小王子 第16期:蘑菇人

 　　He stared at me, thunderstruck.

　　他惊讶地看着我。

　　Matters of consequence!

　　正经事？

　　He looked at me there, with my hammer in my hand, my fingers black with engine-grease, bending down over an object which seemed to him extremely ugly.

　　他瞅着我手拿锤子，手指沾满了油污，伏在一个在他看来丑不可言的机件上。

　　You talk just like the grown-ups!

　　你说话就和那些大人一样！

　　That made me a little ashamed.

　　这话使我有点难堪。

　　But he went on, relentlessly¹: "You mix everything up together...You confuse everything."

　　可是他又尖刻无情地说道：“你什么都分不清…你把什么都混在一起！”

　　He was really very angry.

　　他着实非常恼火。

　　He tossed his golden curls in the breeze.

　　摇动着脑袋，金黄色的头发随风颤动着。

　　I know a planet where there is a certain red-faced gentleman.

　　我到过一个星球，上面住着一个红脸先生。

　　He has never smelled a flower.

　　他从来没闻过一朵花。

　　He has never looked at a star.

　　他从来没有看过一颗星星。

　　He has never loved any one.

　　他什么人也没有喜欢过。

　　He has never done anything in his life but add up figures.

　　除了算帐以外，他什么也没有做过。

　　And all day he says over and over, just like you: "I am busy with matters of consequence!"

　　他整天同你一样老是说：“我有正经事，我是个严肃的人”。

　　And that makes him swell² up with pride.

　　这使他傲气十足。

　　But he is not a man– he is a mushroom!"

　　他简直不象是个人，他是个蘑菇。

　　A what?

　　是个什么？

　　A mushroom!

　　是个蘑菇！

　　The little prince was now white with rage.

　　小王子当时气得脸色发白。

　　The flowers have been growing thorns for millions of years.

　　几百万年以来花儿都在制造着刺，

　　For millions of years the sheep have been eating them just the same.

　　几百万年以来羊仍然在吃花。

　　And is it not a matter of consequence to try to understand why the flowers go to so much trouble to grow thorns which are never of any use to them?

　　要搞清楚为什么花儿费那么大劲给自己制造没有什么用的刺，这难道不是正经事？

　　Is the warfare³ between the sheep and the flowers not important?

　　难道羊和花之间的战争不重要？

　　Is this not of more consequence than a fat red-faced gentleman's sums?

　　这难道不比那个大胖子红脸先生的帐目更重要？

　　And if I know–I, myself–one flower which is unique in the world, which grows nowhere but on my planet,

　　如果我认识一朵人世间唯一的花，只有我的星球上有它，别的地方都不存在，

　　but which one little sheep can destroy in a single bite some morning, without even noticing what he is doing–Oh! You think that is not important!

　　而一只小羊胡里胡涂就这样把它一下子毁掉了，这难道不重要？

1 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

2 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

3 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。