Chapter 23

“Good morning,” said the little prince.

“Good morning,” said the merchant.

This was a merchant who sold pills that had been invented to quench thirst. You need only swallow one pill a week, and you would feel no need of anything to drink.

“Why are you selling those?” asked the little prince.

“Because they save a tremendous amount of time,” said the merchant.

“Computations have been made by experts. With these pills, you save fifty−three minutes in every week.”

“And what do I do with those fifty−three minutes?”

“Anything you like…”

“As for me,” said the little prince to himself, “if I had fifty−three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water.”

Appendix

早上好。小王子说。

早上好，商人回答。

这个商人在卖一种药。这个商人发明了一种解渴药，只要吃一片，就可以一个星期不喝水。

小王子问，你为什么要卖这个？

商人说，专家统计过了，只要吃这个药，每个星期就可以节省 54 分钟喝水的时间。

小王子问，省下来的 54 分钟，用来干什么呢？

商人说，任何你想做的事。

小王子说，对我来说的话，如果有 54 分钟的时间，我就可以更悠闲地朝泉水走去。