“甚么叫长久？”
“这又是为甚么？”小王子说。
“我另有一朵花。”
“那当然。”
“啊！”小王子大失所望，“那么，山脉呢？”
“我不晓得。”地理学家说。
“我晓得的未几。”地理学家说。
"My flower is ephemeral," the little prince said to himself, "and she has only four thorns to defend herself against the world. And I have left her on my planet, all alone!"That was his first moment of regret. But he took courage once more.
"No. That would be too complicated. But one requires the explorer to furnish proofs. For example, if the discovery in question is that of a large mountain, one requires that large stones be brought back from it."The geographer was suddenly stirred to excitement.
“如何样？”地理学家充满等候地扣问道。
“这是能够的。是以，如果探险家的品德不错，就调查他的发明。”
"What is that big book" said the little prince. "What are you doing""I am a geographer," the old gentleman said to him.
"Because an explorer who told lies would bring disaster on the books of the geographer. So would an explorer who drank too much.""Why is that" asked the little prince.
地理学家俄然镇静地慌乱起来。
"I have also a flower."
"We do not record flowers," said the geographer.
“这是为甚么？这朵花是我的星球上最斑斓的东西！”
小王子在桌旁坐下，有点气喘吁吁。他此次观光有点久。
“这是斑斓的星球。上面有陆地吗？”
“地理学家就是一种学者，他晓得那里有陆地，那里有河道、都会、山脉、戈壁。”
"Why is that The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!""We do not record them," said the geographer, "because they are ephemeral.""What does that mean― ‘ephemeral'""Geographies," said the geographer, "are the books which, of all books, are most concerned with matters of consequence. They never become old-fashioned. 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.""But extinct volcanoes may come to life again," the little prince interrupted. "What does that mean― ‘ephemeral'""Whether volcanoes are extinct or alive, it comes to the same thing for us," said the geographer. "The thing that matters to us is the mountain. It does not change.""But what does that mean― ‘ephemeral'" repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question, once he had asked it.