小王子 第19期:婀娜的花朵

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

　　然后，在一天的早晨，恰好在太阳升起的时候，她开放了。

　　And, after working with all this painstaking¹ precision, she yawned and said:

　　她已经精细地做了那么长的准备工作，却打着哈欠说道：

　　Ah! I am scarcely awake. I beg that you will excuse me.

　　我刚刚睡醒，真对不起，

　　My petals² are still all disarranged.

　　瞧我的头发还是乱蓬蓬的…

　　But the little prince could not restrain his admiration³: "Oh! How beautiful you are!"

　　小王子这时再也控制不住自己的爱慕心情：“你是多么美丽啊！”

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

　　花儿悠然自得地说：“是吧，我是与太阳同时出生的…”

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

　　小王子看出了这花儿不太谦虚，可是她确实丽姿动人。

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

　　她随后又说道：“现在该是吃早点的时候了吧，请你也想着给我准备一点…”

　　And the little prince, completely abashed⁴, went to look for a sprinkling-can of fresh water. So, he tended the flower.

　　小王子很有些不好意思，于是就拿着喷壶，打来了一壶清清的凉水，浇灌着花儿。

　　So, too, she began very quickly to torment⁵ him with her vanity– which was, if the truth be known, a little dificult to deal with.

　　于是，就这样，这朵花儿就以她那有点敏感多疑的虚荣心折磨着小王子。

　　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!"

　　例如，有一天，她向小王子讲起她身上长的四根刺：“老虎，让它张着爪子来吧！”

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

　　小王子顶了她一句：“在我这个星球上没有老虎，而且，老虎是不会吃草的”。

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

　　花儿轻声说道：“我并不是草。”

　　Please excuse me.

　　真对不起。

　　I am not at all afraid of tigers, she went on, but I have a horror of drafts.

　　我并不怕什么老虎，可我讨厌穿堂风。

　　I suppose you wouldn't have a screen for me?

　　你没有屏风？

　　"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."

　　小王子思忖着：“讨厌穿堂风…这对一株植物来说，真不走运，这朵花儿真不大好伺候…”

1 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

2 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

4 abashed   

adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He glanced at Juliet accusingly and she looked suitably abashed. 他怪罪的一瞥，朱丽叶自然显得很窘。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The girl was abashed by the laughter of her classmates. 那小姑娘因同学的哄笑而局促不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 torment   

n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠

参考例句：

• He has never suffered the torment of rejection.他从未经受过遭人拒绝的痛苦。
• Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each other.没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。