🔊 truth. I have not been altogether honest in what I have told you about the lamplighters. And I realize that I run the risk of giving a false idea of our planet to those who do not know it. Men occupy a very small place upon the Earth. If the two billion inhabitants who people its surface were all to stand upright and somewhat crowded together, as they do for some big public assembly, they could easily be put into one public square twenty miles long and twenty miles wide. All humanity could be piled up on a small Pacific islet.

ukweli. Sijakuwa mwaminifu kabisa katika yale niliyokuambia kuhusu wawasha taa. Na natambua kuwa nina hatari ya kutoa wazo potofu kuhusu sayari yetu kwa wale wasioijua. Wanadamu wanachukua nafasi ndogo sana Duniani. Ikiwa wakazi bilioni mbili wanaoishi kwenye uso wake wangesimama wima na kukusanyika pamoja kwa ukolefu fulani, kama wanavyofanya kwa mkutano mkubwa wa umma, wangeweza kuwekwa kwa urahisi katika uwanja mmoja wa umma wenye urefu wa maili ishirini na upana wa maili ishirini. Ubinadamu wote ungeweza kusonganishwa kwenye kisiwa kidogo cha Pasifiki.

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altogether /ˌɔːltəˈɡeðə(r)/

adv. Kabisa, kwa ujumla

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lamplighters /ˈlæmplaɪtəz/

n. Watu wanaowasha taa za barabarani

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inhabitants /ɪnˈhæbɪtənts/

n. Wenyeji, wakaaji wa mahali fulani

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public assembly /ˈpʌblɪk əˈsembli/

n. Mkutano wa umma, mkutano wa watu wengi

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humanity /hjuːˈmænəti/

n. Ubinadamu, wanadamu wote

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piled up /paɪld ʌp/

v. Kukusanyika au kuwekwa kwa rundo

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islet /ˈaɪlət/

n. Kisiwa kidogo

🔊 They imagine that they fill a great deal of space. They fancy themselves as important as the baobabs. You should advise them to make their own calculations. They adore figures, and that will please them. But do not waste your time on this extra task. It is unnecessary. You have, I know, confidence in me.

Wanafikiria kuwa wanajaza nafasi kubwa. Wanajiona kuwa muhimu kama mibuyu. Unapaswa kuwashauri wafanye mahesabu yao wenyewe. Wanapenda takwimu, na hiyo itawafurahisha. Lakini usipoteze wakati wako kwenye kazi hii ya ziada. Hiyo si lazima. Una, najua, imani ndani yangu.

🔊

fancy /ˈfænsi/

v. Kufikiria, kudhani kwa kiburi

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baobabs /ˈbeɪəʊbæbz/

n. Miti mikubwa ya aina ya baobabu

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calculations /ˌkælkjuˈleɪʃnz/

n. Hesabu, mahesabu

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adore /əˈdɔː(r)/

v. Kupenda sana, kuabudu

🔊 When the little prince arrived on the Earth, he was very much surprised not to see any people. He was beginning to be afraid he had come to the wrong planet, when a coil of gold, the color of the moonlight, flashed across the sand.

Wakati mfalme mdogo alipofika Duniani, alishangaa sana kwa kutoona watu wowote. Alianza kuogopa kuwa alikuwa amefika kwenye sayari isiyofaa, wakati mzingo wa dhahabu, rangi ya mwangaza wa mwezi, uliangaza kwenye mchanga.

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coil /kɔɪl/

n. Mzingo, pete (kama ya nyoka)

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flashed /flæʃt/

v. Kumetameta, kung'ara kwa haraka

🔊 "Good evening," said the snake.

"Habari ya jioni," alisema nyoka.

🔊 "What planet is this on which I have come down?" asked the little prince. "This is the Earth; this is Africa," the snake answered. "Ah! Then there are no people on the Earth?"

"Sayari gani hii nimeiteremshia?" aliuliza mfalme mdogo. "Hii ni Dunia; hii ni Afrika," nyoka alijibu. "Ah! Basi hakuna watu Duniani?"

🔊 "This is the desert. There are no people in the desert. The Earth is large," said the snake.

"Hii ni jangwa. Hakuna watu jangwani. Dunia ni kubwa," alisema nyoka.

🔊

desert /ˈdezət/

n. Jangwa

🔊 The little prince sat down on a stone and raised his eyes toward the sky.

