The Little Prince Chapter 7

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.

第五天，像以往一样，感谢那只羊，帮我揭开了小王子生活的秘密。

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:

小王子默默地思索了很长时间以后，无缘无故地突然向我发问：

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

“小绵羊，它要是吃小灌木，它也会吃花吧？”

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

 “绵羊看见什么就吃什么。”我回答道。

"Even flowers that have thorns?"

“带刺的花也吃吗？”

"Yes, even flowers that have thorns."

“带刺的也吃！”

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

“那么刺有什么用呢？”

I did not know. At that moment I was very busy trying to unscrew a bolt that had got stuck in my engine.

我不知道该怎么回答。那会儿我正忙着要从发动机上卸下一颗拧得太紧的螺 丝。

I was very much worried, for it was becoming clear to me that the break down of my plane was extremely serious. And I had so little drinking-water left that I had to fear for the worst.

我发现机器故障似乎很严重，饮用水也快喝完了，我不得不担心发生最坏的状况。

"The thorns——what use are they?"

“那么这些刺有什么用呢？”

The little prince never let go of a question, once he had asked it.

小王子一旦提出问题，就一定要得到答案。

As for me, I was upset over that bolt. And I answered with the first thing that came into my head:

我正被那颗螺丝搞得心烦意乱，就随口说：

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

“刺么，什么用都没有，这纯粹是花的恶劣表现。”

"Oh!"

“噢！”

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

可是他沉默了一会儿之后，心怀不满地冲我说：

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

“我不信！花是弱小的，是很天真的，它们总是设法保护自己，以为有了刺就可以显出自己的厉害……”

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。我当时想的，如果这个螺丝再和我作对，我就一锤子敲掉它。 小王子又一次打乱了我的思绪：

"And you actually believe that the flowers——"

“你却认为花……”

"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!"

“算了吧，算了吧！我什么也不认为！我是随便回答你的。你没看见吗？我正忙着呢，我有正经事要做。”

He stared at me, thunderstruck.

他惊讶地看着我。

"Matters of consequence!"

“正经事！”

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......

他瞅着我手拿锤子，手指沾满了油污，正弯着腰摆弄一台在他看来其丑无比的机器......

"You talk just like the grown-ups!"

“你说话就和那些大人一样！”

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

这话让我有点难堪。可是他丝毫不留情面地接着说道：

"You mix everything up together… You confuse everything…"

“你混淆了一切……你把什么都混在一起！”

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

他着实非常恼火。他晃动着脑袋，金黄色的头发随风飘动。

"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 anyone. He has never done anything in his life but add up figures.

“我到过一个星球，上面住着一位红脸先生。他从来没闻过一朵花。他从来没有看过一颗星星。他什么人也没有喜欢过。除了做加法以外，他什么也没有做过。

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!"

他整天同你一样老是说：‘我有正经事，我是个严肃的人。’这让他越来越骄傲自大。但他不是个人，他是个蘑菇。”

"A what?"

“是个什么？”

"A mushroom!"

“是个蘑菇！”

The little prince was now white with rage.

这时，小王子都气得脸色发白了。

"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?

“花儿长刺已经有几百年了，几百万年以来绵羊也在吃花。要搞清楚为什么花儿费那么大劲长出没有什么用的刺，这难道不是正经事？

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?

难道绵羊和花之间的战争不重要？这难道不比那个红脸先生的加法更重要？

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!"

如果我认识一朵人世间唯一的花，只有我的星球上有它，别的地方都不存在，而一只小绵羊稀里糊涂就这样把它一下子毁掉了，这难道不重要？”

His face turned from white to red as he continued:

他的脸气得发红，又接着说道：

"If someone 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.

“如果有人爱上了在这亿万颗星星中独一无二的一株花，当他看着这些星星的时候，这就足以使他感到幸福。

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!"

他可以自言自语地说：‘我的那朵花就在其中的一颗星星上……’，但是如果绵羊吃掉了这朵花，对他来说，好像所有的星星一下子全都熄灭了一样！这难道也不重要吗？！”

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

他泣不成声，再也说不下去了。

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?

夜幕已经降临，我放下手中的工具。我把锤子、螺丝钉、饥渴、死亡，全都抛在脑后。

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:

在一颗星星上，在一颗星球上，在我的星球——地球上，有一个小王子需要安慰！我把他抱在怀里，轻轻摇晃着，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..."

“你爱的那朵花没有危险……我给你的小羊画一个罩子……我给你的花画一副盔甲……我……”

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.

我也不太知道该说些什么。我觉得自己太笨拙。我不知道怎样才能达到他的境界，怎样才能再进入他的境界。

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

唉，泪水的世界是多么神秘啊！