The Little Prince: A Léon Werth
The Little Prince: A Léon Werth
The Little Prince: A Léon Werth
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2Language Books
El Principito
A Léon Werth
To Léon Werth
Pido perdón a los niños por haber dedicado este libro a una persona mayor.
To all children, please excuse me for having dedicated this book to a grown-up.
Tengo una excusa seria: esta persona mayor es el mejor amigo que tengo en el
mundo. Tengo otra excusa: esta persona mayor puede entender todo, hasta los
libros para niños. Tengo una tercera excusa: esta persona mayor vive en
Francia, donde pasa hambre y frí o. Tiene mucha necesidad de ser consolada.
I have a serious reason: this grown-up is the best friend that I have in the world. I
have another reason: this person can understand anything, even books written for
children. I have a third reason: this grown-up lives in France, where he is hungry
and cold. He is in need of being comforted.
Si todas estas excusas no son suficientes, quiero dedicar este libro al niño que
este señor ha sido. Todas las personas mayores fueron primero niños. (Pero
pocas lo recuerdan). Corrijo entonces mi dedicatoria:
If all these excuses are not sufficient, then I shall dedicate this book to the child
whom this adult once was. All grown-ups have first of all been children. (Although
few of them recall this.) Therefore, I correct my dedication:
Capí
tulo I
Chapter I
Cuando tenía seis años, vi una vez una imagen magnífica en un libro sobre la
Selva Virgen que se llamaba “Historias Vividas”. Representaba una serpiente
boa que tragaba una fiera. He aquíla copia del dibujo.
When I was six years old I saw, one time, a magnificent picture in a book about a
pristine forest. The book was called Past Recollections. It depicted a boa constrictor
swallowing a wild animal. Here is a copy of the drawing.
En el libro decía: “Las serpientes boas tragan a su presa entera, sin
masticarla. Luego no pueden moverse más y duermen durante los seis meses
de su digestión”.
It said in the book: “Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing it.
Afterwards they cannot even budge, and they sleep during the six months of
digestion.”
I have thus thought a lot about adventures in the jungle, and I in turn have managed,
with a coloured crayon, to sketch my first drawing. My drawing number one, it
looked like this:
Mostrémi obra maestra a las personas mayores y les preguntési mi dibujo les
daba miedo.
My drawing did not depict a hat. It showed a boa constrictor having had digested
an elephant. I then drew the inside of the boa constrictor, so that the grown-ups
could understand. They are always in need of explanations. My drawing number
two looked like this:
Las personas mayores me aconsejaron dejar de lado los dibujos de serpientes
boas abiertas o cerradas, e interesarme en cambio por la geografía, la historia,
las matemáticas y la gramática.
These grown-ups suggested I put aside the drawings of boa constrictors, including
their insides, and to concern myself instead with geography, history, arithmetic, and
grammar.
It is thus that I abandoned, at the age of six years, a magnificent career in painting.
I was discouraged by the failure of my drawings.
I have flown a little all over the world; and geography, it is true, has served me well.
I can distinguish China from Arizona at a glance. It is useful, if one is lost during
the night.
Cuando encontraba una que me parecí a algo lúcida, probaba con ella mi
dibujo n°1 que siempre he conservado.
Whenever I met one who seemed a little lucid, I tried the exercise of showing them
my drawings, which I have always kept.
I wanted to know if this grown-up was actually intelligent, but they would always
reply: “It is a hat.”
Then I would never speak to them of boa constrictors, nor of pristine forests, and
nor of stars. I put myself on their level. I talked to them about bridge, and golf, and
politics, and ties. And the grown-up would be glad to have met such a sensible man...
Capí
tulo II
Chapter II
Vivíentonces solo, sin nadie con quien hablar en serio, hasta que sufríuna
avería en el desierto del Sahara hace seis años.
I have thus lived all alone, without anyone with which to really speak, until my plane
had a breakdown in the Sahara desert, some six years ago.
Something was broken in my engine. And as I had with me neither a mechanic nor
any passengers, I prepared myself to make the difficult repair job without any help.
It was for me a question of life or death: I had hardly enough drinking water for one
week.
La primera noche me dormísobre la arena, a mil millas de cualquier lugar
habitado. Estaba realmente más aislado que un náufrago sobre una balsa en
medio del océano.
The first night, I went to sleep on the sand, a thousand miles from any settlement. I
was more isolated than a castaway on a raft in the middle of the ocean.
Thus, you can imagine my surprise when, at sunrise, a funny little voice woke me
up. It said:
— ¡Eh!
“Hey?!”
— Dibújame un cordero...
“Draw me a sheep...”
However, my drawing is certainly very much less ravishing than the model. That is
not my fault. At the age of six, I was discouraged in my career as a painter by the
grown-ups. So I never learnt to draw anything, except boas from the outside and
boas showing their insides.
Miré entonces esta aparición con los ojos bien abiertos por la sorpresa. No
olviden que me encontraba a mil millas de cualquier lugar habitado.
I therefore stared at this apparition, my eyes wide with astonishment. Do not forget
that I found myself a thousand miles from any inhabited region.
Despite this, my little man seemed not to be lost, nor to be dying from fatigue, nor
of hunger, nor of thirst, and neither from fear. He showed no indication of being of
a child lost in the middle of the desert, a thousand miles from any populated region.
When I finally managed to speak, I said to him: “But what are you doing here?”
Y entonces me repitió, muy dulcemente, como una cosa muy seria: — Por
favor... dibújame un cordero...
He then repeated to me, very slowly, as if it was very serious: “If you will... draw
me a sheep...”
When a mystery is too overwhelming, one dare not disobey. As absurd as it seemed
to me, a thousand miles from anywhere and in danger of dying, I nonetheless took
from my pocket a sheet of paper and a pen.
Pero entonces recordé que había estudiado sobre todo geografía, historia,
matemática y gramática y le dije al hombrecito (con un poco de mal humor)
que no sabía dibujar. Me respondió:
But then I recalled that I had primarily studied geography, history, arithmetic and
grammar, and I said to the little fellow (with a subtle hint of sarcasm) that I did not
know how to draw.
Como yo nunca había dibujado un cordero, rehice para él uno de los dos únicos
dibujos que sabía: el de la boa cerrada. Y quedé estupefacto al escuchar al
hombrecito responderme:
Since I had never drawn a sheep, I redrew one of the only two drawings of which I
was capable. It was the outside of a boa constrictor. And I was stupefied to hear the
little fellow respond:
— ¡No! ¡No! No quiero un elefante dentro de una boa. Una boa es muy
peligrosa, y un elefante es muy voluminoso. En casa es todo pequeño. Necesito
un cordero. Dibújame un cordero.
“No! No! I do not want an elephant inside a boa constrictor. A boa is very
dangerous, and an elephant is very cumbersome. My place is really small. I am in
need of a sheep. Draw me a sheep.”
Entonces dibujé.
So I made a drawing.
Mirócon atención, y luego: — ¡No! Éste estáya muy enfermo. Hazme otro.
He looked at it attentively, and then: “No. This one is already very ill looking. Make
me another one.”
I made another drawing. My friend smiled gently, with sympathy: “You can easily
see... it is not a sheep, it is a ram. It has horns.”
So I redid my drawing yet again, but it was rejected like the previous ones. “This
one is too old. I want a sheep that will live long time.”
However I was much surprised to see the face of my young judge light up: “That is
exactly what I wanted. Do you think that this sheep needs of a lot of grass?”
— ¿Por qué?
“Why?”
“There will surely be sufficient. I have given you a very little sheep.”
Capí
tulo III
Chapter III
It took me a long time to find out where he came from. The little prince, who always
posed so many questions, never seemed to hear mine. It was from words spoken
offhandedly that, little by little, all was revealed to me.
Así,cuando vio por primera vez mi avión (no dibujarémi avión, es un dibujo
demasiado complicado para mí) me preguntó: — ¿Quées esa cosa?
So, when he saw my plane for the first time (I shall not draw my airplane; it is much
too complicated a drawing for me), he demanded: “What is that thing there?”
Then he cried out: “What! You have fallen from the sky!”
— Sí,dije modestamente.
“Oh! That is funny!” And the little prince had a very nice burst of laughter, which
irritated me a lot. I prefer it that one takes my troubles seriously.
Luego agregó: — Entonces, ¡tútambién vienes del cielo! ¿De quéplaneta eres?
Then he added: “So you also come from the sky! From which planet are you?”
I suddenly caught a glint from the mystery of his presence, and demanded abruptly:
“So you come from another planet?” But he did not reply.
He rocked his head gently, absorbed in looking at my plane: “It is true that you
cannot have come from very far on that...”
And he sank into a daydream which lasted a long time. Then, taking my sheep from
his pocket, he plunged himself into contemplation of his treasure.
Se imaginan cuál podría ser mi intriga por esta medio confidencia sobre ‘los
otros planetas’. Me esforcéentonces en averiguar más:
You can imagine how I was intrigued by this seeming confidence about ‘the other
planets.’ So I endeavoured to learn some more:
— ¿De dónde provienes, mi niño? ¿Dónde queda “tu casa”? ¿Dónde quieres
llevar mi cordero?
“From where do you come, my little man? What is this ‘my place’? Where do you
want to take my sheep?”
“Certainly. And if you are good I will also give you a rope to tie him up during the
day. And a picket as well.”
The proposition seemed to shock the little prince: “Tie him? What a funny idea!”
“But if you do not tie him, he will go who knows where, and he will become lost...”
And my friend had a new round of laughter: “But where do you want him to go?”
Then the little prince remarked gravely: “It is of no consequence, for my place is so
little.”
And, with perhaps a little melancholy: “Straight ahead, one cannot go very far...”
Capí
tulo IV
Chapter IV
Bien sabía que aparte de los grandes planetas como la Tierra, Júpiter, Marte,
Venus, a los que se les dio nombre, hay otros centenares que son a veces tan
pequeños que cuesta mucho divisarlos con el telescopio.
I knew very well that as well as the great planets like Earth, Jupiter, Mars, and
Venus — which we have given names — there are some hundreds of others. These
are often times so tiny that one can even have a great deal of trouble seeing them
through a telescope.
Tengo serias razones para creer que el planeta de donde venía el principito es
el asteroide B 612.
I have serious reasons for believing that the planet where the little prince came from
was asteroid B-612.
Ese asteroide no fue visto más que una vez con telescopio, en 1909, por un
astrónomo turco.
This asteroid has been perceived just one time through a telescope: in 1909, by a
Turkish astronomer.
Si les he contado estos detalles sobre el asteroide B 612 y si les revelésu número,
es a causa de los adultos. A los adultos les gustan los números.
If I have recounted these details about the asteroid B612, and if I have told you its
number, it is because of grown-ups. Grown-ups love figures.
Cuando uno les habla de un nuevo amigo, nunca preguntan sobre lo esencial.
Nunca te dicen: “¿Cómo es el sonido de su voz? ¿Cuáles son los juegos que
prefiere? ¿Colecciona mariposas?”
When you tell them of a new friend, they never question you about what is essential.
