「我將會象是很痛苦的樣子……我有點象要死去似的。就是這麼回事，你就別來看這些了，沒有必要。」

「這就好象我並沒有給你星星，而是給你一大堆會笑出聲來的小鈴鐺……」

「當然……」

我默默無言。

他又笑了。

「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……」

"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..."

「啊！小傢伙，小傢伙，我喜歡聽你這笑聲！」

「今天夜裡……你知道……不要來了。」

And he laughed again. Then he quickly became serious:

"I shall not leave you."

我清楚地感到發生了某種不尋常的事。我把他當作小孩一樣緊緊抱在懷裡，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，卻怎麼也辦不到……

「人們眼裡的星星並不都一樣。對旅行的人來說，星星是嚮導。對別的人來說，星星只是些小亮光。對另外一些學者來說，星星就是他們探討的學問。對我所遇見的那個實業家來說，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……」

我等了很長時間，才覺得他身子漸漸暖和起來。

於是，我也朝牆腳下看去，我嚇了一跳。就在那裡，一條黃蛇直起身子衝著小王子。這種黃蛇半分鐘就能結果你的性命。我一面趕緊掏口袋，拔出手槍，一面跑過去。可是一聽到我的腳步聲，蛇卻象一股乾涸了的水柱一樣，慢慢鑽進沙里去。它不慌不忙地在石頭的縫隙中鑽動著，發出輕輕的金屬般的響聲。

「對了，它咬第二口的時候就沒有毒液了……」

「我回家要遠得多……要難得多……」

「這正好是我給你的禮物，……這就好象水那樣。」

"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..."

「你明白，路很遠。我不能帶著這付身軀走。它太重了。」

「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……」

「你說的是什麼？」

But a thought came to reassure him:

我到達牆邊的時候，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。

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

But he was worried.

這時，他又笑了。

「你不該這樣。你會難受的。我會象是死去的樣子，但這不會是真的……」

於是他拉著我的手。但是他仍然很擔心：

「那麼，在你得到了安慰之後（人們總是會自我安慰的）你就會因為認識了我而感到高興。你將永遠是我的朋友。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！』他們會以為你發瘋了。我的惡作劇將使你難堪……」

「……那當然。你會在沙上看到我的腳印是從什麼地方開始的。你在那裡等著我就行了。今天夜裡我去那裡。」

He still hesitated a little; then he got up. He took one step. I could not move.

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 restrainread.99csw.com him...

"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."

"What are you trying to say?"

這時，他也沉默了，因為他在哭。

"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--"

"Ah! You are there..."

「小傢伙，我還想聽你笑……」

「當然……」

他仍然笑著。隨後他變得嚴肅起來：

And he laughed again.

"Yes, I know..."

「就是這些……全都說啦……」

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

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 someones rifle...

我還是沉默不語。

"I have your sheep. And I have the sheeps box. And I have the muzzle..."

「沒錯，沒錯，日子是對的；但地點不是這裏……」

他猶豫了一下，然後站起來。他邁出了一步。而我卻動彈不得。

"I shall not leave you," I said.

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.

「就是這兒。讓我自個兒走一步吧。」

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.

"I shall be much more afraid this evening..."

"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..."

"Yes, I know..."

在井旁邊有一堵殘缺的石牆。第二天晚上我工作回https://read.99csw.com來的時候，我遠遠地看見了小王子耷拉著雙腿坐在牆上。我聽見他在說話：

「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……」

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:

「這是搞的什麼名堂！你怎麼竟然和蛇也談起心來了！」我解開了他一直帶著的金黃色的圍脖。我用水漬濕了他的太陽穴，讓他喝了點水。這時，我什麼也不敢再問他。他嚴肅地看著我，用雙臂摟著我的脖子。我感到他的心就象一隻被槍彈擊中而瀕於死亡的鳥的心臟一樣在跳動著。他對我說：

But he did not answer my plea. He said to me, instead: "The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen..."

I said nothing.

他害怕了，這是無疑的！他卻溫柔地笑著說：

He laughed again.

And he too said nothing more, becuase he was crying...

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

He was a little discouraged. But he made one more effort:

And he took me by the hand. But he was still worrying.

"Then you dont remember. This is not the exact spot."

我焦慮地趕上前去，但我仍然不明白是怎麼回事。

And he gave me a sad smile.

I too sat down, because I was not able to stand up any longer.

"There now-- that is all..."

