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:
在井旁邊有一堵殘缺的石墻。第二天晚上我工作回來的時候，我遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地看見了小王子耷拉著雙腿坐在墻上。我聽見他在說話：

"Then you don't remember. This is not the exact spot."
“你怎么不記得了呢？”他說，“絕不是在這兒?！?/p>

Another voice must have answered him, for he replied to it:
大概還有另一個聲音在回答他，因為他答著腔說道：

"Yes, yes! It is the right day, but this is not the place."
“沒錯，沒錯，日子是對的；但地點不是這里……”

I continued my walk toward the wall. At no time did I see or hear anyone. The little prince, however, replied once again:
我繼續(xù)朝墻走去。我還是看不到，也聽不見任何別人?？墒切⊥踝佑只卮鸬溃?/p>

"--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."
“……那當(dāng)然。你會在沙上看到我的腳印是從什么地方開始的。你在那里等著我就行了。今天夜里我去那里。”

I was only twenty metres from the wall, and I still saw nothing.
我離墻約有二十米遠(yuǎn)，可我依然什么也沒有看見。

After a silence the little prince spoke again:
小王子沉默了一會又說：

"You have good poison? You are sure that it will not make me suffer too long?"
“你的毒液管用嗎？你保證不會使我長時間地痛苦嗎？”

I stopped in my tracks, my heart torn asunder; but still I did not understand.
我焦慮地趕上前去，但我仍然不明白是怎么回事。

"Now go away," said the little prince. "I want to get down from the wall."
“現(xiàn)在你去吧，我要下來了！……”小王子說。

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. 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.
于是，我也朝墻腳下看去，我嚇了一跳。就在那里，一條黃蛇直起身子沖著小王子。這種黃蛇半分鐘就能結(jié)果你的性命。我一面趕緊掏口袋，拔出手槍，一面跑過去?？墒且宦牭轿业哪_步聲，蛇卻像一股干涸了的水柱一樣，慢慢鉆進沙里去。它不慌不忙地在石頭的縫隙中鉆動著，發(fā)出輕輕的金屬般的響聲。

I reached the wall just in time to catch my little man in my arms; his face was white as snow.
我到達墻邊的時候，正好把我的這位小王子接在我的懷抱中。他的臉色雪一樣慘白。

"What does this mean?" I demanded. "Why are you talking with snakes?"
“這是搞的什么名堂！你怎么竟然和蛇也談起心來了！”

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…
我解開了他一直戴著的金黃色的圍脖。我用水漬濕了他的太陽穴，讓他喝了點水。這時，我什么也不敢再問他。他嚴(yán)肅地看著我，用雙臂摟著我的脖子。我感到他的心就象一只被槍彈擊中而瀕于死亡的鳥的心臟一樣在跳動著。

"I am glad that you have found what was the matter with your engine," he said. "Now you can go back home--"
他對我說：“我很高興，你找到了你的機器所缺少的東西。你不久就可以回家去了……”

"How do you know about that?"
“你怎么知道的？”

I was just coming to tell him that my work had been successful, beyond anything that I had dared to hope.
我正是來告訴他，在沒有任何希望的情況下，我成功地完成了修理工作。

He made no answer to my question, but he added:
他不回答我的問題，卻接著說道：

"I, too, am going back home today…"
“我也一樣，今天，要回家去了……”

Then, sadly--
然后，他憂傷地說：

"It is much farther… it is much more difficult…"
“我回家要遠(yuǎn)得多……要難得多……”

I realised 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…
我清楚地感到發(fā)生了某種不尋常的事。我把他當(dāng)作小孩一樣緊緊抱在懷里，可是我感覺到他徑直地向著一個無底深淵沉陷下去，我想法拉住他，卻怎么也辦不到……

His look was very serious, like some one lost far away.
他的眼神很嚴(yán)肅，望著遙遠(yuǎn)的地方。

"I have your sheep. And I have the sheep's box. And I have the muzzle…"
“我有你畫的羊，羊的箱子和羊的嘴套子……”

And he gave me a sad smile.
他帶著憂傷的神情微笑了。

I waited a long time. I could see that he was reviving little by little.
我等了很長時間，才覺得他身子漸漸暖和起來。

"Dear little man," I said to him, "you are afraid…"
“小家伙，你受驚了……”

He was afraid, there was no doubt about that. But he laughed lightly.
他害怕了，這是無疑的！他卻溫柔地笑著說：

