If I have told you these details about the asteroid, and made a note of its number for you, it is on account of the grown-ups and their ways.
我给你们讲关于小行星B612的这么多琐事，还告诉你们它的编号，都是这些大人的缘故。
Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters.
这些大人们就爱数字。当你对大人们讲起你的一个新朋友时，他们从来不向你提出实质性的问题。
They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?"
他们从来不讲：“他说话声音是什么样的啊？他喜欢玩什么样的游戏啊？他喜不喜欢收集蝴蝶标本啊？”
Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?" Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
他们只会问你：“他多大呀？有几个兄弟呀？多重呀？他父亲挣多少钱呀？”他们觉得只有这样才能了解朋友。
If you were to say to the grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof," they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all.
同样地，如果你对大人们说：“我看到一幢用玫瑰色的砖盖成的漂亮的房子，它的窗户上有天竺葵，屋顶上还有鸽子……”他们根本想象不出这种房子有多么好。
You would have to say to them: "I saw a house that cost $20,000." Then they would exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house that is!"
你必须跟他们说：“我看见了一幢价值十万法郎的房子。”那么他们就会惊呼：“多么漂亮的房子啊！”
Just so, you might say to them: "The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists."
要是你对他们说：“小王子存在的证据就是他很招人喜欢，他喜欢笑，他在找一只羊。他想要一只小羊，这就证明了他的存在。”
And what good would it do to tell them that? They would shrug their shoulders, and treat you like a child. But if you said to them: "The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612," then they would be convinced, and leave you in peace from their questions.
他们一定会耸耸肩膀，把你当作孩子看待！但是，如果你对他们说：“小王子来自的星球就是小行星B612”，那么他们就会相信，就不会提出一大堆问题来和你纠缠。他们就是这样的。
They are like that. One must not hold it against them. Children should always show great forbearance toward grown-up people.
大人们就是这样的。小孩子们对大人们应该大度些，不要埋怨他们。
But certainly, for us who understand life, figures are a matter of indifference. I should have liked to begin this story in the fashion of the fairy-tales. I should have like to say:
当然，对我们这些懂得生活的人来说，我们才不在乎那些编号呢！我真愿意像讲童话那样来开始这个故事，我真想这样说：
Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet that was scarcely any bigger than himself, and who had need of a sheep..."
“从前呀，有一个小王子，他住在一个和他差不多大小的星球上，他希望有一只小羊当他的朋友…….”
To those who understand life, that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story.
对懂得生活的人来说，这样说就显得真实很多。
For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly. I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories.
我可不喜欢人们漫不经心地读我的书。我在讲述这些往事时心情是很难过的。
Six years have already passed since my friend went away from me, with his sheep. If I try to describe him here, it is to make sure that I shall not forget him.
我的朋友带着他的小羊离开已经有六年了。我之所以在这里尽力把他描写出来，就是为了不要忘记他。
To forget a friend is sad. Not everyone has had a friend. And if I forget him, I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures...
忘记一个朋友，这太叫人悲伤了。并不是所有的人都有过一个朋友。再说，我也可能变成那些大人那样，只对数字感兴趣。
It is for that purpose, again, that I have bought a box of paints and some pencils.
也正是因为这个原因，我买了一盒颜料和一些铅笔。
It is hard to take up drawing again at my age, when I have never made any pictures except those of the boa constrictor from the outside and the boa constrictor from the inside, since I was six.
像我这样年纪的人，而且除了六岁时画过敞着肚皮的和合着肚皮的巨蟒之外，别的什么也没有尝试过，现在，重新再来画画，真不容易啊！
I shall certainly try to make my portraits as true to life as possible. But I am not at all sure of success. One drawing goes along all right, and another has no resemblance to its subject.
当然，我一定要尽量地画得逼真一点，但我自己也没有把握能画好。往往一张画得还可以，另一张就不像了。
我给你们讲关于小行星B612的这么多琐事，还告诉你们它的编号，都是这些大人的缘故。
Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters.
这些大人们就爱数字。当你对大人们讲起你的一个新朋友时，他们从来不向你提出实质性的问题。
They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?"
他们从来不讲：“他说话声音是什么样的啊？他喜欢玩什么样的游戏啊？他喜不喜欢收集蝴蝶标本啊？”
Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?" Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
他们只会问你：“他多大呀？有几个兄弟呀？多重呀？他父亲挣多少钱呀？”他们觉得只有这样才能了解朋友。
If you were to say to the grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof," they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all.
同样地，如果你对大人们说：“我看到一幢用玫瑰色的砖盖成的漂亮的房子，它的窗户上有天竺葵，屋顶上还有鸽子……”他们根本想象不出这种房子有多么好。
You would have to say to them: "I saw a house that cost $20,000." Then they would exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house that is!"
你必须跟他们说：“我看见了一幢价值十万法郎的房子。”那么他们就会惊呼：“多么漂亮的房子啊！”
Just so, you might say to them: "The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists."
要是你对他们说：“小王子存在的证据就是他很招人喜欢，他喜欢笑，他在找一只羊。他想要一只小羊，这就证明了他的存在。”
And what good would it do to tell them that? They would shrug their shoulders, and treat you like a child. But if you said to them: "The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612," then they would be convinced, and leave you in peace from their questions.
他们一定会耸耸肩膀，把你当作孩子看待！但是，如果你对他们说：“小王子来自的星球就是小行星B612”，那么他们就会相信，就不会提出一大堆问题来和你纠缠。他们就是这样的。
They are like that. One must not hold it against them. Children should always show great forbearance toward grown-up people.
大人们就是这样的。小孩子们对大人们应该大度些，不要埋怨他们。
But certainly, for us who understand life, figures are a matter of indifference. I should have liked to begin this story in the fashion of the fairy-tales. I should have like to say:
当然，对我们这些懂得生活的人来说，我们才不在乎那些编号呢！我真愿意像讲童话那样来开始这个故事，我真想这样说：
Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet that was scarcely any bigger than himself, and who had need of a sheep..."
“从前呀，有一个小王子，他住在一个和他差不多大小的星球上，他希望有一只小羊当他的朋友…….”
To those who understand life, that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story.
对懂得生活的人来说，这样说就显得真实很多。
For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly. I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories.
我可不喜欢人们漫不经心地读我的书。我在讲述这些往事时心情是很难过的。
Six years have already passed since my friend went away from me, with his sheep. If I try to describe him here, it is to make sure that I shall not forget him.
我的朋友带着他的小羊离开已经有六年了。我之所以在这里尽力把他描写出来，就是为了不要忘记他。
To forget a friend is sad. Not everyone has had a friend. And if I forget him, I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures...
忘记一个朋友，这太叫人悲伤了。并不是所有的人都有过一个朋友。再说，我也可能变成那些大人那样，只对数字感兴趣。
It is for that purpose, again, that I have bought a box of paints and some pencils.
也正是因为这个原因，我买了一盒颜料和一些铅笔。
It is hard to take up drawing again at my age, when I have never made any pictures except those of the boa constrictor from the outside and the boa constrictor from the inside, since I was six.
像我这样年纪的人，而且除了六岁时画过敞着肚皮的和合着肚皮的巨蟒之外，别的什么也没有尝试过，现在，重新再来画画，真不容易啊！
I shall certainly try to make my portraits as true to life as possible. But I am not at all sure of success. One drawing goes along all right, and another has no resemblance to its subject.
当然，我一定要尽量地画得逼真一点，但我自己也没有把握能画好。往往一张画得还可以，另一张就不像了。
