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.
随着每一天过去，我会在我们的谈话中了解到一些关于小王子星球的事情，他离开星球的事情，以及他的旅程。这些信息来得很慢，仿佛是从他的思绪中偶然掉落下来的。我就是这样在第三天听说了关于猴面包树的灾难。
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?"
这一次，我再次要感谢绵羊。因为小王子突然问我——好像被一个严重的疑问抓住了一样——“是真的，不是吗，绵羊吃小灌木吗？”
"Yes, that is true."
“是的，那是真的。”
"Ah! I am glad!"
“啊！我很高兴！”
I did not understand why it was so important that sheep should eat little bushes.But the little prince added:
我不明白为什么绵羊吃小灌木是如此重要。但是小王子补充道：
"Then it follows that they also eat baobabs?"
“那么它们也吃猴面包树吗？”
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.
我向小王子指出，猴面包树不是小灌木，而是像城堡一样大的树；即使他带走了一整群大象，这群大象也吃不掉一棵猴面包树。
The idea of the herd of elephants made the little prince laugh.
想到一群大象，小王子笑了。
"We would have to put them one on top of the other," he said.
“我们必须把它们一个叠在另一个上面，”他说。
But he made a wise comment:
但他做出了明智的评论：
"Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little."
“在它们长得这么大之前，猴面包树一开始是很小的。”
"That is strictly correct," I said. "But why do you want the sheep to eat the little baobabs?"
“这完全正确，”我说，“但是你为什么要绵羊吃小猴面包树呢？”
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.
他立刻回答我，“哦，得了吧，得了吧！”，好像他在说一些不言而喻的事情。我不得不付出巨大的脑力劳动来解决这个问题，没有任何帮助。
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.
的确，正如我所了解的那样，在小王子居住的星球上——就像在所有星球上一样——有好植物和坏植物。因此，有好植物的好种子，也有坏植物的坏种子。但是种子是看不见的。它们沉睡在地球黑暗的深处，直到它们中的某个被唤醒的欲望抓住。然后，这颗小种子会伸展自己，并开始——起初是胆怯地——将一根迷人的小嫩枝无害地向上推向太阳。如果它只是一棵小萝卜苗或一枝玫瑰，人们会任其在任何地方生长。但是，如果它是一棵坏植物，人们必须尽快地摧毁它，在人们认出它的那一刻。
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.
现在，在小王子居住的星球上有一些可怕的种子；这些是猴面包树的种子。那个星球的土壤里到处都是它们。
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 . . .
如果你太晚注意它，猴面包树是你永远无法摆脱的东西。它蔓延到整个星球。它的根会把它钻透。如果星球太小，猴面包树太多，它们会把它劈成碎片……
"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."
“这是一个纪律问题，”小王子后来对我说。“早上你完成了自己的梳洗之后，就该认真地、极其仔细地去料理你的星球了。你必须注意经常拔掉所有的猴面包树，在它们刚能和玫瑰树区分开的时候，因为它们在最初的幼年时期非常相似。这是一项非常乏味的工作，”小王子补充说，“但非常容易。”
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 . . ."
有一天他对我说：“你应该画一幅美丽的画，这样你住的地方的孩子们就能清楚地看到这一切是怎样的。如果他们将来旅行，那对他们会很有用。有时候，”他补充说，“把一项工作推迟到另一天并没有什么坏处。但当涉及到猴面包树时，那总是意味着一场灾难。我认识一个星球，那里住着一个懒人。他忽略了三棵小灌木……”
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!"
因此，正如小王子向我描述的那样，我画了一张那个星球的图。我不太喜欢以道德家的口吻说话。但是，猴面包树的危险是如此不为人所知，而且任何人如果迷失在小行星上，都会面临相当大的风险，因此我破例一次，不再有所保留保留。“孩子们，”我坦白地说，“当心猴面包树！”
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.
我的朋友们，像我自己一样，长期以来一直在回避这种危险，却从未意识到它；因此，我为他们在这幅画上付出了如此多的努力。我通过这种方式传递的教训值得我所付出的一切努力。
Perhaps you will ask me, "Why are there no other drawing in this book as magnificent and impressive as this drawing of the baobabs?"
也许你会问我，“为什么这本书里没有其他像这幅猴面包树的画一样壮丽和令人印象深刻的画呢？”
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.
答案很简单。我尝试过了。但是对于其他的，我没有成功。当我画猴面包树的画时，我被紧急的需要所激发的力量带到了忘我的境界。
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.
