"Good morning," said the little prince.
“你好。”小王子說道。

"Good morning," said the railway switchman.
“你好。”扳道工說道。

"What do you do here?" the little prince asked.
“你在這里做什么？”小王子問。

"I sort out travelers, in bundles of a thousand," said the switchman. "I send off the trains that carry them; now to the right, now to the left."
“我一包包地分選旅客，按每千人一包。”扳道工說，“我打發這些運載旅客的列車，一會兒發往右方，一會兒發往左方。”

And a brilliantly lighted express train shook the switchman's cabin as it rushed by with a roar like thunder.
這時，一列燈火明亮的快車，雷鳴般地響著，把扳道房震得顫顫悠悠。

"They are in a great hurry," said the little prince. "What are they looking for?"
“他們真匆忙呀，”小王子說，“他們要尋找什么？”

"Not even the locomotive engineer knows that," said the switchman.
“開機車的人自己也不知道。”扳道工說道。

And a second brilliantly lighted express thundered by, in the opposite direction.
于是，第二列燈火通明的快車又朝著相反的方向轟隆轟隆地開過去。

"Are they coming back already?" demanded the little prince.
“他們怎么又回來了呢？”小王子問道。

"These are not the same ones," said the switchman. "It is an exchange."
“他們不是原來那些人了。”扳道工說，“這是一次對開列車。”

"Were they not satisfied where they were?" asked the little prince.
“他們不滿意他們原來所住的地方嗎？”

"No one is ever satisfied where he is," said the switchman.
“人們是從來也不會滿意自己所在的地方的。”扳道工說。

And they heard the roaring thunder of a third brilliantly lighted express.
此時，第三趟燈火明亮的快車又隆隆而過。

"Are they pursuing the first travelers?" demanded the little prince.
“他們是在追隨第一批旅客嗎？”小王子問道。

"They are pursuing nothing at all," said the switchman. "They are asleep in there, or if they are not asleep they are yawning. Only the children are flattening their noses against the windowpanes."
“他們什么也不追隨。”扳道工說，“他們在里面睡覺，或是在打哈欠。只有孩子們把鼻子貼在玻璃窗上往外看。”

"Only the children know what they are looking for," said the little prince. "They waste their time over a rag doll and it becomes very important to them; and if anybody takes it away from them, they cry..."
“只有孩子知道他們自己在尋找什么。”小王子說，“他們為一個布娃娃花費不少時間，這個布娃娃就成了很重要的東西，如果有人奪走他們的布娃娃，他們就哭泣……”

"They are lucky," the switchman said.
“他們真幸運。”扳道工說。

（來源：愛詞霸 編輯：丹妮）