英文小說(shuō)連載《小王子》No.10 國(guó)王

　　He found himself in the neighborhood of the asteroids 325， 326， 327， 328， 329， and 330. He began， therefore， by visiting them， in order to add to his knowledge.

　　The first of them was inhabited by a king. Clad in royal purple and ermine， he was seated upon a throne which was at the same time both simple and majestic.

　　"Ah！ Here is a subject，" exclaimed the king， when he saw the little prince coming.

　　And the little prince asked himself：

　　"How could he recognize me when he had never seen me before？"

　　He did not know how the world is simplified for kings. To them， all men are subjects.

　　"Approach， so that I may see you better，" said the king， who felt consumingly proud of being at last a king over somebody.

　　The little prince looked everywhere to find a place to sit down； but the entire planet was crammed and obstructed by the king's magnificent ermine robe. So he remained standing upright， and， since he was tired， he yawned.

　　"It is contrary to etiquette to yawn in the presence of a king，" the monarch said to him. "I forbid you to do so."

　　"I can't help it. I can't stop myself，" replied the little prince， thoroughly embarrassed. "I have come on a long journey， and I have had no sleep..."

　　"Ah， then，" the king said. "I order you to yawn. It is years since I have seen anyone yawning. Yawns， to me， are objects of curiosity. Come， now！ Yawn again！ It is an order."

　　"That frightens me... I cannot， any more..." murmured the little prince， now completely abashed.

　　"Hum！ Hum！" replied the king. "Then I-- I order you sometimes to yawn and sometimes to--"

　　He sputtered a little， and seemed vexed.

　　For what the king fundamentally insisted upon was that his authority should be respected. He tolerated no disobedience. He was an absolute monarch. But， because he was a very good man， he made his orders reasonable.

　　"If I ordered a general，" he would say， by way of example， "if I ordered a general to change himself into a sea bird， and if the general did not obey me， that would not be the fault of the general. It would be my fault."

　　"May I sit down？" came now a timid inquiry from the little prince.

　　"I order you to do so，" the king answered him， and majestically gathered in a fold of his ermine mantle.

　　But the little prince was wondering... The planet was tiny. Over what could this king really rule？

　　"Sire，" he said to him， "I beg that you will excuse my asking you a question--"

　　"I order you to ask me a question，" the king hastened to assure him.

　　"Sire-- over what do you rule？"

　　"Over everything，" said the king， with magnificent simplicity.

　　"Over everything？"

　　The king made a gesture， which took in his planet， the other planets， and all the stars.

　　"Over all that？" asked the little prince.

　　"Over all that，" the king answered.

　　For his rule was not only absolute： it was also universal.

　　"And the stars obey you？"

　　"Certainly they do，" the king said. "They obey instantly. I do not permit insubordination."

　　Such power was a thing for the little prince to marvel at. If he had been master of such complete authority， he would have been able to watch the sunset， not forty-four times in one day， but seventy-two， or even a hundred， or even two hundred times， with out ever having to move his chair. And because he felt a bit sad as he remembered his little planet which he had forsaken， he plucked up his courage to ask the king a favor：

　　"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 tragic drama， or to change himself into a sea bird， and if the general did not carry out the order that he had received， which one of us would be in the wrong？" the king demanded. "The general， or myself？"

　　"You，" said the little prince firmly.

　　"Exactly. One much require from each one the duty which each one can perform，" the king went on. "Accepted authority rests first of all on reason. If you ordered your people to go and throw themselves into the sea， they would rise up in revolution. I have the right to require obedience because my orders are reasonable."

　　"Then my sunset？" the little prince reminded him： for he never forgot a question once he had asked it.

　　"You shall have your sunset. I shall command it. But， according to my science of government， I shall wait until conditions are favorable."

　　"When will that be？" inquired the little prince.

　　"Hum！ Hum！" replied the king； and before saying anything else he consulted a bulky almanac. "Hum！ Hum！ That will be about-- about-- that will be this evening about twenty minutes to eight. And you will see how well I am obeyed."

　　The little prince yawned. He was regretting his lost sunset. And then， too， he was already beginning to be a little bored.

　　"I have nothing more to do here，" he said to the king. "So I shall set out on my way again."

　　"Do not go，" said the king， who was very proud of having a subject. "Do not go. I will make you a Minister！"

　　"Minister of what？"

　　"Minster of-- of Justice！"

　　"But there is nobody here to judge！"

　　"We do not know that，" the king said to him. "I have not yet made a complete tour of my kingdom. I am very old. There is no room here for a carriage. And it tires me to walk."

　　"Oh， but I have looked already！" said the little prince， turning around to give one more glance to the other side of the planet. On that side， as on this， there was nobody at all...

　　"Then you shall judge yourself，" the king answered. "that is the most difficult thing of all. It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly， then you are indeed a man of true wisdom."

　　"Yes，" said the little prince， "but I can judge myself anywhere. I do not need to live on this planet.

