Ale neodpovedal na moju otázku. Povedal mi iba:

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

— Voda môže byť dobrá aj pre srdce…

“Water may also be good for the heart…”

Nepochopil som jeho odpoveď, ale mlčal som… Dobre som vedel, že sa ho nesmiem pýtať.

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

Bol unavený. Sadol si. Ja som si sadol vedľa neho. A po chvíli ticha ešte povedal:

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

— Hviezdy sú krásne vďaka ruži, ktorú nie je vidieť…

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

Odpovedal som „prirodzene“ a mlčky som sa vo svetle mesiaca zadíval na vlny piesku.

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.

— Púšť je krásna, — dodal.

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

A bola to pravda. Vždy som mal rád púšť. Človek si sadne na pieskový presyp. Nič nevidí. Nič nepočuje. A predsa čosi v tichu žiari…

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…

— Púšť robí krásnou to, že niekde skrýva studňu… — povedal Malý princ.

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

Bol som prekvapený, že som zrazu pochopil to tajomné žiarenie piesku. Keď som bol malým chlapcom, býval som v starobylom dome a podľa povesti mal v ňom byť zakopaný poklad. Prirodzene, nikdy ho nikto nevedel nájsť, ba ani ho možno nikto nehľadal. Ale pridával čaro celému domu. Môj dom skrýval vo svojom vnútri tajomstvo…

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…

— Áno, — povedal som Malému princovi, — či už ide o dom, o hviezdy alebo o púšť, to, čo ich robí krásny mi, je neviditeľné!

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

— Som rád, — povedal, — že súhlasíš s mojou líškou. Pretože Malý princ zaspával, vzal som ho do náručia

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

a vydal som sa znova na cestu. Bol som dojatý. Zdalo sa mi, že nesiem krehký poklad. Ba dokonca sa mi zdalo, že na Zemi nie je nič krehkejšie.

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.

V mesačnom svetle som hľadel na to bledé čelo, na tie zatvorené oči, na tie kučery čo sa chveli vo vetre, a vravel som si: „To, čo tu vidím, je iba škrupina. To najdôležitejšie je neviditeľné…“

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:

A pretože jeho pootvorené ústa sa nesmelo pokúšali usmiať, vravel som si ešte: „Na tomto spiacom Malom princovi ma tak veľmi dojíma jeho oddanosť jednej kvetine, jeho obraz ruže, ktorý v ňom žiari ako plamienok lampy, aj keď spí…“ A tušil som, že je ešte krehkejší. Lampy musíme dobre chrániť: jeden náraz vetra ich môže zahasiť…

“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…

A ako som tak kráčal, objavil som na úsvite studňu.

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

XXV

XXV

— Ľudia sa napchajú do rýchlikov, — povedal Malý princ, — ale potom už nevedia, za čím idú. Tak sa v nich natriasajú a vozia sa stále dookola…

“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…”

A dodal:

And he added:

— Nestojí to za to…

“It is not worth the trouble…”

Studňa, ku ktorej sme sa dostali, nevyzerala ako saharské studne. Saharské studne sú iba jamy vyhĺbené v piesku. Táto sa podobala na dedinskú studňu. Ale nebola tam nijaká dedina a ja som si pomyslel, že sa mi to sníva.

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…

— To je čudné, — povedal som Malému princovi, — všet — ko je prichystané: hriadeľ, vedro i povraz…

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

Zasmial sa, chytil povraz, rozkrútil hriadeľ. A hriadeľ škrípal, ako škrípe starý veterníček, keď vietor dlho spal.

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.

— Počuješ, — povedal Malý princ, — zobúdzame túto studňu a ona spieva…

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

Nechcel som, aby sa namáhal.

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

— Nechaj, ja to urobím, — povedal som mu, — pre teba je to priťažké.

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

Pomaly som vyťahoval vedro až na okraj studne. Pekne rovno som ho ta postavil. V ušiach mi stále znel spev hriadeľa; a vo vode, čo sa ešte vlnila, som videl chvejúce sa slnko.

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.

