Mali princ - The Little Prince

Mali princ

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Molim svu djecu da mi oproste što sam ovu knjigu posvetio odrasloj osobi.

I ask the indulgence of the children who may read this book for dedicating it to a grown-up

Imam jedno ozbiljno izvinjenje: ta odrasla osoba je najbolji prijatelj koga

imam na svijetu.

I have a serious reason: he is the best friend I have in the world.

Imam i drugo izvinjenje: ta odrasla osoba u stanju je sve da razumije, čak i knjige za djecu.

I have another reason: this grown-up understands everything, even books about children

Imam i treće izvinjenje: ta odrasla osoba je gladna i hladno joj je.

I have a third reason: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold.

Potrebno je da je neko utješi.

He needs cheering up.

Ako sva ova izvinjenja nisu dovoljna, rado ću posvetiti ovu knjigu djetetu koje je nekad bila ta odrasla osoba.

If all these reasons are not enough, I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew.

Sve odrasle osobe su najprije bile djeca. (Ali se malo njih toga sjeća.)

All grown-ups were once children--although few of them remember it.

Ispravljam dakle svoju posvetu:

Leonu Vertu

kad je bio mali dječak

And so I correct my dedication:

TO LEON WERTH

WHEN HE WAS A LITTLE BOY

Kad mi je bilo šest godina, vidio sam jednu veličanstvenu sliku u nekoj knjizi o prašumi koja se zvala »Istinite priče«.

Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest.

Slika je predstavljala zmijskog cara kako guta neku zvijer. Evo tog crteža.

It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a

copy of the drawing.

U knjizi je pisalo: »Zmijski car guta svoju žrtvu cijelu, ne žvaćući je. Posle

toga nije u stanju da se kreće i spava šest mjeseci dok je ne svari«.

In the book it said: "Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing it. After that they are not able to move, and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion."

Mnogo sam tada razmišljao o pustolovinama u prašumi i uspio sam da

olovkom u boji nacrtam svoj prvi crtež koji je izgledao ovako:

I pondered deeply, then, over the adventures of the jungle. And after some work with a colored pencil I succeeded in making my first drawing. My Drawing Number One. It looked something like this:

Pokazivao sam svoje remek-djelo odraslima i pitao ih da li se plaše. Oni su

mi odgovarali: »Zašto bi se plašili jednog šešira?«

I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups, and asked them whether the drawing frightened them. But they answered: "Frighten? Why should any one be frightened by a hat?"

Moj crtež nije predstavljao šešir. On je predstavljao zmijskog cara koji je

progutao slona.

My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant.

Ali pošto odrasli to nisu mogli da razumeju, nacrtao sam tada zmijskog cara iznutra, kako bi odrasli mogli da shvate.

But since the grown-ups were not able to understand it, I made another drawing: I drew the inside of a boa constrictor, so that the grown-ups could see it clearly.

Njima su uvijek potrebna objašnjenja. Moj drugi crtež je izgledao ovako:

They always need to have things explained. My Drawing Number Two looked like this:

Odrasli su mi savjetovali da je bolje da se bavim geografijom, istorijom,

matematikom i gramatikom nego crtanjam zmijskog cara spolja ili iznutra.

The grown-ups' response, this time, was to advise me to lay aside my drawings of boa constrictors, whether from the inside or the outside, and devote myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar.

I tako sam u šestoj godini prekinuo sjajnu slikarsku karijeru.

That is why, at the age of six, I gave up what might have been a magnificent career as a painter.

Bio sam obeshrabren neuspjehom svog prvog i drugog crteža.

I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two.

Odrasli nikad ništa ne shvataju sami, a djecu zamara da im stalno daju objašnjenja.

Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

Morao sam, dakle, da izaberem neki drugi poziv i naučio sam da upravljam avionom.

So then I chose another profession, and learned to pilot airplanes.

Letio sam svuda pomalo. A geografija mi je, to je tačno, mnogo

koristila.

