the narrator’s afterthoughts
旁白的余思

And now six years have already gone by…
如今已经过去了六年…

I have never yet told this story.
我从未讲述过这个故事。 —

The companions who met me on my return were well content to see me alive.
那些在我回来的时候与我相见的朋友们都很高兴见到我还活着。我很悲伤， —

I was sad, but I told them: “I am tired.”
但告诉他们：“我很累。”

Now my sorrow is comforted a little.
现在我的悲伤稍稍得到了安慰。 —

That is to say– not entirely.
也就是说——并不完全。 —

But I know that he did go back to his planet, because I did not find his body at daybreak.
但我知道他确实回到了他的星球，因为黎明时我没有找到他的尸体。 —

It was not such a heavy body.
它并不是很重的身体. —

.. and at night I love to listen to the stars.
..在夜晚我喜欢聆听星星的声音。 —

It is like five hundred million little bells…
就像五亿颗小小的铃铛…

But there is one extraordinary thing.
但有一件非同寻常的事情. —

.. when I drew the muzzle for the little prince, I forgot to add the leather strap to it.
..当我为小王子画上枪口时，我忘了加上皮带。 —

He will never have been able to fasten it on his sheep.
他将永远无法将它系在他的绵羊身上。 —

So now I keep wondering:
所以现在我一直在想： —

what is happening on his planet?
他的星球上正在发生什么？ —

Perhaps the sheep has eaten the flower…
也许绵羊吃掉了那朵花…

At one time I say to myself: “Surely not!
有一次我对自己说：“肯定不是！ —

The little prince shuts his flower under her glass globe every night, and he watches over his sheep very carefully.
小王子每天晚上都把他的花放在玻璃罩下，他非常注意照顾他的绵羊。” —

..” Then I am happy. And there is sweetness in the laughter of all the stars.
我很开心。在所有星星的笑声中都有甜蜜。

But at another time I say to myself:
但在其他时候，我对自己说： —

“At some moment or other one is absent-minded, and that is enough!
“有时候会心不在焉，这已经足够了！” —

On some one evening he forgot the glass globe, or the sheep got out, without making any noise, in the night.
在某个晚上，他忘记了玻璃罩或者羊在黑夜里无声无息地逃走了。 —

..” And then the little bells are changed to tears…
然后小铃铛变成了眼泪…

Here, then, is a great mystery.
所以，这是一个伟大的谜团。 —

For you who also love the little prince, and for me, nothing in the universe can be the same if somewhere, we do not know where, a sheep that we never saw has– yes or no?
对于你也爱着小王子的人，对我来说，在宇宙中的任何地方，如果一只我们从未见过的羊——是的还是不？——吃掉了一朵玫瑰花， —

– eaten a rose…
那么没有什么是一样的…

Look up at the sky. Ask yourselves:
抬头看看天空，问问自己： —

is it yes or no? Has the sheep eaten the flower?
是还是不是？羊吃掉了那朵花吗？ —

And you will see how everything changes…
你会看到一切都会改变…

And no grown-up will ever understand that this is a matter of so much importance!
没有一个大人会理解这的确是件非常重要的事情！

This is, to me, the loveliest and saddest landscape in the world.
对我来说，这是世界上最美丽和最悲伤的风景。 —

It is the same as that on the preceding page, but I have drawn it again to impress it on your memory.
它和前一页上的一样，但我重新画了一次，为了让你记住它。 —

It is here that the little prince appeared on Earth, and disappeared.
在这里，小王子出现在地球上，并消失了。

Look at it carefully so that you will be sure to recognise it in case you travel some day to the African desert.
请仔细观察它，以便在将来有一天您去非洲沙漠时能够识别它。 —

And, if you should come upon this spot, please do not hurry on.
如果您碰巧在这个地点，请不要匆忙离开。 —

Wait for a time, exactly under the star.
在星星下等待一段时间。 —

Then, if a little man appears who laughs, who has golden hair and who refuses to answer questions, you will know who he is.
然后，如果出现一个笑着的小人，他有金发，拒绝回答问题，您会知道他是谁。 —

If this should happen, please comfort me.
如果这种情况发生，请安慰我。 —

Send me word that he has come back.
告诉我他回来了。

To Leon Werth
致列昂·韦尔特

I ask the indulgence of the children who may read this book for dedicating it to a grown-up.
我为可能会读到这本书的孩子们致以谅解，因为我将其献给了一个成年人。 —

I have a serious reason:
我有一个重要的原因： —

he is the best friend I have in the world.
他是我在世上最好的朋友。 —

I have another reason:
我还有另一个原因： —

this grown-up understands everything, even books about children.
这位成年人能理解一切，甚至是关于孩子的书。 —

I have a third reason:
我还有第三个原因： —

he lives in France where he is hungry and cold.
他生活在法国，他饥饿和寒冷。 —

He needs cheering up.
他需要振作起来。 —

If all these reasons are not enough, I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew.
如果所有这些原因都不足够，那我就把这本书献给这个成年人生长的孩子。 —

All grown-ups were once children– although few of them remember it.
所有成年人都曾经是孩子——尽管他们中的很少几个人记得。 —

And so I correct my dedication:
因此，我更正了我的献辞：

To Leon Werth when he was a little boy
给小男孩莱昂·韦尔特。