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第五章（第3页）

Thatisstrictlycorrect，"

Isaid."

Butwhydoyouwantthesheeptoeatthelittlebaobabs"

Heansweredmeatonce，"

Oh，come，come!"

，asifhewerespeakingofsomethingthatwasself-evident.AndIwasobligedtomakeagreatmentalefforttosolvethisproblem，withoutanyassistance.

Indeed，asIlearned，therewereontheplanetwherethelittleprincelived—asonallplanets—goodplantsandbadplants.Inconsequence，thereweregoodseedsfromgoodplants，andbadseedsfrombadplants.Butseedsareinvisible.

Theysleepdeepintheheartoftheearth’sdarkness，untilsomeoneamongthemisseizedwiththedesiretoawaken.Thenthislittleseedwillstretchitselfandbegin—timidlyatfirst—topushacharminglittlespriginoffensivelyupwardtowardthesun.

Ifitisonlyasproutofradishorthesprigofarose-bush，onewouldletitgrowwhereveritmightwish.Butwhenitisabadplant，onemustdestroyitassoonaspossible，theveryfirstinstantthatonerecognizesit.

Nowthereweresometerribleseedsontheplanetthatwasthehomeofthelittleprince;andtheseweretheseedsofthebaobab.Thesoilofthatplanetwasinfestedwiththem.

Abaobabissomethingyouwillnever，neverbeabletogetridofifyouattendtoittoolate.Itspreadsovertheentireplanet.Itboresclearthroughitwithitsroots.Andiftheplanetistoosmall，andthebaobabsaretoomany，theysplititinpieces...

"

Itisaquestionofdiscipline，"

thelittleprincesaidtomelateron."

Whenyou’vefinishedyourowntoiletinthemorning，thenitistimetoattendtothetoiletofyourplanet，justso，withthegreatestcare.Youmustseetoitthatyoupullupregularlyallthebaobabs，attheveryfirstmomentwhentheycanbedistinguishedfromtherosebusheswhichtheyresemblesocloselyintheirearliestyouth.Itisverytediouswork，"

thelittleprinceadded，"

butveryeasy."

Andonedayhesaidtome:"

Yououghttomakeabeautifuldrawing，sothatthechildrenwhereyoulivecanseeexactlyhowallthisis.Thatwouldbeveryusefultothemiftheyweretotravelsomeday.Sometimes，"

headded，"

thereisnoharminputtingoffapieceofworkuntilanotherday.

Butwhenitisamatterofbaobabs，thatalwaysmeansacatastrophe.Iknewaplanetthatwasinhabitedbyalazyman.Heneglectedthreelittlebushes..."

So，asthelittleprincedescribedittome，Ihavemadeadrawingofthatplanet.Idonotmuchliketotakethetoneofamoralist.Butthedangerofthebaobabsissolittleunderstood，andsuchconsiderableriskswouldberunbyanyonewhomightgetlostonanasteroid，thatforonceIambreakingthroughmyreserve."

Children，"

Isayplainly，"

watchoutforthebaobabs!"

Myfriends，likemyself，havebeenskirtingthisdangerforalongtime，withouteverknowingit;andsoitisforthemthatIhaveworkedsohardoverthisdrawing.ThelessonwhichIpassonbythismeansisworthallthetroubleithascostme.

Perhapsyouwillaskme，"

Whyaretherenootherdrawinginthisbookasmagnificentandimpressiveasthisdrawingofthebaobabs"

Thereplyissimple.Ihavetried.ButwiththeothersIhavenotbeensuccessful.WhenImadethedrawingofthebaobabsIwascarriedbeyondmyselfbytheinspiringforceofurgentnecessity.