I have flown a little over all parts of the world; and it is true that geography has been very useful to me.

Umio sam da na prvi pogled razlikujem Kinu od Arizone. A to je vrlo

korisno ako čovjek zaluta noću.

At a glance I can distinguish China from Arizona. If one gets lost in the night, such knowledge is valuable.

Tako sam, tokom života, često dolazio u dodir sa mnoštvom ozbiljnih ljudi.

So, throughout my life, I often came into contact with many serious people.

Dugo sam živio među odraslima. Vidio sam ih sasvim izbliza. To nije mnogo popravilo moje mišljenje o njima.

I lived among adults for a long time. I saw them up close. That did not improve my opinion of them much.

Kada bih sreo nekog od njih ko bi mi izgledao malo bistriji, iskušavao sam ga svojim prvim crtežom, koji sam stalno čuvao.

Whenever I met one of them who seemed a little sharper, I tested him with my first drawing, which I always kept.

Želio sam da saznam da li on shvata.

I wanted to find out if he understood.

Ali dobijao sam uvijek isti odgovor: »To je šešir«.

But I always received the same answer: "That is a hat."

Poslije čega mu ne bih pričao ni o zmijskom caru, ni o prašumi, ni o zvijezdama.

After that, I would not talk to him about the snake king, the jungle, or the stars.

Razgovarao sam o temama koje on može da razumije, kao što je bridž, golf, politika ili automobili.

I talked about topics he could understand, such as bridge, golf, politics, or cars.

Odrasli su bili zadovoljni što su upoznali tako interesantna čovjeka.

The adults were pleased to have met such an interesting person.

Tako sam živio sam, bez ikog s kim bih mogao istinski razgovarati, sve dok mi se, prije šest godina, nije desio kvar na motoru aviona u pustinji Sahari.

So I lived alone, with no one to truly talk to, until, six years ago, my plane's engine broke down in the Sahara Desert.

Morao sam pokušati sasvim sam izvršiti ozbiljnu opravku. Za mene je to bilo pitanje života ili smrti. Imao sam pitke vode za osam dana.

I had to try to carry out a serious repair all by myself. For me, it was a matter of life or death. I had drinking water for eight days.

Prve večeri zaspao sam na pustinjskom pijesku hiljadama kilometara daleko od najbližeg naseljenog mjesta. Bio sam usamljeniji od brodolomnika na splavu nasred okeana.

On the first night, I fell asleep on the desert sand, thousands of kilometers away from the nearest inhabited place. I was lonelier than a shipwrecked man on a raft in the middle of the ocean.

Možete onda zamisliti moje iznenađenje kad me je u zoru probudio neki čudan glasić. Rekao je:

You can then imagine my surprise when, at dawn, a strange little voice woke me up. It said:

Molim te... nacrtaj mi ovcu!
- Please... draw me a sheep!
A?
- Huh?
Nacrtaj mi ovcu...
- Draw me a sheep...

Skočio sam na noge i protrljao oči pitajući se da li to sanjam. Ali nisam sanjao, ispred mene je stajao neobičan čovječuljak ozbiljno me promatrajući.

I jumped to my feet and rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was dreaming. But I wasn’t dreaming; in front of me stood a peculiar little man, watching me seriously.

Evo njegovog portreta koji sam, kasnije, uspio da nacrtam.

Here is his portrait, which I later managed to draw.

Ali moj crtež nije tako lijep kao njegov lik. To nije moja greška.

But my drawing is not as beautiful as his appearance. That is not my fault.

Odrasli su me, kad mi je bilo šest godina, obeshrabrili u mom slikarskom pozivu, te tako nisam ništa naučio da crtam sem zmijskog cara spolja i iznutra.

When I was six years old, adults discouraged me from my artistic aspirations, so I never learned to draw anything except a boa constrictor from the outside and the inside.

Gledao sam, dakle, ovo priviđenje širom otvorenih očiju.

So I looked at this apparition with my eyes wide open.

Ne zaboravite da sam se nalazio hiljadama kilometara daleko od bilo kog naselja.

