Chapter 20

But it happened that after walking for a long time through sand, and rocks, and snow, the little prince at last came upon a road. And all roads lead to the abodes of men.

“Good morning,” he said.

He was standing before a garden, all a−bloom with roses.

“Good morning,” said the roses.

The little prince gazed at them. They all looked like his flower.

“Who are you?” he demanded, thunderstruck.

“We are roses,” the roses said.

And he was overcome with sadness. His flower had told him that she was the only one of her kind in all the universe. And here were five thousand of them, all alike, in one single garden!

“She would be very much annoyed,” he said to himself, “if she should see that… she would cough most dreadfully, and she would pretend that she was dying, to avoid being laughed at. And I should be obliged to pretend that I was nursing her back to life−− for if I did not do that, to humble myself also, she would really allow herself to die…”

Then he went on with his reflections: “I thought that I was rich, with a flower that was unique in all the world; and all I had was a common rose. A common rose, and three volcanoes that come up to my knees−− and one of them perhaps extinct forever… that doesn’t make me a very great prince…”

And he lay down in the grass and cried.

Appendix

经过了很长时间，小王子穿越满是沙子、石头、雪的土地，终于来到了道路上，每一条路都通往人类的住所。

早上好，小王子说。

小王子站在一座花园前面，花园里满是盛开的玫瑰。

早上好，小王子说。

小王子凝视良久，它们都很像自己星球上的那朵花。

你们是谁？小王子有点生气地问。

我们是玫瑰花。玫瑰花回答。

小王子感觉悲伤袭来。他的花曾经告诉自己，是宇宙里惟一的玫瑰花。但是现在光是这一座花园里，就有上千朵几乎一模一样的玫瑰花。

“她肯定会非常生气”，小王子想，“她肯定会假装生病了，然后咳嗽的很厉害，避免别人因此嘲笑她。她肯定也会假装自己快要死了，然后让我照顾她。如果我不照顾她，她也许真的就死了……”

小王子继续想，“我曾经以为自己是富有的，有一朵独一无二的花，有三座膝盖高的火山，但其实我并不是一个伟大的王子。”

小王子坐在草丛里哭了。