《小王子》原著英汉对照chapter1

《小王子》

Chapter1

[第一章]

Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book,called True Stories from Nature,about the primeval forest.it was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal.Here is a copy of the drawing:

我六岁那年，有一次，在一本书里看见一幅很棒的图画，那本书叫《亲身经历的故事》，写原始森林。那幅图画上，一条大蟒蛇正在吞吃一头猛兽。我把它描了下来。

In the book it said: “Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing it. After that they are not able to move, and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion.”

书里写着：“大蟒蛇把猎物整个吞下，嚼都不嚼。然后，它动弹不了，它得睡上整整六个月，才能消化肚子里的东西。”

I pondered（沉思） deeply, then, over the adventures of the jungle. And after some work with a coloured pencil I succeeded in making my first drawing. My Drawing Number One. It looked like this:

对原始森林的探险，我当时想得很多。于是，我也用一支彩色铅笔，画出了我的第一张画。画作第1号。就像这样：

I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups, and asked them whether the drawing frightened them.

我把我的杰作拿给大人们看，问他们：“我的画是不是让你们很害怕？”

But they answered: “Frighten? Why should anyone be frightened by a hat?”

他们回答：“一顶帽子有什么好怕的？”

My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. But since the grown-ups were not able to understand it, I made another drawing. I drew the inside of the boa constrictor, so that the grown-ups could see it clearly. They always need to have things explained. My Drawing Number Two looked like this:

可我画的不是帽子呀。我画的是一条大蟒蛇，正在消化一头大象。于是我把大蟒蛇的肚子里面也画了出来，好让大人们看个明白。大人们老是要人解释。这是画作第2号：

The grown-ups’ response, this time, was to advise me to lay aside my drawings of boa constrictors, whether from the inside or the outside, and devote myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic and grammar. That is why, at the age of six, I gave up what might have been a magnificent career as a painter. I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

大人们劝我不要再画大蟒蛇了，还是专心学地理、历史、算术和语法吧。就这样，我六岁时放弃了画家生涯。画作第1号和第2号的挫折，让我泄了气。大人们自己什么也弄不懂，却要孩子们一遍一遍地解释，真够累人的……

So then I chose another profession, and learned to pilot aeroplanes. I have flown a little over all parts of the world; and it is true that geography has been very useful to me. At a glance I can distinguish China from Arizona. If one gets lost in the night, such knowledge is valuable.

我只好另选职业。我学会了驾驶飞机。世界各地，我差不多都去过。的确，地理对我很有用。只要看一眼，我就能认出，哪里是中国，哪里是亚利桑那。如果夜里迷航了，这很管用。

In the course of this life I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence（重要的）. I have lived a great deal among grown-ups. I have seen them intimately, close at hand. And that hasn’t much improved my opinion of them.

在我的生活中，我同很多严肃的人打过很多的交道。在大人们中间，我经历了很多。我就近观察他们。不过，我对他们的印象，没有多大改变。

Whenever I met one of them who seemed to me at all clear-sighted, I tried the experiment of showing him my Drawing Number One, which I have always kept. I would try to find out, so, if this was a person of true understanding. But, whoever it was, he, or she, would always say:“That is a hat.”

碰到稍微聪明一点的大人，我会拿出一直保存着的画作第1号给他看。我想知道他能不能看懂。但大人总是这么回答我：

“这是一顶帽子。”

Then I would never talk to that person about boa constrictors, or primeval forests, or stars. I would bring myself down to his level. I would talk to him about bridge, and golf, and politics, and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such a sensible man.

所以，我就懒得跟他说大蟒蛇、原始森林或者星星了。我只好说一些他能懂的事情。我跟他说桥、高尔夫、政治或者领带。大人就挺满意，觉得认识了一个正常人……

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