《小王子》小说及翻译（中）

Chapter 11

- the little prince visits the conceited man The second planet was inhabited by a conceited man."Ah! Ah! I am about to receive a visit from an admirer!" he exclaimed from afar, when he first saw the little prince coming. For, to conceited men, all other men are admirers. "Good morning," said the little prince. "That is a queer hat you are wearing." "It is a hat for salutes," the conceited man replied. "It is to raise in salute when people acclaim me. Unfortunately, nobody at all ever passes this way." "Yes?" said the little prince, who did not understand what the conceited man was talking about. "Clap your hands, one against the other," the conceited man now directed him. The little prince clapped his hands. The conceited man raised his hat in a modest salute. "This is more entertaining than the visit to the king," the little prince said to himself. And he began again to clap his hands, one against the other. The conceited man against raised his hat in salute. After five minutes of this exercise the little prince grew tired of the game's monotony. "And what should one do to make the hat come down?" he asked. But the conceited man did not hear him. Conceited people never hear anything but praise. "Do you really admire me very much?" he demanded of the little prince. "What does that mean-- 'admire'?" "To admire mean that you regard me as the handsomest, the best-dressed, the richest, and the most intelligent man on this planet." "But you are the only man on your planet!" "Do me this kindness. Admire me just the same." "I admire you," said the little prince, shrugging his shoulders slightly, "but what is there in that to interest you so much?" And the little prince went away. "The grown-ups are certainly very odd," he said to himself, as he continued on his journey.

第二个行星上住着一个爱虚荣的人。 “喔唷！一个崇拜我的人来拜访了！”这个爱虚荣的人一见到小王子，老远就叫喊起来。 在那些爱虚荣的人眼里，别人都成了他们的崇拜者。 “你好！”小王子说道。“你的帽子很奇怪。” “这是为了向人致意用的。”爱虚荣的人回答道，“当人们向我欢呼的时候，我就用帽子向他们致意。可惜，没有一个人经过这里。” 小王子不解其意。说道：“啊？是吗？” 爱虚荣的人向小王子建议道：“你用一只手去拍另一只手。” 小王子就拍起巴掌来。这位爱虚荣者就谦逊地举起帽子向小王子致意。 小王子心想：“这比访问那位国王有趣。”于是他又拍起巴掌来。爱虚荣者又举起帽子来向他致意。 小王子这样做了五分钟，之后对这种单调的把戏有点厌倦了，说道： “要想叫你的帽子掉下来，该怎么做呢？” 可这回爱虚荣者听不进他的话，因为凡是爱虚荣的人只听得进赞美的话。 他问小王子道：“你真的钦佩我吗？” “钦佩是什么意思？” “钦佩么，就是承认我是星球上最美的人，服饰最好的人，最富有的人，最聪明的人。” “可您是您的星球上唯一的人呀！” “让我高兴吧，请你还是来钦佩我吧！” 小王子轻轻地耸了耸肩膀，说道：“我钦佩你，可是，这有什么能使你这样感兴趣的？” 于是小王子就走开了。 小王子在路上自言自语地说了一句：“这些大人，肯定是十分古怪的。”

Chapter 12

- the little prince visits the tippler The next planet was inhabited by a tippler. This was a very short visit, but it plunged the little prince into deep dejection. "What are you doing there?" he said to the tippler, whom he found settled down in silence before a collection of empty bottles and also a collection of full bottles. "I am drinking," replied the tippler, with a lugubrious air. "Why are you drinking?" demanded the little prince. "So that I may forget," replied the tippler. "Forget what?" inquired the little prince, who already was sorry for him. "Forget that I am ashamed," the tippler confessed, hanging his head. "Ashamed of what?" insisted the little prince, who wanted to help him. "Ashamed of drinking!" The tippler brought his speech to an end, and shut himself up in an impregnable silence. And the little prince went away, puzzled. "The grown-ups are certainly very, very odd," he said to himself, as he continued on his journey. 小王子所访问的下一个星球上住着一个酒鬼。访问时间非常短，可是它却使小王子非常忧伤。 “你在干什么？”小王子问酒鬼，这个酒鬼默默地坐在那里，面前有一堆酒瓶子，有的装着酒，有的是空的。 “我喝酒。”他阴沉忧郁地回答道。 “你为什么喝酒？”小王子问道。 “为了忘却。”酒鬼回答。 小王子已经有些可怜酒鬼。他问道：“忘却什么呢？” 酒鬼垂下脑袋坦白道：“为了忘却我的羞愧。” “你羞愧什么呢？”小王子很想救助他。 “我羞愧我喝酒。”酒鬼说完以后就再也不开口了。 小王子迷惑不解地离开了。 在旅途中，他自言自语地说道：“这些大人确实真叫怪。”

Chapter 13

- the little prince visits the businessman The fourth planet belonged to a businessman. This man was so much occupied that he did not even raise his head at the little prince's arrival. "Good morning," the little prince said to him. "Your cigarette has gone out." "Three and two make five. Five and seven make twelve. Twelve and three make fifteen. Good morning. Fifteen and seven make twenty-two. Twenty-two and six make twenty-eight. I haven't time to light it again. Twenty-six and five make thirty-one. Phew! Then that makes five-hundred-and-one-million, six-hundred-twenty-two-thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one." "Five hundred million what?" asked the little prince. "Eh? Are you still there? Five-hundred-and-one million-- I can't stop... I have so much to do! I am concerned with matters of consequence. I don't amuse myself with balderdash. Two and five make seven..." "Five-hundred-and-one million what?" repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question once he had asked it.The businessman raised his head. "During the fifty-four years that I have inhabited this planet, I have been disturbed only three times. The first time was twenty-two years ago, when some giddy goose fell from goodness knows where. He made the most frightful noise that resounded all over the place, and I made four mistakes in my addition. The second time, eleven years ago, I was disturbed by an attack of rheumatism. I don't get enough exercise. I have no time for loafing. The third time-- well, this is it! I was saying, then, five -hundred-and-one millions--" "Millions of what?" The businessman suddenly realized that there was no hope of being left in peace until he answered this question. "Millions of those little objects," he said, "which one sometimes sees in the sky." "Flies?" "Oh, no. Little glittering objects." "Bees?" "Oh, no. Little golden objects that set lazy men to idle dreaming. As for me, I am concerned with matters of consequence. There is no time for idle dreaming in my life." "Ah! You mean the stars?" "Yes, that's it. The stars." "And what do you do with five-hundred millions of stars?" "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 ever 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 in matters 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 never knows). 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.