They never say to you: “What is the sound of his voice like? What are the games
that he prefers? Does he collect butterflies?”
They demand of you: “What age is he? How many brothers has he? How much does
he weigh? How much does his father earn?” Only then will they think they learnt
something about him.
Si uno dice a los adultos: “Vi una bella casa de ladrillos rosas, con geranios en
las ventanas y palomas en el techo...” no logran imaginársela.
If you say to the grown-ups: “I have seen a beautiful house in reddish brick, with
some geraniums in the windows and some doves on the roof...” they could not
imagine such a house.
Hay que decirles: “Vi una casa de cien mil francos.” Entonces exclaman: “¡Qué
lindo!”
One must say to them: “I have seen a house worth twenty thousand dollars.” Then
they would cry out: “Oh how beautiful it is!”
Así, si uno les dice: “La prueba de que el principito existió es que era
encantador, que reía y que quería un cordero. Cuando se quiere un cordero, es
prueba de que se existe”, alzarán los hombros y ¡te tratarán como a un niño!
Thus, if you say to them: “The proof that the little prince existed is that he was
enchanting, that he laughed, and that he wanted a sheep. When one wants a sheep,
that is proof enough that one exists.” They would simply shrug their shoulders and
treat you like a child!
Pero si uno les dice: “El planeta del que venía es el asteroide B 612”, entonces
quedarán convencidos y no molestarán más con sus preguntas.Son así,no hay
que disgustarse con ellos. Los niños deben ser muy indulgentes con los adultos.
But if you say to them: “The planet from where he came from is Asteroid B-612,”
then they would be convinced, and they would leave you in peace, without further
questions. They are like that. One need not find them wanting. Children must be
very patience with grown-ups.
Pero, claro está, nosotros que comprendemos la vida ¡nos burlamos de los
números! Me hubiera gustado comenzar esta historia a la manera de los
cuentos de hadas.
But certainly, for us who understand life, we have little respect for numbers. I would
have loved to commence this story in the fashion of a fairy-tale.
I would have loved to say: “At one time there was a little prince who lived on a
planet that was hardly bigger than himself, and he had need of a friend...”
For those who understand life, that would have would have appeared much more
accurate — for I do not want anyone to take my book lightly. I have felt so much
sorrow in putting down these memories.
Hace ya seis años que mi amigo se fue con su cordero. Si intento acádescribirlo,
es con el fin de no olvidarlo. Es triste olvidar a un amigo. No todo el mundo
tuvo un amigo. Y puedo transformarme en un adulto que no se interesa más
que por las cifras.
It has already been six years since my friend went away with his sheep. If I try here
to describe him, it is so as not to forget him. It is sad to forget a friend. Not everyone
has had a friend. And, I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer
interested in anything other than figures.
Es sobretodo por eso que compréuna caja de colores y lápices.
It is for this reason that I began anew: I purchased a box of crayons and some
pencils.
It is tough to return to drawing, at my age — when, from the age of six, I have never
attempted anything other than those of a boa from the outside and a boa showing
its insides.
Trataré, por supuesto, de hacer retratos lo más fieles posibles. Pero no estoy
bien seguro de lograrlo. Un dibujo va, y el otro ya no concuerda.
I will try, for sure, to make some portraits showing the most resemblance possible.
But I am not assured of success. One drawing goes okay, and another has no
likeness at all.
I am a little wrong also with his size: here the little prince is too big; there he is too
small. I am hesitant also with the colour of his costume. So I fumble along — some
go like this, and others go like that — for better or worse.
I deceive myself, as well, over some other important details. But for that you must
excuse me. My friend never gave explanations. Perhaps he assumed I was like him.
But as for me... unfortunately, I cannot see sheep through boxes.
Capí
tulo V
Chapter V
Cada día aprendía algo sobre el planeta, sobre la partida, sobre el viaje; muy
pausadamente, al azar de las reflexiones. Es asícomo el tercer día conocíel
drama de los baobabs.
Each day I learnt something about his planet, and about the departure and voyage.
It came very slowly, by chance from his reflections. It was thus that, on the third
day, I learnt of the drama with baobabs.
This time, once again, it was from the grace of the sheep. The little prince demanded
brusquely, as if taken by a grave doubt: “it is true, is it not, that sheep eat bushes?”
— Sí,es cierto.
“Yes. It is true.”
— ¡Ah! Me alegro.
“Ah! I am glad!”
No entendí por qué era tan importante que los corderos comiesen
arbustos. Pero el principito agregó: — ¿Entonces comen también baobabs?
I did not understand why it was so important that sheep eat bushes. But the little
prince added: “By consequence they also eat baobabs?”
Le hice notar al principito que los baobabs no son arbustos sino árboles
grandes como iglesias y que aunque se llevara toda una manada de elefantes,
la manada no acabaría ni con un solo baobab.
I remarked to the little prince that baobabs are not bushes, but are rather, great
trees like churches; and that even if he carried with him a whole herd of elephants,
this herd would not defeat even a single baobab.
The idea of a herd of elephants made the little prince laugh: “One must stack them
one on top of the other...”
Pero señaló sabiamente: — Antes de crecer, los baobabs comienzan siendo
pequeños.
But he remarked sagely: “The baobabs... though being huge, they start out by being
small.”
— ¡Es verdad! Pero ¿por quéquieres que tus corderos coman los pequeños
baobabs?
“Exactly! But why do you want sheep to munch on the little baobabs?”
He responded to me: “Well, come on!” as if it were obvious, and that I alone was
supposed to make a great intellectual effort to understand this problem.
Resulta que en el planeta del principito había, como en todos los planetas,
hierbas buenas y hierbas malas.
And in truth, on the little prince’s planet there were — as on all planets — some
good plants, and some bad plants.
In consequence, there were good seeds from good plants, and bad seeds from bad
plants. But seeds are invisible. They lie dormant in the depths of the earth, until it
is that one of them takes a fancy to waking up:
it stretches, and then sprouts — first of all timidly — towards the sun, a delightful
little harmless shoot.
Now, there were some terrible seeds on the little prince’s planet... these were the
seeds of the baobab. The soil of the planet was infested with them.
So, with a baobab, if one takes too long, one will no longer be able to get rid of it.
It swallows up the entire planet. It drills with its roots; if the planet is too small, and
if the baobabs are too many, they make it shatter.
“It is a question of discipline,” the little prince said to me a little later. “When you
have finished your morning ablutions, you must thoroughly tend to those of the
planet. You absolutely have to routinely pull up the baobab seedlings as soon as you
can distinguish them from the other bushes — which they look a lot like when they
are very young. It is very boring work, but also very easy.”
And, one day he suggested I apply myself to making a beautiful drawing: to put this
into the heads of the children where I live. “If they travel one day, he said to me, it
could serve them well. Sometimes, there is no problem in postponing your work. But,
when it concerns the baobabs, the result is always a catastrophe. I knew of a planet
inhabited by a lazy person. He neglected just three bushes...”
And, under the guidance of the little prince, I drew that planet.
No me gusta adoptar un tono moralista. Pero el peligro de los baobabs es tan
poco conocido, y los riesgos a correr por quien se pudiera perder en un
asteroide tan considerables, que por una vez hago excepción a mi reserva.
I little like to take the tone of a moralist. But the danger from the baobabs is so little
known, and the risks run by anyone who might get lost on an asteroid are so great,
that, just this once, I will make an exception to my objection.
Es para advertir a mis amigos sobre este peligro cercano, desconocido para
ellos tanto como para mí,que trabajétanto en este dibujo. La lección brindada
bien valía la pena.
It is to warn my friends of the danger — which they, like myself, have unknowingly
brushed aside for so long — that I have worked so hard on this drawing. The lesson
that I give to them is worth the effort.
Ustedes se preguntarán quizá: ¿Por quéno hay en este libro otros dibujos tan
grandiosos como el dibujo de los baobabs?
You may perhaps inquire: Why are there not, in this book, some other drawings as
splendid as the one of the baobabs?
The response is very simple: I have tried, but I could not succeed. When I drew the
baobabs I was inspired by a sense of urgency.
Capí
tulo VI
Chapter VI
Ah! little prince, I have thus come to understand, little by little, your melancholic
little life.
Por mucho tiempo no habías tenido por distracción más que la dulzura de las
puestas de sol.
For so long you have never had any comfort other than the delicacy of the setting
sun.
I learnt this new detail on the fourth morning, when you said to me: “I simply love
the setting sun. Let’s go and see a sunset...”
— Esperar qué?
You had the air of being greatly surprised at first; and then had a good laugh at
yourself.
Indeed. When it is midday in the United States, the sun (as everybody well knows)
is setting over France. If we had the capability of going to France in one minute,
we could view a setting sun. Unfortunately, France is much too far away. But, on
such a tiny planet, it is enough to shift your chair a few steps. And you can watch
dusk fall anytime that you desire...
— Un día, vi al sol ponerse cuarenta y tres veces ! Y un poco más tarde
agregabas: — Sabes... cuando se estátan triste a uno le gustan las puestas de
sol...
“One day I saw the sun set forty-four times!” And a little later you added: “You
know, when one is really sad, one loves the setting sun...”
— El día de las cuarenta y tres veces estabas entonces muy triste ? Pero el
principito no respondió.
“This day of the forty-four times, were you so very sad?” But the little prince did
not respond.
Capí
tulo VII
Chapter VII
On the fifth day, again thanks to the sheep, the secret of the little prince's life was
revealed to me.
Yo no lo sabí
a.
I was at the time very much occupied with trying to unscrew a bolt which was stuck
fast in my motor. I was really concerned as my breakdown was beginning to seem
to me to be very grave indeed, and the drinking-water nearly running out made me
fear the worst.
The little prince never let go of a question, once he had posed it.
I was irritated by the bolt, and I responded flippantly: “The thorns, they serve no
purpose. It is the height of nastiness on the part of the flowers!”
“Oh!” However, after a silence he launched into me, with a sort of resentfulness:
“I do not believe you! Flowers are feeble. They are naïve. They reassure themselves
as best they can. They believe themselves ferocious, with their thorns...”
I did not reply. At that instant I said to myself: “If this bolt still resists, I will knock
it out with a blow from the hammer.”
El principito perturbóde nuevo mis reflexiones: — Y tú crees que las flores...
The little prince once again disturbed my thoughts: “And you really believe that the
flowers...”
“Well no! Well no! I do not believe anything! I have answered offhandedly. I am
preoccupied with very serious matters!”
Me veía, con el martillo en la mano y los dedos negros de grasa, inclinado sobre
un objeto que le parecía muy feo. — Hablas como los adultos !
He was really very irritated. He tossed his golden hair in the wind:
— Conozco un planeta donde hay un Señor rubicundo. Nunca olió una flor.
Nunca miróuna estrella. Nunca amóa nadie. Nunca hizo nada más que cuentas.
Y todo el día repite como tú: “Soy un hombre serio ! Soy un hombre serio !” y
eso lo infla de orgullo. Pero no es un hombre, es un hongo !
