The geographer was suddenly stirred to excitement.
地理学家忽然忙乱起来。
"But you-- you come from far away! You are an explorer! You shall describe your planet to me!"
“正好,你是从老远来的么!你是个探察家!你来给我介绍一下你的星球吧!”
And, having opened his big register, the geographer sharpened his pencil. The recitals of explorers are put down first in pencil. One waits until the explorer has furnished proofs, before putting them down in ink.
于是,已经打开登记簿的地理学家,削起他的铅笔来。他首先是用铅笔记下探察家的叙述,等到探察家提出了证据以后再用墨水笔记下来。
"Well?" said the geographer expectantly.
“怎么样?”地理学家询问道。
"Oh, where I live," said the little prince, "it is not very interesting. It is all so small. I have three volcanoes. Two volcanoes are active and the other is extinct. But one never knows."
“啊!我那里,”小王子说道,“没有多大意思,那儿很小。我有三座火山,两座是活的,一座是熄灭了的。但是也很难说。”
"One never knows," said the geographer.
“很难说。”地理学家说道。
"I have also a flower."
“我还有一朵花。”
"We do not record flowers," said the geographer.
“我们是不记载花卉的。”地理学家说。
"Why is that? The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!"
“这是为什么?花是最美丽的东西。”
"We do not record them," said the geographer, "because they are ephemeral."
“因为花卉是短暂的。”
"What does that mean-- 'ephemeral'?"
“什么叫短暂?”
"Geographies," said the geographer, "are the books which, of all books, are most concerned with matters of consequence. They never become old-fashioned.
“地理学书籍是所有书中最严肃的书。”地理学家说道,“这类书是从不会过时的。
It is very rarely that a mountain changes its position. It is very rarely that an ocean empties itself of its waters. We write of eternal things."
很少会发生一座山变换了位置,很少会出现一个海洋干涸的现象。我们要写永恒的东西。”