第四个行星是一个实业家的星球。这个人忙得不可开交，小王子到来的时候，他甚至连头都没有抬一下。 小王子对他说：“您好。您的烟卷灭了。” “三加二等于五。五加七等于十二。十二加三等于十五。你好。十五加七，二十二。二十二加六，二十八。没有时间去再点着它。二十六加五，三十一。哎哟！一共是五亿一百六十二万二千七百三十一。” “五亿什么呀？” “嗯？你还待在这儿那？五亿一百万…我也不知道是什么了。我的工作很多…我是很严肃的，我可是从来也没有功夫去闲聊！二加五得七…” “五亿一百万什么呀？”小王子重复问道。一旦他提出了一个问题，是从来也不会放弃的。 这位实业家抬起头，说： “我住在这个星球上五十四年以来，只被打搅过三次。第一次是二十二年前，不知从哪里跑来了一只金龟子来打搅我。它发出一种可怕的噪音，使我在一笔帐目中出了四个差错。第二次，在十一年前，是风湿病发作，因为我缺乏锻炼所致。我没有功夫闲逛。我可是个严肃的人。现在…这是第三次！我计算的结果是五亿一百万…” “几百万什么？” 这位实业家知道要想安宁是无望的了，就说道： “几百万个小东西，这些小东西有时出现在天空中。” “苍蝇吗？” “不是，是些闪闪发亮的小东西。” “是蜜蜂吗？” “不是，是金黄色的小东西，这些小东西叫那些懒汉们胡思乱想。我是个严肃的人。我没有时间胡思乱想。” “啊，是星星吗？” “对了，就是星星。” “你要拿这五亿星星做什么？” “五亿一百六十二万七百三十一颗星星。我是严肃的人，我是非常精确的。” “你拿这些星星做什么？” “我要它做什么？” “是呀。” “什么也不做。它们都是属于我的。” “星星是属于你的？” “是的。” “可是我已经见到过一个国王，他…” “国王并不占有，他们只是进行‘统治’。这不是一码事。” “你拥有这许多星星有什么用？” “富了就可以去买别的星星，如果有人发现了别的星星的话。” 小王子自言自语地说：“这个人想问题有点象那个酒鬼一样。” 可是他又提了一些问题： “你怎么能占有星星呢？” “那么你说星星是谁的呀？”实业家不高兴地顶了小王子一句。 “我不知道，不属于任何人。” “那么，它们就是我的，因为是我第一个想到了这件事情的。” “这就行了吗？” “那当然。如果你发现了一颗没有主人的钻石，那么这颗钻石就是属于你的。当你发现一个岛是没有主的，那么这个岛就是你的。当你首先想出了一个办法，你就去领一个专利证，这个办法就是属于你的。既然在我之前不曾有任何人想到要占有这些星星，那我就占有这些星星。” “这倒也是。可是你用它们来干什么？”小王子说。 “我经营管理这些星星。我一遍又一遍地计算它们的数目。这是一件困难的事。但我是一个严肃认真的人！” 小王子仍然还不满足，他说： “对我来说，如果我有一条围巾，我可以用它来围着我的脖子，并且能带走它。我有一朵花的话，我就可以摘下我的花，并且把它带走。可你却不能摘下这些星星呀！” “我不能摘，但我可以把它们存在银行里。” “这是什么意思呢？” “这就是说，我把星星的数目写在一片小纸头上，然后把这片纸头锁在一个抽屉里。” “这就算完事了吗？” “这样就行了。” 小王子想道：“真好玩。这倒蛮有诗意，可是，并不算是了不起的正经事。” 关于什么是正经事，小王子的看法与大人们的看法非常不同。他接着又说： “我有一朵花，我每天都给她浇水。我还有三座火山，我每星期把它们全都打扫一遍。连死火山也打扫。谁知道它会不会再复活。我拥有火山和花，这对我的火山有益处，对我的花也有益处。但是你对星星并没有用处…” 实业家张口结舌无言以对。于是小王子就走了。 在旅途中，小王子只是自言自语地说了一句：“这些大人们真是奇怪极了。”

Chapter 14

- the little prince visits the lamplighter The fifth planet was very strange. It was the smallest of all. There was just enough room on it for a street lamp and a lamplighter. The little prince was not able to reach any explanation of the use of a street lamp and a lamplighter, somewhere in the heavens, on a planet which had no people, and not one house. But he said to himself, nevertheless: "It may well be that this man is absurd. But he is not so absurd as the king, the conceited man, the businessman, and the tippler. For at least his work has some meaning. When he lights his street lamp, it is as if he brought one more star to life, or one flower. When he puts out his lamp, he sends the flower, or the star, to sleep. That is a beautiful occupation. And since it is beautiful, it is truly useful." When he arrived on the planet he respectfully saluted the lamplighter. "Good morning. Why have you just put out your lamp?" "Those are the orders," replied the lamplighter. "Good morning." "What are the orders?" "The orders are that I put out my lamp. Good evening." And he lighted his lamp again. "But why have you just lighted it again?" "Those are the orders," replied the lamplighter. "I do not understand," said the little prince. "There is nothing to understand," said the lamplighter. "Orders are orders. Good morning." And he put out his lamp. Then he mopped his forehead with a handkerchief decorated with red squares. "I follow a terrible profession. In the old days it was reasonable. I put the lamp out in the morning, and in the evening I lighted it again. I had the rest of the day for relaxation and the rest of the night for sleep." "And the orders have been changed since that time?" "The orders have not been changed," said the lamplighter. "That is the tragedy! From year to year the planet has turned more rapidly and the orders have not been changed!" "Then what?" asked the little prince. "Then-- the planet now makes a complete turn every minute, and I no longer have a single second for repose. Once every minute I have to light my lamp and put it out!" "That is very funny! A day lasts only one minute, here where you live!" "It is not funny at all!" said the lamplighter. "While we have been talking together a month has gone by." "A month?" "Yes, a month. Thirty minutes. Thirty days. Good evening." And he lighted his lamp again. As the little prince watched him, he felt that he loved this lamplighter who was so faithful to his orders. He remembered the sunsets which he himself had gone to seek, in other days, merely by pulling up his chair; and he wanted to help his friend. "You know," he said, "I can tell you a way you can rest whenever you want to..." "I always want to rest," said the lamplighter. For it is possible for a man to be faithful and lazy at the same time. The little prince went on with his explanation: "Your planet is so small that three strides will take you all the way around it. To be always in the sunshine, you need only walk along rather slowly. When you want to rest, you will walk-- and the day will last as long as you like." "That doesn't do me much good," said the lamplighter. "The one thing I love in life is to sleep." "Then you're unlucky," said the little prince. "I am unlucky," said the lamplighter. "Good morning." And he put out his lamp. "That man," said the little prince to himself, as he continued farther on his journey, "that man would be scorned by all the others: by the king, by the conceited man, by the tippler, by the businessman. Nevertheless he is the only one of them all who does not seem to me ridiculous. Perhaps that is because he is thinking of something else besides himself." He breathed a sigh of regret, and said to himself, again: "That man is the only one of them all whom I could have made my friend. But his planet is indeed too small. There is no room on it for two people..." What the little prince did not dare confess was that he was sorry most of all to leave this planet, because it was blest every day with 1440 sunsets!

