British writer

Box No. 1.

The Holy See of Canterbury held a small telescope and carefully watched the performance on the stage.

Because the holding time is a bit long, I have to change hands from time to time.

At this time,

Boom——

The drums sound,

The last act is over.

The curtain slowly closed,

After a while, the actors came out and saluted the audience.

The whole theater was filled with warm applause.

The praises were also overwhelming,

"That's great! What a great performance!"

"Hahaha! Miss Dale is amazing, she can act like anything."

"Indeed, her Lolita has no trace of Princess Anne in Roman Holiday."

…

"Huh~"

The three people in Box 1 let out a sigh of relief.

The Archbishop put down the telescope, rubbed his sore arms, and praised sincerely: "Sir Lu and Mr. Xiao are a perfect match. The original work is wonderful, and the drama is no less impressive. Of course, the actors also performed well."

Edward VII lamented,

"Indeed, the performance of the two leading actors was very good, and it even made me feel that Lolita and Humbert were in love with each other."

"Tsk..."

The Archbishop was speechless.

Edward VII's private life was chaotic when he was young;

(Not much better after taking the throne),

No wonder he said those words, thinking that Lolita had seduced Humbert first.

The archbishop said: "You are willing and I am willing...'willingness' must be based on a clear understanding of one's own behavior. If you still do it after you understand what you are doing and what consequences it will have, then it is called 'willingness'" '. When you see your child shaking her glass at you like an adult, you should send her home instead of pouring her a drink."

Edward VII laughed,

"Of course, I understand this. I am quite cautious now."

Do it carefully and don't let the outside world know, right?

The archbishop shook his head.

After chatting for a while, the audience on the first floor had almost left.

Margarita said: "Holy See, Your Majesty, we can leave now."

After saying that, he went up to support the archbishop.

The three of them walked out of the box.

At this time, Stephenson, who was waiting outside, approached and whispered something to King Edward VII.

His Majesty the King was startled.

"Has the parcel for Sir Lu been delivered to Buckingham Palace?"

"It seems to be a misunderstanding," Stephenson said.

He explains the cause and effect.

It turned out that an oil painting called "Saint" was sent to Lu Shi's old location on Braiya Road.

The name of this painting is too awesome.

And it was sent through French official channels,

Coupled with Gauguin's post-impressionist painting method, most people can't tell who the characters in the painting are.

The postman thought too much and thought it was a gift from French officials, so he delivered it to Buckingham Palace.

Edward VII laughed,

"Indeed, in the whole of Great Britain, besides the wise and mighty king, who else can be called a 'saint'? If you send it to Buckingham Palace, it is not considered a wrong delivery! Hahahahahaha..."

archbishop:"……"

Margarita: "..."

Stephenson: "..."

The three of them were fucked speechless.

Silence roars.

Edward VII himself could not laugh for long. His laughter was like a deflating balloon, gradually drying up.

He touched his nose awkwardly,

"That... 'saint' is a religious term after all. Perhaps archbishop is more appropriate?"

The archbishop's head is full of black lines,

￣□￣｜｜

My heart said,

I'm obviously still alive and well!

He coughed slightly and reminded: "I think since it is given to Sir Lu, it should have nothing to do with religion. 'Sage' is a name for great educators, thinkers, and scholars in China, and Confucius was called this. "

Edward VII suddenly realized,

"That's right. 'Saint' is quite suitable for Sir Lu."

He turned to Margarita,

"Rita, you can send it over later."

Her Royal Highness the Princess nodded happily and agreed.

Afterwards, the three people left the opera house.

Margarita first went to Buckingham Palace to pick up the painting, and then went straight to Lu Shi's official residence on Palace Street.

Lu Shi welcomed her into the house,

At the same time, two guards moved the paintings in.

Margarita briefly told the story,

Lu Shi couldn't help but laugh,

"Tahiti is a French overseas colony, and postal work can only be undertaken by soldiers. Therefore, this painting was mistakenly thought to be a gift from French officials."

As he spoke, he untied the rope that bound the painting, and then took off the covering cloth.

"Saint" is presented,

Both of them looked a little dumbfounded.

After a while, Margarita said: "What a shocking use of color."

Lu Shiqian said "hmm\

,"Even though he is not good at art, his appreciation of beauty is still online.

This "Saint" is undoubtedly Gauguin's masterpiece.

Because the regional colors are flat, the picture appears simple and plain, but the image of the "saint" in the painting is both physical and spiritual, with strong decorativeness and formal beauty.

Margarita joked: "This character, it's hard to tell that he is a teacher~"

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"Impressionism~ It's inevitable. I think it's quite similar."

He pointed at himself in the painting,

"Look, to my right, isn't there a calico cat squatting there? It's obviously me."

"Pfft~"

Her Royal Highness the Princess burst into laughter,

"You have to rely on me to identify you. Is this still a resemblance?"