Don’t forget that I was thousands of kilometers away from any settlement.

A nije izgledalo da je čovječuljak zalutao, niti da je umoran, gladan, žedan ili uplašen.

And it didn’t seem like the little man was lost, nor that he was tired, hungry, thirsty, or scared.

Nije nimalo ličio na dijete izgubljeno usred pustinje, hiljadama kilometara daleko od bilo kog naselja.

He did not look at all like a child lost in the middle of the desert, thousands of kilometers from any settlement.

Kada sam napokon uspio progovoriti, rekao sam:

When I finally managed to speak, I said:

Ali... šta radiš ti ovdje?
- But... what are you doing here?

On mi tada ponovi, sasvim tiho, veoma ozbiljno:

He then repeated, very quietly, very seriously:

Molim te... nacrtaj mi jednu ovcu...
- Please... draw me a sheep...

Kako je tajanstvenost djelovala na mene snažno, nisam se usudio da ne poslušam.

Since the mystery affected me so strongly, I didn’t dare refuse.

Ma koliko sve to izgledalo besmisleno hiljadama kilometara daleko od prvog nastanjenog mjesta u pustinji, izvadio sam iz džepa papir i olovku.

No matter how absurd it seemed, being thousands of kilometers away from any inhabited place in the desert, I took a piece of paper and a pencil from my pocket.

Ali se tada sjetih da sam u životu učio geografiju, istoriju, matematiku i gramatiku, te rekoh čovječuljku (malo mrzovoljno) da ne znam da crtam.

But then I remembered that in life I had studied geography, history, mathematics, and grammar, so I told the little man (a bit grumpily) that I didn’t know how to draw.

On mi odgovori:

He replied:

Nije važno. Nacrtaj mi ovcu.
- It doesn’t matter. Draw me a sheep.

Kako nikad nisam crtao ovcu, nacrtao sam mu ponovo svoj prvi crtež. Onaj što predstavlja zmijskog cara spolja.

Since I had never drawn a sheep, I once again drew my first drawing, the one representing the boa constrictor from the outside.

I bio sam preneražen kad sam čuo kako mi čovječuljak odgovara:

And I was astonished when I heard the little man reply:

Ne! Ne! Ja neću slona u zmijskom caru. Zmijski car je vrlo opasan, a slon je vrlo glomazan. Kod mene je sve tako malo. Treba mi ovca. Nacrtaj mi ovcu.
- No! No! I don’t want an elephant inside a boa constrictor. The boa is very dangerous, and the elephant is too big. Everything is so small where I live. I need a sheep. Draw me a sheep.

Tada sam počeo da crtam.

Then I started drawing.

On je pažljivo posmatrao, a zatim reče:

He observed carefully and then said:

Ne! To je već sasvim bolesna ovca. Nacrtaj mi neku drugu.
- No! This one is already very sick. Draw me another one.

Crtao sam dalje.

I kept drawing.

Moj prijatelj se nasmješio blagonaklono i rekao:

My little friend smiled kindly and said:

Vidiš dobro i sam... to nije ovca, to je ovan. Ima rogove...
- You can see for yourself... that’s not a sheep, it’s a ram. It has horns...

Ponovih, dakle, još jednom svoj crtež, ali i on je bio odbijen kao i prethodni:

So I repeated my drawing once more, but it was rejected just like the previous ones:

Ta je opet suviše stara. Ja hoću ovcu koja dugo živi.
- That one is too old. I want a sheep that will live a long time.

Tada, nemajući više strpljenja, pošto sam se žurio da rasklopim svoj motor, nažvrljah crtež.

Then, having no more patience, since I was in a hurry to dismantle my engine, I scribbled a drawing.

I dobacih:

And I tossed it over, saying:

Ovo je kutija. Ovca koju želiš je unutra.
- This is a box. The sheep you want is inside.