第五颗行星非常奇怪，是这些星星中最小的一颗。行星上刚好能容得下一盏路灯和一个点路灯的人。小王子怎么也解释不通：这个坐落在天空某一角落，既没有房屋又没有居民的行星上，要一盏路灯和一个点灯的人做什么用。 但他自己猜想：“可能这个人思想不正常。但他比起国王，比起那个爱虚荣的人，那个实业家和酒鬼，却要好些。至少他的工作还有点意义。当他点着了他的路灯时，就象他增添了一颗星星，或是一朵花。当他熄灭了路灯时，就象让星星或花朵睡着了似的。这差事真美妙，就是真正有用的了。” 小王子一到了这个行星上，就很尊敬地向点路灯的人打招呼： “早上好。——你刚才为什么把路灯灭了呢？” “早上好。——这是命令。”点灯的回答道。 “命令是什么？” “就是熄掉我的路灯。——晚上好。” 于是他又点燃了路灯。 “那么为什么你又把它点着了呢？” “这是命令。”点灯的人回答道。 “我不明白。”小王子说。 “没什么要明白的。命令就是命令。”点灯的回答说。“早上好。” 于是他又熄灭了路灯。 然后他拿一块有红方格子的手绢擦着额头。 “我干的是一种可怕的职业。以前还说得过去，早上熄灯，晚上点灯，剩下时间，白天我就休息，夜晚我就睡觉…” “那么，后来命令改变了，是吗？” 点灯的人说：“命令没有改，惨就惨在这里了！这颗行星一年比一年转得更快，而命令却没有改。” “结果呢？”小王子问。 “结果现在每分钟转一圈，我连一秒钟的休息时间都没有了。每分钟我就要点一次灯，熄一次灯！” “真有趣，你这里每天只有一分钟长？” “一点趣味也没有，”点灯的说，“我们俩在一块说话就已经有一个月的时间了。” “一个月？” “对。三十分钟。三十天！——晚上好。” 于是他又点着了了他的路灯。 小王子瞅着他，他喜欢这个点灯人如此忠守命令。这时，他想起了他自己从前挪动椅子寻找日落的事。他很想帮助他的这位朋友。 “告诉你，我知道一种能使你休息的办法，你要什么时候休息都可以。” “我老是想休息。”点灯人说。 因为，一个人可以同时是忠实的，又是懒惰的。 小王子接着说： “你的这颗行星这样小，你三步就可以绕它一圈。你只要慢慢地走，就可以一直在太阳的照耀下，你想休息的时候，你就这样走…那么，你要白天又多长它就有多长。” “这办法帮不了我多打忙，生活中我喜欢的就是睡觉。”点灯人说。 “真不走运。”小王子说。 “真不走运。”点灯人说。“早上好。” 于是他又熄灭了路灯。 小王子在他继续往前旅行的途中，自言自语地说道： “这个人一定会被其他那些人，国王呀，爱虚荣的呀，酒鬼呀，实业家呀，所瞧不起。可是唯有他不使我感到荒唐可笑。这可能是因为他所关心的是别的事，而不是他自己。” 他惋惜地叹了口气，并且又对自己说道： “本来这是我唯一可以和他交成朋友的人。可是他的星球确实太小了，住不下两个人…” 小王子没有勇气承认的是：他留恋这颗令人赞美的星星，特别是因为在那里每二十四小时就有一千四百四十次日落！

