是從不會過時的隘庄。很少會發(fā)生一座山變換了位置踢步，很少會出現(xiàn)一個海洋干涸的現(xiàn)象。我們要寫永恒的東西丑掺』裼。」
「但是熄滅的火山也可能會再復(fù)蘇的〗种荩」小王子打斷了地理學(xué)家兼丰。「什么叫短暫唆缴？」
「火山是熄滅了的也好鳍征，蘇醒的也好，這對我們這些人來講都是一回事面徽⊙薮裕」地理學(xué)家說，「對我們來說趟紊，重要的是山氮双。山是不會變換位置的■伲」
「但是戴差，短暫是什么意思？」小王子再三地問道唧躲。他一旦提出一個問題是從不放過的造挽。
「意思就是：有很快就會消失的危險∨裕」
「我的花是很快就會消失的嗎饭入？」
「那當(dāng)然「卣妫」
小王子自言自語地說：「我的花是短暫的谐丢，而且她只有四根刺來防御外敵！可我還把她獨(dú)自留在家里！」
這是他第一次產(chǎn)生了后悔乾忱，但他又重新振作起來：
「您是否能建議我去看些什么讥珍？」小王子問道。
「地球這顆行星窄瘟，」地理學(xué)家回答他說衷佃，「它的名望很高……」
