Chapter 22
"Good morning," said the little prince.
“早上好。”小王子说道。
"Good morning," said the railway switchman.
“早上好。”铁路扳道工说道。
"What do you do here"? the little prince asked.
“你在这里做什么？”小王子问。
"I sort out travellers, in bundles of a thousand," said the switchman.
“我给旅客分类，按每千人一批。”扳道工说。
"I send off the trains that carry them; now to the right, now to the left".
“我把运载他们的火车送走，一会儿发往右方，一会儿发往左方。”
And a brilliantly lighted express train shook the switchman's cabin as it rushed by with a roar like thunder.
这时，一列灯火明亮的快车在它雷鸣般地咆哮着闪过时，使扳道工的小木屋震动不停。
"They are in a great hurry," said the little prince. "What are they looking for"?
“他们真匆忙呀，”小王子说。“他们要寻找什么？”
"Not even the locomotive engineer knows that," said the switchman.
“甚至连机车司机不知道。”扳道工说道。
And a second brilliantly lighted express thundered by, in the opposite direction.
于是，第二列灯火通明的快车又朝着相反的方向轰隆轰隆地开过去。
"Are they coming back already"? demanded the little prince.
“他们已经回来了吗？”小王子询问道。
"These are not the same ones," said the switchman. "It is an exchange".
“这些不是同样的人。”扳道工说。这是一个交换。”
"Were they not satisfied where they were"? asked the little prince.
“他们不满意他们原来所在的地方吗？”小王子问。
"No one is ever satisfied where he is," said the switchman.
“没有人满足于他所在的地方。”扳道工说。
And they heard the roaring thunder of a third brilliantly lighted express.
然后他们听见了第三辆灯火明亮的快车雷鸣般的咆哮。
"Are they pursuing the first travellers"? demanded the little prince.
“他们是在追赶第一批旅客吗？”小王子询问道。
"They are pursuing nothing at all," said the switchman.
“他们根本没有在追赶什么。”扳道工说，
"They are asleep in there, or if they are not asleep they are yawning.
“他们在里面睡觉，或是如果他们没睡着，他们就在打哈欠。
Only the children are flattening their noses against the window panes".
只有孩子们正把他们的鼻子平贴在窗玻璃上。”
"Only the children know what they are looking for," said the little prince.
“只有孩子知道他们自己在寻找什么。”小王子说，
"They devote their time to a rag doll and it becomes very important to them; and if anybody takes it away from them, they cry. . ."
“他们把他们的时间投入在一个布娃娃上，然后它就变得对他们很重要，如果有人从他们身边拿走它，他们就哭泣……”
"They are lucky," the switchman said.
“他们真幸运。”扳道工说。
媛来此生
呃🤔