他却不回答我的问题，只是对我说：

But he did not reply to my question. He merely said to me:

“水对心也是有益处的……”

“Water may also be good for the heart…”

我不懂他的话是什么意思，可我也不做声……我知道不应该去问他。

I did not understand this answer, but I said nothing. I knew very well that it was impossible to cross-examine him.

他累了，他坐下来。我在他身旁坐下。沉默了一会，他又说道：

He was tired. He sat down. I sat down beside him. And, after a little silence, he spoke again:

“星星是很美的，因为有一朵人们看不到的花……”

“The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen.”

我回答道：“当然。”而我默默地看着月光下沙漠的褶皱。

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.

“沙漠是美的。”他又说道。

“The desert is beautiful,” the little prince added.

确实如此。我一直很喜欢沙漠。坐在一个沙丘上，什么也看不见、听不见。但是，却有一种说不出的东西在默默地放着光芒……

And that was true. I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams…

“使沙漠更加美丽的，就是在某个角落里，藏着一口井……”

“What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well…”

我很惊讶，突然明白了为什么沙漠放着光芒。当我还是一个小孩子的时候，我住在一座古老的房子里，而且传说，这个房子里埋藏着一个宝贝。当然，从来没有任何人能发现这个宝贝，可能，甚至也没有人去寻找过。但是，这个宝贝使整个房子着了魔似的。我家的房子在它的心灵深处隐藏着一个秘密……

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…

我对小王子说道：“是的，无论是房子，星星，或是沙漠，使它们美丽的东西是看不见的！”

“Yes,” I said to the little prince. “The house, the stars, the desert — what gives them their beauty is something that is invisible!”

“我真高兴，你和我的狐狸的看法一样。”小王子说。

“I am glad,” he said, “that you agree with my fox.”

小王子睡觉了，我就把他抱在怀里，又重新上路了。我很激动。就好象抱着一个脆弱的宝贝。就好象在地球上没有比这更脆弱的了。

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.

我借着月光看着这惨白的面额，这双紧闭的眼睛，这随风飘动的绺绺头发，这时我对自己说道：“我所看到的仅仅是外表。最重要的是看不见的……”

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:

由于看到他稍稍张开的嘴唇露出一丝微笑，我又自言自语地说：“在这个熟睡了的小王子身上，使我非常感动的，是他对他那朵花的忠诚，是在他心中闪烁的那朵玫瑰花的形象。这朵玫瑰花，即使在小王子睡着了的时候，也象一盏灯的火焰一样在他身上闪耀着光辉……”这时，我就感觉到他更加脆弱。应该保护灯焰：一阵风就可能把它吹灭……

“What I see here is nothing but a shell. What is most important is invisible…” 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…” 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…

于是，就这样走着，我在黎明时发现了水井。

And, as I walked on so, I found the well, at daybreak.

XXV

XXV

“那些人们，他们往快车里拥挤，但是他们却不知道要寻找什么。于是，他们就忙忙碌碌，来回转圈子……”小王子说道。

“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…”

他接着又说：

And he added:

“这没有必要……”

“It is not worth the trouble…”

我们终于找到的这口井，不同于撒哈拉的那些井。撒哈拉的井只是沙漠中挖的洞。这口井则很象村子中的井。可是，那里又没有任何村庄，我还以为是在做梦呢。

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…

“真怪，”我对小王子说：“一切都是现成的：辘轳、水桶、绳子……”

“It is strange,” I said to the little prince. “Everything is ready for use: the pulley, the bucket, the rope…”

他笑了，拿着绳子，转动着辘轳。辘轳就象是一个长期没有风来吹动的旧风标一样，吱吱作响。

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.

“你听，”小王子说：“我们唤醒了这口井，它现在唱起歌来了……”

“Do you hear?” said the little prince. “We have wakened the well, and it is singing…”

我不愿让他费劲。

I did not want him to tire himself with the rope.

我对他说：
“让我来干吧。这活对你太重了。”

“Leave it to me,” I said. “It is too heavy for you.”

我慢慢地把水桶提到井栏上。我把它稳稳地放在那里。我的耳朵里还响着辘轳的歌声。依然还在晃荡的水面上，我看见太阳的影子在跳动。

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.

“我正需要喝这种水。”小王子说：“给我喝点……”

“I am thirsty for this water,” said the little prince. “Give me some of it to drink…”

这时我才明白了他所要寻找的是什么！

And I understood what he had been looking for.

我把水桶提到他的嘴边。他闭着眼睛喝水。就象节日一般舒适愉快。这水远不只是一种饮料，它是披星戴月走了许多路才找到的，是在辘轳的歌声中，经过我双臂的努力得来的。它象是一件礼品慰藉着心田。

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.

在我小的时候，圣诞树的灯光，午夜的弥撒的音乐，甜蜜的微笑，这一切都使圣诞节时我收到的礼品辉映着幸福的光彩。

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.