「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裡。這樣倒更好。你可以認為我的那顆星星就在這些星星之中。那麼，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……」

可是他擔心起來。

然後，他憂傷地說：

我再度意識到要發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，就好象是沙漠中的甘泉一樣。

但他並不回答我的問題。他對我說：

我離牆約有二十米遠，可我依然什麼也沒有看見。

"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..."

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

「這將是多麼好玩啊！你將有五億個鈴鐺，我將有五億口水井……」

「這就象花一樣。如果你愛上了一朵生長在一顆星星上的花，那麼夜間，你看著天空就感到甜蜜愉快。所有的星星上都好象開著花。」

「這也就象水一樣，由於那轆轤和繩子的緣故，你給我喝的井水好象音樂一樣……你記得嗎？……這水非常好喝……」

"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..."

"You know-- my flower... I am responsible for her. And she is so weak! She is so nread.99csw.coma飀e! She has four thorns, of no use at all, to protect herself against all the world..."

I said nothing.

我依然沉默不語。

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

I said nothing.

"Ah, little prince, dear little prince! I love to hear that laughter!"

"But it will be like an old abandoned shell. There is nothing sad about old shells..."

「你知道……我的花……我是要對她負責的！而她又是那麼弱小！她又是那麼天真。她只有四根微不足道的刺，保護自己，抵抗外敵……」

我也坐了下來，因為我再也站立不住了。他說道：

"I shall not leave you."

"You understand... it is too far. I cannot carry this body with me. It is too heavy."

"Here it is. Let me go on by myself."

"That will be so amusing! You will have five hundred million little bells, and I shall have five hundred million springs of fresh water..."

「我不離開你。」

"--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."

我還是沉默不語。

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

但他對我說：

Then, sadly--

「你怎麼知道的？」

「到今天夜裡，正好是一年了。我的星球將正好處於我去年降落的那個地方的上空……」

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。

「我有你畫的羊，羊的箱子和羊的嘴套子……」

他不回答我的問題，卻接著說道：

「小傢伙，你受驚了……」

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。他輕輕地象一棵樹一樣倒在地上，大概由於沙地的緣故，連一點響聲都沒有。

他的眼神很嚴肅，望著遙遠的地方。

「夜晚，當你望著天空的時候，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，那麼對你來說，就好象所有的星星都在笑，那麼你將看到的星星就是會笑的星星！」

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:

"It is much farther... it is much more difficult..."

After a silence the little prince spoke again:

"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 tharead.99csw.comt. 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..."

"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..."

"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!"

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

"Dear little man," I said to him, "you are afraid..."

"It was wrong of you to come. You will suffer. I shall look as if I were dead; and that will not be true..."

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.

「小傢伙，這蛇的事，約會的事，還有星星，這全是一場噩夢吧？」

"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..."

「你說的是什麼？」

「重要的事，是看不見的……」

他有些泄氣了。但是他又振作起來：

他這時坐下來，因為他害怕了。他卻仍然說道：

「但是，這就好象剝落的舊樹皮一樣。舊樹皮，並沒有什麼可悲的。」

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

"What are you trying to say?"

XXVI

這天夜裡，我沒有看到他起程。他不聲不響地跑了。當我終於趕上他的時候，他堅定地快步走著。他只是對我說道：

「現在你去吧，我要下來了！……」小王子說。

"Tonight-- you know... do not come," said the little prince.

這時，他似乎有點放心了：

「啊，你在這兒……」

And he sat down, because he was afraid. Then he said, again:

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

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

「當然……」

"Yes, yes! It is the right day, buhｔtps://ｒead.99ｃｓw•cｏｍt this is not the place."

這時，他又笑了。

And he laughed again.

I said nothing.

"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 w ill 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..."

小王子沉默了一會又說：

「今天晚上，我會怕得更厲害……」

"That is my present. Just that. It will be as it was when we drank the water..."

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

「我不離開你。」

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

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

「我也一樣，今天，要回家去了……」

"Yes, I know..."

「你的毒液管用嗎？你保證不會使我長時間地痛苦嗎？」

But he said to me:

"Little man," I said, "I want to hear you laugh again."

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.

[ Chapter 26 ] - the little prince converses with the snake; the little prince consoles the narrator; the little prince returns to his planet

「我不離開你。」

"It is true that they have no more poison for a second bite."

「你怎麼不記得了呢？」他說，「絕不是在這兒。」

我繼續朝牆走去。我還是看不到，也聽不見任何別人。可是小王子又回答道：

"How do you know about that?"

大概還有另一個聲音在回答他，因為他答著腔說道：

"I, too, am going back home today..."