“I know a planet where there is a rosy looking gentleman. He has never inhaled a
flowers fragrance. He has never gazed at a star. He has never loved anyone. He has
never done anything other than additions. And all day long he repeats like you: ‘I
am a serious man! I am a serious man!’ And that makes him swell with pride. But
he is not a man; he is a mushroom!”
— Un qué?
“A what?”
— Un hongo !
“A mushroom!”
— Hace millones de años que las flores producen espinas. Hace millones de
años que los corderos a pesar de todo se comen las flores. Y no es importante
intentar entender por quéellas se esfuerzan tanto en hacerse espinas que no
sirven nunca para nada ?
“It has been for millions of years that flowers have grown thorns. It has been for
millions of years that sheep eat flowers regardless. And is it not important to try to
understand why they make such an effort to grow these thorns which never serve
any purpose?
Is it not important, this war between sheep and flowers? Is it not serious, and indeed
is it not more important than the sums of a big rosy gentleman?
Y si yo conozco una flor única en el mundo que no existe en ninguna parte salvo
en mi planeta, a la que un corderito puede aniquilar de un golpe, asíno más,
una mañana, sin darse cuenta de lo que hace, eso no es importante !
And if I myself know one unique flower in this universe... it exists nowhere except
on my planet, and one little sheep can destroy it in one bite — just like that, one
morning, without giving any consideration to what it is doing. And that is not
important!”
Enrojeció, luego prosiguió: Si alguien ama a una flor de la que no existe más
que un ejemplar en los millones y millones de estrellas, eso basta para que se
sienta feliz cuando las mira. Se dice: “Mi flor está allá en algún lado...”
He flushed, then continued: “If someone loves a flower which exists as a solitary
emblem in the millions and millions of stars, then for this person to be happy, it is
enough just to gaze upwards. One may say to oneself: ‘My flower is up there
somewhere...’
Pero si el cordero se come la flor, es para él como si, de golpe, todas las estrellas
se apagaran ! Y eso no es importante !
But if a sheep eats the flower, it is for this person just like, all of a sudden, all the
stars are extinguished! And that is not important!”
He could not say anything more. He burst suddenly into tears. The night had fallen.
I had dropped my tools. I ceased to care for my hammer, my bolt, my thirst, and
even death. There was, on one star, on one planet, my planet, the earth, a little
prince in need of being consoled.
Lo tomé entre mis brazos y lo mecí. Le decía: “La flor que amas no está en
peligro... Dibujaréun bozal para tu cordero... Te dibujaréuna coraza para tu
flor... Te...”
I took him in my arms. I rocked him gently. I said to him: “The flower that you love
is not in danger. I will draw a muzzle for your sheep. I will draw a shield for your
flower. I...”
No sabía bien quédecir. Me sentía muy torpe. No sabía cómo alcanzarlo, dónde
encontrarlo... Es tan misterioso el país de las lágrimas.
I did not know at all what to say. I felt very out of place. I did not know how to reach
him; where I could connect with him. It is such a mystery, this land of tears!
Capí
tulo VIII
Chapter VIII
Pero ésta había brotado un día de una semilla traída de no se sabe dónde, y el
principito había vigilado muy de cerca esa ramita que no se parecía a las otras
ramitas. Podría tratarse de un nuevo tipo de baobab. Pero el arbusto dejó
pronto de crecer y comenzóa preparar una flor.
But a particular one had sprouted one day... a seed carried from no one knows
where, and the little prince kept a close watch over this sprout — which did not
resemble all the other seedlings. It could be a new kind of baobab. However, the
little bush suddenly stopped growing and started to prepare a flower.
The little prince, who witnessed the emergence of an enormous bud, well felt that
from it must come a miraculous apparition; but the flower had not yet finished her
preparations to create beauty, under the cover of her green chamber.
Elegía con cuidado sus colores. Se vestía lentamente, ajustaba sus pétalos uno
por uno. No quería salir toda arrugada como las amapolas. No quería aparecer
sino en pleno resplandor de su belleza.
She chose her colours with care; she dressed herself slowly; she adjusted her petals
one by one. She did not want to emerge all rumpled like the poppies. She did not
want to appear other than in the full radiance of her beauty.
Y sí!. Era muy coqueta ! Su aseo misterioso había entonces durado días y días.
Y he aquíque una mañana, justo a la hora de la salida del sol, se había
mostrado.
Oh! Yes. She was very flirtatious! Her mysterious preparations had therefore lasted
for days and days. And then one morning, just at the hour of sunrise, she displayed
herself.
Y ella, que había trabajado con tanta precisión, dijo bostezando: — Ah! acabo
de despertarme... Le pido perdón... Estoy todavía toda despeinada...
And she, after having worked with the utmost precision, said while yawning: “Ah!
I am barely awake... I ask that you excuse me. I am still all dishevelled...”
El principito, entonces, no pudo contener su admiración: — Qué bella es
usted !
The little prince could no longer contain his admiration: “You are beautiful!”
“Is it not so,” responded the flower sweetly. “And I was born at the same moment
as the sun...”
The little prince quickly concluded that she was not overly modest, but she was so
moving!
“It is the hour, I believe, for breakfast,” she promptly added. “Would you be so kind
as to think of me...”
Y el principito, todo turbado, buscando una regadera con agua fresca había
atendido a la flor.
And the little prince, utterly confused, went to look for a watering-can full of fresh
water. Thus he served the flower.
So it was she began to torment him with her somewhat quirky vanity.
One day, for example, when speaking of her four thorns, she had said to the little
prince: “They can come, the tigers, with their claws!”
— Discúlpeme...
“Pardon me...”
— No temo en absoluto a los tigres, pero tengo horror a las corrientes de aire.
No tendrí
a usted una pantalla ?
“I have no fear of tigers, but I have a horror of drafts. Would you not have a
screen?”
“Horror a las corrientes de aire... no es muy afortunado, para una planta, había
observado el principito. Esta flor es bien complicada...”
“A horror of drafts... that is bad luck, for a plant,” remarked the little prince. “This
flower is really complicated...”
“On dark you should put me under a globe. Your place it is very cold. It is not well
designed. Where I come from...”
But she interrupted herself. She had come in the form of a seed. She could not have
known of other worlds.
Embarrassed for being left caught out — preparing to make such a naïve lie — she
coughed two or three times: to wrong foot the little prince. “The screen?...”
So the little prince, despite the good stemming from his love, had soon come to doubt
her. He had taken seriously some words of no importance, and had thus become
very unhappy.
“Debería no haberla escuchado -me confióun día-, no hay que escuchar nunca
a las flores. Hay que mirarlas y olerlas. La mía perfumaba mi planeta, pero yo
no sabía alegrarme con ella. Esa historia de garras, que me había irritado tanto,
deberí a haberme enternecido...”
“I should not to have listened to her,” he confided to me one day, “one must never
listen to flowers. One must gaze at them and inhale them. Mine perfumed all my
planet, but I did not know how to be appreciative and thankful. This story about
claws, which had so much annoyed me, should have soothed me...”
Me confió todavía: “No supe entonces entender nada ! Debería haberla juzgado
por los actos y no por las palabras. Me perfumaba y me iluminaba. Nunca
debería haberme escapado !
And he confided in me more: “I have not understood anything! I should have judged
her on her actions and not by her words. She showered me with her fragrance and
shone on my spirit. I should never have run away!
Debería haber adivinado su ternura detrás de sus pobres artimañas. Las flores
son tan contradictorias ! Pero yo era demasiado joven para saber amarla.
I should have seen that only tenderness lay behind her lowly ruses. Flowers are so
contradictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.”
Capí
tulo IX
Chapter IX
On the morning of his departure he put his planet in good order. He diligently
cleaned out his active volcanoes. He possessed two active volcanoes, and they were
certainly convenient for heating his breakfast each morning.
He also possessed one extinct volcano. But, as he said, “One never knows!” So he
also cleaned out the extinct volcano.
Si están bien limpios, los volcanes arden suave y regularmente, sin erupciones.
If they are thoroughly cleaned, volcanoes burn slowly and steadily, without having
eruptions.
Volcanic eruptions are like fires in a chimney. Obviously on our planet we are much
too small to clean out our volcanoes. That is why they cause us such a lot of trouble.
The little prince also pulled up, with a little sadness, the last baobabs seedlings. He
thought he would never be coming back. But all these familiar jobs seemed to him,
on this morning, to be extremely pleasurable.
And, when he watered the flower one last time, and prepared to place her under the
cover of her globe, he discovered that he had the urge to cry.
— Adiós- repitió.
“Goodbye,” he repeated.
La flor tosió. Pero no era a causa de su resfrío. — He sido tonta- le dijo al fin.
- Te pido perdón. Procura ser feliz.
The flower coughed. But it was not because of a cold. “I have been stupid,” she said
to him finally. “I ask your forgiveness. Try to be happy.”
— Pero sí, te quiero- le dijo la flor. - No lo supiste, por mi culpa. Eso no tiene
ninguna importancia. Pero tú has sido tan tonto como yo. Procura ser feliz...
Deja ese globo tranquilo. Ya no lo quiero.
“Well yes, I love you,” the flower said to him. “It is my fault that you have not
known it all the while. That is of no importance. But you have been foolish just like
me. Try to be happy... Leave the glass globe alone. I no longer want it.”
— Pero el viento...
“I am not so taken by cold as that... The fresh air in the night will do me good. I am
a flower.”
“It is surely necessary that I support two or three caterpillars if I wish to know of
butterflies. It seems that they are incredibly beautiful. If not them, who will pay me
a visit? You will be far away. Regarding the larger animals, I have nothing to fear.
I have my claws.”
And she naïvely displayed her four thorns. Then she added: “Do not linger like this,
it makes things difficult. You have decided to depart. Go away.”
Porque no querí
a que la viera llorar. Era una flor tan orgullosa...
For she did not want that he see her cry. She was such a proud flower...
Capí
tulo X
Chapter X
Se encontraba en la región de los asteroides 325, 326, 327, 328, 329 y 330.
Empezó entonces por visitarlos para buscar en ellos una ocupación y para
instruirse.
He found himself in the region of the asteroids 325, 326, 327, 328, 329 and 330. He
began, therefore, by visiting them, to find something to do and to learn.
The first was inhabited by a king. The king sat — dressed in royal purple and white
— on a very simple, yet majestic, throne.
“Ah! Here is a subject,” cried the king, when he noticed the little prince.
No sabía que, para los reyes, el mundo está muy simplificado. Todos los
hombres son súbditos.
He did not know that, for kings, the world is really simple: all people are but subjects.
— Acércate para que te vea mejor - le dijo el rey, que estaba muy orgulloso de
ser rey para alguien.
“Bring yourself near, so that I may see you better,” the king said to him — he was
immensely proud of finally being a king to someone.
El principito buscó con los ojos dónde sentarse, pero el planeta estaba todo
cubierto por el magnífico manto de armiño. Permaneció entonces de pie, y
como estaba cansado bostezó.
The little prince looked for a place to sit, but the planet was completely covered by
the magnificent white robe; so he remained standing, and, since he was fatigued, he
yawned.