Bio sam vrlo iznenađen kada sam vidio da se lice mog malog sudije ozarilo:

I was very surprised when I saw the face of my little judge light up:

To je upravo ono što sam trebao! Misliš li da će toj ovci biti potrebno mnogo trave?
- That’s exactly what I needed! Do you think this sheep will need a lot of grass?
Zašto?
- Why?
Zato što je kod mene sve tako malo...
- Because everything is so small where I live...
To će joj sigurno biti dovoljno. Dao sam ti jednu sasvim malu ovcu.
- It will surely be enough. I have given you a very small sheep.

On se nagnu nad crtež:

He leaned over the drawing:

Nije baš tako mala... Gle! Zaspala je...
- It’s not that small... Look! She’s asleep...

Eto, tako sam se upoznao s malim princom.

And that’s how I met the little prince.

III

Trebalo mi je dosta vremena da shvatim odakle je došao.

It took me a long time to understand where he had come from.

Mali princ, koji mi je postavljao mnogo pitanja, kao da nikad nije čuo moja.

The little prince, who asked me many questions, never seemed to hear mine.

Riječi izgovorene slučajno, malo-pomalo su mi sve otkrile.

Words spoken by chance gradually revealed everything to me.

Tako, kad je prvi put spazio moj avion (neću da crtam svoj avion, to je isuviše komplikovan crtež za mene) on me upita:

So, when he first saw my plane (I won’t draw my plane, it’s too complicated a drawing for me), he asked me:

Kakva je to stvar?
- What is that thing?
To nije stvar. To leti. To je avion. To je moj avion.
- That’s not a thing. It flies. It’s an airplane. It’s my airplane.

Bio sam ponosan da mu ispričam kako letim.

I was proud to tell him that I could fly.

Tada on uzviknu:

Then he exclaimed:

Kako! Ti si pao s neba?
- What! You fell from the sky?

Da, priznadoh skromno.

Yes, I admitted modestly.

O! Kako je to čudno...
- Oh! How strange...

I mali princ se nasmijao grohotom što me je jako naljutilo.

And the little prince burst into laughter, which greatly annoyed me.

Želim da ljudi ozbiljno shvataju moje neprilike.

I want people to take my troubles seriously.

Zatim on nastavi:

Then he continued:

Znači da i ti dolaziš s neba! Sa koje si planete?
- So that means you also come from the sky! Which planet are you from?

Tračak svjetlosti kao da osvijetli tajnu njegovog prisustva, pa ga upitah iznenada:

A spark of light seemed to illuminate the mystery of his presence, so I asked suddenly:

Ti, dakle, dolaziš sa neke druge planete?
- So, you come from another planet?

Ali on ne odgovori.

But he did not answer.

Klimao je lagano glavom gledajući moj avion:

He gently nodded his head while looking at my plane:

Da, zbilja, u ovome nisi mogao doći iz velike daljine...
- Yes, truly, in this, you couldn’t have come from very far...

I on utonu u sanjarenje koje potraja dugo.

And he sank into a long daydream.

Zatim, izvadi iz džepa moju ovcu i udubi se u posmatranje svog blaga.

Then, he took my sheep out of his pocket and became absorbed in observing his treasure.

Možete zamisliti koliko je radoznalosti probudilo u meni to polupovjerljivo saopštenje o »drugim planetama«.

You can imagine how much curiosity this semi-confidential statement about "other planets" awakened in me.

Nastojao sam da o tome saznam što više:

I tried to learn as much as possible about it:

Odakle dolaziš, mališa? Gdje je to »kod tebe«?
- Where do you come from, little one? Where is "your place"?

Kuda hoćeš da odneseš moju ovcu?

- Where do you want to take my sheep?

On mi odgovori posle dugog ćutanja:

He answered me after a long silence:

Kutija koju si mi dao ima tu dobru stranu što može noću da joj posluži kao kuća.
- The box you gave me has the good side that it can serve as her house at night.
Naravno. I ako si dobar, dobićeš i konopac da je danju vežeš. I kočić.
- Of course. And if you're good, you’ll also get a rope to tie her during the day. And a stake.