　　"Hum！ Hum！" said the king. "I have good reason to believe that somewhere on my planet there is an old rat. I hear him at night. You can judge this old rat. From time to time you will condemn him to death. Thus his life will depend on your justice. But you will pardon him on each occasion； for he must be treated thriftily. He is the only one we have."

　　"I，" replied the little prince， "do not like to condemn anyone to death. And now I think I will go on my way."

　　"No，" said the king.

　　But the little prince， having now completed his preparations for departure， had no wish to grieve the old monarch.

　　"If Your Majesty wishes to be promptly obeyed，" he said， "he should be able to give me a reasonable order. He should be able， for example， to order me to be gone by the end of one minute. It seems to me that conditions are favorable..."

　　As the king made no answer， the little prince hesitated a moment. Then， with a sigh， he took his leave.

　　"I made you my Ambassador，" the king called out， hastily.

　　He had a magnificent air of authority.

　　"The grown-ups are very strange，" the little prince said to himself， as he continued on his journey.

　　在附近的宇宙中，還有 325、326、327、328、329、330 等幾顆小行星。他就開(kāi)始訪問(wèn)這幾顆星球，想在那里找點(diǎn)事干，并且學(xué)習(xí)學(xué)習(xí)。

　　第一顆星球上住著一個(gè)國(guó)王。國(guó)王穿著用紫紅色和白底黑花的毛皮做成的大禮服，坐在一個(gè)很簡(jiǎn)單卻又十分威嚴(yán)的寶座上。

　　當(dāng)他看見(jiàn)小王子時(shí)，喊了起來(lái)：

　　“啊，來(lái)了一個(gè)臣民。”

　　小王子思量著：“他從來(lái)也沒(méi)有見(jiàn)過(guò)我，怎么會(huì)認(rèn)識(shí)我呢？”

　　他哪里知道，在那些國(guó)王的眼里，世界是非常簡(jiǎn)單的：所有的人都是臣民。

　　國(guó)王十分驕傲，因?yàn)樗�終于成了某個(gè)人的國(guó)王，他對(duì)小王子說(shuō)道：“靠近些，好讓我好好看看你。”

　　小王子看看四周，想找個(gè)地方坐下來(lái)，可是整個(gè)星球被國(guó)王華麗的白底黑花皮袍占滿了。他只好站在那里，但是因?yàn)槠＞肓�，他打起哈欠�?lái)。

　　君王對(duì)他說(shuō)：“在一個(gè)國(guó)王面前打哈欠是違反禮節(jié)的。我禁止你打哈欠。”

　　小王子羞愧地說(shuō)道：“我實(shí)在忍不住，我長(zhǎng)途跋涉來(lái)到這里，還沒(méi)有睡覺(jué)呢。”

　　國(guó)王說(shuō)：“那好吧，我命令你打哈欠。好些年來(lái)我沒(méi)有看見(jiàn)過(guò)任何人打哈欠。對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，打哈欠倒是新奇的事。來(lái)吧，再打個(gè)哈欠！這是命令。”

　　“這倒叫我有點(diǎn)緊張…我打不出哈欠來(lái)了…”小王子紅著臉說(shuō)。

　　“嗯！嗯！”國(guó)王回答道：“那么我…命令你忽而打哈欠，忽而…”

　　他嘟嘟囔囔，顯出有點(diǎn)惱怒。

　　因?yàn)閲?guó)王所要求的主要是保持他的威嚴(yán)受到尊敬。他不能容忍不聽(tīng)他的命令。他是一位絕對(duì)的君主。可是，他卻很善良，他下的命令都是有理智的。

　　他常常說(shuō)：“如果我叫一位將軍變成一只海鳥(niǎo)，而這位將軍不服從我的命令，那么這就不是將軍的過(guò)錯(cuò)，而是我的過(guò)錯(cuò)。”

　　小王子靦腆地試探道：“我可以坐下嗎？”

　　“我命令你坐下。”國(guó)王一邊回答，一邊莊重地把他那白底黑花皮袍大襟挪動(dòng)了一下。

　　可是小王子感到很奇怪。這么小的行星，國(guó)王他對(duì)什么進(jìn)行統(tǒng)治呢？

　　他對(duì)國(guó)王說(shuō)：“陛下…請(qǐng)?jiān)�諒，我想�?wèn)您…”

　　國(guó)王急忙搶著說(shuō)道：“我命令你問(wèn)我。”

　　“陛下…你統(tǒng)治什么呢？”

　　國(guó)王非常簡(jiǎn)單明了地說(shuō)：“我統(tǒng)治一切。”

　　“一切？”

　　國(guó)王輕輕地用手指著他的行星和其他的行星，以及所有的星星。

　　小王子說(shuō)：“統(tǒng)治這一切？”

　　“統(tǒng)治這一切。”

　　原來(lái)他不僅是一個(gè)絕對(duì)的君主，而且是整個(gè)宇宙的君主。

　　“那么，星星都服從您嗎？”