“It is contrary to etiquette to yawn in presence of a king,” the monarch said to him.
“I forbid you to do so.”
“I cannot help it,” replied the little prince, all confused. “I have made such a long
journey, and I have not slept...”
“Then,” the king said to him, “I order you to yawn. I have not seen anyone yawn
for some years. Yawns are for me something of a curiosity. Go on! Yawn again. It
is an order.”
— Hum! Hum! - respondióel rey. - Entonces te... te ordeno bostezar unas veces
y otras veces...
“Hum! Hum!” responded the king. “Then I... I order you sometimes to yawn, and
sometimes to...”
He stammered a little, and seemed vexed; for the king considered it essential that
his authority be respected. He did not tolerate any disobedience. He was an absolute
monarch. However, because he was very decent, he only gave orders that were
reasonable.
“If I ordered...,” he said confidently, “if I ordered a general to change himself into
a sea bird, and if the general did not obey, it would not be the fault of the general.
It would be my fault.”
“I order you to be seated,” the king answered him, and majestically gathered in a
fold of his white robe.
But the little prince wondered to himself: the planet was miniscule; over what could
the king really reign?
— Sobre todo ?
“Over everything?”
El rey con un gesto discreto señalósu planeta, los otros planetas y las estrellas.
The king made a discrete gesture embracing his planet, the other planets, and the
stars.
Porque no sólo era un monarca absoluto sino que era un monarca universal.
For not only was he an absolute monarch; he was a universal monarch too.
“Without doubt,” the king said to him. “They obey promptly. I do not tolerate lack
of discipline.”
Semejante poder maravillóal principito. Si él mismo lo hubiera tenido, habrí a
podido asistir, no a cuarenta y cuatro, sino a setenta y dos, o incluso a cien, o
incluso a doscientas puestas de sol en el mismo día, sin tener que correr nunca
su silla !
Such power amazed the little prince. If he had himself such command, he could have
attended not forty-four, but seventy-two... or even a hundred... or even two hundred
sunsets on the same day, without ever having to shift his chair.
And since he felt a little sad after recalling his abandoned little planet, he ventured
to solicit a favour from the king:
“I should like to see a sunset... Do me that kindness... Order the sun to set...”
“If I ordered a general to fly from one flower to another, like a butterfly; or to write
a tragedy; or to change himself into a sea bird; and if the general did not execute
the order he received, who, him or me, would be in the wrong?”
— Serí
a usted - dijo con firmeza el principito.
— Exacto. Debe exigirse de cada uno lo que cada uno puede dar - prosiguióel
rey. - La autoridad se fundamenta en primer lugar en la razón. Si ordenas a tu
pueblo que se tire al mar, hará la revolución. Yo tengo el derecho de exigir
obediencia porque mis órdenes son razonables.
“Exactly. One must demand of each subject that which they can contribute,”
continued the king. “Authority is based first of all on reason. If you ordered your
people to go and throw themselves into the sea, there would be a revolution. I have
the right to require obedience because my orders are reasonable.”
“Your sunset... you shall have it. I shall order it. But I shall wait, according to my
science of governance, until the conditions become favourable.”
“Hmm! Hmm!” replied the king. He began to consult a great big calendar. “Hmm!
Hmm! It will be towards... towards... it will be this evening, around seven forty. And
certainly you will see that I am obeyed!”
The little prince yawned. He was disappointed by the lack of a sunset. And as well,
he was already getting a little bored: “I have nothing further to do here,” he said
to the king. “I am going to depart.”
“Do not leave,” responded the king, who was so very proud of having a subject.
“Do not go. I will make you a minister!”
— Ministro de qué?
“Minister of what?”
— De... de justicia !
“Of... of Justice!”
— Pero no hay nadie para juzgar !
“One does not know that,” the king said to him. “I have not yet made a tour of my
kingdom. I am very old; I have no space for a coach; and it tires me to walk.”
— Oh! Pero yo ya vi - dijo el principito, que se inclinópara dar otro vistazo del
otro lado del planeta. - No hay nadie allátampoco...
“Oh! But I have already looked,” said the little prince, as he lent to cast another
glance over the other side of the planet. There is nobody over there at all...
“You shall therefore judge yourself,” the king said to him. “That is most difficult.
It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you manage to
impartially judge yourself, then you are a veritable sage.”
“Me...” said the little prince, “I can judge myself no matter where I am. I have no
need to live here.”
— Hem! hem! – dijo el rey – creo que en algún lugar de mi planeta hay una
vieja rata. La escucho por la noche. Podrás juzgar a esa vieja rata. La
condenarás a muerte de vez en cuando. Asísu vida dependerá de tu justicia.
Pero la indultarás en cada ocasión para economizarla. No hay más que una.
“Hmm! Hmm!” said the king. “I rather think that someplace on my planet there is
an old rat. I hear him at night. You can judge this old rat. You can condemn him to
death from time to time. Thus, his life will depend on your justice. But you must
pardon him on each occasion, for economies sake. There is but one of him.”
— No - dijo el rey.
But the little prince, having completed his preparations, did not want to further
burden the old monarch:
With the king not having responded, the little prince hesitated at first; but then, with
a sigh, he took his leave...
“I make you my ambassador,” the king then cried out hastily. He had a wonderful
air of authority.
Los adultos son muy extraños, se dijo a símismo el principito durante su viaje.
“The grown-ups are positively strange,” the little prince said to himself, on his new
voyage.
Capí
tulo XI
Chapter XI
“Ah! Ah! Look at this. A visit from an admirer!” shouted the vain man from afar,
when he first saw the little prince.
“Good morning,” said the little prince. “You certainly have an odd hat.”
“It is for salutations,” the vain man said to him. “It is for saluting when people
praise me. Unfortunately, no one ever passes by here.”
“Ah yes?” said the little prince, who did not comprehend.
“Clap your hands, one against the other,” the vain man now counselled him.
The little prince clapped his hands, one against the other. The vain man saluted
modestly by raising his hat.
“This is more amusing than the visit to the king,” the little prince said to himself.
And he recommenced clapping his hands, one against the other. The vain man
resumed saluting by raising his hat.
Después de cinco minutos de ejercicio, el principito se cansóde la monotonía
del juego: — Y para que el sombrero se caiga – preguntó– quéhay que hacer ?
After five minutes of this exercise the little prince grew weary of the monotonous
game. “And for the hat to lower” he demanded, “what must one do?”
Pero el vanidoso no lo escuchó. Los vanidosos nunca escuchan más que las
alabanzas.
But the vain man did not hear him. Conceited people never hear anything other than
praise.
“Do you really admire me very much?” he demanded of the little prince.
— Quésignifica admirar ?
— Admirar significa reconocer que soy el hombre más hermoso, mejor vestido,
más rico y más inteligente del planeta.
“To admire means to recognise that I am the most handsome, the best dressed, the
richest, and the most intelligent man on the planet.”
“I admire you,” said the little prince, shrugging his shoulders a little, “but how can
it be of much interest to you?”
Y el principito se fue.
“The grown-ups really are decidedly bizarre,” he said simply, to himself, during
his next voyage.
Capí
tulo XII
Chapter XII
El siguiente planeta estaba habitado por un bebedor. Esa visita fue muy corta,
pero hundióal principito en una gran melancolía:
The next planet was inhabited by a drunkard. This visit was very short, but it
plunged the little prince into a deep state of melancholy.
“What are you doing there?” he said to the drunkard, whom he found set in silence
before a collection of empty bottles and a collection of full bottles.
“To forget what?” inquired the little prince, who already pitied him.
“To forget that I am ashamed,” confessed the drunkard, while lowering his head.
Y el principito se fue, perplejo. Los adultos son decididamente muy pero muy
extraños, se decía a símismo durante el viaje.
And the little prince went away perplexed. “Grown-ups are decidedly very, very
bizarre,” he said to himself, during the next voyage.
Capí
tulo XIII
Chapter XIII
El cuarto planeta era el del hombre de negocios. Estaba tan ocupado que ni
siquiera levantóla cabeza cuando llegóel principito.
The fourth planet was that of a businessman. This man was so occupied that he did
not even raise his head at the arrival of the little prince.
“Good morning,” the little prince said to him. “Your cigarette is out.”
— Tres y dos son cinco. Cinco y siete doce. Doce y tres quince. Buenos días.
Quince y siete veintidós. Veintidós y seis veintiocho. No tengo tiempo de volver
a encenderlo. Veintiséis y cinco treinta y uno. Uf! Eso da entonces quinientos
un millones seiscientos veintidós mil setecientos treinta y uno.
“Three and two make five. Five and seven... twelve. Twelve and three... fifteen.
Good morning. Fifteen and seven... twenty-two. Twenty-two and six... twenty-eight.
No time to relight it. Twenty-six and five... thirty-one. Ouf! That then makes five
hundred and one million, six hundred and twenty-two thousand, seven hundred and
thirty-one.”
“Huh? You are still there? Five hundred and one million... I do not know more... I
have so much work! Me, I am serious; I do not amuse myself with nonsense! Two
and five... seven...”
“Five hundred and one million of what?” repeated the little prince, who had never
renounced a question once he had posed it.
El hombre levantóla cabeza: — Desde hace cincuenta y cuatro años que habito
este planeta, no fui perturbado más que tres veces.
The businessman raised his head: “During the fifty-four years that I have inhabited
this planet, I have not been interrupted but three times.
La primera vez fue, hace veintidós años, por un abejorro que había caído de
Dios sabe dónde. Producía un ruido espantoso, y cometícuatro errores en una
suma.
The first time was — some twenty-two years ago — by a bothersome beetle who had
fallen God only knows where from. He gave out a most appalling noise, and I made
four errors in addition.
La segunda vez fue, hace once años, por una crisis de reumatismo. Me falta
ejercicio. No tengo tiempo de pasear. Soy una persona seria.
The second time was — some eleven years ago — by an attack of rheumatism. I lack
exercise. I have not the time for wandering about. I am a serious person.
The third time... this is it! So, as I was saying, five hundred and one millions...”
— Millones de qué?
“Millions of what?”
— Moscas ?
“Flies?”
— Abejas ?
“Bees?”
— Pero no. De esas pequeñas cosas doradas que hacen soñar a los holgazanes.
Pero yo soy una persona seria ! No tengo tiempo para ensoñaciones.
“Well no. Little golden things that make lazy people dream. But me, I am serious. I
have not the time for dreaming.”
— Ah! estrellas ?
“Ah! Stars?”
— Sí,eso. Estrellas.
“Five hundred and one million, six hundred and twenty-two thousand, seven
hundred and thirty-one. Me, I am serious; I am precise.”
— Sí.
“Yes.”
— Sí.
“Yes.”
“This man,” the little prince said to himself, “he reasons a little like my drunkard.”
Nevertheless, he still posed some more questions: “How can one possess the
stars?”
— Quéséyo. De nadie.
— Es suficiente ?
“Certainly. When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you
discover an island that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you are the first to have
an idea, you patent it: it is yours. And me, I own the stars because no one before me
had ever dreamt of possessing them.”