"I shall be much more afraid this evening…"
“今天晚上，我會怕得更厲害……”

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.
我再度意識到要發(fā)生一件不可彌補的事。我覺得我的心一下子就涼了。這時我才明白：一想到再也不能聽到這笑聲，我就不能忍受。這笑聲對我來說，就好像是沙漠中的甘泉一樣。

"Little man," I said, "I want to hear you laugh again."
“小家伙，我還想聽你笑……”

But he said to me:
但他對我說：

"Tonight, it will be a year… my star, then, can be found right above the place where I came to the Earth, a year ago…"
“到今天夜里，正好是一年了。我的星球?qū)⒄锰幱谖胰ツ杲德涞哪莻€地方的上空……”

"Little man," I said, "tell me that it is only a bad dream-- this affair of the snake, and the meeting-place, and the star…"
“小家伙，這蛇的事，約會的事，還有星星，這全是一場噩夢吧？”

But he did not answer my plea. He said to me, instead: "The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen…"
但他并不回答我的問題。他對我說：“重要的事，是看不見的……”

"Yes, I know…"
“當(dāng)然……”

"It is just as it is with the flower. If you love a flower that lives on a star, it is sweet to look at the sky at night. All the stars are a-bloom with flowers…"
“這就像花一樣。如果你愛上了一朵生長在一顆星星上的花，那么夜間，你看著天空就感到甜蜜愉快。所有的星星上都好像開著花?！?/p>

"Yes, I know…"
“當(dāng)然……”

"It is just as it is with the water. Because of the pulley, and the rope, what you gave me to drink was like music. You remember-- how good it was."
“這也就像水一樣，由于那轆轤和繩子的緣故，你給我喝的井水好像音樂一樣……你記得嗎？……這水非常好喝……”

"Yes, I know…"
“當(dāng)然……”

"And at night you will look up at the stars. Where I live everything is so small that I cannot show you where my star is to be found. It is better, like that. My star will just be one of the stars, for you. And so you will love to watch all the stars in the heavens… they will all be your friends. And, besides, I am going to make you a present…"
“夜晚，你抬頭望著星星，我的那顆太小了，我無法給你指出我的那顆星星是在哪里。這樣倒更好。你可以認(rèn)為我的那顆星星就在這些星星之中。那么，所有的星星，你都會喜歡看的……這些星星都將成為你的朋友。而且，我還要給你一件禮物……”

He laughed again.
他又笑了。

"Ah, little prince, dear little prince! I love to hear that laughter!"
“啊！小家伙，小家伙，我喜歡聽你這笑聲！”

"That is my present. Just that. It will be as it was when we drank the water…"
“這正好是我給你的禮物，……這就好像水那樣?！?/p>

"What are you trying to say?"
“你說的是什么？”

"All men have the stars," he answered, "but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman they were wealth. But all these stars are silent. You-- you alone-- will have the stars as no one else has them--"
“人們眼里的星星并不都一樣。對旅行的人來說，星星是向?qū)?。對別的人來說，星星只是些小亮光。對另外一些學(xué)者來說，星星就是他們探討的學(xué)問。對我所遇見的那個實業(yè)家來說，星星是金錢。但是，所有這些星星都不會說話。你呢，你的那些星星將是任何人都不曾有過的……”

"What are you trying to say?"
“你說的是什么？”

"In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night… you-- only you-- will have stars that can laugh!"
“夜晚，當(dāng)你望著天空的時候，既然我就住在其中一顆星星上，既然我在其中一顆星星上笑著，那么對你來說，就好像所有的星星都在笑，那么你將看到的星星就是會笑的星星！”

And he laughed again.
這時，他又笑了。

"And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure… and your friends will be properly astonished to see you laughing as you look up at the sky! Then you will say to them, 'Yes, the stars always make me laugh！' And they will think you are crazy. It will be a very shabby trick that I shall have played on you…"
“那么，在你的悲傷平息之后（時間會緩和所有的悲傷）你就會因為認(rèn)識了我而感到高興。你將永遠(yuǎn)是我的朋友。你就會想要同我一起笑。有時，你會為了快樂而不知不覺地打開窗戶。你的朋友們會奇怪地看著你笑著仰望天空。那時，你就可以對他們說：‘是的，星星總是引我歡笑！’他們會以為你發(fā)瘋了。我的惡作劇將使你難堪……”

And he laughed again.
這時，他又笑了。

"It will be as if, in place of the stars, I had given you a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh…"
“這就好像我并沒有給你星星，而是給你一大堆會笑出聲來的小鈴鐺……”

