It was now the eighth day since I had had my accident in the desert, and I had listened to the story of the merchant as I was drinking the last drop of my water supply.
自从我在沙漠里遭遇事故以来，这已经是第八天了，我一边喝着我最后一口水，一边听着那个商人的故事。
"Ah," I said to the little prince, "these memories of yours are very charming; but I have not yet succeeded in repairing my plane; I have nothing more to drink; and I, too, should be very happy if I could walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water!"
“啊，”我对小王子说，“你的这些回忆非常迷人；但是我还没有成功地修理好我的飞机；我没有更多的水可以喝了；而且，如果我能悠闲地走向一股清泉，我也会非常高兴！”
"My friend the fox--" the little prince said to me.
“我的朋友狐狸——”小王子对我说。
"My dear little man, this is no longer a matter that has anything to do with the fox!"
“我亲爱的小家伙，这件事已经和狐狸没有任何关系了！”
"Why not?"
“为什么不呢？”
"Because I am about to die of thirst . . ."
“因为我快要渴死了……”
He did not follow my reasoning, and he answered me:
他没有理解我的推理，他回答我说：
"It is a good thing to have had a friend, even if one is about to die. I, for instance, am very glad to have had a fox as a friend . . ."
“拥有一个朋友是件好事，即使一个人快要死了。例如，我很高兴拥有过一只狐狸作为朋友……”
"He has no way of guessing the danger," I said to myself.
“他没有办法猜到危险，”我对自己说。
"He has never been either hungry or thirsty.A little sunshine is all he needs . . ."
“他从来没有饿过或渴过。一点阳光就是他所需要的一切……”
But he looked at me steadily, and replied to my thought:
但他平静地看着我，回答了我的想法：
"I am thirsty, too. Let us look for a well . . ."
“我也渴了。我们去找一口井吧……”
I made a gesture of weariness.It is absurd to look for a well, at random, in the immensity of the desert.But nevertheless we started walking.
我做了一个疲惫的手势。在茫茫的沙漠中随意寻找一口井，这太荒谬了。但是，我们还是开始走了起来。
When we had trudged along for several hours, in silence, the darkness fell, and the stars began to come out.Thirst had made me a little feverish, and I looked at them as if I were in a dream.The little prince's last words came reeling back into my memory:
当我们默默地跋涉了几个小时后，夜幕降临，星星开始出现。口渴使我有点发烧，我看着它们，仿佛身在梦中。小王子的最后一句话又回到了我的记忆中：
"Then you are thirsty, too?"I demanded.
“那么，你也渴了吗？”我问道。
But he did not reply to my question.He merely said to me:
但他没有回答我的问题。他只是对我说：
"Water may also be good for the heart . . ."
“水对心灵也有好处……”
I did not understand this answer, but I said nothing.I knew very well that it was impossible to cross-examine him.
我不明白这个答案，但我什么也没说。我很清楚不可能盘问他。
He was tired.He sat down.I sat down beside him.And, after a little silence, he spoke again:
他累了。他坐了下来。我坐在他旁边。过了一会儿沉默，他又说话了：
"The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen."
“星星很美，因为有一朵看不见的花。”
I replied, "Yes, that is so."And, without saying anything more, I looked across the ridges of sand that were stretched out before us in the moonlight.
我回答说：“是的，是这样。”而且，我没有再说什么，只是望着月光下在我们面前绵延的沙丘。
"The desert is beautiful," the little prince added.
“沙漠真美，”小王子补充道。
And that was true.I have always loved the desert.One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing.
那是真的。我一直都喜欢沙漠。一个人坐在沙漠的沙丘上，什么也看不见，什么也听不见。
Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams . . .
然而，在寂静中，有什么东西在悸动，在闪耀……
"What makes the desert beautiful," said the little prince,"is that somewhere it hides a well . . ."
“使沙漠变得美丽的，”小王子说，“是因为在某个地方，它隐藏着一口井……”
I was astonished by a sudden understanding of that mysterious radiation of the sands.When I was a little boy I lived in an old house, and legend told us that a treasure was buried there.To be sure, no one had ever known how to find it; perhaps no one had ever even looked for it.But it cast an enchantment over that house.My home was hiding a secret in the depths of its heart . . .