Chapter 15

- the little prince visits the geographer The sixth planet was ten times larger than the last one. It was inhabited by an old gentleman who wrote voluminous books. "Oh, look! Here is an explorer!" he exclaimed to himself when he saw the little prince coming. The little prince sat down on the table and panted a little. He had already traveled so much and so far! "Where do you come from?" the old gentleman said to him. "What is that big book?" said the little prince. "What are you doing?" "I am a geographer," the old gentleman said to him. "What is a geographer?" asked the little prince. "A geographer is a scholar who knows the location of all the seas, rivers, towns, mountains, and deserts." "That is very interesting," said the little prince. "Here at last is a man who has a real profession!" And he cast a look around him at the planet of the geographer. It was the most magnificent and stately planet that he had ever seen. "Your planet is very beautiful," he said. "Has it any oceans?" "I couldn't tell you," said the geographer. "Ah!" The little prince was disappointed. "Has it any mountains?" "I couldn't tell you," said the geographer. "And towns, and rivers, and deserts?" "I couldn't tell you that, either." "But you are a geographer!" "Exactly," the geographer said. "But I am not an explorer. I haven't a single explorer on my planet. It is not the geographer who goes out to count the towns, the rivers, the mountains, the seas, the oceans, and the deserts. The geographer is much too important to go loafing about. He does not leave his desk. But he receives the explorers in his study. He asks them questions, and he notes down what they recall of their travels. And if the recollections of any one among them seem interesting to him, the geographer orders an inquiry into that explorer's moral character." "Why is that?" "Because an explorer who told lies would bring disaster on the books of the geographer. So would an explorer who drank too much." "Why is that?" asked the little prince. "Because intoxicated men see double. Then the geographer would note down two mountains in a place where there was only one." "I know some one," said the little prince, "who would make a bad explorer." "That is possible. Then, when the moral character of the explorer is shown to be good, an inquiry is ordered into his discovery." "One goes to see it?" "No. That would be too complicated. But one requires the explorer to furnish proofs. For example, if the discovery in question is that of a large mountain, one requires that large stones be brought back from it." The geographer was suddenly stirred to excitement. "But you-- you come from far away! You are an explorer! You shall describe your planet to me!" And, having opened his big register, the geographer sharpened his pencil. The recitals of explorers are put down first in pencil. One waits until the explorer has furnished proofs, before putting them down in ink. "Well?" said the geographer expectantly. "Oh, where I live," said the little prince, "it is not very interesting. It is all so small. I have three volcanoes. Two volcanoes are active and the other is extinct. But one never knows." "One never knows," said the geographer. "I have also a flower." "We do not record flowers," said the geographer. "Why is that? The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!" "We do not record them," said the geographer, "because they are ephemeral." "What does that mean-- 'ephemeral'?" "Geographies," said the geographer, "are the books which, of all books, are most concerned with matters of consequence. They never become old-fashioned. It is very rarely that a mountain changes its position. It is very rarely that an ocean empties itself of its waters. We write of eternal things." "But extinct volcanoes may come to life again," the little prince interrupted. "What does that mean-- 'ephemeral'?" "Whether volcanoes are extinct or alive, it comes to the same thing for us," said the geographer. "The thing that matters to us is the mountain. It does not change." "But what does that mean-- 'ephemeral'?" repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question, once he had asked it. "It means, 'which is in danger of speedy disappearance.'" "Is my flower in danger of speedy disappearance?" "Certainly it is." "My flower is ephemeral," the little prince said to himself, "and she has only four thorns to defend herself against the world. And I have left her on my planet, all alone!" That was his first moment of regret. But he took courage once more. "What place would you advise me to visit now?" he asked. "The planet Earth," replied the geographer. "It has a good reputation." And the little prince went away, thinking of his flower.

第六颗行星则要大十倍。上面住着一位老先生，他在写作大部头的书。 “瞧！来了一位探险家。”老先生看到小王子时，叫了起来。 小王子在桌旁坐下，有点气喘吁吁。他跑了多少路啊！ “你从哪里来的呀？”老先生问小王子。 “这一大本是什么书？你在这里干什么？”小王子问道。 “我是地理学家。”老先生答道。 “什么是地理学家？” “地理学家，就是一种学者，他知道哪里有海洋，哪里有江河、城市、山脉、沙漠。” “这倒挺有意思。”小王子说。“这才是一种真正的行当。”他朝四周围看了看这位地理学家的星球。他还从来没有见过一颗如此壮观的行星。 “您的星球真美呀。上面有海洋吗？” “这我没法知道。”地理学家说。 “啊！”小王子大失所望。“那么，山脉呢？” “这，我没法知道。”地理学家说。 “那么，有城市、河流、沙漠吗？” “这，我也没法知道。”地理学家说。 “可您还是地理学家呢！” “一点不错，”地理学家说，“但是我不是探察家。我手下一个探察家都没有。地理学家是不去计算城市、河流、山脉、海洋、沙漠的。地理学家很重要，不能到处跑。他不能离开他的办公室。但他可以在办公室里接见探察家。他询问探察家，把他们的回忆记录下来。如果他认为其中有个探察家的回忆是有意思的，那么地理学家就对这个探察家的品德做一番调查。” “这是为什么呢？” “因为一个说假话的探察家会给地理书带来灾难性的后果。同样，一个太爱喝酒的探察家也是如此。” “这又是为什么？”小王子说。 “因为喝醉了酒的人把一个看成两个，那么，地理学家就会把只有一座山的地方写成两座山。” “我认识一个人，他要是搞探察的话，就很可能是个不好的探察员。”小王子说。 “这是可能的。因此，如果探察家的品德不错，就对他的发现进行调查。” “去看一看吗？” “不。那太复杂了。但是要求探察家提出证据来。例如，假使他发现了一座大山，就要求他带来一些大石头。” 地理学家忽然忙乱起来。 “正好，你是从老远来的么！你是个探察家！你来给我介绍一下你的星球吧！” 于是，已经打开登记簿的地理学家，削起他的铅笔来。他首先是用铅笔记下探察家的叙述，等到探察家提出了证据以后再用墨水笔记下来。 “怎么样？”地理学家询问道。 “啊！我那里，”小王子说道，“没有多大意思，那儿很小。我有三座火山，两座是活的，一座是熄灭了的。但是也很难说。” “很难说。”地理学家说道。 “我还有一朵花。” “我们是不记载花卉的。”地理学家说。 “这是为什么？花是最美丽的东西。” “因为花卉是短暂的。” “什么叫短暂？” “地理学书籍是所有书中最严肃的书。”地理学家说道，“这类书是从不会过时的。很少会发生一座山变换了位置，很少会出现一个海洋干涸的现象。我们要写永恒的东西。” “但是熄灭的火山也可能会再复苏的。”小王子打断了地理学家。“什么叫短暂？” “火山是熄灭了的也好，苏醒的也好，这对我们这些人来讲都是一回事。”地理学家说，“对我们来说，重要的是山。山是不会变换位置的。” “但是，‘短暂’是什么意思？”小王子再三地问道。他一旦提出一个问题是从不放过的。 “意思就是：有很快就会消失的危险。” “我的花是很快就会消失的吗？” “那当然。” 小王子自言自语地说：“我的花是短暂的，而且她只有四根刺来防御外侮！可我还把她独自留在家里！” 这是他第一次产生了后悔，但他又重新振作起来： “您是否能建议我去看些什么？”小王子问道。 “地球这颗行星，”地理学家回答他说，“它的名望很高…” 于是小王子就走了，他一边走一边想着他的花。

Chapter 16

- the narrator discusses the Earth's lamplighters 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, 900,000 businessmen, 7,500,000 tipplers, 311,000,000 conceited men-- that is to say, about 2,000,000,000 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 462,511 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 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.