Izgleda da je taj prijedlog zgranuo malog princa:

It seemed that this suggestion shocked the little prince:

Da je vežem? Kakva čudna misao!
- To tie her? What a strange idea!
Ali ako je ne vežeš, odlutaće, pa će se izgubiti...
- But if you don’t tie her, she’ll wander off and get lost...

Moj prijatelj ponovo prsnu u smijeh:

My friend burst into laughter again:

Ali kud će da odluta?
- But where would she wander off to?
Ma kud. Pravo ispred sebe...
- Anywhere. Straight ahead...

Tada mali princ primjeti ozbiljno:

Then the little prince remarked seriously:

Nije važno, kod mene je sve tako malo!
- It doesn’t matter, everything is so small where I live!

I sa malo tuge doda:

And with a bit of sadness, he added:

Pravo ispred sebe daleko se ne stiže...
- Straight ahead, you don’t get very far...

Tako sam saznao još jednu važnu stvar: da je planeta na kojoj je rođen jedva malo veća od neke kuće!

That's how I learned one more important thing: that the planet he was born on was barely larger than a house!

To me nije mnogo iznenadilo.

That didn’t surprise me much.

Znao sam dobro da osim velikih planeta kakve su Zemlja, Jupiter, Mars, Venera, kojima su data imena, postoje na stotine drugih koje su ponekad tako male da se jedva mogu sagledati teleskopom.

I knew well that, besides the big planets like Earth, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus, which have names, there are hundreds of others which are sometimes so small that they can hardly be seen through a telescope.

Kada neki astronom otkrije jednu od njih, on joj umjesto imena daje broj.

When an astronomer discovers one of them, he gives it a number instead of a name.

Nazove je na primjer, »asteroid 3251«.

He calls it, for example, “asteroid 3251.”

Imam ozbiljnih razloga da vjerujem da je planeta sa koje je došao mali princ asteroid B 612.

I have serious reasons to believe that the planet the little prince came from is asteroid B 612.

Jedan turski astronom primijetio je teleskopom taj asteroid 1909. godine, i to samo jedanput.

A Turkish astronomer observed that asteroid through a telescope in 1909, and only once.

On je tada svečano prikazao svoje otkriće na Međunarodnom kongresu astronoma.

He presented his discovery solemnly at the International Astronomical Congress.

Ali mu niko nije vjerovao, zbog njegovog odijela.

But no one believed him, because of the way he was dressed.

Takvi su odrasli.

Grown-ups are like that.

Srećom po asteroid B 612, neki turski diktator je, pod prijetnjom smrti, nametnuo svom narodu evropski način odijevanja.

Fortunately for asteroid B 612, a Turkish dictator later forced his people, under threat of death, to dress in European style.

Astronom je ponovio svoj prikaz 1920. godine, vrlo otmjeno obučen.

The astronomer repeated his presentation in 1920, dressed very elegantly.

I ovoga puta svi su bili njegovog mišljenja.

And this time, everyone agreed with him.

Ispričao sam vam ove pojedinosti o asteroidu B 612 i povjerio sam vam njegov broj, samo zbog odraslih.

I’ve told you these details about asteroid B 612 and given you its number only because of grown-ups.

Odrasli vole brojeve.

Grown-ups love numbers.

Kad im pričate o nekom novom prijatelju, nikad vas neće zapitati o onom što je bitno.

When you talk to them about a new friend, they never ask about the important things.

Nikad vam neće reći: »Kakva je boja njegovog glasa? Koje su mu najomiljenije igre? Da li skuplja leptire?

«They never ask: “What color is his voice? What are his favorite games? Does he collect butterflies?”

Nego vas pitaju: »Koliko mu je godina? Koliko ima braće? Koliko je težak? Koliko zarađuje njegov otac?

«Instead, they ask: “How old is he? How many brothers does he have? How much does he weigh? How much does his father earn?”

Tek tada smatraju da ga poznaju.

Only then do they think they know him.