“That is true,” said the little prince. “And what do you do with them?”
— Las administro. Las cuento y las recuento – dijo el hombre. – Es difícil. Pero
yo soy una persona seria !
“I manage them: I count them and I recount them,” said the businessman. “It is
difficult; but I am a serious man!”
El principito no estaba aún satisfecho. — Yo, si poseo un pañuelo, puedo
ponérmelo alrededor del cuello y llevarlo. Yo, si poseo una flor, puedo
recogerla y llevarla. Pero tú no puedes recoger las estrellas !
The little prince was still not satisfied. “As for me, if I owned a scarf, I could put it
around my neck and take it away. As for me, if I owned a flower, I could pluck my
flower and take it away. But you cannot pluck the stars!”
— Quésignifica eso ?
“It means that I can write the number of my stars on a little paper. And then I put
them, under lock and key, in a drawer.”
— Y eso es todo ?
“That is amusing,” thought the little prince. “It is rather poetic. But it is not very
serious.”
El principito tenía sobre las cosas serias ideas muy diferentes a las de los
adultos.
Concerning serious matters, the little prince had ideas that were very different to
the ideas of grown-ups.
— Yo – agregó – poseo una flor que riego todos los días. Poseo tres volcanes
que deshollino todas las semanas. Porque deshollino también el que está
apagado. Nunca se sabe.
“Me,” he said in continuing, “I possess a flower which I water every day. I have
three volcanoes, which I clean out once a week: for I also clean out the one that is
extinct; one never knows.
Es útil para mis volcanes, y es útil para mi flor, que yo los posea. Pero tú no
eres útil para las estrellas.
It is of use to my volcanoes, and it is of use to my flower, that I own them. But you
are not useful to the stars...”
The businessman opened his mouth but found nothing to say, and the little prince
went away.
Capí
tulo XIV
Chapter XIV
El quinto planeta era muy curioso. Era el más pequeño de todos. Había en él
justo el lugar necesario para alojar un farol y un farolero.
The fifth planet was rather curious. It was the smallest of all. There was just enough
space for having a street lamp and a lamplighter.
The little prince could not manage to explain to what purpose could be —
somewhere in the sky, on a planet without a house, and nor with any people — a
street lamp and a lamplighter.
Sin embargo se dijo a sí mismo: “Posiblemente este hombre es absurdo. Sin
embargo es menos absurdo que el rey, que el vanidoso, que el hombre de
negocios y que el bebedor. Al menos, su trabajo tiene un sentido.
Nonetheless, he said to himself: “It may well be that this man is absurd. Still, he is
less absurd than the king, the vain man, the businessman, and the drunkard: at least
his work has some sense.
Cuando enciende su farol, es como si hiciera nacer una estrella más, o una flor.
Cuando apaga su farol, se duermen la flor o la estrella. Es una ocupación muy
linda. Es verdaderamente útil porque es linda.”
When he lights his street lamp, it is as if he gives rise to one more star, or a flower.
When he puts out his lamp, he gives sleep to the flower, or the star. It is a very
beautiful occupation. It is truly useful, since it is beautiful.”
— Quées la consigna ?
“There is nothing to comprehend,” said the lamplighter. “Orders are orders. Good
morning.”
And he put out his lamp. Then he mopped his brow with a red-checkered
handkerchief.
“What I do here is a terrible profession. It was reasonable in past times. I put out
the lamp in the morning, and I lit it in the evening. I had the rest of the day to relax,
and the rest of the night to sleep...”
“The orders have not changed,” said the lamplighter. “That there is the drama!
The planet, from year to year, has turned more and more rapidly, and the orders
have not changed!”
“Then... now that it makes a complete turn every minute, I have no more than a
second for repose. I light and I extinguish once a minute!”
“It is not funny at all,” said the lamplighter. “That makes already one month while
we have been talking together.”
— Un mes ?
“One month?”
El principito lo miróy se sintiócautivado por ese farolero que era tan fiel a la
consigna. Recordólas puestas de sol que él mismo iba antes a buscar, corriendo
su silla. Quiso ayudar a su amigo:
The little prince watched him, and he found he loved this lamplighter who was so
faithful to his orders. He recalled the sunsets that he himself had in the past gone in
search of, merely by taking his chair. He wanted to aid his friend.
“You know... I know a way you can rest whenever you want to...”
For one may be, at the same time, both faithful and lazy.
The little prince continued: “Your planet is so little, that you can make a full tour
in three strides. You have just to walk quite slowly to remain always in the sun.
When you want to rest, you just walk... and the day will last as long as you like.”
“That does not advance me to a better state,” said the lamplighter. “That which I
love most in my life is to sleep.”
Y apagósu farol.
“That man,” said the little prince to himself, as he continued further on his journey,
“that man would be despised by all the others... by the king, by the vain man, by the
drunkard, and by the businessman.
Sin embargo, es el único que no me parece ridículo. Es, quizá, porque se ocupa
de algo más que de sí mismo.”
However, he is the only one who to me does not appear to be ridiculous. It is perhaps
because he is occupied with things other than himself.”
Suspiró con tristeza y se dijo además: “Ése es el único que podría haber sido
mi amigo. Pero su planeta es, a decir verdad, demasiado pequeño. No hay en él
lugar para dos...”
He breathed a sigh of regret, and said again: “That man is the only one whom I
could have made my friend. But his planet is really too small. There is no space for
two...”
What the little prince did not dare confess was that he was sorry most of all to leave
this planet because it was blessed every day with fourteen hundred and forty sunsets!
Capí
tulo XV
Chapter XV
El sexto planeta era un planeta diez veces más extenso. Estaba habitado por un
Señor anciano que escribía libros enormes.
The sixth planet was a planet ten times more vast. It was inhabited by an old
gentleman who wrote enormous books.
“Oh, look! Here is an explorer!” he exclaimed to himself when he saw the little
prince coming.
The little prince sat himself down on the table and panted a little. He had already
had such a voyage!
“What is that big book?” said the little prince. “What are you doing here?”
— Quées un geógrafo ?
“What is a geographer?”
“A geographer is a scholar who knows the location of the seas, rivers, towns,
mountains, and deserts.”
— Eso es muy interesante – dijo el principito. – Éste es, por fin, un verdadero
oficio !. - Y echóun vistazo a su alrededor sobre el planeta del geógrafo. Nunca
había visto un planeta tan majestuoso.
“That is certainly interesting,” said the little prince. “Here at last is a real
profession!” And he cast a look around him at the planet of the geographer. He had
never before seen such a majestic planet.
“Ah!” (The little prince was disappointed.) “And are there some mountains?”
— Y ciudades y rí
os y desiertos ?
The geographer is much too important to go strolling around. He does not quit his
desk. But he receives these explorers. He interviews them, and he takes note of their
recollections.
And if the recollections of anyone among them appear interesting to him, the
geographer makes an inquiry into the morality of the explorer.”
— Por qué?
“Why is that?”
“Because an explorer who lied would create a catastrophe in the books of the
geographer. And so would an explorer who drank too much.”
“Because drunkards see double. Then the geographer would note two mountains,
when there was only one.”
“That is possible. Then, when the morality of the explorer appears genuine, one
makes an inquiry into his discovery.”
— Se va a verlo ?
“No. That would be too complicated. But one requires the explorer to furnish proofs.
If it is, by way of example, the discovery of a large mountain, one requires that he
produce large stones.”
The geographer was suddenly aroused. “But you... you come from afar! You are an
explorer! You will describe your planet!”
And the geographer, having opened his register, sharpened his pencil. One notes
the accounts of explorers in pencil first. One waits for the explorer to furnish proofs
before recording them in ink.
— Las geografías – dijo el geógrafo – son los libros más valiosos de todos los
libros. Nunca pasan de moda. Es muy raro que una montaña cambie de lugar.
Es muy raro que un océano se quede sin agua. Nosotros escribimos cosas
eternas.
“Books on geography,” said the geographer, “are the most serious of all the books.
They never become out dated. It is very rare that a mountain changes its place. It is
very rare that an ocean empties itself of its water. We write of eternal things.”
“But extinct volcanoes can reawaken,” the little prince interrupted. “What does
that mean... ephemeral?”
— Que los volcanes estén apagados o despiertos, a nosotros nos da lo mismo –
dijo el geógrafo. – Para nosotros lo que cuenta es la montaña, que no cambia.
“It means that whether the volcanoes are extinct or they are active, the result is the
same for us,” said the geographer. “That which counts for us is the mountain. It
does not change.”
“But what does that mean... ephemeral?” repeated the little prince, who, in his life,
had never renounced a question once he had posed it.
— Seguro.
“Certainly it is.”
“My flower is ephemeral,” said the little prince to himself, “and she has only four
thorns to defend herself against the world. And I have left her all alone at my
place!”
That there was his first sign of regret. But he took courage: “What would you advise
me to go and visit now?” he requested.
“The planet Earth,” the geographer replied to him. “It has a good reputation.”
Capí
tulo XVI
Chapter XVI
The Earth is not an ordinary planet! There one can count one hundred and eleven
kings (not forgetting, for sure, the coloured kings), seven thousand geographers,
nine hundred thousand business people, seven and a half million drunkards, three
hundred and eleven million vain people... that is to say, around two billion grown-
ups.
Para darles una idea de las dimensiones de la Tierra les diréque antes de la
invención de la electricidad se debía mantener en ella, en el conjunto de los seis
continentes, un verdadero ejército de cuatrocientos sesenta y dos mil
quinientos once faroleros. Vistos desde una cierta distancia producí an un
efecto espléndido.
To give you an idea of the dimensions of the Earth, I will say to you that before the
invention of electricity it was necessary to maintain, over the collective six
continents, a veritable army of four hundred and sixty-two thousand five hundred
and eleven lamplighters. Seen from a little way off, it made a splendid sight.
The movements of this army were regulated like those of an opera-ballet. First came
the turn of the lamplighters from New Zealand and Australia. Then they, having
illuminated their lanterns, would take to sleep.
After that came the round of the lamplighters of Russia and south Asia; then those
from Africa and Europe; then those of south America; then those of north America.
And they would never make a mistake in their order of entry on the scene. It was
grandiose.
Solamente, el farolero del único farol del polo Norte, y su colega del único farol
del polo Sur, llevaban vidas de ocio e indolencia: trabajaban dos veces por año.
Two only — the ‘lighter’ of the single lamp at the North pole, and his fellow ‘lighter’
of the single lamp at the South pole — maintained lives of inactivity and
nonchalance: they worked two times per year.
Capí
tulo XVII
Chapter XVII
When one wants to play the wit, it happens that one deceives a little. I have not been
particularly honest in speaking to you about the lamplighters. I risk giving a false
idea of our planet to those who do not know it.
Los hombres ocupan muy poco espacio en la tierra. Si los dos mil millones de
habitantes que pueblan la tierra se quedaran parados y un poco apretados,
como para un mitin, entrarían fácilmente en una plaza pública de veinte millas
de largo por veinte millas de ancho. Se podría amontonar a la humanidad en
el menor islote del Pacífico.