第七个行星，于是就是地球了。 地球可不是一颗普通的行星！它上面有一百一十一个国王（当然，没有漏掉黑人国王），七千个地理学家，九十万个实业家，七百五十万个酒鬼，三亿一千一百万个爱虚荣的人，也就是说，大约有二十亿的大人。 为了使你们对地球的大小有一个概念，我想要告诉你们：在发明电之前，在六的大洲上，为了点路灯，需要维持一支为数四十六万二千五百一十一人的真正大军。 从稍远的地方看过去，它给人以一种壮丽辉煌的印象。这支军队的行动就象歌剧院的芭蕾舞动作一样，那么有条不紊。首先出现的是新西兰和澳大利亚的点灯人。点着了灯，随后他们就去睡觉了。于是就轮到中国和西伯利亚的点灯人走上舞台。随后，他们也藏到幕布后面去了。于是就又轮到俄罗斯和印度的点灯人了。然后就是非洲和欧洲的。接着是南美的，再就是北美的。他们从来也不会搞错他们上场的次序。真了不起。 北极仅有一盏路灯，南极也只有一盏；唯独北极的点灯人和他南极的同行，过着闲逸、懒散的生活：他们每年只工作两次。

Chapter 17

- the little prince makes the acquaintance of the snake When one wishes to play the wit, he sometimes wanders a little from the truth. I have not been altogether honest in what I have told you about the lamplighters. And I realize that I run the risk of giving a false idea of our planet to those who do not k now it. Men occupy a very small place upon the Earth. If the two billion inhabitants who people its surface were all to stand upright and somewhat crowded together, as they do for some big public assembly, they could easily be put into one public square twenty miles long and twenty miles wide. All humanity could be piled up on a small Pacific islet. The grown-ups, to be sure, will not believe you when you tell them that. They imagine that they fill a great deal of space. They fancy themselves as important as the baobabs. You should advise them, then, to make their own calculations. They adore fig ures, and that will please them. But do not waste your time on this extra task. It is unnecessary. You have, I know, confidence in me. When the little prince arrived on the Earth, he was very much surprised not to see any people. He was beginning to be afraid he had come to the wrong planet, when a coil of gold, the color of the moonlight, flashed across the sand. "Good evening," said the little prince courteously. "Good evening," said the snake. "What planet is this on which I have come down?" asked the little prince. "This is the Earth; this is Africa," the snake answered. "Ah! Then there are no people on the Earth?" "This is the desert. There are no people in the desert. The Earth is large," said the snake. The little prince sat down on a stone, and raised his eyes toward the sky. "I wonder," he said, "whether the stars are set alight in heaven so that one day each one of us may find his own again... Look at my planet. It is right there above us. But how far away it is!" "It is beautiful," the snake said. "What has brought you here?" "I have been having some trouble with a flower," said the little prince. "Ah!" said the snake. And they were both silent. "Where are the men?" the little prince at last took up the conversation again. "It is a little lonely in the desert..." "It is also lonely among men," the snake said. The little prince gazed at him for a long time. "You are a funny animal," he said at last. "You are no thicker than a finger..." "But I am more powerful than the finger of a king," said the snake. The little prince smiled. "You are not very powerful. You haven't even any feet. You cannot even travel..." "I can carry you farther than any ship could take you," said the snake. He twined himself around the little prince's ankle, like a golden bracelet. "Whomever I touch, I send back to the earth from whence he came," the snake spoke again. "But you are innocent and true, and you come from a star..." The little prince made no reply. "You move me to pity-- you are so weak on this Earth made of granite," the snake said. "I can help you, some day, if you grow too homesick for your own planet. I can--" "Oh! I understand you very well," said the little prince. "But why do you always speak in riddles?" "I solve them all," said the snake. And they were both silent.

当人们想要说得俏皮些的时候，说话就可能会不大实在。在给你们讲点灯人的时候，我就不那么忠实，很可能给不了解我们这个星球的人们造成一个错误的概念。在地球上，人们所占的位置非常小。如果住在地球上的二十亿居民全站着，并且象开大会一样靠得紧些，那么就可以从容地站在一个二十海里见方的广场上。也就是说可以把整个人类集中在太平洋中一个最小的岛屿上。 当然，大人们是不会相信你们的。他们自以为要占很大地方，他们把自己看得象猴面包树那样大得了不起。你们可以建议他们计算一下。这样会使他们很高兴，因为他们非常喜欢数目字。可是你们无须浪费时间去做这种乏味的连篇累牍的演算。这没有必要。你们可以完全相信我。 小王子到了地球上感到非常奇怪，他一个人也没有看到，他正担心自己跑错了星球。这时，在沙地上有一个月光色的圆环在蠕动。 小王子毫无把握地随便说了声：“晚安。” “晚安。”蛇说道。 “我落在什么行星上？”小王子问道。 “在地球上，在非洲。”蛇回答道。 “啊！…怎么，难道说地球上没有人吗？” “这里是沙漠，沙漠中没有人。地球是很大的。”蛇说。 小王子坐在一块石头上，抬眼望着天空，说道： “我捉摸这些星星闪闪发亮是否为了让每个人将来有一天都能重新找到自己的星球。看，我那颗行星。它恰好在我们头顶上…可是，它离我们好远哟！” “它很美。”蛇说，“你到这里来干什么呢？” “我和一朵花闹了别扭。”小王子说。 “啊！”蛇说道。 于是他们都沉默下来。 “人在什么地方？”小王子终于又开了腔。“在沙漠上，真有点孤独…” “到了有人的地方，也一样孤独。”蛇说。 小王子长时间地看着蛇。 “你是个奇怪的动物，细得象个手指头…。”小王子终于说道。 “但我比一个国王的手指更有威力。”蛇说道。 小王子微笑着说： “你并不那么有威力……你连脚都没有……你甚至都不能旅行…” “我可以把你带到很远的地方去，比一只船能去的地方还要远。”蛇说道。 蛇就盘结在小王子的脚腕子上，象一只金镯子。 “被我碰触的人，我就把他送回老家去。”蛇还说，“可是你是纯洁的，而且是从另一个星球上来的…” 小王子什么也没有回答。 “在这个花岗石的地球上，你这么弱小，我很可怜你。如果你非常怀念你的星球，那时我可以帮助你。我可以…” “啊！我很明白你的意思。”小王子说，“但是你为什么说话总是象让人猜谜语似的？” “这些谜语我都能解开的。”蛇说。 于是他们又都沉默起来。