Ako kažete odraslima: »Vidio sam jednu lijepu kuću sa geranijumom u prozorima i golubovima na krovu...«, oni nisu u stanju da zamisle tu kuću.

If you say to grown-ups: “I saw a beautiful house with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof...,” they aren’t able to imagine that house.

Treba im reći: »Vidio sam kuću od tristo hiljada maraka«.

You have to say: “I saw a house worth three hundred thousand marks.”

Tada će uzviknuti: »Mora da je jako lijepa!

«Then they will exclaim: “How lovely!”

Isto tako, kad biste im rekli: »Dokaz da je mali princ postojao je taj što je bio divan, što se smijao i što je želio da ima ovcu.

Likewise, if you were to say to them: “The proof that the little prince existed is that he was delightful, that he laughed, and that he wanted a sheep.”

Kad neko hoće da ima ovcu, to je dokaz da postoji«, oni bi slegnuli ramenima i smatrali vas djetetom.

“If someone wants a sheep, that proves they exist,” they would shrug and think you’re a child.

Ali ako im kažete: »Zvijezda sa koje je on došao jeste asteroid B 612« ubjedićete ih i neće vam dalje dosađivati pitanjima.

But if you say: “The planet he came from is asteroid B 612,” they will be convinced and will no longer bother you with questions.

Takvi su oni. Ne treba im zamjeriti.

That’s how they are. You mustn’t hold it against them.

Djeca treba da budu veoma popustljiva prema odraslima.

Children must be very forgiving of grown-ups.

Ali, naravno, mi koji shvatamo život, mi ne mislimo mnogo na brojeve.

But of course, we who understand life don’t care much for numbers.

Volio bih da sam ovu priču počeo kao bajku.

I wish I had started this story like a fairytale.

Recimo: »Bio jednom jedan mali princ koji je živio na nekoj planeti jedva nešto većoj od njega samog, i kome je bio potreban prijatelj...

«Something like: “Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet barely bigger than himself, and who needed a friend...”

Za one koji shvataju život, to bi izgledalo daleko istinitije.

To those who understand life, that would sound much truer.

Jer ja ne volim da se moja knjiga čita površno.

Because I don’t like my book to be read superficially.

Ja sa toliko tuge pričam ove uspomene.

I tell these memories with so much sadness.

Prošlo je već šest godina otkako je moj prijatelj otišao sa svojom ovcom.

It’s been six years since my friend left with his sheep.

To što ovdje pokušavam da ga opišem, to je zato da ga ne bih zaboravio.

What I’m trying to do here is to describe him so I don’t forget him.

Žalosno je zaboraviti prijatelja.

It’s sad to forget a friend.

Nemaju svi prijatelja.

Not everyone has a friend.

I ja mogu postati kao odrasli koje interesuju samo brojevi.

And I, too, could become like the grown-ups who are only interested in numbers.

Zbog toga sam kupio kutiju s bojicama i olovkama.

That’s why I bought a box of crayons and pencils.

Nije lako vratiti se crtanju u mojim godinama, kada čovjek nikad ništa nije pokušao da nacrta osim zmijskog cara spolja i iznutra, i to u svojoj šestoj godini!

It’s not easy to go back to drawing at my age, especially when one has never tried to draw anything except the boa constrictor from the outside and the inside, and that at the age of six!

Potrudiću se, naravno, da nacrtam njegov lik što je moguće vjernije.

Of course, I will do my best to draw his face as faithfully as possible.

Ali nisam sasvim siguran da ću pogoditi.

But I’m not completely sure I’ll get it right.

Jedan crtež i uspije nekako, ali drugi ne liči više.

One drawing works out somehow, but the next doesn’t look like him at all.

Isto se tako malo varam i u pogledu rasta.

I also get his height a bit wrong.

Na ovoj slici mali princ je suviše visok. Na onoj suviše mali.

In one drawing the little prince is too tall. In another, too short.

Nisam više siguran što se tiče boje njegovog odijela.

I’m no longer sure about the color of his outfit.

