Chapter 1

- we are introduced to the narrator, a pilot, and his ideas about grown-ups

Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing.

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."

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 like this:

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?"

My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. But since the grown-ups were not able to understand it, I made another drawing: I drew the inside of the boa constrictor, so that the grown-ups could see it clearly. They always need to have things explained. My Drawing Number Two looked like this:

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. That is why, at the age of six, I gave up what might have been a magnificent career as a painter. I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

So then I chose another profession, and learned to pilot airplanes. I have flown a little over all parts of the world; and it is true that geography has been very useful to me. At a glance I can distinguish China from Arizona. If one gets lost in the night, such knowledge is valuable.

In the course of this life I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence. I have lived a great deal among grown-ups. I have seen them intimately, close at hand. And that hasn't much improved my opinion of them.

Whenever I met one of them who seemed to me at all clear-sighted, I tried the experiment of showing him my Drawing Number One, which I have always kept. I would try to find out, so, if this was a person of true understanding. But, whoever it was, he, or she, would always say:

"That is a hat."

Then I would never talk to that person about boa constrictors, or primeval forests, or stars. I would bring myself down to his level. I would talk to him about bridge, and golf, and politics, and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such a sensible man.

當(dāng)我還只有六歲的時候，在一本描寫原始森林的名叫《真實的故事》的書中，看到了一副精彩的插畫，畫的是一條蟒蛇正在吞食一只大野獸。頁頭上就是那副畫的摹本。

這本書中寫道：“這些蟒蛇把它們的獵獲物不加咀嚼地囫圇吞下，爾后就不能再動彈了；它們就在長長的六個月的睡眠中消化這些食物。”

當(dāng)時，我對叢林中的奇遇想得很多，于是，我也用彩色鉛筆畫出了我的第一副圖畫。我的第一號作品。它是這樣的：

我把我的這副杰作拿給大人看，我問他們我的畫是不是叫他們害怕。

他們回答我說：“一頂帽子有什么可怕的？”

我畫的不是帽子，是一條巨蟒在消化著一頭大象。于是我又把巨蟒肚子里的情況畫了出來，以便讓大人們能夠看懂。這些大人總是需要解釋。我的第二號作品是這樣的：

大人們勸我把這些畫著開著肚皮的，或閉上肚皮的蟒蛇的圖畫放在一邊，還是把興趣放在地理、歷史、算術(shù)、語法上。就這樣，在六歲的那年，我就放棄了當(dāng)畫家這一美好的職業(yè)。我的第一號、第二號作品的不成功，使我泄了氣。這些大人們，靠他們自己什么也弄不懂，還得老是不斷地給他們作解釋。這真叫孩子們膩味。

后來，我只好選擇了另外一個職業(yè)，我學(xué)會了開飛機，世界各地差不多都飛到過。的確，地理學(xué)幫了我很大的忙。我一眼就能分辨出中國和亞里桑那。要是夜里迷失了航向，這是很有用的。

這樣，在我的生活中，我跟許多嚴肅的人有過很多的接觸。我在大人們中間生活過很長時間。我仔細地觀察過他們，但這并沒有使我對他們的看法有多大的改變。

當(dāng)我遇到一個頭腦看來稍微清楚的大人時，我就拿出一直保存著的我那第一號作品來測試測試他。我想知道他是否真的有理解能力。可是，得到的回答總是：

“這是頂帽子。”我就不和他談巨蟒呀，原始森林呀，或者星星之類的事。我只得遷就他們的水平，和他們談些橋牌呀，高爾夫球呀，政治呀，領(lǐng)帶呀這些。于是大人們就十分高興能認識我這樣一個通情達理的人。

Chapter 2

- the narrator crashes in the desert and makes the acquaintance of the little prince

So I lived my life alone, without anyone that I could really talk to, until I had an accident with my plane in the Desert of Sahara, six years ago. Something was broken in my engine. And as I had with me neither a mechanic nor any passengers, I set myself to attempt the difficult repairs all alone. It was a question of life or death for me: I had scarcely enough drinking water to last a week.

The first night, then, I went to sleep on the sand, a thousand miles from any human habitation. I was more isolated than a shipwrecked sailor on a raft in the middle of the ocean. Thus you can imagine my amazement, at sunrise, when I was awakened by an odd little voice. It said:

"If you please-- draw me a sheep!"

"What!"

"Draw me a sheep!"

I jumped to my feet, completely thunderstruck. I blinked my eyes hard. I looked carefully all around me. And I saw a most extraordinary small person, who stood there examining me with great seriousness. Here you may see the best potrait that, later, I was able to make of him. But my drawing is certainly very much less charming than its model.

That, however, is not my fault. The grown-ups discouraged me in my painter's career when I was six years old, and I never learned to draw anything, except boas from the outside and boas from the inside.

Now I stared at this sudden apparition with my eyes fairly starting out of my head in astonishment. Remember, I had crashed in the desert a thousand miles from any inhabited region. And yet my little man seemed neither to be straying uncertainly among the sands, nor to be fainting from fatigue or hunger or thirst or fear. Nothing about him gave any suggestion of a child lost in the middle of the desert, a thousand miles from any human habitation. When at last I was able to speak, I said to him:

"But-- what are you doing here?"

And in answer he repeated, very slowly, as if he were speaking of a matter of great consequence: "If you please-- draw me a sheep..."

When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey. Absurd as it might seem to me, a thousand miles from any human habitation and in danger of death, I took out of my pocket a sheet of paper and my fountain-pen. But then I remembered how my studies had been concentrated on geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar, and I told the little chap (a little crossly, too) that I did not know how to draw. He answered me:

"That doesn't matter. Draw me a sheep..."

But I had never drawn a sheep. So I drew for him one of the two pictures I had drawn so often. It was that of the boa constrictor from the outside. And I was astounded to hear the little fellow greet it with,

"No, no, no! I do not want an elephant inside a boa constrictor. A boa constrictor is a very dangerous creature, and an elephant is very cumbersome. Where I live, everything is very small. What I need is a sheep. Draw me a sheep."

So then I made a drawing.

He looked at it carefully, then he said:

"No. This sheep is already very sickly. Make me another."

So I made another drawing.

My friend smiled gently and indulgenty.

"You see yourself," he said, "that this is not a sheep. This is a ram. It has horns."

So then I did my drawing over once more.

But it was rejected too, just like the others.