Chapter 18

- the little prince goes looking for men and meets a flower The little prince crossed the desert and met with only one flower. It was a flower with three petals, a flower of no account at all. "Good morning," said the little prince. "Good morning," said the flower. "Where are the men?" the little prince asked, politely. The flower had once seen a caravan passing. "Men?" she echoed. "I think there are six or seven of them in existence. I saw them, several years ago. But one never knows where to find them. The wind blows them away. They have no roots, and that makes their life very difficult." "Goodbye," said the little prince. "Goodbye," said the flower.

小王子穿过沙漠。他只见过一朵花，一个有着三枚花瓣的花朵，一朵很不起眼的小花… “你好。”小王子说。 “你好。”花说。 “人在什么地方？”小王子有礼貌地问道。 有一天，花曾看见一支骆驼商队走过： “人吗？我想大约有六七个人，几年前，我瞅见过他们。可是，从来不知道到什么地方去找他们。风吹着他们到处跑。他们没有根，这对他们来说是很不方便的。” “再见了。”小王子说。 “再见。”花说。

Chapter 19

- the little prince climbs a mountain range After that, the little prince climbed a high mountain. The only mountains he had ever known were the three volcanoes, which came up to his knees. And he used the extinct volcano as a footstool. "From a mountain as high as this one," he said to himself, "I shall be able to see the whole planet at one glance, and all the people..." But he saw nothing, save peaks of rock that were sharpened like needles. "Good morning," he said courteously. "Good morning--Good morning--Good morning," answered the echo. "Who are you?" said the little prince. "Who are you--Who are you--Who are you?" answered the echo. "Be my friends. I am all alone," he said. "I am all alone--all alone--all alone," answered the echo. "What a queer planet!" he thought. "It is altogether dry, and altogether pointed, and altogether harsh and forbidding. And the people have no imagination. They repeat whatever one says to them... On my planet I had a flower; she always was the first to speak..."

小王子爬上一座高山。过去他所见过的山就是那三座只有他膝盖那么高的火山，并且他把那座熄灭了的火山就当作凳子。小王子自言自语地说道：“从这么高的山上，我一眼可以看到整个星球，以及所有的人。”可是，他所看到的只是一些非常锋利的悬崖峭壁。 “你好。”小王子试探地问道。 “你好…你好…你好…”回音在回答道。 “你们是什么人？”小王子问。 “你们是什么人…你们是什么人…你们是什么人…”回音又回答道。 “请你们做我的朋友吧，我很孤独。”他说。 “我很孤独…我很孤独…我很孤独…”回音又回答着。 小王子想道：“这颗行星真奇怪！它上面全是干巴巴的，而且又尖利又咸涩，人们一点想象力都没有。他们只是重复别人对他们说的话…在我的家乡，我有一朵花。她总是自己先说话…”

Chapter 20

- the little prince discovers a garden of roses But it happened that after walking for a long time through sand, and rocks, and snow, the little prince at last came upon a road. And all roads lead to the abodes of men. "Good morning," he said. He was standing before a garden, all a-bloom with roses. "Good morning," said the roses. The little prince gazed at them. They all looked like his flower. "Who are you?" he demanded, thunderstruck. "We are roses," the roses said. And he was overcome with sadness. His flower had told him that she was the only one of her kind in all the universe. And here were five thousand of them, all alike, in one single garden! "She would be very much annoyed," he said to himself, "if she should see that... she would cough most dreadfully, and she would pretend that she was dying, to avoid being laughed at. And I should be obliged to pretend that I was nursing her back to life-- for if I did not do that, to humble myself also, she would really allow herself to die..." Then he went on with his reflections: "I thought that I was rich, with a flower that was unique in all the world; and all I had was a common rose. A common rose, and three volcanoes that come up to my knees-- and one of them perhaps extinct forever... that doesn't make me a very great prince..." And he lay down in the grass and cried.

在沙漠、岩石、雪地上行走了很长的时间以后，小王子终于发现了一条大路。所有的大路都是通往人住的地方的。 “你们好。”小王子说。 这是一个玫瑰盛开的花园。 “你好。”玫瑰花说道。 小王子瞅着这些花，它们全都和他的那朵花一样。 “你们是什么花？”小王子惊奇地问。 “我们是玫瑰花。”花儿们说道。 “啊！”小王子说…。 他感到自己非常不幸。他的那朵花曾对他说她是整个宇宙中独一无二的一种花。可是，仅在这一座花园里就有五千朵完全一样的这种花朵！ 小王子自言自语地说：“如果她看到这些，她是一定会很恼火…她会咳嗽得更厉害，并且为避免让人耻笑，她会佯装死去。那么，我还得装着去护理她，因为如果不这样的话，她为了使我难堪，她可能会真的死去…” 接着他又说道：“我还以为我有一朵独一无二的花呢，我有的仅是一朵普通的花。这朵花，再加上三座只有我膝盖那么高的火山，而且其中一座还可能是永远熄灭了的，这一切不会使我成为一个了不起的王子…”于是，他躺在草丛中哭泣起来。

