"Men," said the little prince, "set out on their way in express trains, but they do not know what they are looking for. Then they rush about, and get excited, and turn round and round . . ."
“人们，”小王子说，“乘快车出发，但是他们不知道自己在寻找什么。然后他们到处奔波，变得激动，并且团团转……”
And he added:
他补充说：
"It is not worth the trouble . . ."
“不值得费这个事……”
The well that we had come to was not like the wells of the Sahara.The wells of the Sahara are mere holes dug in the sand.This one was like a well in a village.But there was no village here, and I thought I must be dreaming . . .
我们找到的这口井不像撒哈拉的井。撒哈拉的井只是沙子里挖的洞。这口井像村庄里的井。但是这里没有村庄，我想我一定是在做梦……
"It is strange," I said to the little prince. "Everything is ready for use: the pulley, the bucket, the rope . . ."
“真奇怪，”我对小王子说。“一切都准备好了可以使用：滑轮、水桶、绳子……”
He laughed, touched the rope, and set the pulley to working.And the pulley moaned, like an old weathervane which the wind has long since forgotten.
他笑了笑，摸了摸绳子，然后让滑轮开始工作。滑轮发出呻吟声，像一个被风遗忘已久的老旧风向标。
"Do you hear?" said the little prince."We have wakened the well, and it is singing . . ."
“你听见了吗？”小王子说。“我们唤醒了这口井，它在唱歌……”
I did not want him to tire himself with the rope.
我不想让他因为绳子而感到疲倦。
"Leave it to me," I said. "It is too heavy for you."
“交给我吧，”我说。“这对你来说太重了。”
I hoisted the bucket slowly to the edge of the well and set it there--happy, tired as I was, over my achievement. The song of the pulley was still in my ears, and I could see the sunlight shimmer in the still trembling water.
我慢慢地将水桶拉到井边，放在那里——我很高兴，虽然我很累，但为我的成就感到高兴。滑轮的声音仍然在我耳边，我可以看到阳光在仍然颤抖的水中闪烁。
"I am thirsty for this water," said the little prince. "Give me some of it to drink . . ."
“我渴了，想喝这水，”小王子说。“给我喝一点吧……”
And I understood what he had been looking for.
我明白了他在寻找什么。
I raised the bucket to his lips.He drank, his eyes closed.It was as sweet as some special festival treat.This water was indeed a different thing from ordinary nourishment.Its sweetness was born of the walk under the stars, the song of the pulley, the effort of my arms.It was good for the heart, like a present.When I was a little boy, the lights of the Christmas tree, the music of the Midnight Mass, the tenderness of smiling faces, used to make up, so, the radiance of the gifts I received.
我把水桶举到他的嘴边。他喝着，闭着眼睛。它像某种特殊的节日款待一样甜蜜。这水确实与普通的滋养品不同。它的甘甜源于星空下的漫步，滑轮的歌唱，我手臂的努力。它对心灵有益，就像一份礼物。当我还是个小男孩的时候，圣诞树的灯光，午夜弥撒的音乐，微笑的面容的温柔，常常构成了我收到的礼物的光辉。
"The men where you live," said the little prince, "raise five thousand roses in the same garden--and they do not find in it what they are looking for."
“你们住的那些人，”小王子说，“在同一个花园里种植了五千朵玫瑰——但他们并没有从中找到他们所寻找的东西。”
"They do not find it," I replied.
“他们没有找到，”我回答说。
"And yet what they are looking for could be found in one single rose, or in a little water."
“然而，他们所寻找的东西可以在一朵玫瑰花中，或在一滴水中找到。”
"Yes, that is true," I said.
“是的，那是真的，”我说。
And the little prince added:
小王子补充说：
"But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart . . ."
“但是眼睛是盲目的。一个人必须用心去看……”
I had drunk the water.I breathed easily.At sunrise the sand is the color of honey.And that honey color was making me happy, too.What brought me, then, this sense of grief?
我喝了水。我呼吸顺畅。日出时，沙子是蜂蜜的颜色。那种蜂蜜的颜色也让我感到快乐。那么，是什么给我带来了这种悲伤的感觉？
"You must keep your promise," said the little prince, softly, as he sat down beside me once more.
“你必须遵守你的承诺，”小王子轻声说，然后再次坐在我旁边。
"What promise?"
“什么承诺？”
"You know--a muzzle for my sheep . . . I am responsible for this flower . . ."
“你知道——给我绵羊的笼头……我要对这朵花负责……”
I took my rough drafts of drawings out of my pocket.The little prince looked them over, and laughed as he said:
我从口袋里拿出我的绘画草稿。小王子看了看它们，笑着说：
"Your baobabs--they look a little like cabbages."
“你的猴面包树——它们看起来有点像卷心菜。”
"Oh!"
“哦！”
I had been so proud of my baobabs!
我一直为我的猴面包树感到骄傲！
"Your fox--his ears look a little like horns; and they are too long."
“你的狐狸——它的耳朵看起来有点像角；而且太长了。”
And he laughed again.
