I soon learned to know this flower better. On the little prince’s planet（星球） the flowers had always been very simple. They had only one ring（一环） of petals（花瓣）; they took up no room at all; they were a trouble to nobody. On morning they would appear in the grass, and by night they would have faded（凋谢） peacefully away. But one day, from a seed blown（刮风） from no one knew where, a new flower had come up; and the little prince had watched very closely over this small sprout（幼苗） which was not like any other small sprouts on his planet. It might, you see, have been a new kind of baobab（猴面包树）.
The shrub（灌木） soon stopped growing（成长）, and began to get ready to produce a flower. The little prince, who was present（在现场） at the first appearance（出现） of a huge（巨大的） bud（蓓蕾）, felt at once that some sort of miraculous（奇迹般的） apparition（特异景象） must emerge（浮现） from it. But the flower was not satisfied（满足） to complete（完成） the preparations（准备） for her beauty（美貌） in the shelter（避难所） of her green chamber（腔体）.
She chose her colours with the greatest care. She adjusted（调整） her petals one by one. She did not wish to go out into the world all rumpled（弄乱）, like the field poppies（罂粟）. It was only in the full radiance（光辉） of her beauty that she wished to appear. Oh, yes! She was a coquettish（妖艳的） creature（生物）! And her mysterious（神秘的） adornment（装饰） lasted for days and days.
Then one morning, exactly at sunrise, she suddenly showed herself. And, after working with all this painstaking（极其仔细） precision（精确）, she yawned（打呵欠） and said: “Ah! I am scarcely（几乎不） awake. I beg that you will excuse me. My petals are still all disarranged（错乱）...” But the little prince could not restrain（抑制） his admiration（赞美）: “Oh! How beautiful you are!”“Am I not?” the flower responded, sweetly. “And I was born at the same moment as the sun...” The little prince could guess easily enough that she was not any too modest（谦虚的）—but how moving（感人的）—and exciting—she was!
“I think it is time for breakfast,” she added an instant（瞬间） later. “If you would have the kindness to think of my needs—” And the little prince, completely abashed（窘迫的）, went to look for a sprinkling-can（喷壶） of fresh water. So, he tended（照料） the flower.