“你这里的人在同一个花园中种植着五千朵玫瑰。”小王子说：“可是，他们却不能从中找到自己所要寻找的东西……”

“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.”

“他们是找不到的。”我回答道。

“They do not find it,” I replied.

“然而，他们所寻找的东西却是可以从一朵玫瑰花或一点儿水中找到的……”

“And yet what they are looking for could be found in one single rose, or in a little water.”

“一点不错。”我回答道。

“Yes, that is true,” I said.

小王子又加了一句：

And the little prince added:

“眼睛是什么也看不见的。应该用心去寻找。”

“But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart…”

我喝了水。我痛快地呼吸着空气。沙漠在晨曦中泛出蜂蜜的光泽。这蜂蜜般的光泽也使我感到幸福。为什么我要难过……

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?

小王子又重新在我的身边坐下。他温柔地对我说：“你应该实践你的诺言。”

“You must keep your promise,” said the little prince, softly, as he sat down beside me once more.

“什么诺言？”

“What promise?”

“你知道……给我的小羊一个嘴套子……我要对我的花负责的呀！”

“You know — a muzzle for my sheep… I am responsible for this flower…”

我从口袋中拿出我的画稿。小王子瞅见了，笑着说：

I took my rough drafts of drawings out of my pocket. The little prince looked them over, and laughed as he said:

“你画的猴面包树，有点象白菜……”
“啊！”

“Your baobabs — they look a little like cabbages.”

我还为我画的猴面包树感到骄傲呢！

“Oh!”
I had been so proud of my baobabs!

“你画的狐狸……它那双耳朵……有点象犄角……而且又太长了！”

“Your fox — his ears look a little like horns; and they are too long.”

这时，他又笑了。

And he laughed again.

“小家伙，你太不公正了。我过去只会画开着肚皮和闭着肚皮的巨蟒。”

“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.”

“啊！这就行了。”他说：“孩子们认得出来。”

“Oh, that will be all right,” he said, “children understand.”

我就用铅笔勾画了一个嘴套。当我把它递给小王子时，我心里很难受：

So then I made a pencil sketch of a muzzle. And as I gave it to him my heart was torn.

“你的打算，我一点也不知道……”

“You have plans that I do not know about,” I said.

但是，他不回答我，他对我说：

But he did not answer me.

“你知道，我落在地球上……到明天就一周年了……”

He said to me, instead:
“You know — my descent to the earth… Tomorrow will be its anniversary.”

接着，沉默了一会儿，他又说道：

Then, after a silence, he went on:

“我就落在这附近……”

“I came down very near here.”

此时，他的面颊绯红。

And he flushed.

我不知为什么，又感到一阵莫名其妙的心酸。

And once again, without understanding why, I had a queer sense of sorrow.

这时，我产生了一个问题：
“一星期以前，我认识你的那天早上，你单独一个人在这旷无人烟的地方走着；这么说，这并不是偶然的了？你是要回到你降落的地方去是吗！”

One question, however, occurred to me:
“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?”

小王子的脸又红了。

The little prince flushed again.

我犹豫不定地又说了一句：

And I added, with some hesitancy:

“可能是因为周年纪念吧？……”

“Perhaps it was because of the anniversary?”

小王子脸又红了。他从来也不回答这些问题，但是，脸红，就等于说“是的”，是吧？

The little prince flushed once more. He never answered questions — but when one flushes does that not mean “Yes”?

“啊！”我对他说：“我有点怕……”

“Ah,” I said to him, “I am a little frightened — ”

但他却回答我说：

But he interrupted me.

“你现在该工作了。你应该回到你的机器那里去。我在这里等你。你明天晚上再来……”

“Now you must work. You must return to your engine. I will be waiting for you here. Come back tomorrow evening…”

但是，我放心不下。我想起了狐狸的话。如果被人驯服了，就可能会要哭的……

But I was not reassured. I remembered the fox. One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed…

XXVI

XXVI

在井旁边有一堵残缺的石墙。第二天晚上我工作回来的时候，我远远地看见了小王子耷拉着双腿坐在墙上。我听见他在说话：

Beside the well there was the ruin of an old stone wall. When I came back from my work, the next evening, I saw from some distance away my little price sitting on top of a wall, with his feet dangling. And I heard him say:

“你怎么不记得了呢？”他说，“绝不是在这儿。”

“Then you don’t remember. This is not the exact spot.”

大概还有另一个声音在回答他，因为他答着腔说道：

Another voice must have answered him, for he replied to it:

“没错，没错，日子是对的；但地点不是这里……”

“Yes, yes! It is the right day, but this is not the place.”

