小王子 chapter16

chapter 16

So then the seventh planet was the Earth.
The Earth is not just an ordinary planet!One can count,there,111 kings (not forgetting,to be sure,the Negro kings among them),7000 geographers,900000 businessmen,7500000 tipplers, 311000000 conceited men - that is to say,about 2000000000 grown-ups.
To give you an idea of the size of the Earth,I will tell you that before the invention of electricity it was necessary to maintain,over the whole of the six continents, a veritable army of 462511 lamplighters for the street lamps.
Seen from a slight distance,that would make a splendid spectacle.The movements of this army would be regulated like those of the ballet in the opera.First would come the turn of the lamplighters of New Zealand and Australia.Having set their lamps alight,these would go off to sleep.Next,the lamplighters of China and Siberia would enter for their steps in the dance,and then they too would be waved back into the wings.After that would come the turn of the lamplighters of Russia and the Indies;then those of Africa and Europe,then those of South America;then those of North America.And never would they make a mistake in the order of their entry upon the stage.It would be magnificent.
Only the man who was in charge of the single lamp at the North Pole,and his colleague who was responsible for the single lamp at the South Pole - only these two would live free from toil and care:they would be busy twice a year.

十六章

于是第七颗星球就是地球。
地球可是不一般的星球！这里有111位国王（当然，没有漏掉黑人国王），七千多个地理学家、九十多万个生意人、七百五十万个酒鬼、三亿一千一百万个爱慕虚荣的人，也就是说，大约有20亿个大人。
为了让你对地球的大小有个概念，我这么跟你说吧，在没发明电之前，六个大洲总共需要一支462511个点灯人的大部队来掌管路灯。
从远处看，那真是一幅壮观的景象。这支队伍的行动就像歌剧院的芭蕾舞团那样井然有序。最先登场的是新西兰和澳大利亚的点灯人。点亮路灯以后，他们就退场睡觉了。接下来登场的是中国和西伯利亚的点灯人，之后他们也很快退到幕后了。接着是俄罗斯和印度的点灯人，再接着是非洲和欧洲的，然后是南美洲的，最后是北美洲的。他们轮流出现，从不会搞错上场的顺序。这场面的确相当壮观。
唯独南北极各自只有一名点灯人。也唯独他们两个人过着悠闲、散漫的生活：因为他们一年到头只工作两次。