小王子（第五章）

Chapter5...



Chapter 5

As each day passed I would learn, in our talk, something about the little prince's planet, his departure from it, his journey. The information would come very slowly, as it might chance to fall from his thoughts. It was in the way that I heard, on the third day, about the catastrophe of the baobabs.

This time, once more, I had the sheep to thank for it, For the little prince asked me abruptly--as if seized by a grave doubt--"It is true, isn't it, that sheep eat little bushes?"

"Yes, that is true."

"Ah! I am glad!"

I did not understand why it was so important that sheep should eat little bushes. But the little prince added:

"Then it follows that they also eat baobabs?"

I pointed out to the little prince that baobabs were not little bushes, but, on the contrary, trees as big as castles; and that even if he took a whole herd of elephants away with him, the herd would not ear up one single baobab.

The idea of the herd of elephants made the littel prince laugh.

"We would have to put them on top of the other," he said.

But we made a wise comment:

"Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little."

"That is strictly correct," I said. "But why do you want the sheep to eat the little baobabs?"

He answered me at once, "Oh, come, come!", as if he were speaking of something that was self-evident. And I was obliged to make a great mental effort to solve this problem, without any assistance.

Indeed, as I learned, there were on the planet where the little prince lived--as on all planets--good seeds from good plants, and bad seeds from bad plants. But seeds are invisible. They sleep deep in the heart of the earth's darkness, until some one among them is seized with the desire to awaken. Then this little seed will stretch itself and begin--timidly at first--to push a charming little sprig inoffensively upward toward the sun. If it is only a sprout of radish or the sprig of a rose-bush, one would let it grow wherever it might wish. But when it is a bad plant, one must destroy it as soon as possible, the very first instant that one recognizes it.

Now there were some terrible seeds on the planet that was the home of the little prince; and those were the seeds of the baobab. The soil of that planet was infested with them. A baobab is something you will never, never be able to get rid of if you attend to it too late. It spreads over the entire planet. It bores clear through it with its roots. And if the planet is too small, and the baobabs are too many, they split it in pieces...

“It is a question of discipline," the little prince said to me later on. "When you've finished your own toilet in the morning, then it is time to attend to the toilet of your planet, just so, with the greatest care. You must see to it that you pull up regularly all the baobabs, at the very first moment when they can be distinguished from the rose-bushes which they resemble so closely in their earliest youth. It is very tedious work," the little prince added, "but very easy."

And one day he said to me: "You ought to make a beautiful drawing, so that the children where you live can see exactly how all this is. That would be very useful to them if they were to travel some day. Sometimes," he added,"there is no harm in putting off a piece of work until another day. But when it is a matter of baobabs, that always means a catastrophe. I knew a planet that was inhabited by a lazy man. He neglected three little bushes..."

So, as the little prince described it to me, I have made a drawing of that planet. I do not much like to take the tone of a moralist. But the danger of the baobas is o little understood, and such considerable risks would be run by anyone who might get lost on an asteroid, that for once I am breaking through my reserve. "Children," I say plainly, "watch out for the baobabs!"

My friends, like mysself, have been skirting this danger for a long time, without ever knowing it; and so it is for them that I have worked so hard over this drawing. The lesson which I pass on by this means is worth all the trouble it has cost me.

Perhaps you will ask me,"Why are there no other drawing in this book as magnificent and impressive as this drawing of the baobabs?"

The reply is simple. I have tried. But with the others I have not been successful. When I made the drawing of the baobabs I was carried beyond myself by the inspiring force of urgent necessity.



第五章

日子一天天过去，在我们谈话中，我也越来越知道小王子星球上的事情，关于他来的那个地方，关于他的旅行。每次他陷入沉思的时候，才有机会慢慢了解到这些事情。到第三天的时候，我才听到，关于猴面包树的灾难。

我又再一次多亏了我的这只羊，因为小王子突然问我——好像有某个重大的疑惑似得——“这是真的对吧？羊可以吃那些小的灌木丛？”

“是的，这是真的。”

“哇！那太好了！”

我不明白羊吃小灌木丛这件事情有这么重要么。但是小王子还说：

“那也就是说，他也吃猴面包树咯？”

相反，我告诉小王子，猴面包树可不是小灌木丛，这种树就跟城堡那样大；而且就算你带一群大象走，它们也吃不掉哪怕一颗猴面包树。

小王子被我的话逗笑了。

“那我们不得不把他们一个一个叠起来才够放，”他说

然后又睿智的说：

“在大象长大之前，猴面包树还很小呢。”

“完全正确！”我说“但是你为什么想要让羊去吃小猴面包树呢？”

他立刻回答我，“嘿，你认真的么？”就好像在说什么显而易见的事情一样。我知道我只有自己慢慢想明白为什么了。

事实上，就我所知，小王子住的那个星球有好的植物和坏的植物（其实所有的星球都如此）。所以，也就有好种子和坏种子。但是种子是看不到的，它们在地球黑暗的中心，直到有天它们想要苏醒过来。然后这些小种子就会如春笋般生长（尽管一开始很慢），向着太阳伸展它们的枝丫。如果它只是萝卜的幼芽或者只是玫瑰花苗，无论它长在哪里都没人会管。但如果它是坏植物，你必须尽快把它消灭掉，在你看到它的第一眼。

现在有一些非常糟糕的种子在小王子的星球上，那就是猴面包树的种子。它们在那个星球上的土地上蔓延。如果你发现得太晚，那么你永远，永远也不可能清除掉一颗猴面包树。它会蔓延到整个星球，它的根会贯穿土地。而且如果星球太小的话，就会被猴面包树穿破成几块。

“这是纪律的问题，”小王子接着对我说。“当你早上上完厕所的时候，就是时候去细心留意一下星球上的厕所。你必须仔细看看，然后定期拔出所有的猴面包树，在你第一时间能够把它和玫瑰花苗（幼苗时和猴面包树很像）区分开的时候。这是很枯燥的工作，“小王子补充道，”但非常简单。“

有天他和我说：“你应该画一幅好看的画，这样你生活的那个地方的孩子们就可以看清楚都是怎么回事。这对于它们以后某天去旅游的时候将会非常有用，”他还说，“把一些工作推迟到另一天来做也没什么关系。但如果是有关猴面包树的事情的话，那往往意味着灾难。我认识住在另一个星球的人，他是个懒人，他忽略了三颗很小的灌木丛......“

所以，我听着小王子的描述，把那个星球画了下来。我不喜欢满嘴道德家的调调，但是猴面包树的危险很少有人了解的，所以一旦有人在小行星上走失，巨大的风险就会来临。所以我毫无保留的说。“孩子，”我说的很清楚，”注意那些猴面包树！“

我的朋友就跟我一样，一直以来都在回避着这些危险；我费了很大的功夫来画这幅画，我说的这个建议很重要，花点功夫也值得。

或许你会问我，“为什么这本书里的画没有这幅那么壮观和令人印象深刻呢？”

答案很简单，我试过了。但其他画都没成功。而当我在画猴面包树的画的时候，迫切的心情激励着我。

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