　　“那當(dāng)然！”國(guó)王對(duì)他說(shuō)，“它們立即就得服從。我是不允許無(wú)紀(jì)律的。”

　　這樣的權(quán)力使小王子驚嘆不已。如果掌握了這樣的權(quán)力，那么，他一天就不只是看到四十三次日落，而可以看到七十二次，甚至一百次，或是二百次日落，也不必要去挪動(dòng)椅子了！由于他想起了他那被遺棄的小星球，心里有點(diǎn)難過(guò)，他大膽地向國(guó)王提出了一個(gè)請(qǐng)求：

　　“我想看日落，請(qǐng)求您…命令太陽(yáng)落山吧…”

　　國(guó)王說(shuō)道：“如果我命令一個(gè)將軍象一只蝴蝶那樣從這朵花飛到那朵花，或者命令他寫(xiě)作一個(gè)悲劇劇本或者變一只海鳥(niǎo)，而如果這位將軍接到命令不執(zhí)行的話，那么，是他不對(duì)還是我不對(duì)呢？”

　　“那當(dāng)然是您的不對(duì)。”小王子肯定地回答。

　　“一點(diǎn)也不錯(cuò)，”國(guó)王接著說(shuō)，“向每個(gè)人提出的要求應(yīng)該是他們所能做到的。權(quán)威首先應(yīng)該建立在理性的基礎(chǔ)上。如果命令你的老百姓去投海，他們非起來(lái)革命不可。我的命令是合理的，所以我有權(quán)要?jiǎng)e人服從。”

　　“那么我提出的日落呢？”小王子一旦提出一個(gè)問(wèn)題，他是不會(huì)忘記這個(gè)問(wèn)題的。

　　“日落么，你會(huì)看到的。我一定要太陽(yáng)落山，不過(guò)按照我的統(tǒng)治科學(xué)，我得等到條件成熟的時(shí)候。”

　　小王子問(wèn)道：“這要等到什么時(shí)候呢？”

　　國(guó)王在回答之前，首先翻閱了一本厚厚的日歷，嘴里慢慢說(shuō)道：“嗯！嗯！日落大約…大約…在今晚七時(shí)四十分的時(shí)候！你將看到我的命令一定會(huì)被服從的。”

　　小王子又打起哈欠來(lái)了。他遺憾沒(méi)有看到日落。他有點(diǎn)厭煩了，他對(duì)國(guó)王說(shuō)：“我沒(méi)有必要再呆在這兒了。我要走了。”

　　這位因?yàn)閯倓傆辛艘粋�(gè)臣民而十分驕傲自得的國(guó)王說(shuō)道：

　　“別走，別走。我任命你當(dāng)大臣。”

　　“什么大臣”

　　“嗯……司法大臣！”

　　“可是，這兒沒(méi)有一個(gè)要審判的人。”

　　“很難說(shuō)呀，”國(guó)王說(shuō)道。“我很老了，我這地方又小，沒(méi)有放鑾駕的地方，另外，一走路我就累。因此我還沒(méi)有巡視過(guò)我的王國(guó)呢！”

　　“噢！可是我已經(jīng)看過(guò)了。”小王子說(shuō)道，并探身朝星球的那一側(cè)看了看。那邊也沒(méi)有一個(gè)人…

　　“那么你就審判你自己呀！”國(guó)王回答他說(shuō)。“這可是最難的了。審判自己比審判別人要難得多�。∧阋�是能審判好自己，你就是一個(gè)真正有才智的人。”

　　“我嗎，隨便在什么地方我都可以審度自己。我沒(méi)有必要留在這里。”

　　國(guó)王又說(shuō)：“嗯…嗯…我想，在我的星球上有一只老耗子。夜里，我聽(tīng)見(jiàn)它的聲音。你可以審判它，不時(shí)地判處它死刑。因此它的生命取決于你的判決。可是，你要有節(jié)制地使用這只耗子，每次判刑后都要赦免它，因?yàn)橹挥羞@一只耗子。”

　　“可是我不愿判死刑，我想我還是應(yīng)該走。”小王子回答道。

　　“不行。”國(guó)王說(shuō)。

　　但是小王子，準(zhǔn)備完畢之后，不想使老君主難過(guò)，說(shuō)道：如果國(guó)王陛下想要不折不扣地得到服從，你可以給我下一個(gè)合理的命令。比如說(shuō)，你可以命令我，一分鐘之內(nèi)必須離開(kāi)。我認(rèn)為這個(gè)條件是成熟的…”

　　國(guó)王什么也沒(méi)有回答。起初，小王子有些猶疑不決，隨后嘆了口氣，就離開(kāi)了…

　　“我派你當(dāng)我的大使。”國(guó)王匆忙地喊道。

　　國(guó)王顯出非常有權(quán)威的樣子。

　　小王子在旅途中自言自語(yǔ)地說(shuō)：“這些大人真奇怪。”