Oh, little prince! Bit by bit I came to understand the secrets of your sad little life...

小王子啊，就这样，我渐渐懂得了你那忧郁的生活。

For a long time you had found your only entertainment in the quiet pleasure of looking at the sunset.

在过去的很长一段时间里，你唯一的乐趣就是静静地看着夕阳西下。

I learned that new detail on the morning of the fourth day, when you said to me:

我是在第四天早晨知道的，当时你对我说：

"I am very fond of sunsets. Come, let us go look at a sunset now."

“我喜欢看日落。走，我们一起去看日落吧！”

"But we must wait," I said.

“可是我们得等等……”我说。

"Wait? For what?"

“等什么？”

"For the sunset. We must wait until it is time."

“等太阳落山。”

At first you seemed to be very much surprised. And then you laughed to yourself. You said to me:

起初，你很吃惊，然后你就笑了笑。你对我说：

"I am always thinking that I am at home!"

“我总以为是在自己的星球上呢！”

Just so. Everybody knows that when it is noon in the United States the sun is setting over France.

的确，大家都知道，当美国还是正午的时候，在法国，正夕阳西下。

If you could fly to France in one minute, you could go straight into the sunset, right from noon. Unfortunately, France is too far away for that.

只要在一分钟内赶到法国，就能看到日落了，可惜法国太远了。

But on your tiny planet, my little prince, all you need to do is move your chair a few steps. You can see the day end and the twilight falling whenever you like…

而在你那样的小行星上， 你只要把你的椅子挪动几步就行了。这样，你便可随时看到你想看的落日余辉……

"One day," you said to me, "I saw the sunset forty-four times!"

“有一天，我看了四十四次日落。”你跟我说。

And a little later you added:

过一会儿，你又说：

"You know-- one loves the sunset, when one is so sad…"

“你知道，当人们感到非常难过的时候，总是喜欢看日落。”

"Were you so sad, then?" I asked, "on the day of the forty-four sunsets?"

“那天你看了四十四次日落，你一定非常难过吧。”

But the little prince made no reply.

小王子没有回答。