And he laughed again. Then he quickly became serious:
他仍然笑著。隨后他變得嚴(yán)肅起來：

"Tonight-- you know… do not come," said the little prince.
“今天夜里……你知道……不要來了?！?/p>

"I shall not leave you," I said.
“我不離開你?！?/p>

"I shall look as if I were suffering. I shall look a little as if I were dying. It is like that. Do not come to see that. It is not worth the trouble…"
“我將會像是很痛苦的樣子……我有點像要死去似的。就是這么回事，你就別來看這些了，沒有必要?！?/p>

"I shall not leave you."
“我不離開你?！?/p>

But he was worried.
可是他擔(dān)心起來。

"I tell you-- it is also because of the snake. He must not bite you. Snakes-- they are malicious creatures. This one might bite you just for fun…"
“我對你說這些……這也是因為蛇的緣故。別讓它咬了你……蛇是很壞的，它隨意咬人……”

"I shall not leave you."
“我不應(yīng)該離開你的?！?/p>

But a thought came to reassure him:
這時，他似乎有點放心了：

"It is true that they have no more poison for a second bite."
“對了，它咬第二口的時候就沒有毒液了……”

That night I did not see him set out on his way. He got away from me without making a sound. When I succeeded in catching up with him he was walking along with a quick and resolute step. He said to me merely:
這天夜里，我沒有看到他起程。他不聲不響地跑了。當(dāng)我終于趕上他的時候，他堅定地快步走著。他只是對我說道：

"Ah! You are there…"
“啊，你在這兒……”

And he took me by the hand. But he was still worrying.
于是他拉著我的手。但是他仍然很擔(dān)心：

"It was wrong of you to come. You will suffer. I shall look as if I were dead; and that will not be true…"
“你不該這樣。你會難受的。我會像是死去的樣子，但這不會是真的……”

I said nothing.
我默默無言。

"You understand… it is too far. I cannot carry this body with me. It is too heavy."
“你明白，路很遠(yuǎn)。我不能帶著這付身軀走。它太重了?！?/p>

I said nothing.
我依然沉默不語。

"But it will be like an old abandoned shell. There is nothing sad about old shells…"
“但是，這就好像剝落的舊樹皮一樣。舊樹皮，并沒有什么可悲的。”

I said nothing.
我還是沉默不語。

He was a little discouraged. But he made one more effort:
他有些泄氣了。但是他又振作起來：

"You know, it will be very nice. I, too, shall look at the stars. All the stars will be wells with a rusty pulley. All the stars will pour out fresh water for me to drink…"
“這將是蠻好的，你知道。我也一定會看星星的。所有的星星都將是帶有生了銹的轆轤的井。所有的星星都會倒水給我喝……”

I said nothing.
我還是沉默不語。

"That will be so amusing! You will have five hundred million little bells, and I shall have five hundred million springs of fresh water…"
“這將是多么好玩?。∧銓⒂形鍍|個鈴鐺，我將有五億口水井……”

And he too said nothing more, because he was crying…
這時，他也沉默了，因為他在哭。

"Here it is. Let me go on by myself."
“就是這兒。讓我自個兒走一步吧。”

And he sat down, because he was afraid. Then he said, again:
他這時坐下來，因為他害怕了。他卻仍然說道：

"You know-- my flower… I am responsible for her. And she is so weak! She is so nae! She has four thorns, of no use at all, to protect herself against all the world…"
“你知道……我的花……我是要對她負(fù)責(zé)的！而她又是那么弱??！她又是那么天真。她只有四根微不足道的刺，保護自己，抵抗外敵……”

I too sat down, because I was not able to stand up any longer.
我也坐了下來，因為我再也站立不住了。他說道：

"There now-- that is all…"
“就是這些……全都說啦……”

He still hesitated a little; then he got up. He took one step. I could not move.
他猶豫了一下，然后站起來。他邁出了一步。而我卻動彈不得。

There was nothing but a flash of yellow close to his ankle. He remained motionless for an instant. He did not cry out. He fell as gently as a tree falls. There was not even any sound, because of the sand.
在他的腳踝子骨附近，一道黃光閃了一下。剎那間他一動也不動了。他沒有叫喊。他輕輕地像一棵樹一樣倒在地上，大概由于沙地的緣故，連一點響聲都沒有。

（來源：愛詞霸 編輯：丹妮）