— Žíznim po tejto vode, — povedal Malý princ, — daj sa mi napiť…

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

A ja som pochopil, čo hľadal!

And I understood what he had been looking for.

Zodvihol som vedro až k jeho perám. Pil so zatvorenými očami. Bolo to pôvabné ako nejaká slávnosť. Táto voda bola naozaj čosi iné ako obyčajná živina. Zrodila sa z chôdze pod hviezdami, zo spevu hriadeľa, z námahy mojich rúk. Bola srdcu taká milá ako nejaký dar.

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.

Keď som bol malým chlapcom, svetlo vianočného stromčeka, hudba na polnočnej omši a nežnosť úsmevov mi takto obostreli najväčším leskom vianočný darček, čo som dostal.

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.

— Ľudia u vás pestujú päťtisíc ruží v jedinej záhrade… a nenachádzajú v nej to, čo hľadajú… — povedal Malý princ.

“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.”

— Nenachádzajú to, — odpovedal som.

“They do not find it,” I replied.

— A predsa to, čo hľadajú, by sa mohlo nájsť v jedinej ruži alebo v troške vody…

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

— Pravdaže, — odpovedal som.

“Yes, that is true,” I said.

A Malý princ dodal:

And the little prince added:

— Ale oči sú slepé. Treba hľadať srdcom.

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

Napil som sa. Dobre sa mi dýchalo. Piesok má na svitaní farbu medu. Tešil som sa aj z tej medovej farby. Prečo som len pocítil úzkosť…

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?

Zasmial sa, chytil povraz, rozkrútil hriadeľ.
— Musíš dodržať svoj sľub, — povedal mi tichučko Malý princ, ktorý už zase sedel pri mne.

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

— Aký sľub?

“What promise?”

— Vieš… ten náhubok pre moju ovečku… som zodpovedný za tú ružu!

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

Vytiahol som z vrecka svoje maliarske pokusy. Malý princ ich zazrel, zasmial sa a povedal:

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

— Tie tvoje baobaby sa trochu podobajú hlávkam kapusty…

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

—Och! A ja som bol na baobaby taký pyšný!

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

— Tá tvoja líška… jej uši… tie sa trošku podobajú rohom… a sú priveľmi dlhé!

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

A znova sa zasmial.

And he laughed again.

— Si nespravodlivý, chlapček môj, ja som nevedel kresliť nič iné, iba zatvorené a otvorené veľhady.

“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.”

— Och, bude to dobré, — povedal, — deti vedia ľahko pochopiť.

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

Nakreslil som mu teda náhubok. A srdce sa mi zvieralo, keď som mu ho podával.

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

— Ty máš nejaké plány, o ktorých ja neviem…

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

Ale neodpovedal mi na to.

But he did not answer me.

Vravel:
— Vieš, môj pád na Zem… zajtra bude jeho výročie.

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

Chvíľu mlčal, potom ešte dodal:

Then, after a silence, he went on:

— Spadol som celkom blízko odtiaľto…

“I came down very near here.”

A začervenal sa.

And he flushed.

A hoci som nechápal prečo, opäť som pocítil čudný žiaľ.

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

Predsa mi prišlo na um spýtať sa ho:
— Teda to nebola náhoda, že si sa v to ráno, keď som ťa pred ôsmimi dňami spoznal, prechádzal len tak sám, na tisíc míľ od všetkých obývaných krajov? Vracal si sa na miesto, kam si spadol?

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?”

Malý princ sa znova začervenal.

The little prince flushed again.

A ja som váhavo dodal:

And I added, with some hesitancy:

— Možno pre to výročie… ?

“Perhaps it was because of the anniversary?”

Malý princ sa opäť začervenal. Nikdy neodpovedal na otázky, no ak sa niekto červená, znamená to „áno“, nemám pravdu?

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

— Ach, — povedal som mu, — bojím sa…

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

Ale on mi povedal:

But he interrupted me.