我对突然理解了沙子的神秘辐射感到惊讶。当我还是个小男孩的时候，我住在一栋老房子里，传说那里埋藏着宝藏。可以肯定的是，没有人知道如何找到它；也许甚至没有人寻找过它。但它给那所房子施了魔法。我的家在内心深处隐藏着一个秘密……
"Yes," I said to the little prince. "The house, the stars, the desert--what gives them their beauty is something that is invisible!"
“是的，”我对小王子说。“房子、星星、沙漠——赋予它们美的是某种看不见的东西！”
"I am glad," he said, "that you agree with my fox."
“我很高兴，”他说，“你同意我的狐狸的看法。”
As the little prince dropped off to sleep, I took him in my arms and set out walking once more.I felt deeply moved, and stirred.It seemed to me that I was carrying a very fragile treasure.It seemed to me, even, that there was nothing more fragile on all Earth.In the moonlight I looked at his pale forehead, his closed eyes, his locks of hair that trembled in the wind, and I said to myself: "What I see here is nothing but a shell. What is most important is invisible . .."
当小王子睡着时，我把他抱在怀里，再次开始行走。我感到深深的感动和激动。我觉得我好像抱着一件非常脆弱的珍宝。甚至我觉得，在整个地球上，再也没有什么比这更脆弱的了。在月光下，我看着他苍白的额头，他紧闭的双眼，他那在风中颤动的发绺，我对自已说：“我在这里看到的只不过是一个躯壳。最重要的是看不见的……”
As his lips opened slightly with the suspicion of a half- smile, I said to myself, again: "What moves me so deeply, about this little prince who is sleeping here, is his loyalty to a flower--the image of a rose that shines through his whole being like the flame of a lamp, even when he is asleep . . ."
当他的嘴唇微微张开，带着一丝微笑的迹象时，我再次对自己说：“深深打动我的，是这位睡在这里的小王子，他对一朵花的忠诚——那朵玫瑰的形象像灯的火焰一样照亮他的整个生命，即使在他睡着的时候……”
And I felt him to be more fragile still.I felt the need of protecting him, as if he himself were a flame that might be extinguished by a little puff of wind . . .
而且我感到他仍然更加脆弱。我感到需要保护他，好像他自己是一盏可能会被一阵微风吹灭的火焰……
And, as I walked on so, I found the well, at daybreak.
而且，当我这样走着的时候，我在黎明时找到了那口井。
It was now the eighth day since I had had my accident in the desert, and I had listened to the story of the merchant as I was drinking the last drop of my water supply.
自从我在沙漠里遭遇事故以来，这已经是第八天了，我一边喝着我最后一口水，一边听着那个商人的故事。
"Ah," I said to the little prince, "these memories of yours are very charming; but I have not yet succeeded in repairing my plane; I have nothing more to drink; and I, too, should be very happy if I could walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water!"
“啊，”我对小王子说，“你的这些回忆非常迷人；但是我还没有成功地修理好我的飞机；我没有更多的水可以喝了；而且，如果我能悠闲地走向一股清泉，我也会非常高兴！”
"My friend the fox--" the little prince said to me.
“我的朋友狐狸——”小王子对我说。
"My dear little man, this is no longer a matter that has anything to do with the fox!"
“我亲爱的小家伙，这件事已经和狐狸没有任何关系了！”
"Why not?"
“为什么不呢？”
"Because I am about to die of thirst . . ."
“因为我快要渴死了……”
He did not follow my reasoning, and he answered me:
他没有理解我的推理，他回答我说：
"It is a good thing to have had a friend, even if one is about to die. I, for instance, am very glad to have had a fox as a friend . . ."
“拥有一个朋友是件好事，即使一个人快要死了。例如，我很高兴拥有过一只狐狸作为朋友……”
"He has no way of guessing the danger," I said to myself.
“他没有办法猜到危险，”我对自己说。
"He has never been either hungry or thirsty.A little sunshine is all he needs . . ."
“他从来没有饿过或渴过。一点阳光就是他所需要的一切……”
But he looked at me steadily, and replied to my thought:
但他平静地看着我，回答了我的想法：
"I am thirsty, too. Let us look for a well . . ."
“我也渴了。我们去找一口井吧……”
I made a gesture of weariness.It is absurd to look for a well, at random, in the immensity of the desert.But nevertheless we started walking.