"This one is too old. I want a sheep that will live a long time."

By this time my patience was exhausted, because I was in a hurry to start taking my engine apart. So I tossed off this drawing.

And I threw out an explanation with it.

"This is only his box. The sheep you asked for is inside."

I was very surprised to see a light break over the face of my young judge:

"That is exactly the way I wanted it! Do you think that this sheep will have to have a great deal of grass?"

"Why?"

"Because where I live everything is very small..."

"There will surely be enough grass for him," I said. "It is a very small sheep that I have given you."

He bent his head over the drawing:

"Not so small that-- Look! He has gone to sleep..."

And that is how I made the acquaintance of the little prince.

我就這樣孤獨地生活著，沒有一個能真正談得來的人，一直到六年前在撒哈拉沙漠上發(fā)生了那次故障。我的發(fā)動機里有個東西損壞了。當(dāng)時由于我既沒有帶機械師也沒有帶旅客，我就試圖獨自完成這個困難的維修工作。這對我來說是個生與死的問題。我隨身帶的水只夠飲用一星期。

第一天晚上我就睡在這遠離人間煙火的大沙漠上。我比大海中伏在小木排上的遇難者還要孤獨得多。而在第二天拂曉，當(dāng)一個奇怪的小聲音叫醒我的時候，你們可以想見我當(dāng)時是多么吃驚。這小小的聲音說道：

“請你給我畫一只羊，好嗎？”

“啊！”

“給我畫一只羊…”

我象是受到驚雷轟擊一般，一下子就站立起來。我使勁地揉了揉眼睛，仔細地看了看。我看見一個十分奇怪的小家伙嚴肅地朝我凝眸望著。這是后來我給他畫出來的最好的一副畫像。可是，我的畫當(dāng)然要比他本人的模樣遜色得多。這不是我的過錯。六歲時，大人們使我對我的畫家生涯失去了勇氣，除了畫過開著肚皮和閉著肚皮的蟒蛇，后來再沒有學(xué)過畫。

我驚奇地睜大著眼睛看著這突然出現(xiàn)的小家伙。你們不要忘記，我當(dāng)時處在遠離人煙千里之外的地方。而這個小家伙給我的印象是，他既不象迷了路的樣子，也沒有半點疲乏、饑渴、懼怕的神情。他絲毫不象是一個迷失在曠無人煙的大沙漠中的孩子。當(dāng)我在驚訝之中終于又能說出話來的時候，對他說道：

“唉，你在這兒干什么？”

可是他卻不慌不忙地好象有一件重要的事一般，對我重復(fù)地說道：

“請…給我畫一只羊…”

當(dāng)一種神秘的東西把你鎮(zhèn)住的時候，你是不敢不聽從它的支配的，在這曠無人煙的沙漠上，面臨死亡的危險的情況下，盡管這樣的舉動使我感到十分荒誕，我還是掏出了一張紙和一支鋼筆。這時我卻又記起，我只學(xué)過地理、歷史、算術(shù)和語法，就有點不大高興地對小家伙說我不會畫畫。他回答我說：

“沒有關(guān)系，給我畫一只羊吧！”

因為我從來沒有畫過羊，我就給他重畫我所僅僅會畫的兩副畫中的那副閉著肚皮的巨蟒。

“不，不！我不要蟒蛇，它肚子里還有一頭象。”

我聽了他的話，簡直目瞪口呆。他接著說：“巨蟒這東西太危險，大象又太占地方。我住的地方非常小，我需要一只羊。給我畫一只羊吧。”

我就給他畫了。

他專心地看著，隨后又說：

“我不要，這只羊已經(jīng)病得很重了。給我重新畫一只。”

我又畫了起來。

我的這位朋友天真可愛地笑了，并且客氣地拒絕道：“你看，你畫的不是小羊，是頭公羊，還有犄角呢。”

于是我又重新畫了一張。

這副畫同前幾副一樣又被拒絕了。

“這一只太老了。我想要一只能活得長的羊。”

我不耐煩了。因為我急于要檢修發(fā)動機，于是就草草畫了這張畫，并且匆匆地對他說道：

“這是一只箱子，你要的羊就在里面。”

這時我十分驚奇地看到我的這位小評判員喜笑顏開。他說：

“這正是我想要的，…你說這只羊需要很多草嗎？”

“為什么問這個呢？”

“因為我那里地方非常小…”

“我給你畫的是一只很小的小羊，地方小也夠喂養(yǎng)它的。”

他把腦袋靠近這張畫。

“并不象你說的那么小…瞧！它睡著了…”

就這樣，我認識了小王子。

Chapter 3

- the narrator learns more about from where the little prince came

It took me a long time to learn where he came from. The little prince, who asked me so many questions, never seemed to hear the ones I asked him. It was from words dropped by chance that, little by little, everything was revealed to me.

The first time he saw my airplane, for instance (I shall not draw my airplane; that would be much too complicated for me), he asked me:

"What is that object?"

"That is not an object. It flies. It is an airplane. It is my airplane."

And I was proud to have him learn that I could fly.

He cried out, then:

"What! You dropped down from the sky?"

"Yes," I answered, modestly.

"Oh! That is funny!"

And the little prince broke into a lovely peal of laughter, which irritated me very much. I like my misfortunes to be taken seriously.

Then he added:

"So you, too, come from the sky! Which is your planet?"

At that moment I caught a gleam of light in the impenetrable mystery of his presence; and I demanded, abruptly:

"Do you come from another planet?"

But he did not reply. He tossed his head gently, without taking his eyes from my plane:

"It is true that on that you can't have come from very far away..."

And he sank into a reverie, which lasted a long time. Then, taking my sheep out of his pocket, he buried himself in the contemplation of his treasure.

You can imagine how my curiosity was aroused by this half-confidence about the "other planets." I made a great effort, therefore, to find out more on this subject.

"My little man, where do you come from? What is this 'where I live,' of which you speak? Where do you want to take your sheep?"

After a reflective silence he answered:

"The thing that is so good about the box you have given me is that at night he can use it as his house."

"That is so. And if you are good I will give you a string, too, so that you can tie him during the day, and a post to tie him to."

But the little prince seemed shocked by this offer:

"Tie him! What a queer idea!"

"But if you don't tie him," I said, "he will wander off somewhere, and get lost."

My friend broke into another peal of laughter:

"But where do you think he would go?"

"Anywhere. Straight ahead of him."