— Teraz musíš pracovať. Musíš sa vrátiť k svojmu stroju. Budem ťa tu čakať. Vráť sa zajtra večer…

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

No ja som sa neuspokojil. Spomenul som si na líšku. Človek sa vystavuje nebezpečenstvu, že bude trošku plakať, keď sa nechal skrotiť…

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

Neďaleko studne bola zrúcanina starého kamenného múru. Keď som sa sem na druhý deň večer vracal od svojej práce, zazrel som zďaleka svojho Malého princa, ako sedí so spustenými nohami hore na múre. A počul som, že hovorí.

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:

— Tak ty sa na to nepamätáš? — vravel. — To nebolo presne tu!

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

Nejaký hlas mu bezpochyby niečo povedal, lebo Malý princ odpovedal:

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

— Áno! Je to naozaj ten deň, ale nie na tomto mieste…

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

Kráčal som ďalej k múru. Ešte vždy som nikoho nevidel, ani nepočul. A predsa Malý princ opäť komusi odpovedal:

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

— Pravdaže. Uvidíš, kde sa začína moja stopa v piesku. Teda tam na mňa čakaj. Budem tam dnes v noci.

“ — 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.”

Bol som asi dvadsať metrov od múru a ešte vždy som nič nevidel.

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

Malý princ chvíľu mlčal, potom povedal:

After a silence the little prince spoke again:

— Máš dobrý jed? Si pevne presvedčený, že ma nenecháš dlho trpieť?

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

Zastal som, srdce sa mi zovrelo, ale ešte som to nechápal.

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

— Teraz choď preč! — povedal. — Chcem zostúpiť.

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

Tak som aj ja pozrel dolu k päte múru, a odskočil som! K Malému princovi sa vzpínal jeden z tých žltých hadov, ktoré vás za tridsať sekúnd zavraždia.

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.

Rozbehol som sa, hmatajúc po vrecku, aby som odtiaľ vytiahol revolver, ale na lomoz, čo som narobil, had sa tichučko spustil do piesku ako vodomet, keď opadáva, a nenáhlivo, s ľahkým kovovým šuchotom vkĺzol medzi kamene.

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.

Dorazil som k múru práve včas, aby som zachytil do náručia svojho chlapčeka-princa, bledého ako sneh.

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

— To je pekný poriadok! Ty sa teraz dávaš do reči s hadmi!

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

Rozviazal som mu zlatožltú šatku, čo ustavične nosil na krku. Navlhčil som mu na sluchy a dal som sa mu napiť. Ale teraz som sa ho už neodvážil na nič pýtať. Vážne na mňa hľadel a objal ma okolo krku. Cítil som, že srdce mu bije ako umierajúcemu, postrelenému vtáčikovi. Povedal mi:

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…

— Som rád, že si prišiel na to, čo tvojmu stroju chýba. Budeš sa môcť vrátiť domov…

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

— Ako to vieš?

“How do you know about that?”

Práve som mu prišiel oznámiť, že napriek všetkému očakávaniu sa mi práca podarila!

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

Na moju otázku neodpovedal, ale pokračoval:

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

— Aj ja sa dnes vrátim domov…

“I, too, am going back home today…”

Potom smutne doložil:

Then, sadly —

— Je to oveľa ďalej… je to oveľa ťažšie…

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

Dobre som vycítil, že sa odohráva čosi neobyčajné. Zovrel som ho do náručia ako malé dieťa, a predsa sa mi zdalo, že sa kíže strmhlav do priepasti, a ja nemôžem nič urobiť, aby som ho zadržal…

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…

Hľadel vážne kamsi do diaľky.

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

— Mám tvoju ovečku. A mám debničku pre ovečku. A mám náhubok…

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

A smutne sa usmial.

And he gave me a sad smile.

Dlho som čakal. Cítil som, že pomaly prichádza k sebe.

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

— Chlapček môj, ty si sa bál…

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

Bál sa, pravdaže! Ale tichučko sa zasmial:

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

— Dnes v noci sa budem báť ešte oveľa väčšmi…

“I shall be much more afraid this evening…”

Opäť som zmeravel, keď som si uvedomil, že sa robí čosi nenapraviteľné. A pochopil som, že by som nezniesol myšlienku nepočuť nikdy viac ten smiech. Bol pre mňa ako studnička v púšti.

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.