“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。”

“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.”

“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。

“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.

“意思就是：有很快就会消失的危险。”

“It means, ‘which is in danger of speedy disappearance.’”

“我的花是很快就会消失的吗？”

“Is my flower in danger of speedy disappearance?”

“那当然。”

“Certainly it is.”

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！”

“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!”

这是他第一次产生了后悔，但他又重新振作起来：

That was his first moment of regret. But he took courage once more.

“您是否能建议我去看些什么？”小王子问道。

“What place would you advise me to visit now?” he asked.

“地球这颗行星，”地理学家回答他说，“它的名望很高……”

“The planet Earth,” replied the geographer. “It has a good reputation.”

于是小王子就走了，他一边走一边想着他的花。

And the little prince went away, thinking of his flower.

XVI

XVI

第七个行星，于是就是地球了。

So then the seventh planet was the Earth.

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。

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.

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。

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.

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。

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.

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。

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.

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。

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.

他们从来也不会搞错他们上场的次序。真了不起。

And never would they make a mistake in the order of their entry upon the stage. It would be magnificent.

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。

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.

XVII

ХVII

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。

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 know it. Men occupy a very small place upon the Earth.

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。

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.

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。

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 figures, 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.

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。

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.

小王子毫无把握地随便说了声：“晚安。”

“Good evening,” said the little prince courteously.

“晚安。”蛇说道。

“Good evening,” said the snake.

“我落在什么行星上？”小王子问道。

“What planet is this on which I have come down?” asked the little prince.

“在地球上，在非洲。”蛇回答道。

“This is the Earth; this is Africa,” the snake answered.

“啊！……怎么，难道说地球上没有人吗？”

“Ah! Then there are no people on the Earth?”

“这里是沙漠，沙漠中没有人。地球是很大的。”蛇说。

“This is the desert. There are no people in the desert. The Earth is large,” said the snake.

小王子坐在一块石头上，抬眼望着天空，说道：

The little prince sat down on a stone, and raised his eyes toward the sky.

“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！”

“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!”

“它很美。”蛇说，“你到这里来干什么呢？”

“It is beautiful,” the snake said. “What has brought you here?”

“我和一朵花闹了别扭。”小王子说。

“I have been having some trouble with a flower,” said the little prince.

“啊！”蛇说道。

“Ah!” said the snake.

于是他们都沉默下来。

And they were both silent.

“人在什么地方？”小王子终于又开了腔。“在沙漠上，真有点孤独……”

“Where are the men?” the little prince at last took up the conversation again. “It is a little lonely in the desert…”

“到了有人的地方，也一样孤独。”蛇说。

“It is also lonely among men,” the snake said.

小王子长时间地看着蛇。

The little prince gazed at him for a long time.

“你是个奇怪的动物，细得象个手指头……。”小王子终于说道。

“You are a funny animal,” he said at last. “You are no thicker than a finger…”

“但我比一个国王的手指更有威力。”蛇说道。

“But I am more powerful than the finger of a king,” said the snake.

小王子微笑着说：

The little prince smiled.

“你并不那么有威力……你连脚都没有……你甚至都不能旅行……”

“You are not very powerful. You haven’t even any feet. You cannot even travel…”

“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。

“I can carry you farther than any ship could take you,” said the snake.

蛇就盘结在小王子的脚腕子上，象一只金镯子。

He twined himself around the little prince’s ankle, like a golden bracelet.

“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……”

“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…”

小王子什么也没有回答。

The little prince made no reply.

“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……”

“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 — ”

“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？”

“Oh! I understand you very well,” said the little prince. “But why do you always speak in riddles?”

“这些谜语我都能解开的。”蛇说。

“I solve them all,” said the snake.

于是他们又都沉默起来。

And they were both silent.

XVIII

XVIII

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……

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.

“你好。”小王子说。

“Good morning,” said the little prince.

“你好。”花说。

“Good morning,” said the flower.

“人在什么地方？”小王子有礼貌地问道。

“Where are the men?” the little prince asked, politely.

有一天，花曾看见一支骆驼商队走过：

The flower had once seen a caravan passing.

“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。”

“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.”

“再见了。”小王子说。

“Goodbye,” said the little prince.

“再见。”花说。

“Goodbye,” said the flower.

XIX

XIX

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。

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.

“你好。”小王子试探地问道。

“Good morning,” he said courteously.

“你好……你好……你好……”回音在回答道。

“Good morning — Good morning — Good morning,” answered the echo.

“你们是什么人？”小王子问。

“Who are you?” said the little prince.

“你们是什么人……你们是什么人……你们是什么人……”回音又回答道。

“Who are you — Who are you — Who are you?” answered the echo.

“请你们做我的朋友吧，我很孤独。”他说。

“Be my friends. I am all alone,” he said.

“我很孤独……我很孤独……我很孤独……”回音又回答着。

“I am all alone — all alone — all alone,” answered the echo.

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，

“What a queer planet!” he thought. “It is altogether dry, and altogether pointed, and altogether harsh and forbidding.

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……”

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…”

XX

ХX

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。

ce at last came upon a road. And all roads lead to the abodes of men.

“你们好。”小王子说。

“Good morning,” he said.

这是一个玫瑰盛开的花园。

He was standing before a garden, all a-bloom with roses.

“你好。”玫瑰花说道。

“Good morning,” said the roses.

小王子瞅着这些花，它们全都和他的那朵花一样。

The little prince gazed at them. They all looked like his flower.

“你们是什么花？”小王子惊奇地问。

“Who are you?” he demanded, thunderstruck.

“我们是玫瑰花。”花儿们说道。

“We are roses,” the roses said.

“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！

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!

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……”

“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…”

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……”

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…”

于是，他躺在草丛中哭泣起来。

And he lay down in the grass and cried.

XXI

XXI

就在这当儿，跑来了一只狐狸。

It was then that the fox appeared.

“你好。”狐狸说。

“Good morning,” said the fox.

“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。

“Good morning,” the little prince responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing.

“我在这儿，在苹果树下。”那声音说。

“I am right here,” the voice said, “under the apple tree.”

“你是谁？”小王子说，“你很漂亮。”

“Who are you?” asked the little prince, and added, “You are very pretty to look at.”

“我是一只狐狸。”狐狸说。

“I am a fox,” the fox said.

“来和我一起玩吧，”小王子建议道，“我很苦恼……”

“Come and play with me,” proposed the little prince. “I am so unhappy.”

“我不能和你一起玩，”狐狸说，“我还没有被驯服呢。”

“I cannot play with you,” the fox said. “I am not tamed.”

“啊！真对不起。”小王子说。

“Ah! Please excuse me,” said the little prince.