“Five-hundred-and-one million， six-hundred-twenty-two thousand， seven-hundred-thirty-one. I am concerned with matters of consequence： I am accurate.”
“And what do you do with these stars？” “What do I do with them？”
“Yes.”
“Nothing. I own them.” “You own the stars？” “Yes.”
“But I have already seen a king who—”
“Kings do not own， they reign over. It is a very different matter.” “And what good does it do you to own the stars？”
“It does me the good of making me rich.”
“And what good does it do you to be rich？” “It makes it possible for me to buy more stars， if any are discovered.”
“This man，” the little prince said to himself， “reasons a little like my poor tippler...”
Nevertheless， he still had some more questions.
“How is it possible for one to own the stars？”
“To whom do they belong？” the businessman retorted， peevishly. “I don’t know. To nobody.”
“Then they belong to me， because I was the first person to think of it.” “Is that all that is necessary？”
“Certainly. When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody， it is yours. When you discover an island that belongs to nobody， it is yours. When you get an idea before any one else， you take out a patent on it： it is yours. So with me： I own the stars， because nobody else before me ever thought of owning them.”
“Yes， that is true，” said the little prince. “And what do you do with them？” “I administer them，” replied the businessman. “I count them and recount them. It is difficult. But I am a man who is naturally interested inmattecs of consequence.”
The little prince was still not satisfied.
“If I owned a silk scarf，” he said， “I could put it around my neck and take it away with me. If I owned a flower， I could pluck that flower and take it away with me. But you cannot pluck the stars from heaven...”
“No. But I can put them in the bank.” “Whatever does that mean？”
“That means that I write the number of my stars on a little paper. And then I put this paper in a drawer and lock it with a key.”
“And that is all？”
“That is enough，” said the businessman.
“It is entertaining，” thought the little prince. “It is rather poetic. But it is of no great consequence.”
On matters of consequence， the little prince had ideas which were very different from those of the grown-ups.
“I myself own a flower，” he continued his conversation with the businessman， “which I water every day. I own three volcanoes， which I clean out every week （for I also clean out the one that is extinct； one neverknows）. It is of some use to my volcanoes， and it is of some use to my flower， that I own them. But you are of no use to the stars...”
The businessman opened his mouth， but he found nothing to say in answer. And the little prince went away.
“The grown-ups are certainly altogether extraordinary，” he said simply， talking to himself as he continued on his journey.
10
Snowdrop
白雪公主
It was the middle of winter，when the broad flakes of snow I were falling around， that the queen of a country many thousand miles off sat working at her window. The frame of the window was made of fine black ebony， and as she sat looking out upon the snow，she pricked her finger， and three drops of blood fell upon it. Then she gazed thought-fully upon the red drops that sprinkled the white snow， and said， ‘Would that my little daughter may be as white as that snow， as red as that blood， and as black as this ebony windowframe！’ And so the little girl really did grow up； her skin was as white as snow， her cheeks as rosy as the blood， and her hair as black as ebony； and she was called Snowdrop.
But this queen died； and the king soon married another wife， who became queen， and was very beautiful， but so vain that she could not bear to think that anyone could be handsomer than she was. She had a fairy looking-glass， to which she used to go， and then she would gaze upon herself in it， and say：
Tell me， glass， tell me true！ of all the ladies in the land， Who is fairest， tell me， who？’
And the glass had always answered：
‘Thou， queen， art the fairest in all the land.’
But Snowdrop grew more and more beautiful； and when she was seven years old she was as bright as the day， and fairer than the queen herself. Then the glass one day answered the queen， when she went to look in it as usual：
‘Thou， queen， art fair， and beauteous to see， But Snowdrop is lovelier far than thee！’
When she heard this she turned pale with rage and envy， and called to one of her servants， and said， ‘Take Snowdrop away into the wide wood， that I may never see her any more.’ Then the servant led her away； but his heart melted when Snowdrop begged him to spare her life， and he said， ‘I will not hurt you， thou pretty child.’ So he left her by herself； and though he thought it most likely that the wild beasts would tear her in pieces， he felt as if a great weight were taken off his heart when he had made up his mind not to kill her but to leave her to her fate， with the chance of someone finding and saving her.
Then poor Snowdrop wandered along through the wood in great fear； and the wild beasts roared about her， but none did her any harm. In the evening she came to a cottage among the hills， and went in to rest， for her little feet would carry her no further. Everything was spruce and neat in the cottage： on the table was spread a white cloth， and there were seven little plates， seven little loaves， and seven little glasses with wine in them； and seven knives and forks laid in order； and by the wall stood seven little beds. As she was very hungry， she picked a little piece of each loaf and drank a very little wine out of each glass； and after that she thought she would lie down and rest. So she tried all the little beds； but one was too long， and another was too short， till at last the seventh suited her： and there she laid herself down and went to sleep.
