The Little Prince 小王子 - Chapter 7

The Little Prince 小王子 - Chapter 7

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本篇摘要：
—the narrator learns about the secret of the little prince's life. 
—叙述者知道了小王子生活的秘密 
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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: 
第五天，一如既往，又是因为羊，我知道了小王子生活的秘密。很突然，没有任何暗示，似乎他已经把他的事情默默地思索了很久才想出这样一个问题，他问我： 


"A sheep—if it eats little bushes, does it eat flowers, too?" “羊如果吃小灌木，那吃不吃花呢？” 


"A sheep," I answered, "eats anything it finds in its reach." 我回答他说：“只要是够得到的东西，它都要吃。” 


"Even flowers that have thorns?" “甚至是带刺的花吗？” 


"Yes, even flowers that have thorns." “是的，就算是长刺的花。” 


"Then the thorns—what use are they?" “那么那些刺——它们有什么用呢？” 


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. 
我不知道。那一刻，我正忙着旋开一个卡在引擎里的螺栓。我太焦虑了，因为我愈加明白，我的飞机出现的故障有多严重。而且，我的饮用水也所剩无几，这让我不得不做出最坏的打算。


"The thorns—what use are they?" “那些刺有什么用处呢？” 


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: 
小王子只要问了一个问题，就从来不会放过它。而我，却在为那个螺栓而心烦呢。于是，我不加思索地回答道： 


"The thorns are of no use at all. Flowers have thorns just for spite!" “那些刺根本没什么用。花长刺只是为了扎人而已！” 


"Oh!" “噢！” 


There was a moment of complete silence. Then the little prince flashed back at me, with a kind of resentfulness: 
一时间，鸦雀无声。然后，小王子便带着一种愤恨的表情冲着我大叫： 


"I don't believe you! Flowers are weak creatures. They are naive. They reassure themselves as best they can. They believe that their thorns are terrible weapons..." 
“我不信！花是弱势生物。它们很单纯。它们尽可能让自己安心。它们相信它们的刺就是厉害的武器……” 


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. 
我没有回答他。那一瞬间我对自己说：“如果这个螺栓还转不动，我就拿锤子把它砸掉。”小王子再一次扰乱了我的思绪。 "


And you actually believe that the flowers—" “你真的认为花——” 


"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!" 
“噢，不！”我叫喊起来。“不，不，不！我没有任何看法。我想到什么就信口回答你什么了。你没看到吗？我正忙重要的事呢！” 


He stared at me, thunderstruck. 他盯着我，惊呆了。 


"Matters of consequence!" “重要的事！” 


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... 
他就看着我在那儿，手里拿着个锤子，指头上满是黑色的机油，俯身弄着一个对他来说似乎特别丑陋的东西…… 


"You talk just like the grown—ups!" “你讲话就跟那些大人一个样！” 


That made me a little ashamed. But he went on, relentlessly: 这让我有些惭愧。可他继续无情地说道： 


"You mix everything up together... You confuse everything..." “你把什么事情都混为一谈……什么都没有搞清楚……” 


He was really very angry. He tossed his golden curls in the breeze. 
他真的是非常生气。他猛摇着头，金黄色的发卷在微风中颤抖。 "


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!" 
“我知道在一个星球上，有那么一个红脸的先生。他从未闻过一朵花。他从未看过一颗星星。他从来没有爱过任何人。除了算数，他这辈子什么事情也没做过。他整天不停地唠叨，就像你一样：‘我在忙重要的事呢！’而且这让他自我膨胀。可他不是人，他是个蘑菇！” 


"A what?" “是个什么？” 


"A mushroom!" “蘑菇！” 


The little prince was now white with rage. 此刻，小王子气得脸色发白。 


"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!" 
“几百万年来，花都长着刺。因为几百万年来，羊都一样要吃它们。那么，弄明白花为什么费了这么大劲长出那些毫无用处的刺来，不是一件重要的事吗？羊与花的战争难道就不重要吗？难道就不比那个红脸胖子先生的数字更重要吗？若是我知道——我是说我，我自己——知道有这么一朵花，它是世界上独一无二的，只在我的星球上生长，其他地方都找不到，而有那么一天早上，一只小羊只啃了一口，就将它毁掉了，却丝毫没有察觉他做了什么事情——噢！你竟认为那不重要！” 


His face turned from white to red as he continued: 他继续说道，脸色从白色变成通红： 


"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!" 
“如果一个人喜爱一株花，这花又是亿万颗星星上唯一的一株，那么只是看着星星就足以让他开心。他可以对自己说：‘某个地方，我的花就在那里……’但如果羊把花吃掉了，顷刻间，他所有的星星都会熄灭……你居然认为那不重要！” 


He could not say anything more. His words were choked by sobbing. 
他再也说不出话来。他哽咽了，开始抽泣起来。 


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: 
夜幕降临。我把手里的工具放下。现在管它什么锤子、螺栓，是口渴，还是死亡？在一颗星星上，一个星球上，在我的星球上，地球上，有一个小王子需要我去安慰。我把他搂在怀里，摇着他。我对他说： 


"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—" 
“你喜爱的花很安全。我给你的羊画一个嘴套。我再给你画个栏杆，把你的花围在里面。我会——” 


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. 
我不知道该跟他说什么。我感到很尴尬，觉得自己很笨拙。我不知道怎样才能触动他的内心，再次赶上他，和他携手向前。 


It is such a secret place, the land of tears. 泪水的世界是这样一个神秘的地方。


~The End of Chapter 7.