Chapter 4
I had thus learned a second fact of great importance:this was that the planet the little prince came from was scarcely any larger than a house!
But that did not really surprise me much. I knew very well that in addition to the great planets - such as the Earth,Jupiter,Mars,Venus - to which we have given names,there are also hundreds of others,some of which are so small that one has a hard time seeing them through the telescope. When an astronomer discovers one of these he does not give it a name, but only a number. He might call it, for example, "Asteroid 3251".
I have serious reasons to believe that the planet from which the little prince came is the asteroid known as B-612. This asteroid has only once been seen through the telescope. That was by a Turkish astronomer, in 1909.
On makintg his discovery, the astronomer had presented it to the International Astronomical Congress, in a great demonstration. But he was in Turkish costume,and so nobody would believe what he said.
Grown-ups are like that...
Fortunately,however,for the reputation of Asteroid B-612,a Turkish dictator made a law that his subjects,under pain of death,should change to European costume. So in 1920,the astronomer gave his demonstration all over again, dressed with impressive style and elegance.And this time,everybody accepted his report.
If I have told you these details about the asteroid,and made a note of its number for you,it is on account of the grown-ups and their ways.Grown-ups love figures.When you tell them that you have made a new friend,they never ask you any questions about essential matters.They never say to you,"What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best?Does he collect butterflies?" Instead,they demand:"How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh?How much money does his father make? " Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
If you were to say to the grown-ups:"I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick,with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof," they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them:"I saw a house that cost $20,000." Then they would exclaim:"oh,what a pretty house that is!"
Just so,you might say to them:"The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep.If anybody wants a sheep,that is a proof that he exists." And what good would it do to tell them that? They would shrug their shoulders,and treat you like a child.But if you said to them:"The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612," then they would be convinced,and leave you in peace from their questions.
They are like that.One must not hold it against them. Children should always show great forbearance toward grown-up people.
But certainly,for us who understand life,figures are a matter of indifference. I should have liked to begin this story in the fashion of the fairy-tales. I should have liked to say:"Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet that was scarcely any bigger than himself,and who had need of a sheep..."
To those who understand life,that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story.
For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly. I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories. Six years have already passed since my friend went away from me, with his sheep. If I try to describe him there, it is to make sure that I shall not forget him. To forget a friend is sad. Not every one has had a friend. And if I forget him, I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures...
It is for that purpose, again, that I have bought a box of paints and some pencils. It is hard to take up drawing again at my age, when I have never made any pictures except those of the boa constrictor from the outside and the boa constrictor from the inside, since I was six. I shall certainly try to make my portraits as true to life as possible. But I am not at all sure of success. One drawing goes along all right, and another has no resemblance to its subject. I make some errors,too,in the little prince's height: in one place he is too tall and in another too short. And I feel some doubts about the color of his costume. So I fumble along as best I can, not good, not bad, and I hope generally fair-to-middling.
In certain more important details I shall make mistakes, also. But that is something that will not be my fault. My friend never explained anything to me. He thought, perhaps, that I was like himself. But I,alas,do not know how to see sheep through the walls of boxes. Perhaps I am a little like the grown-ups. I have had to grow old.
第四章
由此我还了解到一件非常重要的事：小王子来的那个星球比一栋房子大不了多少。
但是这倒没让我感到多意外，我知道除了大的行星，比如地球、木星、火星、金星，这些我们已经起了名字的，还有许多其他的星球，这些星球特别小以至于通过射电望远镜也很难观察到它们。天文学家一旦发现了一颗小行星，并不会给它起名字，而是会给个编号。比如，称它为3251号小行星。
我有正经的理由相信，小王子来的那个星球就是B-612号小行星。这个小行星只在1909年被一位土耳其天文学家用望远镜观测到一次。
他随后在国际天文学大会上充分详实地展示了他的发现。但是由于当时他穿的是土耳其服装，因此没有人相信他说的话。
大人们通常都这样。。。
庆幸的是，为了B-612号小行星的声誉，土耳其的独裁者下令所有的臣民改穿欧式服装，违者处以死刑。1920年，那位天文学家穿着气派、庄重的服饰，再次在会上论证了一遍。这次人人都接受了他的观点。
我之所以告诉你这么多关于B-612号小行星的琐事，还告诉你它的编号，那是因为大人。大人们热衷于数字。当你告诉他们你交了一个朋友，大人们从不会问你些本质的问题。他们从不会问你：”他的声音听起来怎么样？他喜欢什么游戏？他收集蝴蝶吗？“，相反，他们会问你：”他多大啦？他多重啊？他爸爸挣多少钱？“。大人们觉得只有通过这些数字他们才能了解他。
如果你对大人们说：“我看到了一所漂亮的房子，玫瑰红的砖墙，窗台上摆着天竺葵，屋顶上几只鸽子在休憩。”
他们根本想象不出这座房子是什么样子。你必须告诉他们：“我看见了一座价值十万法郎的房子。”他们就会惊呼：“哇，这房子多漂亮啊！”
同样地，如果你对大人说：“小王子存在的证据就是他招人喜欢，他咯咯低笑，他在找一只绵羊。如果有人想要一只绵羊，那就证明他是存在的。”但是告诉他们这些会有什么好的呢？他们肯定会耸耸肩，把你当小孩子。但是如果你对他们说：“小王子来自B-612星球，”他们就信了，不再拿问题来烦你。
他们就是这样。你别责怪他们。小孩子要对大人宽宏大量才行。
当然，对于我们这些懂得生活的人来说，数字才没什么重要的呢。其实我更愿意像讲童话那样开始这个故事。我更愿意这样讲：“从前有个小王子，他生活的星球，比他身体大不了多少，他希望有个朋友...”
对于那些懂生活的人来说，这样显得真实得多。
我可不希望别人漫不经心地翻看我的这本书。所以怀着极其伤感的心情，我写下了这些回忆。六年前，我的朋友带着他的绵羊离开了。我现在试着描写他，是为了不忘记他。忘记朋友是可悲的。并不是每个人都有过朋友的。如果我忘记了他，我就和那些大人一样了，除了数字，对什么都不感兴趣了。
还是为了不忘记他，我买了一盒颜料、几支铅笔。我只在六岁的时候画过敞着肚皮和合着肚皮的蟒蛇，别的什么也没画过，现在这个年纪再重新拿起画笔真是不容易。当然我会尽力画得逼真一些。但也不敢肯定能画好。往往这幅还可以，那一幅一点也不像了。关于小王子的身高，我也常常画错：这里画得太高，那里又画得太矮。而且他的衣服的颜色我也不太确定。于是我笨手笨脚地摸索着画，画得勉勉强强，希望大体上过得去。
肯定还有一些更重要的细节，我也画错了。但大家要原谅我。我的这位朋友从来没有向我做过什么解释。也许他以为我和他一样吧。不过我，哎，却不知道怎么透过箱子看到那只绵羊。我可能有点像那些大人了。我一定是变老了。