小王子 第32期:了不起的正经事

 The little prince was still not satisfied.

小王子仍然还不满足，

"If I owned a silk scarf," he said,

他说，对我来说，如果我有一条围巾，

I could put it around my neck and takeit away with me.

我可以用它来围着我的脖子，并且能带走它。

If I owned a flower, I could pluck¹ that flower and take it away with me.

我有一朵花的话，我就可以摘下我的花，并且把它带走。

But you cannot pluck the stars from heaven.

可你却不能摘下这些星星呀！

No. But I can put them in the bank.

我不能摘，但我可以把它们存在银行里。

Whatever does that mean?

这是什么意思呢？

That means that I write the number of my stars on a little paper.

这就是说，我把星星的数目写在一片小纸头上，

And then I put this paper in a drawer and lock it with a key.

然后把这片纸头锁在一个抽屉里。

And that is all?

这就算完事了吗？

"That is enough," said the businessman.

“这样就行了。”商人说。

"It is entertaining," thought the little prince. "It is rather poetic². But it is of no great consequence."

小王子想道：“真好玩。这倒蛮有诗意，可是，并不算是了不起的正经事。”

On matters of consequence, the little prince had ideas which were very different from those of the grown-ups.

关于什么是正经事，小王子的看法和大人们的看法非常不同。

I myself own a flower, he continued his conversation with the businessman, which I water every day.

我有一朵花，我每天都给她浇水。

I own three volcanoes³, which I clean out every week (for I also clean out the one that is extinct⁴; one never knows.

我还有三座火山，我每星期把它们全都打扫一遍。连死火山也打扫。谁知道它会不会再复活。

It is of some use to my volcanoes, and it is of some use to my flower, that I own them.

我拥有火山和花，这对我的火山有益处，对我的花也有益处。

But you are of no use to the stars...

但是你对星星并没有用处…

The businessman opened his mouth, but he found nothing to say in answer.

实业家张口结舌无言以对。

And the little prince went away.

于是小王子就走了。

"The grown-ups are certainly altogether extraordinary," he said simply, talking to himself as he continued on his journey.

在旅途中，小王子只是自言自语地说了一句：“这些大人们真是奇怪极了。”

1 pluck   

v.摘，拔（毛）拨，弹奏，拉；n.勇气，决心

参考例句：

• He is full of pluck.他很有勇气。
• With a few pluck at the string of his banjo,everybody is singing along.他拨了拨班卓琴的琴弦，每个人就都跟著唱了起了。

2 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

3 volcanoes   

n.火山( volcano的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Volcanoes and geysers erupt. 火山和间歇喷泉均能喷发。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has been able to tell us more about active volcanoes than any man alive. 他现在比任何人都能更多地向我们讲述有关活火山的情况。 来自《用法词典》

4 extinct   

adj.灭绝的，不再活跃的，熄灭了的，已废弃的

参考例句：

• All hopes were extinct.所有希望都破灭了。
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years.恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。