随着每一天过去，我会在我们的谈话中了解到一些关于小王子星球的事情，他离开星球的事情，以及他的旅程。这些信息来得很慢，仿佛是从他的思绪中偶然掉落下来的。我就是这样在第三天听说了关于猴面包树的灾难。
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?"
这一次，我再次要感谢绵羊。因为小王子突然问我——好像被一个严重的疑问抓住了一样——“是真的，不是吗，绵羊吃小灌木吗？”
"Yes, that is true."
“是的，那是真的。”
"Ah! I am glad!"
“啊！我很高兴！”
I did not understand why it was so important that sheep should eat little bushes.But the little prince added:
我不明白为什么绵羊吃小灌木是如此重要。但是小王子补充道：
"Then it follows that they also eat baobabs?"
“那么它们也吃猴面包树吗？”
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.
我向小王子指出，猴面包树不是小灌木，而是像城堡一样大的树；即使他带走了一整群大象，这群大象也吃不掉一棵猴面包树。
The idea of the herd of elephants made the little prince laugh.
想到一群大象，小王子笑了。
"We would have to put them one on top of the other," he said.
“我们必须把它们一个叠在另一个上面，”他说。
But he made a wise comment:
但他做出了明智的评论：
"Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little."
“在它们长得这么大之前，猴面包树一开始是很小的。”
"That is strictly correct," I said. "But why do you want the sheep to eat the little baobabs?"
“这完全正确，”我说，“但是你为什么要绵羊吃小猴面包树呢？”
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.
他立刻回答我，“哦，得了吧，得了吧！”，好像他在说一些不言而喻的事情。我不得不付出巨大的脑力劳动来解决这个问题，没有任何帮助。
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.
的确，正如我所了解的那样，在小王子居住的星球上——就像在所有星球上一样——有好植物和坏植物。因此，有好植物的好种子，也有坏植物的坏种子。但是种子是看不见的。它们沉睡在地球黑暗的深处，直到它们中的某个被唤醒的欲望抓住。然后，这颗小种子会伸展自己，并开始——起初是胆怯地——将一根迷人的小嫩枝无害地向上推向太阳。如果它只是一棵小萝卜苗或一枝玫瑰，人们会任其在任何地方生长。但是，如果它是一棵坏植物，人们必须尽快地摧毁它，在人们认出它的那一刻。
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.
现在，在小王子居住的星球上有一些可怕的种子；这些是猴面包树的种子。那个星球的土壤里到处都是它们。
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 . . .
如果你太晚注意它，猴面包树是你永远无法摆脱的东西。它蔓延到整个星球。它的根会把它钻透。如果星球太小，猴面包树太多，它们会把它劈成碎片……
"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."
“这是一个纪律问题，”小王子后来对我说。“早上你完成了自己的梳洗之后，就该认真地、极其仔细地去料理你的星球了。你必须注意经常拔掉所有的猴面包树，在它们刚能和玫瑰树区分开的时候，因为它们在最初的幼年时期非常相似。这是一项非常乏味的工作，”小王子补充说，“但非常容易。”
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 . . ."
有一天他对我说：“你应该画一幅美丽的画，这样你住的地方的孩子们就能清楚地看到这一切是怎样的。如果他们将来旅行，那对他们会很有用。有时候，”他补充说，“把一项工作推迟到另一天并没有什么坏处。但当涉及到猴面包树时，那总是意味着一场灾难。我认识一个星球，那里住着一个懒人。他忽略了三棵小灌木……”
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!"
因此，正如小王子向我描述的那样，我画了一张那个星球的图。我不太喜欢以道德家的口吻说话。但是，猴面包树的危险是如此不为人所知，而且任何人如果迷失在小行星上，都会面临相当大的风险，因此我破例一次，不再有所保留保留。“孩子们，”我坦白地说，“当心猴面包树！”
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.
我的朋友们，像我自己一样，长期以来一直在回避这种危险，却从未意识到它；因此，我为他们在这幅画上付出了如此多的努力。我通过这种方式传递的教训值得我所付出的一切努力。
Perhaps you will ask me, "Why are there no other drawing in this book as magnificent and impressive as this drawing of the baobabs?"
也许你会问我，“为什么这本书里没有其他像这幅猴面包树的画一样壮丽和令人印象深刻的画呢？”
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.
答案很简单。我尝试过了。但是对于其他的，我没有成功。当我画猴面包树的画时，我被紧急的需要所激发的力量带到了忘我的境界。