Humans occupy very little space on the Earth. If the two billion inhabitants who
populate its surface were to remain upright and a little packed in, like for a meeting,
they could easily be accommodated in a public place twenty miles long by twenty
miles wide. One could cram all humanity on a rather little islet in the Pacific.
Los adultos, por supuesto, no les creerán. Ellos se imaginan que ocupan mucho
lugar. Se consideran importantes como los baobabs.
The grown-ups, to be sure, will not believe you. They imagine themselves occupying
great amounts of space. They envision themselves notable, like the baobabs.
Aconséjenles entonces hacer el cálculo. Eso les gustará, porque adoran las
cifras. Pero no pierdan tiempo en esa penitencia. Es inútil. Ustedes tienen
confianza en mí.
You should suggest them, then, to do the calculations. They adore figures: it gives
them pleasure. But do not waste your time on this chore. It is futile. You can trust
me on this.
The little prince, now on the Earth, was accordingly very much surprised to see no
people. He was beginning to fear that he had been deceived about this planet, when
a moon coloured coil glided across the sand.
“On what planet have I dropped in on?” asked the little prince.
“This here is the desert. There are no people in the deserts. The Earth is enormous,”
said the snake.
The little prince sat himself on a stone and raised his eyes towards the sky:
— Me pregunto – dijo – si las estrellas están iluminadas para que cada uno
pueda algún día encontrar la suya. Mira mi planeta. Está justo encima
nuestro. .. pero quélejos !
“I wonder,” he said, “whether the stars are shining so that each one of us can one
day find theirs. Look at my planet. It is just above us... But it is so far away!”
“It is beautiful,” said the snake. “What have you come to do here?”
“Where are the people?” resumed the little prince finally. “One is a little lonely in
the desert...”
“But I am more powerful than the fingers of a king,” said the snake.
The little prince had a smile. “You are not very powerful... you do not even have
legs... you cannot even travel...”
“I can take you much further than a ship could,” said the snake.
He twined himself around the little prince’s ankle, like a golden bracelet.
“Whomever I touch, I send back to the earth from whence he came,” the snake spoke
again. “But you are pure, and you come from a star...”
El principito no respondiónada.
“You make me pity you; you are so feeble, on this land of granite. I can be of aid to
you one day, if you yearn too much for your own planet. I can...”
“Oh! I have very well understood,” said the little prince, “but why do you always
speak in riddles?”
Capí
tulo XVIII
Chapter XVIII
The little prince traversed the desert and encountered nothing save a single flower:
a flower with three petals; a flower of no importance at all.
— Los hombres ? Existen, creo, seis o siete. Los vi de lejos hace unos años. Pero
nunca se sabe dónde encontrarlos. Los lleva el viento. Carecen de raíces, y eso
les crea muchas dificultades.
“People? There exists, I believe, six or seven of them. I have seen them quite some
years ago. But one never knows where to find them. The wind causes them to wander.
They are missing roots; it troubles them a lot.”
El principito ascendió a una alta montaña. Las únicas montañas que había
conocido eran los tres volcanes que le llegaban a la rodilla. Y usaba el volcán
apagado como taburete.
The little prince ascended a high mountain. The only mountains he had ever known
were the three volcanoes that came up to his knees. And he used the extinct volcano
as a stool.
“Desde una montaña tan alta como ésta – pensó– divisaréde una vez todo el
planeta y todos los hombres...” Pero no vio más que picos rocosos bien afilados.
“From a mountain as high as this one,” he then said, “I can see, with one glance,
the whole planet and all the people...” But he saw nothing other than the points of
well sharpened rocks.
“Who are you... Who are you... Who are you...” repeated the echo.
“What an odd planet!” he then thought. “It is utterly dry, and utterly pointed, and
utterly unyielding.
Y a los hombres les falta imaginación. Repiten lo que se les dice... En casa tenía
una flor: ella siempre hablaba primero...”
And the people are devoid of imagination. They repeat that which one says to them...
At my place, I had a flower, and she always spoke first...”
Capí
tulo XX
Chapter XX
But it happened that the little prince — after a long hike traversing across sands,
over rocks, and through the snow — finally discovered a road. And all roads go to
where people live.
— Buenos dí
as – dijo. Era un jardín florido de rosas.
— Buenos dí
as – dijeron las rosas.
The little prince gazed at them. They all resembled his flower.
“Ah!” said the little prince. And he felt very unhappy. His flower had told him that
she was the only one of her kind in the universe. And here there were five thousand
of them, all alike, in one single garden!
“Ella estaría muy molesta – se dijo – si viera esto... tosería muchísimo y fingiría
morirse para escapar al ridículo. Y yo estarí a obligado a fingir que la auxilio,
porque si no, para humillarme a mí también, se dejaría morir de veras...”
“She would be indeed vexed,” he said to himself, “if she saw this... she would cough
frightfully, and would pretend to be dying, so as to escape the ridicule. And I would
be obliged to pretend to take care of her; because otherwise, to humiliate me also,
she would really let herself die...”
Luego continuó diciéndose: “Me creía poseedor de una flor única, y sólo tengo
una rosa ordinaria.
Then he continued thinking to himself: “I considered myself rich, with such a unique
flower; and I possessed nothing but an ordinary rose.
Eso y mis tres volcanes que me llegan a la rodilla, uno de los cuales
posiblemente estéapagado para siempre, no hacen de míciertamente un gran
príncipe...” Y, tendido en la hierba, lloró.
That and my three volcanoes that come up to my knees; and one of them is perhaps
extinct forever. That does not make me a very impressive prince...” And, laying
down in the grass, he wept.
Capí
tulo XXI
Chapter XXI
It was then that the fox appeared: “Good morning,” said the fox.
“Good morning,” the little prince replied politely, although upon turning around
he saw nothing.
— Estoy aquí– dijo la voz –, bajo el manzano...
“Who are you?” asked the little prince. “You are very pretty.”
“Come and play with me,” proposed the little prince. “I am particularly unhappy.”
“Ah! Sorry,” said the little prince. But after reflecting, he added: “What does that
mean... socialise?”
“You are not from here,” said the fox, “what do you seek?”
“I am looking for people,” said the little prince. “What does that mean...
socialise?”
“Men,” said the fox, “they have guns, and they hunt. It is very troublesome! They
also raise chickens. These are their only interests. You are looking for chickens?”
“It is something which is usually forgotten,” said the fox. “It means to create
connections.”
— Crear lazos ?
— Claro – dijo el zorro. – Todavía no eres para mímás que un niño parecido
a otros cien mil niños. Y no te necesito. Y tútampoco me necesitas. No soy para
ti más que un zorro parecido a otros cien mil zorros. Pero, si me domesticas,
tendremos necesidad uno del otro. Túserás para míúnico en el mundo. Yo seré
para ti único en el mundo...
“Most certainly,” said the fox. “You are yet to me a little boy just like a hundred
thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you have no need of me
either. I am for you a fox, like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you socialise
me, then we will have need of each other. You will be to me unique in the world. I
will be to you unique in the world...”
“It is possible,” said the fox. “One sees on the Earth all sorts of things...”
— Sí.
“Yes.”
— No.
“No.”
— No.
“No.”
“Nothing is perfect,” sighed the fox. But the fox returned to his idea. “My life is
monotonous. I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens resemble each other;
and all the men resemble each other. I am as a result a little bored. But if you
socialise me, my life will be brightened up.
Conoceréun ruido de pasos que será diferente de todos los demás. Los otros
pasos me hacen volver bajo tierra. Los tuyos me llamarán fuera de la
madriguera, como una música.
I will know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps
will make me return underground. Yours will call me out of my burrow, like music.
Y además, mira ! Ves, allálejos, los campos de trigo ? Yo no como pan. El trigo
para míes inútil. Los campos de trigo no me recuerdan nada. Y eso es triste !
And then look! You see, over there, the field of wheat? I do not eat bread. Wheat is
to me useless. The fields of wheat remind me of nothing. And that is sad.
The fox paused and considered the prince for a long time: “If you please... socialise
me!” he said.
“I really want to,” the little prince said in response, “but I have not a lot of time. I
have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand.”
“One only understands the things that one socialises with,” said the fox. “Men no
more have time to understand anything. They buy things already made at the market
place. But since a shop selling friends does not exist, men no longer have friends. If
you want a friend, socialise me!”
“You must be very patient,” replied the fox. “You firstly sit yourself down a little
ways from me, like that, in the grass. I will look at you from the corner of my eye,
and you will say nothing. Language is a source of misunderstanding. But, each day,
you will sit a little nearer...”
“It would have been better to return at the same hour,” said the fox. “If you come,
for example, at four o’clock in the afternoon, then at three o’clock I will start to be
happy. The more the hour advances, the more I will feel happy.
At four o’clock, I will already be agitated and noisy. I will discover the price of
happiness! But if you come at no particular time, I will never know at what hour to
ready my heart... some rites are necessary.”
“It is also something often forgotten,” said the fox. “They are what makes one day
different from other days; one hour from the other hours.
Mis cazadores, por ejemplo, tienen un rito. El jueves bailan con las jóvenes del
pueblo. Entonces el jueves es un día maravilloso ! Me voy a pasear hasta la
viña. Si los cazadores bailaran en cualquier momento, todos los días se
parecerían y yo no tendría vacaciones.
There is a rite, for example, among my hunters. They dance every Thursday with
the girls of the village; so Thursday is a marvellous day! I go wandering up to the
vineyards. But if the hunters danced on no particular day, all the days would
resemble each other, and I would not have any vacation.”
So the little prince socialised the fox. And when the hour of departure approached:
“Ah!” said the fox... “I am going to cry.”
— Es tu culpa – dijo el principito -, yo no te deseaba ningún mal pero túquisiste
que te domesticara.
“It is your fault,” said the little prince, “I never wished you any sort of harm; but
you wanted that I socialise you...”
— Sígano –dijo el zorro – a causa del color del trigo. Luego agregó: — Ve y
visita nuevamente a las rosas. Comprenderás que la tuya es única en el mundo.
Y cuando regreses a decirme adiós, te regalaréun secreto.
“I have gained,” said the fox, “because of the colour of the wheat fields.” Then he
added: “Go and look again at the roses. You will understand that yours is unique
in the world. Return to me to say goodbye, and I will offer you a secret — as a
present.”
The little prince went off to look again at the roses. “You are not at all like my rose;
you are as yet, nothing.” he said.
“No one has socialised you, and you have not socialised anyone. You are like my
fox was. He was just a fox, like a hundred thousand others. But I have made him my
friend, and he is now unique in the world.”
Y las rosas estaban muy incómodas.
— Ustedes son bellas, pero están vací as – agregó. – No se puede morir por
ustedes. Seguramente, cualquiera que pase creería que mi rosa se les parece.
Pero ella sola es más importante que todas ustedes, puesto que es ella a quien
he regado.
