🔊 As each day passed I would learn, in our talk, something about the little prince's planet, his departure from it, his journey. The information would come very slowly, as it might be drawn out of a chance remark. It was in this way that I heard, on the third day, about the catastrophe of the baobabs.

隨著日子一天天過去,在我們的談話中,我逐漸了解到關於小王子的星球、他離開那裡的經過,以及他的旅程。這些訊息總是來得很慢,彷彿是從偶然的言談中不經意流露出來的。就在這樣的情況下,我在第三天聽說了關於猴麵包樹的災難。

🔊

departure /dɪˈpɑːrtʃər/

n. 離開,出發

🔊

catastrophe /kəˈtæstrəfi/

n. 災難,大禍

🔊

baobabs /ˈbeɪəʊbæbz/

n. 猴麵包樹（複數）

🔊 This time, once more, I had the sheep to thank for it. For the little prince asked me abruptly—as if seized by a grave doubt—"It is true, isn't it, that sheep eat little bushes?"

這一次,我再次要感謝那隻綿羊。因為小王子突然問我——彷彿被一個嚴重的疑慮攫住——「綿羊會吃小灌木,這是真的,對吧？」

🔊

abruptly /əˈbrʌptli/

adv. 突然地,唐突地

🔊

grave /ɡreɪv/

adj. 嚴重的,重大的

🔊 "Yes, that is true."

「是的,是真的。」

🔊 "Ah! I am glad!"

「啊！我真高興！」

🔊 I did not understand why it was so important that sheep should eat little bushes. But the little prince added:

我不明白為什麼綿羊吃小灌木這件事如此重要。但小王子接著說:

🔊 "Then it follows that they also eat baobabs?"

「那麼,牠們也會吃猴麵包樹囉？」

🔊 I pointed out to the little prince that baobabs are not little bushes, but, on the contrary, trees as big as castles; and that even if he took a whole herd of elephants away with him, the herd would not eat up one single baobab.

我向小王子指出,猴麵包樹不是小灌木,相反地,是像城堡一樣巨大的樹木；即使他帶走一整群大象,那群大象也吃不掉一棵猴麵包樹。

🔊

herd /hɜːrd/

n. 獸群,牧群

🔊 The idea of the herd of elephants made the little prince laugh.

一群大象這個想法讓小王子笑了起來。

🔊 "We would have to put them one on top of the other," he said.

「我們得把牠們一隻疊在另一隻上面才行。」他說。

🔊 But he made a wise comment:

但他提出了一個睿智的見解:

🔊

wise /waɪz/

adj. 明智的,有智慧的

🔊 "Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little."

「在長得那麼大之前,猴麵包樹起初也是小小的。」

🔊 "That is strictly correct," I said. "But why do you want the sheep to eat the little baobabs?"

「完全正確。」我說。「但你為什麼希望綿羊吃小猴麵包樹呢？」

🔊

strictly /ˈstrɪktli/

adv. 嚴格地,完全地

🔊 He answered me at once, "Oh, come, come!", as if he were speaking of something that was self-evident. And I was obliged to make a great mental effort to solve this problem, without any assistance.

他立刻回答我:「哦,拜託,拜託！」彷彿在說一件不言而喻的事情。而我不得不獨自費盡心思去解決這個問題。

🔊

self-evident /ˌself ˈevɪdənt/

adj. 不言而喻的,顯而易見的

🔊

obliged /əˈblaɪdʒd/

adj. 被迫的,有義務的

🔊 Indeed, as I learned, there were on the planet where the little prince lived—as on all planets—good plants and bad plants. In consequence, there were good seeds from good plants, and bad seeds from bad plants. But seeds are invisible. They sleep deep in the heart of the earth's darkness, until some one among them is seized with the desire to awaken. Then this little seed will stretch itself and begin—timidly at first—to push a charming little sprig inoffensively upward toward the sun. If it is only a sprout of radish or the sprig of a rose-bush, one would let it grow wherever it might wish. But when it is a bad plant, one must destroy it as soon as possible, the very first instant that one recognizes it.

確實,正如我所了解,在小王子居住的星球上——就像所有星球一樣——有好植物和壞植物。因此,有好植物的好種子,也有壞植物的壞種子。但種子是看不見的。它們沉睡在地底深處的黑暗中,直到其中一顆被喚醒的慾望攫住。然後這顆小種子會伸展自己,開始——起初怯生生地——向著太陽無害地推出一株可愛的小嫩枝。如果它只是蘿蔔的嫩芽或是玫瑰叢的枝條,人們會任由它在任何它想生長的地方生長。但如果它是一株壞植物,人們就必須在認出它的第一時間盡快摧毀它。

🔊

consequence /ˈkɒnsɪkwəns/

n. 結果,後果

🔊

invisible /ɪnˈvɪzəbl/

adj. 看不見的,隱形的

🔊

seized /siːzd/

v. 抓住,侵襲（seize 的過去分詞）

🔊

timidly /ˈtɪmɪdli/

adv. 膽怯地,羞怯地

🔊

charming /ˈtʃɑːrmɪŋ/

adj. 迷人的,有魅力的

🔊

sprig /sprɪɡ/

n. 小枝,嫩枝

🔊

inoffensively /ˌɪnəˈfensɪvli/

adv. 不冒犯地,無害地

🔊

sprout /spraʊt/

n. 新芽,嫩苗

🔊

radish /ˈrædɪʃ/

n. 小蘿蔔

🔊

rose-bush /ˈroʊz bʊʃ/

n. 玫瑰叢,薔薇叢

🔊

instant /ˈɪnstənt/

n. 瞬間,即刻

🔊 Now there were some terrible seeds on the planet that was the home of the little prince; and these were the seeds of the baobab. The soil of that planet was infested with them. A baobab is something you will never, never be able to get rid of if you attend to it too late. It spreads over the entire planet. It bores clear through it with its roots. And if the planet is too small, and the baobabs are too many, they split it in pieces . . .