我做了一个疲惫的手势。在茫茫的沙漠中随意寻找一口井，这太荒谬了。但是，我们还是开始走了起来。
When we had trudged along for several hours, in silence, the darkness fell, and the stars began to come out.Thirst had made me a little feverish, and I looked at them as if I were in a dream.The little prince's last words came reeling back into my memory:
当我们默默地跋涉了几个小时后，夜幕降临，星星开始出现。口渴使我有点发烧，我看着它们，仿佛身在梦中。小王子的最后一句话又回到了我的记忆中：
"Then you are thirsty, too?"I demanded.
“那么，你也渴了吗？”我问道。
But he did not reply to my question.He merely said to me:
但他没有回答我的问题。他只是对我说：
"Water may also be good for the heart . . ."
“水对心灵也有好处……”
I did not understand this answer, but I said nothing.I knew very well that it was impossible to cross-examine him.
我不明白这个答案，但我什么也没说。我很清楚不可能盘问他。
He was tired.He sat down.I sat down beside him.And, after a little silence, he spoke again:
他累了。他坐了下来。我坐在他旁边。过了一会儿沉默，他又说话了：
"The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen."
“星星很美，因为有一朵看不见的花。”
I replied, "Yes, that is so."And, without saying anything more, I looked across the ridges of sand that were stretched out before us in the moonlight.
我回答说：“是的，是这样。”而且，我没有再说什么，只是望着月光下在我们面前绵延的沙丘。
"The desert is beautiful," the little prince added.
“沙漠真美，”小王子补充道。
And that was true.I have always loved the desert.One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing.
那是真的。我一直都喜欢沙漠。一个人坐在沙漠的沙丘上，什么也看不见，什么也听不见。
Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams . . .
然而，在寂静中，有什么东西在悸动，在闪耀……
"What makes the desert beautiful," said the little prince,"is that somewhere it hides a well . . ."
“使沙漠变得美丽的，”小王子说，“是因为在某个地方，它隐藏着一口井……”
I was astonished by a sudden understanding of that mysterious radiation of the sands.When I was a little boy I lived in an old house, and legend told us that a treasure was buried there.To be sure, no one had ever known how to find it; perhaps no one had ever even looked for it.But it cast an enchantment over that house.My home was hiding a secret in the depths of its heart . . .
我对突然理解了沙子的神秘辐射感到惊讶。当我还是个小男孩的时候，我住在一栋老房子里，传说那里埋藏着宝藏。可以肯定的是，没有人知道如何找到它；也许甚至没有人寻找过它。但它给那所房子施了魔法。我的家在内心深处隐藏着一个秘密……
"Yes," I said to the little prince. "The house, the stars, the desert--what gives them their beauty is something that is invisible!"
“是的，”我对小王子说。“房子、星星、沙漠——赋予它们美的是某种看不见的东西！”
"I am glad," he said, "that you agree with my fox."
“我很高兴，”他说，“你同意我的狐狸的看法。”
As the little prince dropped off to sleep, I took him in my arms and set out walking once more.I felt deeply moved, and stirred.It seemed to me that I was carrying a very fragile treasure.It seemed to me, even, that there was nothing more fragile on all Earth.In the moonlight I looked at his pale forehead, his closed eyes, his locks of hair that trembled in the wind, and I said to myself: "What I see here is nothing but a shell. What is most important is invisible . .."
当小王子睡着时，我把他抱在怀里，再次开始行走。我感到深深的感动和激动。我觉得我好像抱着一件非常脆弱的珍宝。甚至我觉得，在整个地球上，再也没有什么比这更脆弱的了。在月光下，我看着他苍白的额头，他紧闭的双眼，他那在风中颤动的发绺，我对自已说：“我在这里看到的只不过是一个躯壳。最重要的是看不见的……”
As his lips opened slightly with the suspicion of a half- smile, I said to myself, again: "What moves me so deeply, about this little prince who is sleeping here, is his loyalty to a flower--the image of a rose that shines through his whole being like the flame of a lamp, even when he is asleep . . ."
当他的嘴唇微微张开，带着一丝微笑的迹象时，我再次对自己说：“深深打动我的，是这位睡在这里的小王子，他对一朵花的忠诚——那朵玫瑰的形象像灯的火焰一样照亮他的整个生命，即使在他睡着的时候……”
And I felt him to be more fragile still.I felt the need of protecting him, as if he himself were a flame that might be extinguished by a little puff of wind . . .
而且我感到他仍然更加脆弱。我感到需要保护他，好像他自己是一盏可能会被一阵微风吹灭的火焰……
And, as I walked on so, I found the well, at daybreak.
而且，当我这样走着的时候，我在黎明时找到了那口井。