Lu Shi glared at Her Royal Highness, then turned his attention to the painting.

Frankly speaking, the name "Saint" is indeed an exaggeration.

I don't dare to compare with those sages.

After thinking about it, he said: "This painting is not suitable for public display in the Lu Museum. It can only be kept privately. Move it upstairs. Hang it in the study."

Margarita said "Huh?"

"I'll arrange it!"

She was overly enthusiastic.

Lu Shi was stunned for a long time before he realized the reason.

Presumably, Her Royal Highness is worried that her portrait will be replaced and she will lose the most conspicuous position in the study.

The two asked the guards to move the painting upstairs and hang it on the wall of the study.

Wait until the guards leave,

Lu Shi pointed at the desk, then at the painting on the opposite wall, and said with a smile: "Now, when I am taking a break from writing, I will see the portrait of our witty Margarita when I stretch or take a sip of water."

Her Royal Highness the Princess blushed,

I know that I can't hide my little thoughts from the teacher,

However, being exposed like this still made her a little embarrassed, and she couldn't help but give Lu Shi a light slap.

"I didn't...well..."

Her eyes were attracted by the manuscript on the desk,

"Teacher, is that your new work? It's only been a few days since "The Moon and Sixpence" was published, and you've already started writing a novel again? And it's still in French."

On the table is a French mechanical typewriter.

Because it is far less smooth than Underwood 5, it affects Lu Shi's efficiency.

Otherwise, with the word count of "The Little Prince", he would have finished it long ago.

Margarita was curious,

"Why French?"

The most real reason is of course that the original work is in French, and the others are all translations.

And the translation is difficult to express accurately.

Take the first sentence of "The Little Prince" as an example,

"When I was six years old, I saw a wonderful illustration in a book called "True Stories" about primitive forests. It showed a python devouring a beast."

With the title "True Story", there are so many translated versions in China.

"true story\

,""Jungle Adventures\

,""The History of the Violent Beasts\

,"…

All sorts of strange things.

But this is not a problem only for Simplified Chinese translators.

For example, the translation of the Taiwan version turned out to be "The Truth of Nature\

,"Both are Chinese, but the differences are huge.

This kind of situation is also very common in the British and Japanese versions.

Of course, this cannot be blamed on the translator.

Just as Lu Shi said in his first lecture in Cambridge, the process of translation is understanding and expression.

The differences shown in the translation ultimately originate from the translator:

1. How to understand the original text;

2. How to express it in words.

Background understanding, knowledge mastery, writing style, language organization skills, word selection, translation skills...

There are simply too many variables.

And "The Little Prince" is extremely special.

It is short in length and uses language as innocent and immature as a child, which places higher demands on the translator.

Lu Shi knew French,

However, he does not necessarily understand children.

So the best way to eliminate that bunch of variables is to follow the original text.

He smiled at Margarita,

"You read it first. After reading it, you will understand why it is in French."

Margarita was shocked: "Teacher, from your tone, this novel is almost finished? Have you been writing it for a long time? During this period, I came to visit every now and then, but why didn't I hear any news... "

Lu Shi sneered,

"You also know that you came too quickly?"

"Ah this..."

Margarita blushed.

Lu Shi pinched the other person's cheek and stopped teasing her, saying: "This is not a novel...well...a fairy tale can barely be regarded as a novel. In short, it is a very short fairy tale. I can write quickly, you It must be a fast read.”

Margarita was even more surprised,

Think about what Lu Shi wrote before?

"Animal Farm", The Innocence Trilogy, "The Moon and Sixpence\

,"One is darker than the other.

If he writes fairy tales, are they also very dark?

Her Royal Highness the Princess picked up the manuscript curiously,

title:

"Le Petit Prince".

little Prince.

An interesting name.

Margarita devoted herself to reading and was soon attracted by the content of the fairy tale.

The only sound left in the room was the sound of Lu Shi tapping the typewriter.

Crack, crackle——

It provides white noise for reading, allowing Margarita to better immerse herself in the manuscript.

The sentences inside are full of childishness,

However, it also contains philosophy,

——

All adults were first children, but few remember this;

You can also feel lonely in a crowd;

When you really like someone, you will think a lot and easily do stupid things and say stupid things;

…

——

Before I knew it, the manuscript had bottomed out.

"Huh~"

Margarita breathed out and turned to Lu Shi.

And Lu Shi had already handed over the remaining manuscripts tacitly.

Margarita asked: "Is it finished?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"You read it first, and we'll talk after that."

Margarita nodded and continued reading.

As Lu Shi said, "The Little Prince" is very short, and it may not even take an hour to read it at a glance.

However, once you are struck by one of these philosophical words, you will be unable to get out for several hours.

Margarita read the last sentence:

"If a child comes to you at this time, if he smiles, if he has blond hair, if he doesn't answer when you ask him a question, you will definitely guess who he is."