Chapter 21

- the little prince befriends the fox It was then that the fox appeared. "Good morning," said the fox. "Good morning," the little prince responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing. "I am right here," the voice said, "under the apple tree." "Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at." "I am a fox," said the fox. "Come and play with me," proposed the little prince. "I am so unhappy." "I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed." "Ah! Please excuse me," said the little prince. But, after some thought, he added: "What does that mean-- 'tame'?" "You do not live here," said the fox. "What is it that you are looking for?" "I am looking for men," said the little prince. "What does that mean-- 'tame'?" "Men," said the fox. "They have guns, and they hunt. It is very disturbing. They also raise chickens. These are their only interests. Are you looking for chickens?" "No," said the little prince. "I am looking for friends. What does that mean-- 'tame'?" "It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. It means to establish ties." "'To establish ties'?" "Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..." "I am beginning to understand," said the little prince. "There is a flower... I think that she has tamed me..." "It is possible," said the fox. "On the Earth one sees all sorts of things." "Oh, but this is not on the Earth!" said the little prince. The fox seemed perplexed, and very curious. "On another planet?" "Yes." "Are there hunters on this planet?" "No." "Ah, that is interesting! Are there chickens?" "No." "Nothing is perfect," sighed the fox. But he came back to his idea. "My life is very monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life . I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not ea t bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the colour of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me bac k the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat..." The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time. "Please-- tame me!" he said. "I want to, very much," the little prince replied. "But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand." "One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox. "Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me..." "What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince. "You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me-- like that-- in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But yo u will sit a little closer to me, every day..." The next day the little prince came back. "It would have been better to come back at the same hour," said the fox. "If, for example, you come at four o'clock in the afternoon, then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o'clock, I shall already be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you... One must observe the proper rites..." "What is a rite?" asked the little prince. "Those also are actions too often neglected," said the fox. "They are what make one day different from other days, one hour from other hours. There is a rite, for example, among my hunters. Every Thursday they dance with the village girls. So Thursday is a wonderful day for me! I can take a walk as far as the vineyards. But if the hunters danced at just any time, every day would be like every other day, and I should never have any vacation at all." So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near-- "Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry." "It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you..." "Yes, that is so," said the fox. "But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince. "Yes, that is so," said the fox. "Then it has done you no good at all!" "It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields." And then he added: "Go and look again at the roses. You will understand now that yours is unique in all the world. Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret." The little prince went away, to look again at the roses. "You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world." And the roses were very much embarrassed. "You are beautiful, but you are empty," he went on. "One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you-- the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose. And he went back to meet the fox. "Goodbye," he said. "Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." "What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember. "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." "It is the time I have wasted for my rose--" said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember. "Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..." "I am responsible for my rose," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

就在这当儿，跑来了一只狐狸。 “你好。”狐狸说。 “你好。”小王子很有礼貌地回答道。他转过身来，但什么也没有看到。 “我在这儿，在苹果树下。”那声音说。 “你是谁？”小王子说，“你很漂亮。” “我是一只狐狸。”狐狸说。 “来和我一起玩吧，”小王子建议道，“我很苦恼…” “我不能和你一起玩，”狐狸说，“我还没有被驯服呢。” “啊！真对不起。”小王子说。 思索了一会儿，他又说道： “什么叫‘驯服’呀？” “你不是此地人。”狐狸说，“你来寻找什么？” “我来找人。”小王子说，“什么叫‘驯服’呢？” “人，”狐狸说，“他们有枪，他们还打猎，这真碍事！他们唯一的可取之处就是他们也养鸡，你是来寻找鸡的吗？” “不，”小王子说，“我是来找朋友的。什么叫‘驯服’呢？” “这是已经早就被人遗忘了的事情，”狐狸说，“它的意思就是‘建立联系’。” “建立联系？” “一点不错，”狐狸说。“对我来说，你还只是一个小男孩，就像其他千万个小男孩一样。我不需要你。你也同样用不着我。对你来说，我也不过是一只狐狸，和其他千万只狐狸一样。但是，如果你驯服了我，我们就互相不可缺少了。对我来说，你就是世界上唯一的了；我对你来说，也是世界上唯一的了。” “我有点明白了。”小王子说，“有一朵花…，我想，她把我驯服了…” “这是可能的。”狐狸说，“世界上什么样的事都可能看到…” “啊，这不是在地球上的事。”小王子说。 狐狸感到十分蹊跷。 “在另一个星球上？” “是的。” “在那个星球上，有猎人吗？” “没有。” “这很有意思。那么，有鸡吗？” “没有。” “没有十全十美的。”狐狸叹息地说道。 可是，狐狸又把话题拉回来： “我的生活很单调。我捕捉鸡，而人又捕捉我。所有的鸡全都一样，所有的人也全都一样。因此，我感到有些厌烦了。但是，如果你要是驯服了我，我的生活就一定会是欢快的。我会辨认出一种与众不同的脚步声。其他的脚步声会使我躲到地下去，而你的脚步声就会象音乐一样让我从洞里走出来。再说，你看！你看到那边的麦田没有？我不吃面包，麦子对我来说，一点用也没有。我对麦田无动于衷。而这，真使人扫兴。但是，你有着金黄色的头发。那么，一旦你驯服了我，这就会十分美妙。麦子，是金黄色的，它就会使我想起你。而且，我甚至会喜欢那风吹麦浪的声音…” 狐狸沉默不语，久久地看着小王子。 “请你驯服我吧！”他说。 “我是很愿意的。”小王子回答道，“可我的时间不多了。我还要去寻找朋友，还有许多事物要了解。” “只有被驯服了的事物，才会被了解。”狐狸说，“人不会再有时间去了解任何东西的。他们总是到商人那里去购买现成的东西。因为世界上还没有购买朋友的商店，所以人也就没有朋友。如果你想要一个朋友，那就驯服我吧！” “那么应当做些什么呢？”小王子说。 “应当非常耐心。”狐狸回答道，“开始你就这样坐在草丛中，坐得离我稍微远些。我用眼角瞅着你，你什么也不要说。话语是误会的根源。但是，每天，你坐得靠我更近些…” 第二天，小王子又来了。 “最好还是在原来的那个时间来。”狐狸说道，“比如说，你下午四点钟来，那么从三点钟起，我就开始感到幸福。时间越临近，我就越感到幸福。到了四点钟的时候，我就会坐立不安；我就会发现幸福的代价。但是，如果你随便什么时候来，我就不知道在什么时候该准备好我的心情…应当有一定的仪式。” “仪式是什么？”小王子问道。 “这也是一种早已被人忘却了的事。”狐狸说，“它就是使某一天与其他日子不同，使某一时刻与其他时刻不同。比如说，我的那些猎人就有一种仪式。他们每星期四都和村子里的姑娘们跳舞。于是，星期四就是一个美好的日子！我可以一直散步到葡萄园去。如果猎人们什么时候都跳舞，天天又全都一样，那么我也就没有假日了。” 就这样，小王子驯服了狐狸。当出发的时刻就快要来到时： “啊！”狐狸说，“我一定会哭的。” “这是你的过错，”小王子说，“我本来并不想给你任何痛苦，可你却要我驯服你…” “是这样的。”狐狸说。 “你可就要哭了！”小王子说。 “当然罗。”狐狸说。 “那么你什么好处也没得到。” “由于麦子颜色的缘故，我还是得到了好处。”狐狸说。 然后，他又接着说。 “再去看看那些玫瑰花吧。你一定会明白，你的那朵是世界上独一无二的玫瑰。你回来和我告别时，我再赠送给你一个秘密。” 于是小王子又去看那些玫瑰。 “你们一点也不象我的那朵玫瑰，你们还什么都不是呢！”小王子对她们说。“没有人驯服过你们，你们也没有驯服过任何人。你们就象我的狐狸过去那样，它那时只是和千万只别的狐狸一样的一只狐狸。但是，我现在已经把它当成了我的朋友，于是它现在就是世界上独一无二的了。” 这时，那些玫瑰花显得十分难堪。 “你们很美，但你们是空虚的。”小王子仍然在对她们说，“没有人能为你们去死。当然罗，我的那朵玫瑰花，一个普通的过路人以为她和你们一样。可是，她单独一朵就比你们全体更重要，因为她是我浇灌的。因为她是我放在花罩中的。因为她是我用屏风保护起来的。因为她身上的毛虫（除了留下两三只为了变蝴蝶而外）是我除灭的。因为我倾听过她的怨艾和自诩，甚至有时我聆听着她的沉默。因为她是我的玫瑰。” 他又回到了狐狸身边。 “再见了。”小王子说道。 “再见。”狐狸说。“喏，这就是我的秘密。很简单：只有用心才能看得清。实质性的东西，用眼睛是看不见的。” “实质性的东西，用眼睛是看不见的。”小王子重复着这句话，以便能把它记在心间。 “正因为你为你的玫瑰花费了时间，这才使你的玫瑰变得如此重要。” “正因为你为你的玫瑰花费了时间…”小王子又重复着，要使自己记住这些。 “人们已经忘记了这个道理，”狐狸说，“可是，你不应该忘记它。你现在要对你驯服过的一切负责到底。你要对你的玫瑰负责…” “我要对我的玫瑰负责…”小王子又重复着……

