chapter 15
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 konws."
"One never konws,"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.
十五章
第六颗星球比第五颗星球要大十倍。上面住着的是一位老先生，他在写作大部头的书。
“哇，瞧！来了个探险家！”看到小王子，他惊叫道。
小王子在桌边坐下，喘了口气。他已经走了那么远的路！
“你是从哪里来的？” 老先生问。
“这么大一本书写的是什么？” 小王子说，“你在做什么呀？”
“我是个地理学家。”老先生说。
“地理学家是干嘛的？”
“地理学家是一种学者，他知道哪里有海洋，哪里有江河、城镇、山脉和沙漠。”
“这挺好玩的，”小王子说，“终于见到一个有真正职业的人了！”他环顾了一眼地理学家的星球。他从未见过如此壮美、如此雄伟的星球。
“你的星球真美啊，这里有海洋吗？”
“我不知道，” 地理学家说。
“啊！”小王子感到失望。“这里有山脉吗？”
“我不知道。”地理学家说。
“那城镇、河流、沙漠呢？”
“我也不知道。”
“可您是个地理学家啊！”
“没错，”地理学家说，“但我不是探险家。我手下一个探险家都没有。地理学家是不会出去弄清楚外面有多少城镇、江河、山脉、海洋和沙漠的。地理学家是很重要的，可没空到处闲逛。他不能离开办公室，但他会在办公室里接待探险家。他向探险家提出问题，记录他们在旅途中的所见所闻。如果他觉得某个探险家的见闻有趣，就会派人去调查这个探险家的品行。”
“这是为什么？”
“因为说谎的探险家会给地理学家的书带来灾难。还有喝很多酒的探险家也一样。”
“这是为什么？”小王子问。
“因为醉醺醺的人看什么都是重影的。这样地理学家会把原本是一座山的地方标记成了两座山。”
“我认识一个人，”小王子说，“他要去做探险家，肯定不能胜任。”
“那很有可能。然后，如果证明探险家的品行优秀，就会调查他的发现。”
“要去实地看看吗？”
“不，那台麻烦了。但会要求探险家提供证据。比如，发现了一座山，就要求他从那里带回来几块大石头。”
地理学家突然兴奋起来。
“不过你。。。。你就是从远方来的！你就是一个探险家！给我讲讲你的星球吧！”
地理学家打开了他大大的记录本，削好了铅笔。探险家的叙述要先用铅笔写下来。只有等探险家提供了证据，才会改用钢笔记录下来。
“怎么样？”地理学家满怀期待地说。
“噢，我住的那个地方啊没多大意思。”小王子说，“一切都是那么小。我有三座火山。两座活火山，一座死火山。不过很难说它以后会不会喷发呢。”
“是很难说。”地理学家说。
“我还有一朵花“
“我们是不记载花的。”地理学家说。
“为什么！这多花是我的星球上最美的东西了！”
“我不记载花，因为花是转瞬即逝的。”
“‘转瞬即逝’？那是什么意思？”
“地理书是所有书中最最严谨的书。”地理学家说，“它永远不会过时。极少有山脉会改变位置。极少有海洋会干涸。我们记载的是永恒的事物。”
“但死火山也可能会复活啊，”小王子打断他说，“‘转瞬即逝’是什么意思啊？”
“不管是死火山还是活火山，对我们来说都一样。”地理学家说，“我们看重的是那座山。它的位置是不会发生变化的。”
“但‘转瞬即逝’是什么意思？” 小王子一再追问。
只要提了问题，他就非得到答案不可。
“意思就是‘有迅速消失的危险’。”
“我的花有迅速消失的危险？”
“那是当然。”
“我的花是转瞬即逝的。”小王子默默地想，“她只有四根刺来保护自己免受周遭的侵害。我却把她留在了我的星球上，孤零零地就她一个！”
小王子第一次感到了后悔，但又重新振作了起来。
“我下一站该去哪个星球好呢？”他问道。
“地球。”地理学家回答，“地球的名望很高。。。”
于是小王子离开了，一直想着他的花。