他瞅着我手拿锤子，手指沾满了油污，伏在一个在他看来丑不成言的机件上。
但是他沉默了一会儿以后，怀着不满的表情冲我说：“我不信！花是强大的、浑厚的，它们老是设法庇护本身，觉得有了刺便能够显出本身的短长……”
He looked at me there, with my hammer in my hand, my fingers black with engine-grease, bending down over an object which seemed to him extremely ugly...
我没答复。我当时想的是，如果这颗螺丝再和我作对，我就一锤子敲掉它。小王子又来打搅我的思路了：“你却以为花……”
"The thorns― what use are they"The little prince never let go of a question, once he had asked it. As for me, I was upset over that bolt. And I answered with the first thing that came into my head:"The thorns are of no use at all. Flowers have thorns just for spite!""Oh!"
“是个甚么？”
他没法再说下去了，俄然泣不成声。
"You talk just like the grown-ups!"That made me a little ashamed. But he went on, relentlessly:"You mix everything up together... You confuse everything..."He was really very angry. He tossed his golden curls in the breeze.
这话使我有点尴尬。但是他又刻薄无情地持续说道：“你把甚么都混在一起……你把统统都搅散了。”
小王子一旦提出了题目，向来不会放过。这颗该死的螺丝使我很恼火，我因而就遵循大脑中的第一反应，随便答复了他一句：“刺甚么用都没有，花儿们的刺只是为了用心伤害别人。”
“连有刺的花也吃吗？”
“几百万年以来花儿都有刺，几百万年以来绵羊都在吃带刺的花。要搞清楚为甚么花儿费那么大劲给本身长了没有甚么用的刺，这莫非不是端庄事？莫非绵羊和花之间的战役不首要？这莫非不比阿谁大瘦子红脸先生的账目更首要？如果我熟谙一朵大家间独一的花，只要我的星球上有它，别的处所都不存在，而一只小绵羊在某个早上一口就能把它毁掉，这莫非不首要？”
The night had fallen. I had let my tools drop from my hands. Of what moment now was my hammer, my bolt, or thirst, or death On one star, one planet, my planet, the Earth, there was a little prince to be comforted. I took him in my arms, and rocked him. I said to him:"The flower that you love is not in danger. I will draw you a muzzle for your sheep. I will draw you a railing to put around your flower. I will―"I did not know what to say to him. I felt awkward and blundering. I did not know how I could reach him, where I could overtake him and go on hand in hand with him once more.