Chapter 22

- the little prince encounters a railway switchman "Good morning," said the little prince. "Good morning," said the railway switchman. "What do you do here?" the little prince asked. "I sort out travelers, in bundles of a thousand," said the switchman. "I send off the trains that carry them; now to the right, now to the left." And a brilliantly lighted express train shook the switchman's cabin as it rushed by with a roar like thunder. "They are in a great hurry," said the little prince. "What are they looking for?" "Not even the locomotive engineer knows that," said the switchman. And a second brilliantly lighted express thundered by, in the opposite direction. "Are they coming back already?" demanded the little prince. "These are not the same ones," said the switchman. "It is an exchange." "Were they not satisfied where they were?" asked the little prince. "No one is ever satisfied where he is," said the switchman. And they heard the roaring thunder of a third brilliantly lighted express. "Are they pursuing the first travelers?" demanded the little prince. "They are pursuing nothing at all," said the switchman. "They are asleep in there, or if they are not asleep they are yawning. Only the children are flattening their noses against the windowpanes." "Only the children know what they are looking for," said the little prince. "They waste their time over a rag doll and it becomes very important to them; and if anybody takes it away from them, they cry..." "They are lucky," the switchman said.

“你好。”小王子说道。 “你好。”扳道工说道。 “你在这里做什么？”小王子问。 “我一包包地分选旅客，按每千人一包。”扳道工说，“我打发这些运载旅客的列车，一会儿发往右方，一会儿发往左方。” 这时，一列灯火明亮的快车，雷鸣般地响着，把扳道房震得颤颤悠悠。 “他们真匆忙呀，”小王子说，“他们要寻找什么？” “开机车的人自己也不知道。”扳道工说道。 于是，第二列灯火通明的快车又朝着相反的方向轰隆轰隆地开过去。 “他们怎么又回来了呢？”小王子问道。 “他们不是原来那些人了。”扳道工说，“这是一次对开列车。” “他们不满意他们原来所住的地方吗？” “人们是从来也不会满意自己所在的地方的。”扳道工说。 此时，第三趟灯火明亮的快车又隆隆而过。 “他们是在追随第一批旅客吗？”小王子问道。 “他们什么也不追随。”扳道工说，“他们在里面睡觉，或是在打哈欠。只有孩子们把鼻子贴在玻璃窗上往外看。” “只有孩子知道他们自己在寻找什么。”小王子说，“他们为一个布娃娃花费不少时间，这个布娃娃就成了很重要的东西，如果有人夺走的他们的布娃娃，他们就哭泣…” “他们真幸运。”扳道工说。

Chapter 23

- the little prince encounters a merchant "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."

“你好。”小王子说。 “你好。”商人说道。 这是一位贩卖能够止渴的精制药丸的商人。每周吞服一丸就不会感觉口渴。 “你为什么卖这玩艺儿？”小王子说。 “这就大大地节约了时间。”商人说，“专家们计算过，这样，每周可以节约五十三分钟。” “那么，用这五十三分钟做什么用？” “随便怎么用都行。…” 小王子自言自语地说：“我如果有五十三分钟可支配，我就悠哉游哉地向水泉走去…”