Ⅷ
很快我就進一步了解了這朵花兒。在小王子的星球上，過去一直都生長著一些只有一層花瓣的很簡單的花。這些花非常小，一點也不佔地方，從來也不會去打攪任何人。她們早晨在草叢中開放，晚上就凋謝了。不知從哪裡來了一顆種子，忽然一天這種子發了芽。小王子特別仔細地監視著這棵與眾不同的小苗：這玩藝說不定是一種新的猴麵包樹。但是，這小苗不久就不再長了，而且開始孕育著一個花朵。看到在這棵苗上長出了一個很大很大的花蕾，小王子感覺到從這個花苞中一定會出現一個奇蹟。然而這朵花藏在它那綠茵茵的房間中用了很長的時間來打扮自己。她精心選擇著她將來的顏色，慢慢騰騰地妝飾著，一片片地搭配著她的花瓣，她不願象虞美人那樣一出世就滿臉皺紋。她要讓自己帶著光艷奪目的麗姿來到世間。是的，她是非常愛俏的。她用好些好些日子天仙般地梳妝打扮。然後，在一天的早晨，恰好在太陽升起的時候，她開放了。
她已經精細地做了那麼長的準備工作，卻打著哈欠說道：
「我剛剛睡醒，真對不起，瞧我的頭髮還是亂蓬蓬的……」
小王子這時再也控制不住自己的愛慕心情：
「你是多麼美麗啊！」
花兒悠然自得地說：
「是吧，我是與太陽同時出生的……」
小王子看出了這花兒不太謙虛，可是她確實麗姿動人。
她隨後又說道：「現在該是吃早點的時候了吧，請你也想著給我準備一點……」
小王子很有些不好意思，於是就拿著噴壺，打來了一壺清清的涼水，澆灌著花兒。
於是，就這樣，這朵花兒就以她那有點敏感多疑的虛榮心折磨著小王子。例如，有一天，她向小王子講起她身上長的四根刺：
「老虎，讓它張著爪子來吧！」
小王子頂了她一句：「在我這個星球上沒有老虎，而且，老虎是不會吃草的」。
花兒輕聲說道：「我並不是草。」
「真對不起。」
「我並不怕什麼老虎，可我討厭穿堂風。你沒有屏風？」
小王子思忖著：「討厭穿堂風……這對一株植物來說，真不走運，這朵花兒真不大好伺候……」
「晚上您得把我保護好。你這地方太冷。在這裡住得不好，我原來住的那個地方……」
但她沒有說下去。她來的時候是粒種子。她哪裡見過什麼別的世界。她叫人發現她是在湊一個如此不太高明的謊話，她有點羞怒，咳嗽了兩三聲。她的這一招是要小王子處於有過失的地位，她說道：
「屏風呢？」
「我這就去拿。可你剛才說的是……」
於是花兒放開嗓門咳嗽了幾聲，依然要使小王子後悔自己的過失。
儘管小王子本來誠心誠意地喜歡這朵花，可是，這一來，卻使他馬上對她產生了懷疑。小王子對一些無關緊要的話看得太認真，結果使自己很苦惱。
有一天他告訴我說：「我不該聽信她的話，絕不該聽信那些花兒的話，看看花，聞聞它就得了。我的那朵花使我的星球芳香四溢，可我不會享受它。關於老虎爪子的事，本應該使我產生同情，卻反而使我惱火……」
他還告訴我說：
「我那時什麼也不懂！我應該根據她的行為，而不是根據她的話來判斷她。她使我的生活芬芳多彩，我真不該離開她跑出來。我本應該猜出在她那令人愛憐的花招後面所隱藏的溫情。花是多麼自相矛盾！我當時太年青，還不懂得愛她。」
[ Chapter 8 ] - the rose arrives at the little princes pla
I soon learo know this flower better. Otle princes plahe flowers had always been very simple. They had only of petals; they took up no room at all; they were a trouble to nobody. One m they would appear in the grass, and by night they would have faded peacefully away. But one day, from a seed blown from no one knew where, a new flower had e up; and the little prince had watched very closely over this small sprout which was not like any other small sprouts on his pla. It might, you see, have been a new kind of baobab.
The shrub soon stopped growing, and began to get ready to produce a flower. The little prince, who resent at the first appearance of a huge bud, felt at ohat some sort of miraculous apparition must emerge from it. But the flower was not satisfied to plete the preparations for her beauty in the shelter of her green chamber. She chose her colours with the greatest care. She adjusted her petals one by one. She did not wish to go out into the world all rumpled, like the field poppies. It was only in the full radiance of her beauty that she wished to appear. Oh, yes! She was a coquettish creature! And her mysterious ador lasted for days and days.
Then one m, exactly at sunrise, she suddenly showed herself.
And, after w with all this painstaking precision, she yawned and said:
"Ah! I am scarcely awake. I beg that you will excuse me. My petals are still all disarranged..."
But the little prince could not restrain his admiration:
"Oh! How beautiful you are!"
"Am I not?" the flower responded, sweetly. "And I was born at the same moment as the sun..."
The little prince could guess easily enough that she was not any too modest-- but how moving-- aing-- she was!
"I think it is time for breakfast," she added an instant later. "If you would have the kio think of my needs--"
And the little prince, pletely abashed, went to look for a sprinkling- of fresh water. So, he tehe flower.