"Huh~"

She let out a sigh of relief.

Lu Shi asked: "How do you feel?"

Margarita blinked in confusion,

"It's hard to tell."

The feeling after reading this fairy tale is indeed very difficult to describe.

Lu Shicheng has many works.

But no matter how profound it is, Her Royal Highness can tell you everything once she finishes reading it.

Only "The Little Prince"

After reading it, she only had the feeling of loss after saying goodbye to a good book, and then a kind of calmness, as if she had been baptized by the soul.

Lu Shi smiled,

"It seems that this fairy tale is very good."

Margarita hesitated slightly and whispered: "I read a lot of children's literature when I was a child, such as "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." I was young at that time and my reading volume was also small. , it is impossible to read it all at once, so it can only be divided into several days. Do you know how I felt during that time?"

Lu Shi said: "Excited and can't wait."

Margarita:? ? ?

"how do you know?"

The corner of Lu Shi's mouth curled up,

Who hasn’t followed an excellent online article like "The British Writer"?

Reading novels over several days is like catching up on updates, which is particularly tedious.

Margarita said: "At that time, I often had to think about the plot until I went to bed late at night, and then I was full of anticipation for the story to continue the next day."

After finishing speaking, she looked at the manuscript of "The Little Prince" and said,

"But it's different."

Lu Shi said: "Because it is short, you can read it all in one go."

Margarita rolled her eyes at Lu Shi,

"This may be one of the reasons, but it is definitely not the main reason. For example, if you had not finished writing just now, I would have gone back to Buckingham Palace with regrets, and I would have been able to sleep peacefully. This is the magical place of "The Little Prince."

Excellent fairy tale,

The plot is exciting, but it doesn't use the plot to catch people.

Lu Shi said, "You mean, it's very hypnotic?"

Margarita complained: "Can you use a better word? Peaceful, stable, and eloquent like poetry... Which of these is not better than 'hypnosis'?"

Lu Shi couldn't help laughing and replied: "You don't understand this, do you? If people say, 'The Little Prince' as children's literature, it can play a role as a bedside story to help you sleep," this is definitely the most important thing for them. A good award.”

Margarita: "..."

It seems impossible to refute.

She changed the subject,

"Teacher, I felt deeply after reading "The Little Prince", but I'm not sure whether my thoughts are consistent with the point you want to convey. Can you tell me what this fairy tale is about?"

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"If the little prince heard this question, he would definitely say, 'Sir, why do you always ask these strange questions?'"

Margarita was stunned for a while, and then became amused.

She said: "The teacher's tone is indeed like that of the little prince. What's more, the interesting thing is that the little prince only asks questions but does not answer them. Perhaps this conveys the teacher's educational philosophy and views on human nature, which is quite meaningful."

Lu Shi sighed,

"Look, look, it's here again. Don't think so deeply, just treat it as a pure fairy tale~"

Margarita was stunned again, then raised her hands in surrender,

"Yes, yes! My fault."

She looked at the manuscript again,

"I figured out the previous problem."

Lu Shi looked at the other party cautiously,

"question?"

He was a little worried.

After all, "The Little Prince" was written in 1942, and there are many epochal conflicts with the early 20th century.

For example, the narrator of the story is a pilot,

The world's first airplane was invented by the Wright brothers in 1903.

Lu Shi changed it into a "pilot" using a hot air balloon.

Fortunately, thanks to the popularity of Verne's "Five Weeks in a Balloon" throughout Europe, this change does not seem abrupt.

Lu Shi looked at Margarita worriedly,

"If you have any questions, you can ask them."

Margarita was startled,

"I just asked why it was in French. But now I have the answer."

Lu Shi was curious,

"What's the answer you found?"

Margarita said: "In fairy tales, doesn't the little prince have emotional entanglements with roses and foxes?"

Lu Shi: "..."

He whispered: "I must remind you, this is a fairy tale."

Margarita nodded,

"Of course I know this is a fairy tale. But, you have to think about those French men... humph... a French young man is engaged to his childhood sweetheart, and suddenly goes out to see wild flowers and fool around with bold and hot girls. Then he finally figured it out, went home and got married to his childhood sweetheart who had been waiting so hard for him..."

Lu Shi:? ? ?

Can the triangular relationship between the little prince, the rose, and the fox be understood this way?

Although it is outrageous, it does sound very French when it comes from the mouth of Her Royal Highness the Princess.

Moreover, the taste is particularly strong!

Lu Shi said: "Rita, this is a fairy tale."

Margarita spread her hands,

"It's a fairy tale, but it's full of the special 'romantic' feelings of French men. Especially the old man watching the sunset in it, what he said, 'As long as you chase it fast enough, the sunset will never leave you behind.'" It’s just too French.”

Lu Shi couldn't hold himself any longer.

"Rita, this! Is! A fairy tale!!!!"