Then the little prince said, earnestly:

"That doesn't matter. Where I live, everything is so small!"

And, with perhaps a hint of sadness, he added:

"Straight ahead of him, nobody can go very far..."

我費了好長時間才弄清楚他是從哪里來的。小王子向我提出了很多問題，可是，對我提出的問題，他好象壓根沒有聽見似的。他無意中吐露的一些話逐漸使我搞清了他的來歷。例如，當(dāng)他第一次瞅見我的飛機時（我就不畫出我的飛機了，因為這種圖畫對我來說太復(fù)雜），他問我道：

“這是個啥玩藝？”

“這不是‘玩藝兒’。它能飛。這是飛機。是我的飛機。”

我當(dāng)時很驕傲地告訴他我能飛。于是他驚奇地說道：

“怎么？你是從天上掉下來的？”

“是的”。我謙遜地答道。

“啊？這真滑稽。”

此時小王子發(fā)出一陣清脆的笑聲。這使我很不高興。我要求別人嚴肅地對待我的不幸。然后，他又說道：

“那么，你也是從天上來的了！你是哪個星球上的？”

即刻，對于他是從哪里來的這個秘密我隱約發(fā)現(xiàn)到了一點線索；于是，我就突然問道：

“你是從另一個星球上來的嗎？”

可是他不回答我的問題。他一面看著我的飛機，一面微微地點點頭，接著說道：

“可不是么，乘坐這玩藝兒，你不可能是從很遠的地方來的…”

說到這里，他就長時間地陷入沉思之中。然后，從口袋里掏出了我畫的小羊，看著他的寶貝入了神。

你們可以想見這種關(guān)于“別的星球”的若明若暗的話語使我心里多么好奇。因此我竭力地想知道其中更多的奧秘。

“你是從哪里來的，我的小家伙？你的家在什么地方？你要把我的小羊帶到哪里去？”

他沉思了一會，然后回答我說：

“好在有你給我的那只箱子，夜晚可以給小羊當(dāng)房子用。”

“那當(dāng)然。如果你聽話的話，我再給你畫一根繩子，白天可以栓住它。再加上一根扦桿。”

我的建議看來有點使小王子反感。

“栓住它，多么奇怪的主意。”

“如果你不栓住它，它就到處跑，那么它會跑丟的。”

我的這位朋友又笑出了聲：

“你想要它跑到哪里去呀？”

“不管什么地方。它一直往前跑…”

這時，小王子鄭重其事地說：

“這沒有什么關(guān)系，我那里很小很小。”

接著，他略帶傷感地又補充了一句：

“一直朝前走，也不會走出多遠…”

Chapter 4

- the narrator speculates as to which asteroid from which the little prince came

I had thus learned a second fact of great importance: this was that the planet the little prince came from was scarcely any larger than a house!

But that did not really surprise me much. I knew very well that in addition to the great planets-- such as the Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Venus-- to which we have given names, there are also hundreds of others, some of which are so small that one has a hard time seeing them through the telescope. When an astronomer discovers one of these he does not give it a name, but only a number. He might call it, for example, "Asteroid 325."

I have serious reason to believe that the planet from which the little prince came is the asteroid known as B-612.

This asteroid has only once been seen through the telescope. That was by a Turkish astronomer, in 1909.

On making his discovery, the astronomer had presented it to the International Astronomical Congress, in a great demonstration. But he was in Turkish costume, and so nobody would believe what he said.

Grown-ups are like that...

Fortunately, however, for the reputation of Asteroid B-612, a Turkish dictator made a law that his subjects, under pain of death, should change to European costume. So in 1920 the astronomer gave his demonstration all over again, dressed with impressive style and elegance. And this time everybody accepted his report.

If I have told you these details about the asteroid, and made a note of its number for you, it is on account of the grown-ups and their ways. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?" Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?" Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

If you were to say to the grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof," they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them: "I saw a house that cost $20,000." Then they would exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house that is!"

Just so, you might say to them: "The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists." And what good would it do to tell them that? They would shrug their shoulders, and treat you like a child. But if you said to them: "The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612," then they would be convinced, and leave you in peace from their questions. They are like that. One must not hold it against them. Children should always show great forbearance toward grown-up people.

But certainly, for us who understand life, figures are a matter of indifference. I should have liked to begin this story in the fashion of the fairy-tales. I should have like to say: "Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet that was scarcely any bigger than himself, and who had need of a sheep..."

To those who understand life, that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story.

For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly. I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories. Six years have already passed since my friend went away from me, with his sheep. If I try to describe him here, it is to make sure that I shall not forget him. To forget a friend is sad. Not every one has had a friend. And if I forget him, I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures...

It is for that purpose, again, that I have bought a box of paints and some pencils. It is hard to take up drawing again at my age, when I have never made any pictures except those of the boa constrictor from the outside and the boa constrictor from the inside, since I was six. I shall certainly try to make my portraits as true to life as possible. But I am not at all sure of success. One drawing goes along all right, and another has no resemblance to its subject. I make some errors, too, in the littl e prince's height: in one place he is too tall and in another too short. And I feel some doubts about the color of his costume. So I fumble along as best I can, now good, now bad, and I hope generally fair-to-middling.

In certain more important details I shall make mistakes, also. But that is something that will not be my fault. My friend never explained anything to me. He thought, perhaps, that I was like himself. But I, alas, do not know how to see sheep through t he walls of boxes. Perhaps I am a little like the grown-ups. I have had to grow old.

