The Little Prince(5) —— 灾难

Indeed, as I learned, there were on the planet where the little prince lived--as on all planets--good plants and bad plants. In consequence, there were good seeds from good plants, and bad seeds from bad plants. But seeds are invisible. They sleep deep in the heart of the earth's darkness, until some one among them is seized with the desire to awaken. Then this little seed will stretch itself and begin--timidly at first--to push a charming little sprig inoffensively upward toward the sun. If it is only a sprout of radish or the sprig of a rose-bush, one would let it grow wherever it might wish. But when it is a bad plant, one must destroy it as soon as possible, the very first instant that one recognizes it.

这哪里是植物的种子啊，这是我们的小心思啊！某个场景、某段时刻、某句话便是开关，沉睡在内心深处的种子突然觉醒，生根发芽。我们希望留下美好的欲望，看着它们向阳而生；也希望铲除邪恶的根源，抑制其萌发。是非善恶，不过一念之间而已。

one day he said to me: "You ought to make a beautiful drawing, so that the children where you live can see exactly how all this is. That would be very useful to them if they were to travel some day. Sometimes," he added, "there is no harm in putting off a piece of work until another day. But when it is a matter of baobabs, that always means a catastrophe. I knew a planet that was inhabited by a lazy man. He neglected three little bushes . . ."

其实，对待任何工作都是要用心的，小的错误肆意发展也会酿成滔天祸事，一如小王子星球上恶意生长的灌木丛，一如地球生态的日渐失衡，一如我们可能会面临的工作灾难…

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（以下来自牛津词典）

departure 出发；背离；开端

catastrophe 灾难；劫难

baobab 猴面包树（热带树木）

seize 抓住；利用；攫住；夺取；绑架；没收；拘押

bush 灌木；荒野；衬套；绝缘套管

castle 城堡；空中楼阁

herd 兽群；人群；民众

self-evident 显而易见的

oblige 强迫；帮助

stretch 撑大；拉长；拉紧；绷紧；铺开；舒展；耗尽；超越…的界限；使…竭尽全力；夸大；变通；节约使用；扩充

timidly 胆怯地

sprig （带叶或花的）小枝

inoffensive 无害的；不伤人的；不触犯人的；不让人讨厌的

spout 新芽；发芽；长出

radish 萝卜

infest 大批出没于

get rid of 摆脱

tedious 单调乏味的

moralist 道德说教者

*本文无任何商业价值，仅供英文菜鸟们互啄ヾ(•ω•`)o