英文小說連載《小王子》No.8 驕傲的花

　　I soon learned to know this flower better. On the little prince's planet the flowers had always been very simple. They had only one ring of petals； they took up no room at all； they were a trouble to nobody. One morning they would appear in the grass， and by night they would have faded peacefully away. But one day， from a seed blown from no one knew where， a new flower had come up； and the little prince had watched very closely over this small sprout which was not like any other small sprouts on his planet. It might， you see， have been a new kind of baobab.

　　The shrub soon stopped growing， and began to get ready to produce a flower. The little prince， who was present at the first appearance of a huge bud， felt at once that some sort of miraculous apparition must emerge from it. But the flower was not satisfied to complete the preparations for her beauty in the shelter of her green chamber. She chose her colours with the greatest care. She adjusted her petals one by one. She did not wish to go out into the world all rumpled， like the field poppies. It was only in the full radiance of her beauty that she wished to appear. Oh， yes！ She was a coquettish creature！ And her mysterious adornment lasted for days and days.

　　Then one morning， exactly at sunrise， she suddenly showed herself.

　　And， after working with all this painstaking precision， she yawned and said：

　　"Ah！ I am scarcely awake. I beg that you will excuse me. My petals are still all disarranged..."

　　But the little prince could not restrain his admiration：

　　"Oh！ How beautiful you are！"

　　"Am I not？" the flower responded， sweetly. "And I was born at the same moment as the sun..."

　　The little prince could guess easily enough that she was not any too modest-- but how moving-- and exciting-- she was！

　　"I think it is time for breakfast，" she added an instant later. "If you would have the kindness to think of my needs--"

　　And the little prince， completely abashed， went to look for a sprinkling-can of fresh water. So， he tended the flower.

　　So， too， she began very quickly to torment him with her vanity-- which was， if the truth be known， a little difficult to deal with. One day， for instance， when she was speaking of her four thorns， she said to the little prince：

　　"Let the tigers come with their claws！"

　　"There are no tigers on my planet，" the little prince objected. "And， anyway， tigers do not eat weeds."

　　"I am not a weed，" the flower replied， sweetly.

　　"Please excuse me..."

　　"I am not at all afraid of tigers，" she went on， "but I have a horror of drafts. I suppose you wouldn't have a screen for me？"

　　"A horror of drafts-- that is bad luck， for a plant，" remarked the little prince， and added to himself， "This flower is a very complex creature..."

　　"At night I want you to put me under a glass globe. It is very cold where you live. In the place I came from--"

　　But she interrupted herself at that point. She had come in the form of a seed. She could not have known anything of any other worlds. Embarassed over having let herself be caught on the verge of such a na飗e untruth， she coughed two or three times， in order to put the little prince in the wrong.

　　"The screen？"

　　"I was just going to look for it when you spoke to me..."

　　Then she forced her cough a little more so that he should suffer from remorse just the same.

　　So the little prince， in spite of all the good will that was inseparable from his love， had soon come to doubt her. He had taken seriously words which were without importance， and it made him very unhappy.

　　"I ought not to have listened to her，" he confided to me one day. "One never ought to listen to the flowers. One should simply look at them and breathe their fragrance. Mine perfumed all my planet. But I did not know how to take pleasure in all her grace. This tale of claws， which disturbed me so much， should only have filled my heart with tenderness and pity."

　　And he continued his confidences：

　　"The fact is that I did not know how to understand anything！ I ought to have judged by deeds and not by words. She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her... I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little strategems. Flowers are so inconsistent！ But I was too young to know how to love her..."

　　很快我就進一步了解了這朵花兒。在小王子的星球上，過去一直都生長著一些只有一層花瓣的很簡單的花。這些花非常小，一點也不占地方，從來也不會去打攪任何人。她們早晨在草叢中開放，晚上就凋謝了。不知從哪里來了一顆種子，忽然一天這種子發(fā)了芽。小王子特別仔細地監(jiān)視著這棵與眾不同的小苗：這玩藝說不定是一種新的猴面包樹。但是，這小苗不久就不再長了，而且開始孕育著一個花朵�？吹皆谶@棵苗上長出了一個很大很大的花蕾，小王子感覺到從這個花苞中一定會出現(xiàn)一個奇跡。然而這朵花藏在它那綠茵茵的房間中用了很長的時間來打扮自己。她精心選擇著她將來的顏色，慢慢騰騰地妝飾著，一片片地搭配著她的花瓣，她不愿象虞美人那樣一出世就滿臉皺紋。她要讓自己帶著光艷奪目的麗姿來到世間。是的，她是非常愛俏的。她用好些好些日子天仙般地梳妝打扮。然后，在一天的早晨，恰好在太陽升起的時候，她開放了。

　　她已經精細地做了那么長的準備工作，卻打著哈欠說道：

　　“我剛剛睡醒，真對不起，瞧我的頭發(fā)還是亂蓬蓬的…”

　　小王子這時再也控制不住自己的愛慕心情：

　　“你是多么美麗��！”

　　花兒悠然自得地說：

　　“是吧，我是與太陽同時出生的…”

　　小王子看出了這花兒不太謙虛，可是她確實麗姿動人。

　　她隨后又說道：“現(xiàn)在該是吃早點的時候了吧，請你也想著給我準備一點…”

　　小王子很有些不好意思，于是就拿著噴壺，打來了一壺清清的涼水，澆灌著花兒。

　　于是，就這樣，這朵花兒就以她那有點敏感多疑的虛榮心折磨著小王子。例如，有一天，她向小王子講起她身上長的四根刺：

　　“老虎，讓它張著爪子來吧！”

　　小王子頂了她一句：“在我這個星球上沒有老虎，而且，老虎是不會吃草的”。

　　花兒輕聲說道：“我并不是草。”

　　“真對不起。”

　　“我并不怕什么老虎，可我討厭穿堂風。你沒有屏風？”

　　小王子思忖著：“討厭穿堂風…這對一株植物來說，真不走運，這朵花兒真不大好伺候…”

　　“晚上您得把我保護好。你這地方太冷。在這里住得不好，我原來住的那個地方…”

　　但她沒有說下去。她來的時候是粒種子。她哪里見過什么別的世界。她叫人發(fā)現(xiàn)她是在湊一個如此不太高明的謊話，她有點羞怒，咳嗽了兩三聲。她的這一招是要小王子處于有過失的地位，她說道：

　　“屏風呢？”

　　“我這就去拿�？赡銊偛耪f的是…”

　　于是花兒放開嗓門咳嗽了幾聲，依然要使小王子后悔自己的過失。

　　盡管小王子本來誠心誠意地喜歡這朵花，可是，這一來，卻使他馬上對她產生了懷疑。小王子對一些無關緊要的話看得太認真，結果使自己很苦惱。

　　有一天他告訴我說：“我不該聽信她的話，絕不該聽信那些花兒的話，看看花，聞聞它就得了。我的那朵花使我的星球芳香四溢，可我不會享受它。關于老虎爪子的事，本應該使我產生同情，卻反而使我惱火…”

　　他還告訴我說：

　　“我那時什么也不懂！我應該根據(jù)她的行為，而不是根據(jù)她的話來判斷她。她使我的生活芬芳多彩，我真不該離開她跑出來。我本應該猜出在她那令人愛憐的花招后面所隱藏的溫情�；ㄊ嵌嗝醋韵嗝�盾！我當時太年青，還不懂得愛她。”