我還了解到另一件重要的事，就是他老家所在的那個星球比一座房子大不了多少。

這倒并沒有使我感到太奇怪。我知道除地球、木星、火星、金星這幾個有名稱的大行星以外，還有成百個別的星球，它們有的小得很，就是用望遠鏡也很難看見。當(dāng)一個天文學(xué)者發(fā)現(xiàn)了其中一個星星，他就給它編上一個號碼，例如把它稱作“325小行星”。

我有重要的根據(jù)認為小王子所來自的那個星球是小行星B612。這顆小行星僅僅在1909年被一個土耳其天文學(xué)家用望遠鏡看見過一次。

當(dāng)時他曾經(jīng)在一次國際天文學(xué)家代表大會上對他的發(fā)現(xiàn)作了重要的論證。但由于他所穿衣服的緣故，那時沒有人相信他。那些大人們就是這樣。

幸好，土耳其的一個獨裁者，為了小行星B612的聲譽，迫使他的人民都要穿歐式服裝，否則就處以死刑。1920年，這位天文學(xué)家穿了一身非常漂亮的服裝，重新作了一次論證。這一次所有的人都同意他的看法。

我給你們講關(guān)于小行星B612的這些細節(jié)，并且告訴你們它的編號，這是由于這些大人的緣故。這些大人們就愛數(shù)目字。當(dāng)你對大人們講起你的一個新朋友時，他們從來不向你提出實質(zhì)性的問題。他們從來不講：“他說話聲音如何啊？他喜愛什么樣的游戲啊？他是否收集蝴蝶標(biāo)本呀？”他們卻問你：“他多大年紀呀？弟兄幾個呀？體重多少呀？他父親掙多少錢呀？”他們以為這樣才算了解朋友。如果你對大人們說：“我看到一幢用玫瑰色的磚蓋成的漂亮的房子，它的窗戶上有天竺葵，屋頂上還有鴿子…”他們怎么也想象不出這種房子有多么好。必須對他們說：“我看見了一幢價值十萬法郎的房子。”那么他們就驚叫道：“多么漂亮的房子啊！”

要是你對他們說：“小王子存在的證據(jù)就是他非常漂亮，他笑著，想要一只羊。他想要一只小羊，這就證明他的存在。”他們一定會聳聳肩膀，把你當(dāng)作孩子看待！但是，如果你對他們說：“小王子來自的星球就是小行星B612”，那么他們就十分信服，他們就不會提出一大堆問題來和你糾纏。他們就是這樣的。小孩子們對大人們應(yīng)該寬厚些，不要埋怨他們。

當(dāng)然，對我們懂得生活的人來說，我們才不在乎那些編號呢！我真愿意象講神話那樣來開始這個故事，我真想這樣說：

“從前呀，有一個小王子，他住在一個和他身體差不多大的星球上，他希望有一個朋友…”對懂得生活的人來說，這樣說就顯得真實。

我可不喜歡人們輕率地讀我的書。我在講述這些往事時心情是很難過的。我的朋友帶著他的小羊已經(jīng)離去六年了。我之所以在這里盡力把他描寫出來，就是為了不要忘記他。忘記一個朋友，這太叫人悲傷了。并不是所有的人都有過一個朋友。再說，我也可能變成那些大人那樣，只對數(shù)字感興趣。也正是為了這個緣故，我買了一盒顏料和一些鉛筆。象我這樣年紀的人，而且除了六歲時畫過閉著肚皮的和開著肚皮的巨蟒外，別的什么也沒有嘗試過，現(xiàn)在，重新再來畫畫，真費勁啊！當(dāng)然，我一定要把這些畫盡量地畫得逼真，但我自己也沒有把握。一張畫得還可以，另一張就不象了。還有身材大小，我畫得有點不準(zhǔn)確。在這個地方小王子畫得太大了些，另一個地方又畫得太小了些。對他衣服的顏色我也拿不準(zhǔn)。于是我就摸索著這么試試那么改改，畫個大概齊。我很可能在某些重要的細節(jié)上畫錯了。這就得請大家原諒我了。因為我的這個朋友，從來也不加說明解釋。他認為我同他一樣。可是，很遺憾，我卻不能透過盒子看見小羊。我大概有點和大人們差不多。我一定是變老了。

Chapter 5

- we are warned as to the dangers of the baobabs

As each day passed I would learn, in our talk, something about the little prince's planet, his departure from it, his journey. The information would come very slowly, as it might chance to fall from his thoughts. It was in this way that I heard, on the third day, about the catastrophe of the baobabs.

This time, once more, I had the sheep to thank for it. For the little prince asked me abruptly-- as if seized by a grave doubt-- "It is true, isn't it, that sheep eat little bushes?"

"Yes, that is true."

"Ah! I am glad!"

I did not understand why it was so important that sheep should eat little bushes. But the little prince added:

"Then it follows that they also eat baobabs?"

I pointed out to the little prince that baobabs were not little bushes, but, on the contrary, trees as big as castles; and that even if he took a whole herd of elephants away with him, the herd would not eat up one single baobab.

The idea of the herd of elephants made the little prince laugh.

"We would have to put them one on top of the other," he said.

But he made a wise comment:

"Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little."

"That is strictly correct," I said. "But why do you want the sheep to eat the little baobabs?"

He answered me at once, "Oh, come, come!", as if he were speaking of something that was self-evident. And I was obliged to make a great mental effort to solve this problem, without any assistance.

Indeed, as I learned, there were on the planet where the little prince lived-- as on all planets-- good plants and bad plants. In consequence, there were good seeds from good plants, and bad seeds from bad plants. But seeds are invisible. They sleep deep in the heart of the earth's darkness, until some one among them is seized with the desire to awaken. Then this little seed will stretch itself and begin-- timidly at first-- to push a charming little sprig inoffensively upward toward the sun. If it is only a sprout of radish or the sprig of a rose-bush, one would let it grow wherever it might wish. But when it is a bad plant, one must destroy it as soon as possible, the very first instant that one recognizes it.

Now there were some terrible seeds on the planet that was the home of the little prince; and these were the seeds of the baobab. The soil of that planet was infested with them. A baobab is something you will never, never be able to get rid of if you attend to it too late. It spreads over the entire planet. It bores clear through it with its roots. And if the planet is too small, and the baobabs are too many, they split it in pieces...

"It is a question of discipline," the little prince said to me later on. "When you've finished your own toilet in the morning, then it is time to attend to the toilet of your planet, just so, with the greatest care. You must see to it that you pull up regularly all the baobabs, at the very first moment when they can be distinguished from the rosebushes which they resemble so closely in their earliest youth. It is very tedious work," the little prince added, "but very easy."

And one day he said to me: "You ought to make a beautiful drawing, so that the children where you live can see exactly how all this is. That would be very useful to them if they were to travel some day. Sometimes," he added, "there is no harm in putting off a piece of work until another day. But when it is a matter of baobabs, that always means a catastrophe. I knew a planet that was inhabited by a lazy man. He neglected three little bushes..."

So, as the little prince described it to me, I have made a drawing of that planet. I do not much like to take the tone of a moralist. But the danger of the baobabs is so little understood, and such considerable risks would be run by anyone who might get lost on an asteroid, that for once I am breaking through my reserve. "Children," I say plainly, "watch out for the baobabs!"