我继续朝墙走去。我还是看不到，也听不见任何别人。可是小王子又回答道：

I continued my walk toward the wall. At no time did I see or hear anyone. The little prince, however, replied once again:

“……那当然。你会在沙上看到我的脚印是从什么地方开始的。你在那里等着我就行了。今天夜里我去那里。”

“ — Exactly. You will see where my track begins, in the sand. You have nothing to do but wait for me there. I shall be there tonight.”

我离墙约有二十米远，可我依然什么也没有看见。

I was only twenty meters from the wall, and I still saw nothing.

小王子沉默了一会又说：

After a silence the little prince spoke again:

“你的毒液管用吗？你保证不会使我长时间地痛苦吗？”

“You have good poison? You are sure that it will not make me suffer too long?”

我焦虑地赶上前去，但我仍然不明白是怎么回事。

I stopped in my tracks, my heart torn asunder; but still I did not understand.

“现在你去吧，我要下来了！……”小王子说。

“Now go away,” said the little prince. “I want to get down from the wall.”

于是，我也朝墙脚下看去，我吓了一跳。就在那里，一条黄蛇直起身子冲着小王子。这种黄蛇半分钟就能结果你的性命。

I dropped my eyes, then, to the foot of the wall — and I leaped into the air. There before me, facing the little prince, was one of those yellow snakes that take just thirty seconds to bring your life to an end.

我一面赶紧掏口袋，拔出手枪，一面跑过去。可是一听到我的脚步声，蛇却象一股干涸了的水柱一样，慢慢钻进沙里去。它不慌不忙地在石头的缝隙中钻动着，发出轻轻的金属般的响声。

Even as I was digging into my pocked to get out my revolver I made a running step back. But, at the noise I made, the snake let himself flow easily across the sand like the dying spray of a fountain, and, in no apparent hurry, disappeared, with a light metallic sound, among the stones.

我到达墙边的时候，正好把我的这位小王子接在我的怀抱中。他的脸色雪一样惨白。

I reached the wall just in time to catch my little man in my arms; his face was white as snow.

“这是搞的什么名堂！你怎么竟然和蛇也谈起心来了！”

“What does this mean?” I demanded. “Why are you talking with snakes?”

我解开了他一直带着的金黄色的围脖。我用水渍湿了他的太阳穴，让他喝了点水。这时，我什么也不敢再问他。他严肃地看着我，用双臂搂着我的脖子。我感到他的心就象一只被枪弹击中而濒于死亡的鸟的心脏一样在跳动着。他对我说：

I had loosened the golden muffler that he always wore. I had moistened his temples, and had given him some water to drink. And now I did not dare ask him any more questions. He looked at me very gravely, and put his arms around my neck. I felt his heart beating like the heart of a dying bird, shot with someone’s rifle…

“我很高兴，你找到了你的机器所缺少的东西。你不久就可以回家去了……”

“I am glad that you have found what was the matter with your engine,” he said. “Now you can go back home — ”

“你怎么知道的？”

“How do you know about that?”

我正是来告诉他，在没有任何希望的情况下，我成功地完成了修理工作。

I was just coming to tell him that my work had been successful, beyond anything that I had dared to hope.

他不回答我的问题，却接着说道：

He made no answer to my question, but he added:

“我也一样，今天，要回家去了……”

“I, too, am going back home today…”

然后，他忧伤地说：

Then, sadly —

“我回家要远得多……要难得多……”

“It is much farther… It is much more difficult…”

我清楚地感到发生了某种不寻常的事。我把他当作小孩一样紧紧抱在怀里，可是我感觉到他径直地向着一个无底深渊沉陷下去，我想法拉住他，却怎么也办不到……

I realized clearly that something extraordinary was happening. I was holding him close in my arms as if he were a little child; and yet it seemed to me that he was rushing headlong toward an abyss from which I could do nothing to restrain him…

他的眼神很严肃，望着遥远的地方。

His look was very serious, like some one lost far away.

“我有你画的羊，羊的箱子和羊的嘴套子……”

“I have your sheep. And I have the sheep’s box. And I have the muzzle…”

他带着忧伤的神情微笑了。

And he gave me a sad smile.

我等了很长时间，才觉得他身子渐渐暖和起来。

I waited a long time. I could see that he was reviving little by little.

“小家伙，你受惊了……”

“Dear little man,” I said to him, “you are afraid…”

他害怕了，这是无疑的！他却温柔地笑着说：

He was afraid, there was no doubt about that. But he laughed lightly.

“今天晚上，我会怕得更厉害……”

“I shall be much more afraid this evening…”

我再度意识到要发生一件不可弥补的事。我觉得我的心一下子就凉了。这时我才明白：一想到再也不能听到这笑声，我就不能忍受。这笑声对我来说，就好象是沙漠中的甘泉一样。

Once again I felt myself frozen by the sense of something irreparable. And I knew that I could not bear the thought of never hearing that laughter any more. For me, it was like a spring of fresh water in the desert.