小王子坐在一块石头上，抬眼望着天空，

"I wonder," he said, whether the stars are set alight in heaven so that one day each one of us may find his own again...

说道：“我捉摸这些星星闪闪发亮是否为了让每个人将来有一天都能重新找到自己的星球。

Look at my planet. It is right there above us. But how far away it is!

看，我那颗行星。它恰好在我们头顶上,可是，它离我们好远哟！

"It is beautiful," the snake said. "What has brought you here?"

“它很美。”蛇说，“你到这里来干什么呢？”

"I have been having some trouble with a flower," said the little prince.

“我和一朵花闹了别扭。”小王子说。

"Ah!" said the snake.

“啊！”蛇说道。

And they were both silent.

于是他们都沉默下来。

"Where are the men?" the little prince at last took up the conversation again. "It is a little lonely in the desert... "

“人在什么地方？”小王子终于又开了腔。“在沙漠上，真有点孤独…”

"It is also lonely among men," the snake said.

“到了有人的地方，也一样孤独。”蛇说。

The little prince gazed at him for a long time.

小王子长时间地看着蛇。

"You are a funny animal," he said at last. "You are no thicker than a finger... "

“你是个奇怪的动物，细得象个手指头…。”小王子终于说道。

"But I am more powerful than the finger of a king," said the snake.

“但我比一个国王的手指更有威力。”蛇说道。

The little prince smiled.

小王子微笑着说,

You are not very powerful. You haven't even any feet. You cannot even travel...

你并不那么有威力,你连脚都没有,你甚至都不能旅行…

"I can carry you farther than any ship could take you," said the snake.

“我可以把你带到很远的地方去，比一只船能去的地方还要远。”蛇说道。

He twined himself around the little prince's ankle, like a golden bracelet.

蛇就盘结在小王子的脚腕子上，象一只金镯子。

"Whomever I touch, I send back to the earth from whence he came," the snake spoke again. "But you are innocent and true, and you come from a star... "

“被我碰触的人，我就把他送回老家去。”蛇还说，“可是你是纯洁的，而且是从另一个星球上来的…”

The little prince made no reply.

小王子什么也没有回答。

"You move me to pity, you are so weak on this Earth made of granite," the snake said.

在这个花岗石的地球上，你这么弱小，我很可怜你。

I can help you, some day, if you grow too homesick for your own planet. I can.

如果你非常怀念你的星球，那时我可以帮助你。我可以.

"Oh! I understand you very well," said the little prince. "But why do you always speak in riddles?"

“啊！我很明白你的意思。”小王子说，“但是你为什么说话总是象让人猜谜语似的？”

"I solve them all," said the snake.

“这些谜语我都能解开的。”蛇说。

And they were both silent.

于是他们又都沉默起来。