My friends, like myself, have been skirting this danger for a long time, without ever knowing it; and so it is for them that I have worked so hard over this drawing. The lesson which I pass on by this means is worth all the trouble it has cost me.

Perhaps you will ask me, "Why are there no other drawing in this book as magnificent and impressive as this drawing of the baobabs?"

The reply is simple. I have tried. But with the others I have not been successful. When I made the drawing of the baobabs I was carried beyond myself by the inspiring force of urgent necessity.

每天我都了解到一些關(guān)于小王子的星球，他的出走和旅行等事情。這些都是偶然從各種反應(yīng)中慢慢得到的。就這樣，第三天我就了解到關(guān)于猴面包樹的悲劇。

這一次又是因為羊的事情，突然小王子好象是非常擔(dān)心地問我道：

“羊吃小灌木，這是真的嗎？”

“是的，是真的。”

“啊，我真高興。”

我不明白羊吃小灌木這件事為什么如此重要。可小王子又說道：

“因此，它們也吃猴面包樹羅？”

我對小王子說，猴面包樹可不是小灌木，而是象教堂那么大的大樹；即便是帶回一群大象，也啃不了一棵猴面包樹。

一群大象這種想法使小王子發(fā)笑：

“那可得把這些大象一只疊一只地壘起來。”

他很有見識地說：

“猴面包樹在長大之前，開始也是小小的。”

“不錯。可是為什么你想叫你的羊去吃小猴面包樹呢？”

他回答我道：“唉！這還用說！”似乎這是不言而喻的。可是我自己要費很大的心勁才能弄懂這個問題。

原來，在小王子的星球上就象其他所有星球上一樣，有好草和壞草；因此，也就有益草的草籽和毒草的草籽，可是草籽是看不見的。它們沉睡在泥土里，直到其中的一粒忽然想要蘇醒過來…于是它就伸展開身子，開始靦腆地朝著太陽長出一棵秀麗可愛的小嫩苗。如果是小蘿卜或是玫瑰的嫩苗，就讓它去自由地生長。如果是一棵壞苗，一旦被辨認出來，就應(yīng)該馬上把它拔掉。因為在小王子的星球上，有些非常可怕的種子…這就是猴面包樹的種子。在那里的泥土里，這種種子多得成災(zāi)。而一棵猴面包樹苗，假如你拔得太遲，就再也無法把它清除掉。它就會盤踞整個星球。它的樹根能把星球鉆透，如果星球很小，而猴面包樹很多，它就把整個星球搞得支離破碎。

“這是個紀律問題。”小王子后來向我解釋道。“當(dāng)你早上梳洗完畢以后，必須仔細地給星球梳洗，必須規(guī)定自己按時去拔掉猴面包樹苗。這種樹苗小的時候與玫瑰苗差不多，一旦可以把它們區(qū)別開的時候，就要把它拔掉。這是一件非常乏味的工作，但很容易。”

有一天，他勸我用心地畫一副漂亮的圖畫，好叫我家鄉(xiāng)的孩子們對這件事有一個深刻的印象。他還對我說：“如果將來有一天他們出外旅行，這對他們是很有用的。有時候，人們把自己的工作推到以后去做，并沒有什么妨害，但要遇到拔猴面包樹苗這種事，那就非造成大災(zāi)難不可。我遇到過一個星球，上面住著一個懶家伙，他放過了三棵小樹苗…”

于是，根據(jù)小王子的說明，我把這個星球畫了下來。我從來不大愿意以道學(xué)家的口吻來說話，可是猴面包樹的危險，大家都不大了解，對迷失在小行星上的人來說，危險性非常之大，因此這一回，我貿(mào)然打破了我的這種不喜歡教訓(xùn)人的慣例。我說：“孩子們，要當(dāng)心那些猴面包樹呀！”為了叫我的朋友們警惕這種危險——他們同我一樣長期以來和這種危險接觸，卻沒有意識到它的危險性——我花了很大的功夫畫了這副畫。我提出的這個教訓(xùn)意義是很重大的，花點功夫是很值得的。你們也許要問，為什么這本書中別的畫都沒有這副畫那么壯觀呢？回答很簡單：別的畫我也曾經(jīng)試圖畫得好些，卻沒成功。而當(dāng)我畫猴面包樹時，有一種急切的心情在激勵著我。

Chapter 6

- the little prince and the narrator talk about sunsets

Oh, little prince! Bit by bit I came to understand the secrets of your sad little life... For a long time you had found your only entertainment in the quiet pleasure of looking at the sunset. I learned that new detail on the morning of the fourth day, w hen you said to me:

"I am very fond of sunsets. Come, let us go look at a sunset now."

"But we must wait," I said.

"Wait? For what?"

"For the sunset. We must wait until it is time."

At first you seemed to be very much surprised. And then you laughed to yourself. You said to me:

"I am always thinking that I am at home!"

Just so. Everybody knows that when it is noon in the United States the sun is setting over France.

If you could fly to France in one minute, you could go straight into the sunset, right from noon. Unfortunately, France is too far away for that. But on your tiny planet, my little prince, all you need do is move your chair a few steps. You can see the day end and the twilight falling whenever you like... "One day," you said to me, "I saw the sunset forty-four times!"

And a little later you added:

"You know-- one loves the sunset, when one is so sad..."

"Were you so sad, then?" I asked, "on the day of the forty-four sunsets?"

But the little prince made no reply.

啊！小王子，就這樣，我逐漸懂得了你那憂郁的生活。過去相當(dāng)長的時間里你唯一的樂趣就是觀賞那夕陽西下的溫柔晚景。這個新的細節(jié)，是我在第四天早晨知道的。你當(dāng)時對我說道：

“我喜歡看日落。我們?nèi)タ匆换厝章浒桑　?/p>

“可是得等著…”

“等什么？”

“等太陽落山。”

開始，你顯得很驚奇的樣子，隨后你笑自己的糊涂。你對我說：

“我總以為是在我的家鄉(xiāng)呢！”

確實，大家都知道，在美國是正午時分，在法國，正夕陽西下，只要在一分鐘內(nèi)趕到法國就可看到日落。可惜法國是那么的遙遠。而在你那樣的小行星上，你只要把你的椅子挪動幾步就行了。這樣，你便可隨時看到你想看的夕陽余輝…

“一天，我看見過四十三次日落。”

過一會兒，你又說：

“你知道，當(dāng)人們感到非常苦悶時，總是喜歡日落的。”

“一天四十三次，你怎么會這么苦悶？”

小王子沒有回答。

Chapter 7

- the narrator learns about the secret of the little prince's life

On the fifth day-- again, as always, it was thanks to the sheep-- the secret of the little prince's life was revealed to me. Abruptly, without anything to lead up to it, and as if the question had been born of long and silent meditation on his problem, he demanded:

"A sheep-- if it eats little bushes, does it eat flowers, too?"