“You are beautiful, but you are empty,” he carried on saying to them. “One could
not die for you. Certainly, the rose of mine... an ordinary passer-by would think it
resembled you. But her alone... she is more important than you all: because it is she
that I have watered;
Puesto que es ella a quien abrigué bajo el globo. Puesto que es ella a quien
protegícon la pantalla. Puesto que es ella la rosa cuyas orugas maté(salvo las
dos o tres para las mariposas). Puesto que es ella a quien escuchéquejarse, o
alabarse, o incluso a veces callarse. Puesto que es mi rosa.
because it is she that I have put under the globe; because it is she that I have
sheltered with the screen; because it is due to her that I have killed the caterpillars
(save the two or three to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened
to complain, or boast, or even sometimes be silent. Because she is my rose.”
“Goodbye,” said the fox. “Here is my secret. It is very simple: One cannot see
clearly other than with the heart. That which is essential is invisible to the eye.”
“That which is essential is invisible to the eye,” repeated the little prince, to make
sure of remembering.
— Es el tiempo que has perdido en tu rosa lo que hace a tu rosa tan importante.
“It is the time you have spent for your rose that makes your rose so important.”
— Es el tiempo que he perdido en mi rosa... – dijo el principito a fin de
recordarlo.
“It is the time I have spent for my rose...” said the little prince, to be sure of
remembering.
— Los hombres han olvidado esta verdad – dijo el zorro. – Pero tú no debes
olvidarla. Eres responsable para siempre de lo que has domesticado. Eres
responsable de tu rosa...
“Men have forgotten this truth,” said the fox. “But you must not forget it. You
become eternally responsible for that which you have socialised. You are
responsible for your rose...”
Capí
tulo XXII
Chapter XXII
— Buenos dí
as – dijo el principito.
— Buenos dí
as – dijo el guardagujas.
“They are in a real hurry,” said the little prince. “What are they seeking?”
And, going the opposite way rumbled a second illuminated express train.
“They are not the same ones,” said the switchman. “This is an exchange.”
“No one is ever content where one is,” said the switchman.
And then came the rumbling thunder of a third illuminated express train.
“Are they pursuing the first travellers?” inquired the little prince.
— Sólo los niños saben lo que buscan – dijo el principito. – Pierden tiempo en
una muñeca de trapo, y ella se vuelve muy importante, y si alguien se las saca
lloran...
“Only the children know what they are looking for,” said the little prince. “They
waste their time over a rag doll, and it becomes very important; and if someone
removes one of them, they cry...”
Capí
tulo XXIII
Chapter XXIII
— Buenos dí
as – dijo el principito.
— Buenos dí
as – dijo el vendedor.
This was a merchant whose special pills appeased ones thirst. You just swallow one
per week, and will no longer feel the need to drink.
“It is a great time saving measure,” said the merchant. “The experts have made the
calculations. One saves fifty-three minutes per week.”
— Y quése hace con esos cincuenta y tres minutos ?
“For me,” said the little prince to himself, “if I had fifty-three minutes to spend, I
would walk leisurely towards a spring...”
Capí
tulo XXIV
Chapter XXIV
We were now in the eighth day since my breakdown in the desert, and I had listened
to the story of the merchant whilst drinking the last drop of my water supply.
— Ah! – le dije al principito -, tus recuerdos son muy lindos, pero todavía no
he reparado mi avión, no tengo más nada para beber, y yo también estarí a muy
contento si pudiera caminar lentamente hacia una fuente !
“Ah!” I said to the little prince, “they are very charming, your memories, but I have
not yet repaired my plane; I have nothing more to drink, and I would also be happy
if I could walk slowly toward a spring!”
— Por qué?
“Why?”
— Porque nos vamos a morir de sed...
He did not grasp my reasoning, and he answered me: “It is good to have had a
friend, even if one is going to die. As for me, I am indeed fortunate to have had a
fox as a friend...”
“He cannot fathom the danger,” I said to myself. “He has never had neither hunger
nor thirst. A little of sunshine is for him sufficient...”
When we had walked for some hours in silence, the darkness fell, and the stars
began to shine.
I saw him as if in a dream: having had a slight fever, due to by my thirst. The words
from the little prince danced in my mind: “So you have thirst also?” I demanded.
Pero no respondióa mi pregunta. Simplemente me dijo: — El agua puede ser
buena también para el corazón...
But he did not reply to my question. He simply said to me: “Water can also be good
for the heart...”
I did not understand this response, but I remained silent... I well knew that it was
not practical to query him.
He was tired. He sat down. I sat down beside him. And, after a silence, he spoke
again: “The stars are beautiful because of a flower that one cannot see...”
Respondí “desde luego” y miré, sin hablar, las ondulaciones de la arena bajo
la luna.
Y era verdad. A mísiempre me gustóel desierto. Uno se sienta sobre una duna
de arena. No se ve nada. No se escucha nada. Y sin embargo hay algo que
irradia en silencio...
And that was true. I have always loved the desert. One sits on a sand dune; one sees
nothing; one hears nothing; and yet something shines through the silence...
— Lo que hace al desierto tan bello – dijo el principito – es que esconde un pozo
en algún lado...
“What beautifies the desert,” said the little prince, “is that there is a well hidden
somewhere...”
Cuando era niño vivía en una casa antigua, que según la leyenda tenía un tesoro
oculto. Desde luego, nunca nadie pudo descubrirlo ni posiblemente lo haya
siquiera buscado, pero hechizaba toda aquella casa. Mi casa escondía un
secreto en el fondo de su corazón...
When I was a little boy I lived in an old house, and the legend recounted was of a
treasure buried there. For sure no one had ever discovered it; and nor maybe even
looked for it. But it enchanted the whole house. My home was hiding a secret in the
depths of its heart...
“Yes,” I said to the little prince, “whether it is the house, the stars, or the desert,
that which makes them beautiful is invisible!”
As the little prince went to sleep, I took him in my arms, and resumed my course. I
was moved: it seemed to me that I was carrying a fragile treasure; it even seemed
to me that there was nothing more fragile on Earth.
Miraba a la luz de la luna esa frente pálida, esos ojos cerrados, esos mechones
de pelo que ondeaban al viento, y me decí a: lo que veo no es más que una
cáscara. Lo más importante es invisible...
I noted, in the light of the moon, his pale forehead, his closed eyes, his locks of hair
that trembled in the wind, and I said to myself: “That which I see here is nothing
but a shell. What is most important is invisible...”
Como sus labios entreabiertos esbozaban una sonrisa, me dije también: “Lo
que tanto me conmueve de este principito dormido es su fidelidad por una flor,
es la imagen de una rosa que resplandece en él como la llama de una lámpara,
incluso cuando duerme...”
As his lips opened faintly into the outline of a half-smile, I continued thinking to
myself: “What moves me so deeply about this sleeping little prince is his fidelity
towards a flower: it is the image of a rose that radiates through him, like the flame
of a lamp, even when he sleeps...”
Y lo sentímás frágil todavía. Hay que proteger bien a las lámparas: una ráfaga
de viento puede apagarlas...
And I sensed that he was even more fragile. We must protect the lamps: a gust of
wind can extinguish them...
Capí
tulo XXV
Chapter XXV
“People...” said the little prince, “they take a journey on an express train, but they
do not know anything about what they seek. Then they become all agitated, and turn
round and round...”
The well that we had arrived at had no resemblance to the wells of the Sahara. The
wells of the Sahara are mere holes dug in the sand. This one looked like a village
well. However there was no village here, and I thought I was dreaming.
“It is strange,” I said to the little prince, “everything is ready: the pulley, the bucket,
and the rope...”
Rió, tocó la cuerda, jugó con la polea. Y la polea gimió como gime una vieja
veleta cuando el viento estuvo mucho tiempo dormido.
He laughed, touched the rope, and played on the pulley. And the pulley moaned:
like the moaning of an old weathervane when the wind awakens after long being
dormant.
“You hear it?” said the little prince, “we have revived the well, and it sings...”
I did not want him to make such an effort: “Let me do it,” I said to him, “it is too
heavy for you.”
Slowly I hoisted the bucket to the ledge. I placed it there firmly. In my ears remained
the song of the pulley; and in the water that still trembled, I could see the sunlight
shimmering.
“I have such a thirst for this water,” said the little prince, “give me some to
drink...”
Levanté el balde hasta sus labios. Bebió con los ojos cerrados. Todo era
agradable como una fiesta. Esa agua era más que un simple alimento. Había
nacido de la caminata bajo las estrellas, del canto de la polea, del esfuerzo de
mis brazos. Era buena para el corazón, como un regalo.
I raised the bucket to his lips. He drank, his eyes closed. It was like a sweet explosion.
This water was indeed other than ordinary sustenance. It was born of the walk under
the stars... of the song from the pulley... of the effort of my arms. It was good for the
heart, like a gift.
Cuando yo era niño, la luz del árbol de Navidad, la música de la misa de
medianoche, la dulzura de las sonrisas, hacían el aura del regalo de Navidad
que recibía.
When I was a little boy, the lights of the Christmas tree, the music of the midnight
mass, the warmth of the smiles, made thereby all the radiance of the Christmas gifts
I received.
“The people where you live,” said the little prince, “cultivate five thousand roses
in a single garden... and they do not find that which they seek.”
— No lo encuentran – respondí.
“And yet that which they seek could be found in a single rose, or in a little water...”
“Undoubtedly,” I said.
Y el principito agregó: — Pero los ojos son ciegos. Hay que buscar con el
corazón.
And the little prince added: “But the eyes are blind. One must seek with the heart.”
I had drunk enough. I breathed comfortably. The sand at sunrise is the colour of
honey. I was also happy because of this honey like colour. Why was it then that I
had a feeling of loss...
— Cuál promesa ?
“What promise?”
Saqué del bolsillo mis bocetos. El principito los vio y dijo riendo: — Tus
baobabs, parecen más bien repollos...
I took from my pocket the rough sketches. The little prince pondered over them, and
said whilst laughing: “Your baobabs, they seem a little like cabbages...”
“Your fox... his ears... they bear a resemblance to horns... and they are too long!”
And he laughed again.
— Eres injusto, hombrecito, yo no sabía dibujar más que las boas cerradas y
las boas abiertas.
“You are unfair, my good little man; I can draw nothing except that of boas from
the outside and boas looking inside.”
I then sketched a muzzle. And I felt a tightening of my heart in giving it to him: “You
have plans that I am unaware of...”
Pero no me respondió. Me dijo. — Sabes, mi caí
da en la Tierra... mañana se
cumpliráun año...
But he did not respond to me. He said to me: “You know, my drop to the Earth...
Tomorrow will be the anniversary.”
Then, after a silence, he went on: “I descended just by here...” And he blushed.
Nonetheless, a question came to me: “Then it was not by chance that — the morning
I met you; one week ago — you were wandering along like that, all alone, a
thousand miles from any inhabited region? You were returning to the point of your
descent?”
The little prince blushed yet again. He never responded to my questions, but when
one blushes it means ‘yes’, does it not?
But I was not reassured. I thought of the fox. One risks crying a little, if one lets
oneself be socialised...
