Маленький принц
Chapter 4
"Howmanybrothersdoeshehave?"
"Howmuchdoesheweigh?"
"Howmuchmoneydoeshisfathermake?" Onlythendotheythinktheyknowhim. Ifyoutellgrown-ups, "Isawabeautifulredbrickhouse,withgeraniumsatthewindowsanddovesontheroof..." theywon’tbeabletoimaginesuchahouse. Youhavetotellthem,"Isawahouseworthahundredthousandfrancs." Thentheyexclaim,"Whataprettyhouse!"
Soifyoutellthem: "Theproofofthelittleprince’sexistenceisthathewasdelightful, thathelaughed,andthathewantedasheep. Whensomeonewantsasheep,thatprovesheexists," theyshrugtheirshouldersandtreatyoulikeachild!
Butifyoutellthem:"TheplanethecamefromisAsteroidB-612," thenthey’llbeconvinced,andtheywon’tbotheryouwiththeirquestions. That’sthewaytheyare. Youmustnotholditagainstthem. Childrenshouldbeveryunderstandingofgrown-ups.
But,ofcourse,thoseofuswhounderstandlifecouldn’tcarelessaboutnumbers! Ishouldhavelikedtobeginthisstorylikeafairytale. Ishouldhavelikedtosay:
"Onceuponatimetherewasalittleprince wholivedonaplanethardlyanybiggerthanhewas,andwhoneededafriend..." Forthosewhounderstandlife,thatwouldsoundmuchtruer.
Thefactis,Idon’twantmybooktobetakenlightly. Tellingthesememoriesissopainfulforme. It’salreadybeensixyearssincemyfriendwentaway,takinghissheepwithhim. Itrytodescribehimhere,soIwon’tforgethim. It’ssadtoforgetafriend.