"A sheep," I answered, "eats anything it finds in its reach."

"Even flowers that have thorns?"

"Yes, even flowers that have thorns."

"Then the thorns-- what use are they?"

I did not know. At that moment I was very busy trying to unscrew a bolt that had got stuck in my engine. I was very much worried, for it was becoming clear to me that the breakdown of my plane was extremely serious. And I had so little drinking-water left that I had to fear for the worst.

"The thorns-- what use are they?"

The little prince never let go of a question, once he had asked it. As for me, I was upset over that bolt. And I answered with the first thing that came into my head:

"The thorns are of no use at all. Flowers have thorns just for spite!"

"Oh!"

There was a moment of complete silence. Then the little prince flashed back at me, with a kind of resentfulness:

"I don't believe you! Flowers are weak creatures. They are na飗e. They reassure themselves as best they can. They believe that their thorns are terrible weapons..."

I did not answer. At that instant I was saying to myself: "If this bolt still won't turn, I am going to knock it out with the hammer." Again the little prince disturbed my thoughts.

"And you actually believe that the flowers--"

"Oh, no!" I cried. "No, no no! I don't believe anything. I answered you with the first thing that came into my head. Don't you see-- I am very busy with matters of consequence!"

He stared at me, thunderstruck.

"Matters of consequence!"

He looked at me there, with my hammer in my hand, my fingers black with engine-grease, bending down over an object which seemed to him extremely ugly...

"You talk just like the grown-ups!"

That made me a little ashamed. But he went on, relentlessly:

"You mix everything up together... You confuse everything..."

He was really very angry. He tossed his golden curls in the breeze.

"I know a planet where there is a certain red-faced gentleman. He has never smelled a flower. He has never looked at a star. He has never loved any one. He has never done anything in his life but add up figures. And all day he says over and over, just like you: 'I am busy with matters of consequence!' And that makes him swell up with pride. But he is not a man-- he is a mushroom!"

"A what?"

"A mushroom!"

The little prince was now white with rage.

"The flowers have been growing thorns for millions of years. For millions of years the sheep have been eating them just the same. And is it not a matter of consequence to try to understand why the flowers go to so much trouble to grow thorns which are never of any use to them? Is the warfare between the sheep and the flowers not important? Is this not of more consequence than a fat red-faced gentleman's sums? And if I know-- I, myself-- one flower which is unique in the world, which grows nowhere but on my planet, but which one little sheep can destroy in a single bite some morning, without even noticing what he is doing-- Oh! You think that is not important!"

His face turned from white to red as he continued:

"If some one loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars. He can say to himself, 'Somewhere, my flower is there...' But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened... And you think that is not important!"

He could not say anything more. His words were choked by sobbing.

The night had fallen. I had let my tools drop from my hands. Of what moment now was my hammer, my bolt, or thirst, or death? On one star, one planet, my planet, the Earth, there was a little prince to be comforted. I took him in my arms, and rocked him. I said to him:

"The flower that you love is not in danger. I will draw you a muzzle for your sheep. I will draw you a railing to put around your flower. I will--"

I did not know what to say to him. I felt awkward and blundering. I did not know how I could reach him, where I could overtake him and go on hand in hand with him once more.

It is such a secret place, the land of tears.

第五天，還是羊的事，把小王子的生活秘密向我揭開了。好象默默地思索了很長時間以后，得出了什么結(jié)果一樣，他突然沒頭沒腦地問我：

“羊，要是吃小灌木，它也要吃花羅？”

“它碰到什么吃什么。”

“連有刺的花也吃嗎？”

“有刺的也吃！”

“那么刺有什么用呢？”

我不知道該怎么回答。那會兒我正忙著要從發(fā)動機上卸下一顆擰得太緊的螺絲。我發(fā)現(xiàn)機器故障似乎很嚴重，飲水也快完了，擔(dān)心可能發(fā)生最壞的情況，心里很著急。

“那么刺有什么用呢？”

小王子一旦提出了問題，從來不會放過。這個該死的螺絲使我很惱火，我于是就隨便回答了他一句：

“刺么，什么用都沒有，這純粹是花的惡劣表現(xiàn)。”

“噢！”

可是他沉默了一會兒之后，懷著不滿的心情沖我說：

“我不信！花是弱小的、淳樸的，它們總是設(shè)法保護自己，以為有了刺就可以顯出自己的厲害…”

我默不作聲。我當(dāng)時想的，如果這個螺絲再和我作對，我就一錘子敲掉它。小王子又來打攪我的思緒了：

“你卻認為花…”

“算了吧，算了吧！我什么也不認為！我是隨便回答你的。我可有正經(jīng)事要做。”

他驚訝地看著我。

“正經(jīng)事？”

他瞅著我手拿錘子，手指沾滿了油污，伏在一個在他看來丑不可言的機件上。

“你說話就和那些大人一樣！”

這話使我有點難堪。可是他又尖刻無情地說道：

“你什么都分不清…你把什么都混在一起！”

他著實非常惱火。搖動著腦袋，金黃色的頭發(fā)隨風(fēng)顫動著。

“我到過一個星球，上面住著一個紅臉先生。他從來沒聞過一朵花。他從來沒有看過一顆星星。他什么人也沒有喜歡過。除了算帳以外，他什么也沒有做過。他整天同你一樣老是說：‘我有正經(jīng)事，我是個嚴肅的人’。這使他傲氣十足。他簡直不象是個人，他是個蘑菇。”

“是個什么？”

“是個蘑菇！”

小王子當(dāng)時氣得臉色發(fā)白。

“幾百萬年以來花兒都在制造著刺，幾百萬年以來羊仍然在吃花。要搞清楚為什么花兒費那么大勁給自己制造沒有什么用的刺，這難道不是正經(jīng)事？難道羊和花之間的戰(zhàn)爭不重要？這難道不比那個大胖子紅臉先生的帳目更重要？如果我認識一朵人世間唯一的花，只有我的星球上有它，別的地方都不存在，而一只小羊胡里胡涂就這樣把它一下子毀掉了，這難道不重要？”

