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:
“A sheep–if it eats little bushes, does it eat flowers, too?”
"A sheep," I answered, "eats anything it finds in its reach."
“Even flowers that have thorns?”
“Yes, even flowers that have thorns.”
“Then the thorns–what use are they?”
在第五天的时候，与往常一样依旧是小羊的缘故，小王子生活中的一些秘密在我面前揭开。貌似已经在沉默中思索良久，小王子突然问了我一个莫名其妙的问题：
“羊如果以灌木为食，那一样也会吃花咯？”
“羊碰到什么就会吃什么。”我回答道。
“哪怕带刺的花也吃吗？”
“对！即使花儿有刺照吃不误。”
“那这样的话，花刺又有什么用呢？”
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.
我无言以对。当时，我正在忙着拆卸发动机上一粒被锁死的螺丝。我有些心急火燎，我清楚地知道我的飞机故障十分糟糕，而且饮用水也所剩不多，我之前所担心的最坏的情况即将来临。
被困沙漠
“The thorns–what use are they?”
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:
"The thorns are of no use at all. Flowers have thorns just for spite!"
“Oh!”
“花刺，到底有什么用途呢？”
小王子一旦发问，就一定要打破沙锅问到底。那颗该死的螺栓让我憋了一肚子火，于是想也没想就随口答道：
“那些刺什么用途都没有！就只是花没事长着玩而已。”
“噢！”
There was a moment of complete silence. Then the little prince flashed back at me, with a kind of resentfulness:
"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.”
小王子沉默了好一阵子，猛地扭头一脸愤愤不平的样子说道：
“我才不信咧！花，那样柔弱姣好，那样纯真无邪，一直都要想方设法地保护自己才能心安，所以它们会把刺当成最厉害的武器。”
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.
“And you actually believe that the flowers…”
"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!”
我默不作声，那一瞬间我心里想到的是：“如果这颗螺丝再如此顽固，就只好一锤子敲下来了。”可是，小王子又再一次打断我的思绪。
“然后你却认为花……”
“啊！行了！”我欲哭无泪地喊到：“我只是随口一说而已，一点一件都没有！你难道没有看见，我还有一大堆正经事情要处理吗？”
He stared at me, thunderstruck.
"Matters of consequence!"
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.
"You talk just like the grown-ups!"
That made me a little ashamed. But he went on, relentlessly:
"You mix everything up together...You confuse everything."
他目瞪口呆地注视着我。
“正经事？”
那时候他就那样看着，我满手油污地拎着锤子俯身修理着机件，而发动机对于他来说简直丑不堪言。
“你说话和那些大人们一个样！”
他的话让我觉得有些愧疚。可他仍旧不依不饶地说道：
“你将一切混为一谈……你也分辨不清事物之间的差别。”
"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!"
"A what?"
"A mushroom!"
他满脸怒容，小脑袋来回地摇动，金黄色的头发随风飘动着。
“我曾经去过一个星球，上面住着一位红脸先生。他从来都不曾闻到过花香，也从来不曾望见过星辰，更不曾喜欢过任何人。他的一辈子除了算账之外，无甚建树。他就像你一样，整天嚷嚷着：'我还有正经事要做。'并且他还以此为傲。不过他应该不是一个人，而是一朵蘑菇。”
“一朵什么？”
“一朵蘑菇！”
The little prince was now white with rage.
"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!"
当时小王子气得脸色发白。他说：
“花儿早在几百万年以前就开始长刺，而从几百万年前到现在，小羊也仍然会吃花儿。倘若花儿长刺毫无用处的话，为什么要如此大费周章地生长？我想试着寻求答案，这难道不是正经事情吗？难道小羊和花儿之间的战争就如此不值一提吗？这难道没有比红脸先生的账目来得重要吗?就此而言，如果我自己的星球上生长着一朵举世无双的花儿，却在某天清晨被一只小羊稀里糊涂地吃掉了。啊！这多可悲！你居然觉得一点都不重要！”
His face turned from white to red as he continued:
"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!"
He could not say anything more. His words were choked by sobbing.
他的脸由之前的毫无血色变得面红耳赤，气愤地又开口说道：
“假如有人喜欢一株花，那只是一朵在亿万星球中独自盛开的花，但当他抬头望着星空的时候，就足以感到欣喜。他可以喃喃自语道：‘我的花，就生长在其中的一颗星星上。’可是若让小羊将那朵花吃掉，他就会觉得眼中的群星一下子变得黯淡无光。你竟然还会觉得这是一件无关紧要的事情！”
他已经泣不成声，再也说不出任何言语。
小王子与花
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：
"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..."
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.
It is such a secret place, the land of tears.
夜幕降临。
我丢下手中的工具结束工作。那一刻，我将一切抛之脑后，再不管什么锤子和螺丝，也不去想饥渴和死亡的问题。在一颗星球，一颗行星，一颗我所在的名曰地球的行星上，这里正有一个小王子需要得到安慰。我将他拥入怀中，轻轻地摇晃抚慰着，并对他说：
“你所爱着的那朵花不会遇到任何危险。我会给你的小羊画上一个口套，并在那朵花的四周画上围栏。我还会……”
我实在不知道该说些什么，觉得十分懊恼和愚蠢。我不晓得如何才能宽慰他，如何才能走进他的内心世界，如何才能再次与他一起畅所欲言。
眼泪的国度，怎会如此神秘难测。
夜幕观星
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