Onda nagađam, malo ovako, malo onako, kako znam.

So I guess, a bit this way, a bit that, as best I can.

Prevariću se, uostalom i u nekim značajnijim pojedinostima.

I’ll get some important details wrong as well.

Ali, to mi treba oprostiti.

But that must be forgiven.

Moj prijatelj mi nije ništa objašnjavao.

My friend didn’t explain anything to me.

Možda je vjerovao da ličim na njega.

Maybe he thought I was like him.

Ali ja, na žalost, ne mogu da vidim ovcu kroz kutiju.

But unfortunately, I can’t see the sheep through the box.

Možda sam pomalo sličan odraslima.

Maybe I’m a bit like the grown-ups.

Mora da sam ostario.

I must have grown old.

Svakog dana bih doznao nešto novo o planeti, o odlasku, o putovanju.

Every day I would learn something new about the planet, about departure, about traveling.

To je dolazilo sasvim lagano, kako bi mi palo na pamet.

It came quite easily, as it occurred to me.

Tako sam, trećeg dana, čuo uzbudljivu priču o baobabima.

So, on the third day, I heard an exciting story about baobabs.

I ovoga puta bilo je to zahvaljujući ovci, jer me mali princ, kao obuzet nekom ozbiljnom sumnjom, iznenada upita:

This time, too, it was thanks to the sheep, because the little prince, as if seized by a serious doubt, suddenly asked me:

Istina je, zar ne, da ovce jedu šiblje?
"Sheep eat bushes, don’t they?"
Da, to je istina.
"Yes, that’s true."
Ah! Zadovoljan sam.
"Ah! I'm satisfied."

Nisam razumio zašto je tako važno što ovce jedu šiblje.

I didn’t understand why it was so important that sheep eat bushes.

Ali mali princ dodade:

But the little prince added:

Prema tome, one jedu i baobabe.
"So, they also eat baobabs."

Skrenuh pažnju malom princu da baobabi nisu šiblje, već drveće veliko kao zgrada,

I pointed out to the little prince that baobabs are not bushes, but trees as big as buildings,

i da čak i kada bi sobom poveo čitavo krdo slonova, ti slonovi ne bi mogli da izadju na kraj ni sa jednim jedinim baobabom.

and that even if he brought along a whole herd of elephants, they wouldn’t be able to deal with a single baobab.

Pomisao na krdo slonova zasmija malog princa.

The thought of a herd of elephants made the little prince laugh.

Trebalo bi ih naslagati jedan na drugi...
"You’d have to stack them on top of one another..."

Ali mudro primjeti:

But he wisely noted:

I baobabi su mali dok ne porastu.
"Baobabs are small before they grow up."
To je tačno. Ali zašto hoćeš da tvoja ovca pojede male baobabe?
"That’s true. But why do you want your sheep to eat the little baobabs?"

On mi odgovori: » Ma daj, molim te!« kao da je to sasvim jasno.

He replied, "Oh come on, please!" as if it were completely obvious.

Morao sam se potruditi da bih to razumio.

I had to work hard to understand it.

I zbilja, na planeti malog princa bilo je, kao i na svim drugim planetama, dobrog bilja i korova.

Indeed, on the little prince’s planet, as on all other planets, there were good plants and weeds.

Prema tome, i sjemena dobrog bilja, a i sjemena lošeg korova.

Therefore, seeds of good plants, and seeds of bad weeds too.

Ali sjeme je nevidljivo.

But the seed is invisible.

Ono spava skriveno u zemlji sve dok mu ne padne na pamet da se probudi.

It sleeps hidden in the ground until it suddenly decides to wake up.

Tada se ono isteže i tjera najprije plašljivo prema suncu jedan čarobni mali bezazleni izdanak.

Then it stretches and timidly pushes one charming, harmless little sprout toward the sun.

Ako je u pitanju izdanak rotkvice ili ruže, možemo ga slobodno pustiti da raste.

If it’s a sprout of a radish or a rose, we can let it grow freely.