他又笑了。
"You are not fair, little prince," I said. "I don't know how to draw anything except boa constrictors from the outside and boa constrictors from the inside."
“你不公平，小王子，”我说，“我只会画从外面看的蟒蛇和从里面看的蟒蛇。”
"Oh, that will be all right," he said, "children understand."
“哦，那没关系，”他说，“孩子们会理解的。”
So then I made a pencil sketch of a muzzle.And as I gave it to him my heart was torn.
于是我画了一张嘴的铅笔素描。当我把它给他时，我的心都碎了。
"You have plans that I do not know about," I said.
“你有一些我不知道的计划，”我说。
But he did not answer me.He said to me, instead:
但他没有回答我。他反而对我说：
"You know--my descent to the earth . . . Tomorrow will be its anniversary."
“你知道——我降落到地球……明天是它的周年纪念日。”
Then, after a silence, he went on:
然后，沉默了一会儿，他继续说道：
"I came down very near here."
“我降落在这附近。”
And he flushed.
他脸红了。
And once again, without understanding why, I had a queer sense of sorrow.One question, however, occurred to me:
再一次，我不明白为什么，我感到一种奇怪的悲伤。然而，我突然想到一个问题：
"Then it was not by chance that on the morning when I first met you--a week ago--you were strolling along like that, all alone, a thousand miles from any inhabited region? You were on the your back to the place where you landed?"
“那么，那天早上我第一次见到你——一周前——你那样独自一人，在离任何有人居住的地区一千英里的地方漫步，这并非偶然？你是不是要回到你降落的地方？”
The little prince flushed again.
小王子又一次脸红了。
And I added, with some hesitancy:
我有些犹豫地补充道：
"Perhaps it was because of the anniversary?"
“也许是因为周年纪念日？”
The little prince flushed once more.He never answered questions--but when one flushes does that not mean "Yes"?
小王子又一次脸红了。他从不回答问题——但是当一个人脸红时，那不意味着“是”吗？
"Ah," I said to him, "I am a little frightened--"
“啊，”我对他说，“我有点害怕——”
But he interrupted me.
但他打断了我。
"Now you must work.You must return to your engine.I will be waiting for you here.Come back tomorrow evening . . ."
“现在你必须工作。你必须回到你的发动机旁。我将在这里等你。明天傍晚再回来……”
But I was not reassured.I remembered the fox.One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed . . .
但我并没有感到放心。我想起了那只狐狸。如果一个人让自己被驯养，就会有哭泣的风险……
"Men," said the little prince, "set out on their way in express trains, but they do not know what they are looking for. Then they rush about, and get excited, and turn round and round . . ."
“人们，”小王子说，“乘快车出发，但是他们不知道自己在寻找什么。然后他们到处奔波，变得激动，并且团团转……”
And he added:
他补充说：
"It is not worth the trouble . . ."
“不值得费这个事……”
The well that we had come to was not like the wells of the Sahara.The wells of the Sahara are mere holes dug in the sand.This one was like a well in a village.But there was no village here, and I thought I must be dreaming . . .
我们找到的这口井不像撒哈拉的井。撒哈拉的井只是沙子里挖的洞。这口井像村庄里的井。但是这里没有村庄，我想我一定是在做梦……
"It is strange," I said to the little prince. "Everything is ready for use: the pulley, the bucket, the rope . . ."
“真奇怪，”我对小王子说。“一切都准备好了可以使用：滑轮、水桶、绳子……”
He laughed, touched the rope, and set the pulley to working.And the pulley moaned, like an old weathervane which the wind has long since forgotten.
他笑了笑，摸了摸绳子，然后让滑轮开始工作。滑轮发出呻吟声，像一个被风遗忘已久的老旧风向标。
"Do you hear?" said the little prince."We have wakened the well, and it is singing . . ."
“你听见了吗？”小王子说。“我们唤醒了这口井，它在唱歌……”
I did not want him to tire himself with the rope.
我不想让他因为绳子而感到疲倦。
"Leave it to me," I said. "It is too heavy for you."
“交给我吧，”我说。“这对你来说太重了。”
I hoisted the bucket slowly to the edge of the well and set it there--happy, tired as I was, over my achievement. The song of the pulley was still in my ears, and I could see the sunlight shimmer in the still trembling water.
我慢慢地将水桶拉到井边，放在那里——我很高兴，虽然我很累，但为我的成就感到高兴。滑轮的声音仍然在我耳边，我可以看到阳光在仍然颤抖的水中闪烁。
"I am thirsty for this water," said the little prince. "Give me some of it to drink . . ."
“我渴了，想喝这水，”小王子说。“给我喝一点吧……”
And I understood what he had been looking for.
我明白了他在寻找什么。
I raised the bucket to his lips.He drank, his eyes closed.It was as sweet as some special festival treat.This water was indeed a different thing from ordinary nourishment.Its sweetness was born of the walk under the stars, the song of the pulley, the effort of my arms.It was good for the heart, like a present.When I was a little boy, the lights of the Christmas tree, the music of the Midnight Mass, the tenderness of smiling faces, used to make up, so, the radiance of the gifts I received.