Capí
tulo XXVI
Chapter XXVI
Al lado del pozo había un viejo muro de piedra en ruinas. Cuando volvíde mi
trabajo al día siguiente por la tarde, vi de lejos a mi principito sentado allá
arriba, con las piernas colgando. Y oíque hablaba:
There was, to the side of the well, the ruin of an old stone wall. When I returned
from my work, the following evening, I saw from afar my little prince sitting atop
the wall, his feet dangling.
And I heard that which he spoke: “Do you not remember then?” he said. “It is not
quite here.”
Another voice must have answered him, for he replied: “Yes! Yes! It is indeed the
day, but this here is not the place...”
Continuécaminando hacia el muro. Seguía sin ver ni oír a nadie. Sin embargo
el principito replicó de nuevo: — ... Desde luego. Verás dónde comienza mi
huella en la arena. No tienes más que esperarme. Estaréallíesta noche.
I continued my walk toward the wall. I could neither see nor hear anyone at all. Yet
the little prince replied anew: “...Exactly. You will see where my track starts in the
sand. You have but to wait for me there. I will be there this evening.”
I was now twenty meters from the wall, and still I saw nothing.
El principito siguió diciendo, después de un silencio: — Tienes buen
veneno ? Estás segura de no hacerme sufrir mucho tiempo ?
The little prince spoke again, after a pause: “You have good venom? You are sure
it will not make me suffer too long?”
Entonces yo también bajéla mirada hacia el pie del muro, y peguéun salto !
Había allí, erguida hacia el principito, una de esas serpientes amarillas que lo
ejecutan a uno en treinta segundos.
It was then that I lowered my eyes to the base of the wall, and I made a jump. He
was there, with head reared, facing the little prince... one of those yellow snakes
that will execute you in thirty seconds.
While rummaging in my pocket to take out my revolver, I took a swift step forward;
but, at the noise that I made, the snake let itself slide softly into the sand, like a
fading jet of water; and without being overly distressed, it slipped between the
stones with a light metallic sound.
Lleguéal muro justo a tiempo para recibir en los brazos a mi pequeño príncipe,
pálido como la nieve.
I reached the wall just in time to receive him in my arms — the good little fellow,
this prince, he was white as snow.
“What is the story here?” I demanded. “You now talk with snakes?”
Le había aflojado su eterna bufanda dorada. Le había mojado las sienes y le
había dado de beber. Y ahora no me atreví
a a preguntarle más nada.
I had succeeded in undoing his golden scarf. I had moistened his temples, and had
made him drink. And now I did not dare ask anything more.
He regarded me gravely and placed his arms around my neck. I felt his heart beating
like that of a dying bird, when someone had shot it with a rifle.
He said to me: “I am glad that you have found out what was at fault with your
engine. You will be able to return home...”
— Cómo lo sabes !
I had just come to announce that, against all expectations, my efforts had
succeeded!
I felt clearly that something extraordinary was happening to him. I held him in my
arms as if he were a little child; and yet it seemed to me that he was diving straight
down into an abyss, from which I could do nothing to restrain him...
Tenía la mirada adusta, perdida muy lejos:
“I have your sheep. And I have the box for the sheep. And I have the muzzle...” And
he made a gloomy smile.
I waited a long time. I felt that he was recovering little by little: “My dear little
fellow, you have been frightened...”
Había tenido miedo, sin duda ! Pero rió dulcemente: — Tendrémucho más
miedo esta noche...
He was afraid, without doubt. But he laughed softly: “I shall be much more afraid
tonight...”
I once more felt myself frozen by the impression of something irreparable. And I
knew that I could not stand the idea of never hearing that laughter any more. It was
for me like a fountain in the desert.
But he said to me: “This evening, it will be a year. My star can be found right above
the place where I came down, one year ago...”
— Desde luego...
“That is true...”
— Es como con la flor. Si amas a una flor que estáen una estrella, es placentero
mirar el cielo por la noche. Todas las estrellas están floridas.
“It is like with the flower. If you love a flower that is located on a star, it is sweet,
in the night, to look at the sky. All the stars are flowering.”
— Desde luego...
“That is true...”
— Es como con el agua. La que me diste a beber era como una música, a causa
de la polea y de la cuerda... recuerdas... era deliciosa.
“It is like with the water. What you gave me to drink was like music because of the
pulley... and the rope... you remember... it was good.”
— Desde luego...
“That is true...”
— Por la noche mirarás las estrellas. La mía es demasiado pequeña para que
te muestre dónde se encuentra. Es mejor así.Mi estrella serápara ti una de las
tantas estrellas. Entonces, te gustará mirar a todas las estrellas. Todas serán
tus amigas. Y además voy a hacerte un regalo...
“You will look, at night, to the stars. It is too small, my place, for me to show you
where it is situated. It is better that way. My star... it will be for you just one of the
stars. Then you will love all the stars, when you look at them... They will all be your
friends. And in any case, I am going to make you a present...”
Volvióa reír.
He laughed again.
— Ah! hombrecito, hombrecito, me gusta escuchar esa risa !
“Ah! Little fellow... my dear little man, I love to hear that laugh!”
— Quéquieres decir ?
— La gente tiene estrellas que no son las mismas. Para quienes viajan, las
estrellas son guías. Para otros no son más que pequeñas luces. Para otros que
son sabios, ellas son problemas. Para mi hombre de negocios significaban oro.
Pero todas esas estrellas son mudas. Tútendrás estrellas como no tiene nadie...
“Diverse groups of people in some sense ‘have’ the stars; though this ‘having’ is
never the same: for some, who travel, the stars are guides; for others, they are no
more than little lights; for still others who are scholars, they are problems; and for
my businessman they are made of gold. But all these stars are silent. You... you
‘have’ the stars like no one has...”
— Quéquieres decir ?
— Cuando mires el cielo por la noche, dado que yo estaréen una de ellas, dado
que yo reiré en una de ellas, entonces será para ti como si rieran todas las
estrellas. Tú tendrás estrellas que saben reí
r!
“When you gaze into the sky at night, since I will be dwelling on one of them... since
I will be laughing on one of them, then it will be for you as if all the stars were
laughing. Only you will ‘have’ stars that know how to laugh!”
Y volvióa reír.
Y tus amigos se sorprenderán de verte reír al mirar el cielo. Entonces les dirás:
“Sí, las estrellas siempre me hacen reír !” Y ellos te creerán loco. Te habré
jugado una muy mala pasada...
And your friends will be most surprised to see you laugh as you ponder the sky.
Then you will say to them: ‘Yes, the stars always make me laugh!’ And they will
think you crazy. I shall have played a very nasty trick...”
Y volvióa reír.
“It will be as if I have given you, in place of the stars, a lot of little bells that know
how to giggle...”
Y volvióa reír. Después volvióa ponerse serio: — Esta noche... sabes... mejor
no vengas.
And he laughed some more. Then he again became serious: “This evening... you
know... do not come.”
— No te abandonaré.
“I will appear to be in difficulty... I will look a little like I was dying. It is like that.
Do not come to see that; it is not worth the trouble...”
— No te abandonaré.
“I say this to you... it is also because of the snake. He must not bite you. Snakes are
mischievous. This one might bite you just for fun... I shall not abandon you.”
Pero algo lo tranquilizó: — Es cierto que no tienen más veneno para la segunda
picadura...
But something reassured him: “It is true that they have no more venom for a second
bite...”
That night I did not see him set out on his way. He escaped without a sound. When
I managed to reach him he was walking decidedly, with a rapid step.
He simply said to me: “Ah! You are here...” And he took me by the hand.
But he was still in torment: “You have made a mistake. You will feel distress. I will
appear to be dead, and that will not be true...”
Yo no decí
a nada.
I was silent.
“You understand; it is too far. I cannot carry this body there. It is too heavy.”
Yo no decí
a nada.
I was silent.
— Pero serácomo una vieja cáscara abandonada. No tienen nada de triste las
cáscaras abandonadas...
“But it will be like an old abandoned shell. There is nothing sad about old shells...”
Yo no decí
a nada.
I was silent.
He was a little discouraged. But he made another try: It will be fine, you know. I
too will contemplate the stars. All the stars will be wells with a rusty pulley. All the
stars will be pouring a drink for me...”
Yo no decí
a nada.
I was silent.
“That will indeed be amusing! You will have five hundred million bells, and I will
have five hundred million springs...”
I too sat down, because I was not able to stand up any longer.
He still hesitated a little; then he got up. He took one step. I could not budge.
He remained immobile for an instant. He did not cry out. He fell slowly, like a falling
tree. There was not even a sound, because of the sand.
Capí
tulo XXVII
Chapter XXVII
Nunca he contado esta historia todavía. Los camaradas que me volvieron a ver
se pusieron muy contentos de encontrarme vivo. Yo estaba triste pero les decí
a:
es el cansancio...
I have never before recounted this story. The comrades who met me were just
content to see me alive. I was sad, but I said to them: “I am weary...”
But I well know that he returned to his planet, because, at dawn, I did not discover
his body. It was not such a heavy body... And I love, at night, to listen to the stars.
It is like five hundred million bells...
But there comes to pass something extraordinary: the muzzle that I drew for the
little prince... I forgot to add the leather strap. He will never be able to fasten it to
his sheep.
So I ask of myself: “what is happening on his planet? It may well be that the sheep
has eaten the flower...”
Sometimes I say to myself: “Surely not! The little prince secures his flower under
her glass globe every night, and he has close watch over his sheep...” Then I am
happy. And all the stars laugh soothingly.
Otras veces me digo: “Uno puede distraerse en cualquier momento, y con eso
basta ! Se olvidóalguna vez el globo de vidrio, o bien el cordero saliósin hacer
ruido durante la noche...”
At other times I say to myself: “One is distracted at some time or another, and that
is enough! He has forgotten the glass globe one evening, or else the sheep escaped
during the night, without making any noise...”
This is certainly a great mystery: for you who also love the little prince — just like
me — nothing in the universe can be the same if somewhere, we know not where, a
sheep that we are unacquainted with has — ‘yes or no?’ — eaten a rose...
Gaze into the sky. Ask yourselves this: the sheep — yes or no — has eaten the flower?
And you will see how everything changes...
Éste es para míel más bello y el más triste paisaje del mundo. Es el mismo
paisaje de la página anterior, pero lo dibujéuna vez más para mostrárselos
bien. Es acáque el principito aparecióen la tierra, y luego desapareció.
This is, for me, the loveliest and saddest landscape in the world. It is the same
landscape as that on the preceding page, but I have drawn it again to show you
more clearly. It is here that the little prince appeared on Earth... then disappeared.
Miren con atención este paisaje para estar seguros de reconocerlo, si viajan
algún día por el desierto de África. Y si llegan a pasar por allí,les suplico que
no se apuren y que esperen un poco, justo bajo la estrella !
Look attentively at this landscape, so that you will be sure to recognize it, if you
travel some day to Africa... into the desert. And, if you should happen to pass by
there, I implore you, do not rush by; wait a little, exactly under the star!
Then, if a child comes to you, who laughs, has golden hair, and does not respond to
any questions, you will certainly know who he is.