英文小說連載《小王子》No.10 國王

　　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。他就開始訪問這幾顆星球，想在那里找點事干，并且學(xué)習(xí)學(xué)習(xí)。

　　第一顆星球上住著一個國王。國王穿著用紫紅色和白底黑花的毛皮做成的大禮服，坐在一個很簡單卻又十分威嚴的寶座上。

　　當(dāng)他看見小王子時，喊了起來：

　　“啊，來了一個臣民。”

　　小王子思量著：“他從來也沒有見過我，怎么會認識我呢？”

　　他哪里知道，在那些國王的眼里，世界是非常簡單的：所有的人都是臣民。

　　國王十分驕傲，因為他終于成了某個人的國王，他對小王子說道：“靠近些，好讓我好好看看你。”

　　小王子看看四周，想找個地方坐下來，可是整個星球被國王華麗的白底黑花皮袍占滿了。他只好站在那里，但是因為疲倦了，他打起哈欠來。

　　君王對他說：“在一個國王面前打哈欠是違反禮節(jié)的。我禁止你打哈欠。”

　　小王子羞愧地說道：“我實在忍不住，我長途跋涉來到這里，還沒有睡覺呢。”

　　國王說：“那好吧，我命令你打哈欠。好些年來我沒有看見過任何人打哈欠。對我來說，打哈欠倒是新奇的事。來吧，再打個哈欠！這是命令。”

　　“這倒叫我有點緊張…我打不出哈欠來了…”小王子紅著臉說。

　　“嗯！嗯！”國王回答道：“那么我…命令你忽而打哈欠，忽而…”

　　他嘟嘟囔囔，顯出有點惱怒。

　　因為國王所要求的主要是保持他的威嚴受到尊敬。他不能容忍不聽他的命令。他是一位絕對的君主�？墒�，他卻很善良，他下的命令都是有理智的。

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

　　小王子靦腆地試探道：“我可以坐下嗎？”

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

　　可是小王子感到很奇怪。這么小的行星，國王他對什么進行統(tǒng)治呢？

　　他對國王說：“陛下…請原諒，我想問您…”

　　國王急忙搶著說道：“我命令你問我。”

　　“陛下…你統(tǒng)治什么呢？”

　　國王非常簡單明了地說：“我統(tǒng)治一切。”

　　“一切？”

　　國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：“統(tǒng)治這一切？”

　　“統(tǒng)治這一切。”

　　原來他不僅是一個絕對的君主，而且是整個宇宙的君主。

　　“那么，星星都服從您嗎？”

　　“那當(dāng)然！”國王對他說，“它們立即就得服從。我是不允許無紀律的。”

　　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，也不必要去挪動椅子了！由于他想起了他那被遺棄的小星球，心里有點難過，他大膽地向國王提出了一個請求：

　　“我想看日落，請求您…命令太陽落山吧…”

　　國王說道：“如果我命令一個將軍象一只蝴蝶那樣從這朵花飛到那朵花，或者命令他寫作一個悲劇劇本或者變一只海鳥，而如果這位將軍接到命令不執(zhí)行的話，那么，是他不對還是我不對呢？”

　　“那當(dāng)然是您的不對。”小王子肯定地回答。

　　“一點也不錯，”國王接著說，“向每個人提出的要求應(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，他們非起來革命不可。我的命令是合理的，所以我有權(quán)要別人服從。”

　　“那么我提出的日落呢？”小王子一旦提出一個問題，他是不會忘記這個問題的。

　　“日落么，你會看到的。我一定要太陽落山，不過按照我的統(tǒng)治科學(xué)，我得等到條件成熟的時候。”

　　小王子問道：“這要等到什么時候呢？”

　　國王在回答之前，首先翻閱了一本厚厚的日歷，嘴里慢慢說道：“嗯！嗯！日落大約…大約…在今晚七時四十分的時候！你將看到我的命令一定會被服從的。”

　　小王子又打起哈欠來了。他遺憾沒有看到日落。他有點厭煩了，他對國王說：“我沒有必要再呆在這兒了。我要走了。”

　　這位因為剛剛有了一個臣民而十分驕傲自得的國王說道：

　　“別走，別走。我任命你當(dāng)大臣。”

　　“什么大臣”

　　“嗯……司法大臣！”

　　“可是，這兒沒有一個要審判的人。”

　　“很難說呀，”國王說道。“我很老了，我這地方又小，沒有放鑾駕的地方，另外，一走路我就累。因此我還沒有巡視過我的王國呢！”

　　“噢！可是我已經(jīng)看過了。”小王子說道，并探身朝星球的那一側(cè)看了看。那邊也沒有一個人…

　　“那么你就審判你自己呀！”國王回答他說。“這可是最難的了。審判自己比審判別人要難得多啊！你要是能審判好自己，你就是一個真正有才智的人。”

　　“我嗎，隨便在什么地方我都可以審度自己。我沒有必要留在這里。”

　　國王又說：“嗯…嗯…我想，在我的星球上有一只老耗子。夜里，我聽見它的聲音。你可以審判它，不時地判處它死刑。因此它的生命取決于你的判決�？墒�，你要有節(jié)制地使用這只耗子，每次判刑后都要赦免它，因為只有這一只耗子。”

　　“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。”國王說。

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

　　國王什么也沒有回答。起初，小王子有些猶疑不決，隨后嘆了口氣，就離開了…

　　“我派你當(dāng)我的大使。”國王匆忙地喊道。

　　國王顯出非常有權(quán)威的樣子。

　　小王子在旅途中自言自語地說：“這些大人真奇怪。”