我把水桶举到他的嘴边。他喝着，闭着眼睛。它像某种特殊的节日款待一样甜蜜。这水确实与普通的滋养品不同。它的甘甜源于星空下的漫步，滑轮的歌唱，我手臂的努力。它对心灵有益，就像一份礼物。当我还是个小男孩的时候，圣诞树的灯光，午夜弥撒的音乐，微笑的面容的温柔，常常构成了我收到的礼物的光辉。
"The men where you live," said the little prince, "raise five thousand roses in the same garden--and they do not find in it what they are looking for."
“你们住的那些人，”小王子说，“在同一个花园里种植了五千朵玫瑰——但他们并没有从中找到他们所寻找的东西。”
"They do not find it," I replied.
“他们没有找到，”我回答说。
"And yet what they are looking for could be found in one single rose, or in a little water."
“然而，他们所寻找的东西可以在一朵玫瑰花中，或在一滴水中找到。”
"Yes, that is true," I said.
“是的，那是真的，”我说。
And the little prince added:
小王子补充说：
"But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart . . ."
“但是眼睛是盲目的。一个人必须用心去看……”
I had drunk the water.I breathed easily.At sunrise the sand is the color of honey.And that honey color was making me happy, too.What brought me, then, this sense of grief?
我喝了水。我呼吸顺畅。日出时，沙子是蜂蜜的颜色。那种蜂蜜的颜色也让我感到快乐。那么，是什么给我带来了这种悲伤的感觉？
"You must keep your promise," said the little prince, softly, as he sat down beside me once more.
“你必须遵守你的承诺，”小王子轻声说，然后再次坐在我旁边。
"What promise?"
“什么承诺？”
"You know--a muzzle for my sheep . . . I am responsible for this flower . . ."
“你知道——给我绵羊的笼头……我要对这朵花负责……”
I took my rough drafts of drawings out of my pocket.The little prince looked them over, and laughed as he said:
我从口袋里拿出我的绘画草稿。小王子看了看它们，笑着说：
"Your baobabs--they look a little like cabbages."
“你的猴面包树——它们看起来有点像卷心菜。”
"Oh!"
“哦！”
I had been so proud of my baobabs!
我一直为我的猴面包树感到骄傲！
"Your fox--his ears look a little like horns; and they are too long."
“你的狐狸——它的耳朵看起来有点像角；而且太长了。”
And he laughed again.
他又笑了。
"You are not fair, little prince," I said. "I don't know how to draw anything except boa constrictors from the outside and boa constrictors from the inside."
“你不公平，小王子，”我说，“我只会画从外面看的蟒蛇和从里面看的蟒蛇。”
"Oh, that will be all right," he said, "children understand."
“哦，那没关系，”他说，“孩子们会理解的。”
So then I made a pencil sketch of a muzzle.And as I gave it to him my heart was torn.
于是我画了一张嘴的铅笔素描。当我把它给他时，我的心都碎了。
"You have plans that I do not know about," I said.
“你有一些我不知道的计划，”我说。
But he did not answer me.He said to me, instead:
但他没有回答我。他反而对我说：
"You know--my descent to the earth . . . Tomorrow will be its anniversary."
“你知道——我降落到地球……明天是它的周年纪念日。”
Then, after a silence, he went on:
然后，沉默了一会儿，他继续说道：
"I came down very near here."
“我降落在这附近。”
And he flushed.
他脸红了。
And once again, without understanding why, I had a queer sense of sorrow.One question, however, occurred to me:
再一次，我不明白为什么，我感到一种奇怪的悲伤。然而，我突然想到一个问题：
"Then it was not by chance that on the morning when I first met you--a week ago--you were strolling along like that, all alone, a thousand miles from any inhabited region? You were on the your back to the place where you landed?"
“那么，那天早上我第一次见到你——一周前——你那样独自一人，在离任何有人居住的地区一千英里的地方漫步，这并非偶然？你是不是要回到你降落的地方？”
The little prince flushed again.
小王子又一次脸红了。
And I added, with some hesitancy:
我有些犹豫地补充道：
"Perhaps it was because of the anniversary?"
“也许是因为周年纪念日？”
The little prince flushed once more.He never answered questions--but when one flushes does that not mean "Yes"?
小王子又一次脸红了。他从不回答问题——但是当一个人脸红时，那不意味着“是”吗？
"Ah," I said to him, "I am a little frightened--"
“啊，”我对他说，“我有点害怕——”
But he interrupted me.
但他打断了我。
"Now you must work.You must return to your engine.I will be waiting for you here.Come back tomorrow evening . . ."
“现在你必须工作。你必须回到你的发动机旁。我将在这里等你。明天傍晚再回来……”
But I was not reassured.I remembered the fox.One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed . . .
但我并没有感到放心。我想起了那只狐狸。如果一个人让自己被驯养，就会有哭泣的风险……