他的臉氣得發(fā)紅，然后又接著說道：

“如果有人愛上了在這億萬顆星星中獨一無二的一株花，當(dāng)他看著這些星星的時候，這就足以使他感到幸福。他可以自言自語地說：‘我的那朵花就在其中的一顆星星上…’，但是如果羊吃掉了這朵花，對他來說，好象所有的星星一下子全都熄滅了一樣！這難道也不重要嗎？！”

他無法再說下去了，突然泣不成聲。夜幕已經(jīng)降臨。我放下手中的工具。我把錘子、螺釘、饑渴、死亡，全都拋在腦后。在一顆星球上，在一顆行星上，在我的行星上，在地球上有一個小王子需要安慰！我把他抱在懷里。我搖著他，對他說：“你愛的那朵花沒有危險…我給你的小羊畫一個罩子…我給你的花畫一副盔甲…我…”我也不太知道該說些什么。我覺得自己太笨拙。我不知道怎樣才能達到他的境界，怎樣才能再進入他的境界…唉，淚水的世界是多么神秘啊！

Chapter 8

- the rose arrives at the little prince's planet

I soon learned to know this flower better. On the little prince's planet the flowers had always been very simple. They had only one ring of petals; they took up no room at all; they were a trouble to nobody. One morning they would appear in the grass, and by night they would have faded peacefully away. But one day, from a seed blown from no one knew where, a new flower had come up; and the little prince had watched very closely over this small sprout which was not like any other small sprouts on his planet. It might, you see, have been a new kind of baobab.

The shrub soon stopped growing, and began to get ready to produce a flower. The little prince, who was present at the first appearance of a huge bud, felt at once that some sort of miraculous apparition must emerge from it. But the flower was not satisfied to complete the preparations for her beauty in the shelter of her green chamber. She chose her colours with the greatest care. She adjusted her petals one by one. She did not wish to go out into the world all rumpled, like the field poppies. It was only in the full radiance of her beauty that she wished to appear. Oh, yes! She was a coquettish creature! And her mysterious adornment lasted for days and days.

Then one morning, exactly at sunrise, she suddenly showed herself.

And, after working with all this painstaking precision, she yawned and said:

"Ah! I am scarcely awake. I beg that you will excuse me. My petals are still all disarranged..."

But the little prince could not restrain his admiration:

"Oh! How beautiful you are!"

"Am I not?" the flower responded, sweetly. "And I was born at the same moment as the sun..."

The little prince could guess easily enough that she was not any too modest-- but how moving-- and exciting-- she was!

"I think it is time for breakfast," she added an instant later. "If you would have the kindness to think of my needs--"

And the little prince, completely abashed, went to look for a sprinkling-can of fresh water. So, he tended the flower.

So, too, she began very quickly to torment him with her vanity-- which was, if the truth be known, a little difficult to deal with. One day, for instance, when she was speaking of her four thorns, she said to the little prince:

"Let the tigers come with their claws!"

"There are no tigers on my planet," the little prince objected. "And, anyway, tigers do not eat weeds."

"I am not a weed," the flower replied, sweetly.

"Please excuse me..."

"I am not at all afraid of tigers," she went on, "but I have a horror of drafts. I suppose you wouldn't have a screen for me?"

"A horror of drafts-- that is bad luck, for a plant," remarked the little prince, and added to himself, "This flower is a very complex creature..."

"At night I want you to put me under a glass globe. It is very cold where you live. In the place I came from--"

But she interrupted herself at that point. She had come in the form of a seed. She could not have known anything of any other worlds. Embarassed over having let herself be caught on the verge of such a na飗e untruth, she coughed two or three times, in order to put the little prince in the wrong.

"The screen?"

"I was just going to look for it when you spoke to me..."

Then she forced her cough a little more so that he should suffer from remorse just the same.

So the little prince, in spite of all the good will that was inseparable from his love, had soon come to doubt her. He had taken seriously words which were without importance, and it made him very unhappy.

"I ought not to have listened to her," he confided to me one day. "One never ought to listen to the flowers. One should simply look at them and breathe their fragrance. Mine perfumed all my planet. But I did not know how to take pleasure in all her grace. This tale of claws, which disturbed me so much, should only have filled my heart with tenderness and pity."

And he continued his confidences:

"The fact is that I did not know how to understand anything! I ought to have judged by deeds and not by words. She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her... I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little strategems. Flowers are so inconsistent! But I was too young to know how to love her..."

很快我就進一步了解了這朵花兒。在小王子的星球上，過去一直都生長著一些只有一層花瓣的很簡單的花。這些花非常小，一點也不占地方，從來也不會去打攪任何人。她們早晨在草叢中開放，晚上就凋謝了。不知從哪里來了一顆種子，忽然一天這種子發(fā)了芽。小王子特別仔細地監(jiān)視著這棵與眾不同的小苗：這玩藝說不定是一種新的猴面包樹。但是，這小苗不久就不再長了，而且開始孕育著一個花朵。看到在這棵苗上長出了一個很大很大的花蕾，小王子感覺到從這個花苞中一定會出現(xiàn)一個奇跡。然而這朵花藏在它那綠茵茵的房間中用了很長的時間來打扮自己。她精心選擇著她將來的顏色，慢慢騰騰地妝飾著，一片片地搭配著她的花瓣，她不愿象虞美人那樣一出世就滿臉皺紋。她要讓自己帶著光艷奪目的麗姿來到世間。是的，她是非常愛俏的。她用好些好些日子天仙般地梳妝打扮。然后，在一天的早晨，恰好在太陽升起的時候，她開放了。

她已經(jīng)精細地做了那么長的準(zhǔn)備工作，卻打著哈欠說道：

“我剛剛睡醒，真對不起，瞧我的頭發(fā)還是亂蓬蓬的…”

小王子這時再也控制不住自己的愛慕心情：

“你是多么美麗啊！”

花兒悠然自得地說：

“是吧，我是與太陽同時出生的…”

小王子看出了這花兒不太謙虛，可是她確實麗姿動人。

她隨后又說道：“現(xiàn)在該是吃早點的時候了吧，請你也想著給我準(zhǔn)備一點…”