Ali ako je u pitanju korov, moramo ga odmah iščupati, čim ga prepoznamo.

But if it’s a weed, we must pull it out immediately, as soon as we recognize it.

Na planeti malog princa bilo je strašnog sjemenja... to je bilo sjemenje baobaba.

On the little prince’s planet, there were terrible seeds... they were the seeds of baobabs.

Tlo na njegovoj planeti bilo ga je prepuno.

The soil on his planet was full of them.

A ako baobaba ne iščupamo na vrijeme, nikada ga se ne možemo osloboditi.

And if we don’t pull out the baobab in time, we can never get rid of it.

On preplavi cijelu planetu.

It floods the entire planet.

Razriva je svojim korjenjem.

It tears it apart with its roots.

I ako je planeta veoma mala, a baobaba ima u velikom broju, planeta će se rasprsnuti.

And if the planet is very small, and there are many baobabs, the planet will burst apart.

»To je pitanje reda, rekao mi je kasnije mali princ.

"It’s a matter of discipline," the little prince told me later.

Kada čovjek završi svoje jutarnje uredjivanje, treba pažljivo da uredi i planetu.

When a person finishes their morning grooming, they must carefully tend to their planet too.

Treba redovno čupati baobabe čim se počnu razlikovati od ruža, a oni su jako slični kada su sasvim mali.

You must regularly pull out the baobabs as soon as they can be told apart from the roses, and they look very similar when they’re very small.

To je vrlo dosadan posao ali i veoma lak.

It’s a very tedious job but also a very easy one.

Jednog dana me je posavjetovao da se potrudim i da nacrtam lijep crtež o tome da pomognem djeci da to zapamte.

One day he advised me to try and draw a nice illustration about it, to help children remember.

»Ako budu jednog dana putovali, reče mi on, to im može koristiti.

"If they travel someday," he told me, "it might be useful to them.

Ponekad nije loše odložiti svoj posao za kasnije.

Sometimes it’s not a bad idea to postpone your work.

Ali kad su u pitanju baobabi, to je uvijek strašna nesreća.

But when it comes to baobabs, that’s always a terrible disaster.

Poznavao sam jednu planetu na kojoj je stanovao neki ljenjivac.

I knew of a planet where a lazy man lived.

On je propustio da iščupa tri mlada izdanka baobaba...

He failed to pull out three young baobab shoots...

I tako, prema uputstvima malog princa, nacrtao sam tu planetu.

And so, according to the little prince’s instructions, I drew that planet.

Ne volim pametovati i dijeliti savjete,

I don’t like preaching and giving advice,

ali opasnost od baobaba je tako malo poznata,

but the danger of baobabs is so little known,

a one koji zalutaju na neki asteroid vrebaju tako velike nesreće

and those who stray onto some asteroid face such great dangers

da sam ovoga puta napravio izuzetak i prestao da se uzdržavam.

that this time I made an exception and stopped holding back.

Rekoh: »Djeco, čuvajte se baobaba!«

I said: "Children, beware of baobabs!"

Na tom crtežu sam toliko radio samo zato da bih svoje prijatelje upozorio na opasnostI

worked so hard on that drawing only to warn my friends of the danger

koja i njima i meni već dugo vremena prijeti iako toga nismo svjesni.

that has long threatened both them and me, though we are unaware of it.

No, vrijedilo je truda.

But it was worth the effort.

Možda ćete se pitati: Zašto u ovoj knjizi nema i drugih isto tako veličanstvenih crteža kao što je crtež baobaba?

You might ask: Why aren’t there other equally magnificent drawings in this book as the baobab one?

Odgovor je sasvim jednostavan: Pokušao sam, ali nisam uspio.

The answer is very simple: I tried, but I didn’t succeed.

Kada sam crtao baobabe, bio sam nadahnut osjećanjem da se ne smije odlagati.

When I was drawing the baobabs, I was inspired by a feeling that one must not postpone.

Mali princ - The Little Prince

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