Mfalme mdogo aliketi kwenye jiwe na kuinua macho yake kuelekea angani.

🔊 "I wonder," he said, "whether the stars are set alight in heaven so that one day each one of us may find his own again . . . Look at my planet. It is right there above us. But how far away it is!" "It is beautiful," the snake said. "What has brought you here?" "I have had a quarrel with a flower," said the little prince. "Ah!" said the snake. And they were both silent. "Where are the men?" the little prince at last took up the conversation again. "It is a little lonely in the desert..." "It is also lonely among men," the snake said. The little prince gazed at the snake for a long time. "You are a funny animal," he said at last. "You are no thicker than a finger ..." "But I am more powerful than the finger of a king," said the snake. "You are not very powerful. You haven't even any feet. You cannot even travel..." "I can carry you farther than any ship could take you," said the snake. And 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 innocent and true, and you come from a star..." The little prince made no reply. "You move me to pity—you are so weak on this Earth made of granite," the snake said. "I can help you, some day, if you grow too homesick for your own planet. I can—" "Oh! I understand you very well," said the little prince. "But why do you always speak in riddles?" "I solve them all," said the snake. And they were both silent.

"Najiuliza," alisema, "kama nyota zimewashwa mbinguni ili siku moja kila mmoja wetu apate yake tena . . . Angalia sayari yangu. Iko hapo juu yetu. Lakini iko mbali sana!" "Ni nzuri," nyoka alisema. "Nini kimekuletea hapa?" "Nimekuwa na ugomvi na ua," alisema mfalme mdogo. "Ah!" alisema nyoka. Na wote wawili walinyamaza. "Watu wako wapi?" mfalme mdogo hatimaye alianza mazungumzo tena. "Ina ukosefu wa watu kidogo jangwani..." "Pia kuna ukosefu wa watu miongoni mwa watu," nyoka alisema. Mfalme mdogo alimtazama nyoka kwa muda mrefu. "Wewe ni mnyama mcheshi," alisema hatimaye. "Huna unene zaidi ya kidole..." "Lakini nina nguvu zaidi kuliko kidole cha mfalme," alisema nyoka. "Huna nguvu nyingi. Hata huna miguu. Hatawezi kusafiri..." "Ninaweza kukubeba mbali zaidi kuliko meli yoyote inavyoweza kukuchukua," alisema nyoka. Na alijikunja kwenye kifundo cha mguu cha mfalme mdogo, kama bangili ya dhahabu. "Mtu yeyote ninayemgusa, namrudisha kwenye ardhi alipotoka," nyoka alisema tena. "Lakini wewe ni mwerevu na mwaminifu, na unatoka kwenye nyota..." Mfalme mdogo hakujibu. "Unanisikitisha—wewe ni dhaifu sana kwenye Dunia hii iliyotengenezwa kwa mawe magumu," alisema nyoka. "Ninaweza kukusaidia, siku moja, ikiwa utaanza kukosa nyumbani kwa sayari yako. Ninaweza—" "Oh! Nakuelewa sana kisima," alisema mfalme mdogo. "Lakini kwa nini husema kwa vitendawili kila mara?" "Ninatatua zote," alisema nyoka. Na wote wawili walinyamaza.

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set alight /set əˈlaɪt/

v. Kuwasha moto

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quarrel /ˈkwɒrəl/

n. Ugomvi, mabishano

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gazed /ɡeɪzd/

v. Kutazama kwa makini na kwa muda mrefu

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twined /twaɪnd/

v. Kujikunja, kujipinda (kama nyoka)

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ankle /ˈæŋkl/

n. Kifundo cha mguu

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bracelet /ˈbreɪslət/

n. Bangili

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whence /wens/

adv. Kutoka wapi (lugha ya zamani)

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innocent /ˈɪnəsnt/

adj. Mwenye hatia, asiye na uovu

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pity /ˈpɪti/

n. Huruma

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granite /ˈɡrænɪt/

n. Aina ya jiwe gumu la rangi ya kijivu

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homesick /ˈhəʊmsɪk/

adj. Kuhisi hamu ya nyumbani

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riddles /ˈrɪdlz/

n. Vitendawili, maneno yenye fumbo

Chapter XVII (Sura ya Kumi na Saba)