小王子很有些不好意思，于是就拿著噴壺，打來了一壺清清的涼水，澆灌著花兒。

于是，就這樣，這朵花兒就以她那有點敏感多疑的虛榮心折磨著小王子。例如，有一天，她向小王子講起她身上長的四根刺：

“老虎，讓它張著爪子來吧！”

小王子頂了她一句：“在我這個星球上沒有老虎，而且，老虎是不會吃草的”。

花兒輕聲說道：“我并不是草。”

“真對不起。”

“我并不怕什么老虎，可我討厭穿堂風(fēng)。你沒有屏風(fēng)？”

小王子思忖著：“討厭穿堂風(fēng)…這對一株植物來說，真不走運，這朵花兒真不大好伺候…”

“晚上您得把我保護好。你這地方太冷。在這里住得不好，我原來住的那個地方…”

但她沒有說下去。她來的時候是粒種子。她哪里見過什么別的世界。她叫人發(fā)現(xiàn)她是在湊一個如此不太高明的謊話，她有點羞怒，咳嗽了兩三聲。她的這一招是要小王子處于有過失的地位，她說道：

“屏風(fēng)呢？”

“我這就去拿。可你剛才說的是…”

于是花兒放開嗓門咳嗽了幾聲，依然要使小王子后悔自己的過失。

盡管小王子本來誠心誠意地喜歡這朵花，可是，這一來，卻使他馬上對她產(chǎn)生了懷疑。小王子對一些無關(guān)緊要的話看得太認真，結(jié)果使自己很苦惱。

有一天他告訴我說：“我不該聽信她的話，絕不該聽信那些花兒的話，看看花，聞聞它就得了。我的那朵花使我的星球芳香四溢，可我不會享受它。關(guān)于老虎爪子的事，本應(yīng)該使我產(chǎn)生同情，卻反而使我惱火…”

他還告訴我說：

“我那時什么也不懂！我應(yīng)該根據(jù)她的行為，而不是根據(jù)她的話來判斷她。她使我的生活芬芳多彩，我真不該離開她跑出來。我本應(yīng)該猜出在她那令人愛憐的花招后面所隱藏的溫情。花是多么自相矛盾！我當(dāng)時太年青，還不懂得愛她。”

Chapter 9

- the little prince leaves his planet

I believe that for his escape he took advantage of the migration of a flock of wild birds. On the morning of his departure he put his planet in perfect order. He carefully cleaned out his active volcanoes. He possessed two active volcanoes; and they were very convenient for heating his breakfast in the morning. He also had one volcano that was extinct. But, as he said, "One never knows!" So he cleaned out the extinct volcano, too. If they are well cleaned out, volcanoes burn slowly and steadily, without any eruptions. Volcanic eruptions are like fires in a chimney.

On our earth we are obviously much too small to clean out our volcanoes. That is why they bring no end of trouble upon us.

The little prince also pulled up, with a certain sense of dejection, the last little shoots of the baobabs. He believed that he would never want to return. But on this last morning all these familiar tasks seemed very precious to him. And when he watered the flower for the last time, and prepared to place her under the shelter of her glass globe, he realised that he was very close to tears.

"Goodbye," he said to the flower.

But she made no answer.

"Goodbye," he said again.

The flower coughed. But it was not because she had a cold.

"I have been silly," she said to him, at last. "I ask your forgiveness. Try to be happy..."

He was surprised by this absence of reproaches. He stood there all bewildered, the glass globe held arrested in mid-air. He did not understand this quiet sweetness.

"Of course I love you," the flower said to him. "It is my fault that you have not known it all the while. That is of no importance. But you-- you have been just as foolish as I. Try to be happy... let the glass globe be. I don't want it any more."

"But the wind--"

"My cold is not so bad as all that... the cool night air will do me good. I am a flower."

"But the animals--"

"Well, I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies. It seems that they are very beautiful. And if not the butterflies-- and the caterpillars-- who will call upon me? You will be far away... as for the large animals-- I am not at all afraid of any of them. I have my claws."

And, na飗ely, she showed her four thorns. Then she added:

"Don't linger like this. You have decided to go away. Now go!"

For she did not want him to see her crying. She was such a proud flower...

我想小王子大概是利用一群候鳥遷徙的機會跑出來的。在他出發(fā)的那天早上，他把他的星球收拾得整整齊齊，把它上頭的活火山打掃得干干凈凈。——他有兩個活火山，早上熱早點很方便。他還有一座死火山，他也把它打掃干凈。他想，說不定它還會活動呢！打掃干凈了，它們就可以慢慢地有規(guī)律地燃燒，而不會突然爆發(fā)。火山爆發(fā)就象煙囪里的火焰一樣。當(dāng)然，在我們地球上我們?nèi)颂。荒艽驋呋鹕剑曰鹕浇o我們帶來很多很多麻煩。

小王子還把剩下的最后幾顆猴面包樹苗全拔了。他有點憂傷。他以為他再也不會回來了。這天，這些家常活使他感到特別親切。當(dāng)他最后一次澆花時，準(zhǔn)備把她好好珍藏起來。他發(fā)覺自己要哭出來。

“再見了。”他對花兒說道。

可是花兒沒有回答他。

“再見了。”他又說了一遍。

花兒咳嗽了一陣。但并不是由于感冒。

她終于對他說道：“我方才真蠢。請你原諒我。希望你能幸福。”

花兒對他毫不抱怨，他感到很驚訝。他舉著罩子，不知所措地佇立在那里。他不明白她為什么會這樣溫柔恬靜。

“的確，我愛你。”花兒對他說道：“但由于我的過錯，你一點也沒有理會。這絲毫不重要。不過，你也和我一樣的蠢。希望你今后能幸福。把罩子放在一邊吧，我用不著它了。”

“要是風(fēng)來了怎么辦？”

“我的感冒并不那么重…夜晚的涼風(fēng)對我倒有好處。我是一朵花。”

“要是有蟲子野獸呢？…”

“我要是想認識蝴蝶，經(jīng)不起兩三只尺蠖是不行的。據(jù)說這是很美的。不然還有誰來看我呢？你就要到遠處去了。至于說大動物，我并不怕，我有爪子。”

于是，她天真地顯露出她那四根刺，隨后又說道：

“別這么磨蹭了。真煩人！你既然決定離開這兒，那么，快走吧！”

她是怕小王子看見她在哭。她是一朵非常驕傲的花…