現在,在小王子的家園星球上,有一些可怕的種子；這些就是猴麵包樹的種子。那個星球的土壤飽受它們侵擾。一棵猴麵包樹,如果你處理得太晚,就永遠、永遠無法擺脫它。它會蔓延覆蓋整個星球。它的根會徹底穿透星球。如果星球太小,而猴麵包樹又太多,它們會把星球撐成碎片……

🔊

infested /ɪnˈfestɪd/

adj. 滋生蔓延的,充斥的

🔊

bores /bɔːrz/

v. 鑽孔,穿透（bore 的第三人稱單數現在式）

🔊

split /splɪt/

v. 分裂,劈開（split 的現在式）

🔊 "It is a question of discipline," the little prince said to me later on. "When you've finished your own toilet in the morning, then it is time to attend to the toilet of your planet, just so, with the greatest care. You must see to it that you pull up regularly all the baobabs, at the very first moment when they can be distinguished from the rosebushes which they resemble so closely when they are very young. It is very tedious work," the little prince added, "but very easy."

「這是紀律的問題。」小王子後來對我說。「當你早上完成自己的梳洗後,就該仔細地照料你的星球的梳洗。你必須確保定期拔除所有猴麵包樹,就在它們剛長出、還與玫瑰叢極為相似、能夠被分辨出來的第一時間。這工作非常乏味,」小王子補充道,「但也很容易。」

🔊

discipline /ˈdɪsəplɪn/

n. 紀律,訓練

🔊

toilet /ˈtɔɪlət/

n. 梳洗,打扮（此處指整理、照料）

🔊

distinguished /dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃt/

adj. 區分開的,辨別出的

🔊

resemble /rɪˈzembl/

v. 類似,像

🔊

tedious /ˈtiːdiəs/

adj. 冗長乏味的,令人厭煩的

🔊 And one day he said to me: "You ought to make a beautiful drawing, so that the children where you live can see exactly how all this is. That would be very useful to them if they were to travel some day. Sometimes," he added, "there is no harm in putting off a piece of work until another day. But when it is a matter of baobabs, that always means a catastrophe. I knew a planet that was inhabited by a lazy man. He neglected three little bushes . . ."

有一天他對我說:「你應該畫一幅漂亮的圖畫,好讓你那裡的孩子们能清楚看到這一切是怎麼回事。如果他們有一天去旅行,這對他們會非常有用。有時候,」他補充說,「把工作推遲到另一天並無大礙。但如果是猴麵包樹的事,那總意味著一場災難。我知道一個星球,上面住著一個懶惰的人。他疏忽了三棵小灌木……」

🔊

inhabited /ɪnˈhæbɪtɪd/

adj. 有人居住的

🔊

neglected /nɪˈɡlektɪd/

v. 忽視,疏忽（neglect 的過去分詞）

🔊 So, as the little prince described it to me, I have made a drawing of that planet. I do not much like to take the tone of a moralist. But the danger of the baobabs is so little understood, and such considerable risks would be run by anyone who might get lost on an asteroid, that for once I am breaking through my reserve. "Children," I say plainly, "watch out for the baobabs!"

於是,按照小王子向我描述的樣子,我畫了那個星球的圖。我不太喜歡以說教者的口吻說話。但猴麵包樹的危險是如此不為人知,任何可能在小行星上迷路的人都會冒極大的風險,因此這一次我打破了沉默。『孩子們,』我直率地說,『小心猴麵包樹！』

🔊

moralist /ˈmɒrəlɪst/

n. 道德家,說教者

🔊

considerable /kənˈsɪdərəbl/

adj. 相當大的,相當多的

🔊

asteroid /ˈæstərɔɪd/

n. 小行星

🔊

reserve /rɪˈzɜːrv/

n. 矜持,保留

🔊 My friends, like myself, have been skirting this danger for a long time, without ever knowing it; and so it is for them that I have worked so hard over this drawing. The lesson which I pass on by this means is worth all the trouble it has cost me.

我的朋友們,像我一樣,長久以來一直與這個危險擦身而過,卻渾然不覺；正是為了他們,我才如此努力地繪製這幅圖畫。我通過這種方式傳遞的教訓,值得我為此付出的一切辛勞。

🔊

skirting /ˈskɜːrtɪŋ/

v. 繞過,避開（skirt 的現在分詞）

🔊 Perhaps you will ask me, "Why are there no other drawings in this book as magnificent and impressive as this drawing of the baobabs?"

也許你會問我:『為什麼這本書裡沒有其他像這幅猴麵包樹圖一樣壯觀且令人印象深刻的畫作呢？』

🔊

magnificent /mæɡˈnɪfɪsnt/

adj. 宏偉的,壯麗的

🔊

impressive /ɪmˈpresɪv/

adj. 令人印象深刻的

🔊 The reply is simple. I have tried. But with the others I have not been successful. When I made the drawing of the baobabs I was carried beyond myself by the inspiring force of urgent necessity.

答案很簡單。我嘗試過。但其他的畫我沒有成功。當我畫猴麵包樹的時候,我被緊迫必要性那鼓舞人心的力量所驅使,超越了自己。

🔊

inspiring /ɪnˈspaɪərɪŋ/

adj. 鼓舞人心的,啟發靈感的

🔊

urgent /ˈɜːrdʒənt/

adj. 緊急的,急迫的

🔊

necessity /nəˈsesəti/

n. 必要性,必需品

Chapter V (第五章)