第二章 | Chapter 2

第二章 Chapter 2

我就这样孤独地生活着，没有遇到过一个能真正谈得来的人，一直到六年前，当时我的飞机在撒哈拉沙漠里出现了故障。发动机里有个零件损坏了。由于我既没有带机械师也没有带乘客，我只好试着独自完成这个艰巨的维修工作。这对我来说是个生死攸关的问题：我带的饮用水不足以维持一周。

So I lived my life alone, without anyone that I couldreally talk to, until I had an accident with my plane in the Desert of Sahara,six years ago. Something was broken in my engine. And as I had with me neithera mechanic nor any passengers, I set myself to attempt the difficult repairsall alone. It was a question of life or death for me: I had scarcely enoughdrinking water to last a week.

于是，第一天晚上，我睡在这片远离人烟的沙地上，比遭遇海难后在茫茫大海中乘坐木筏漂流的水手还要孤独。所以，你可以想象一下，在黎明时，当我被一个奇特而轻微的声音叫醒的时候，是感到多么惊奇。那声音说道：

“请你……给我画一只绵羊。”

“什么！”

“给我画一只绵羊。”

The first night, then, I went to sleep on the sand, athousand miles from any human habitation. I was more isolated than ashipwrecked sailor on a raft in the middle of the ocean. Thus you can imaginemy amazement, at sunrise, when I was awakened by an odd little voice. It said:

“If you please — draw me a sheep！”

“What！”

“Draw me a sheep！”

我如同遭到了雷击一般，一下子跳了起来。我使劲眨了眨眼睛，认真察看了一下四周。我看见了一个非常奇特的小家伙，他正站在那里，极其严肃认真地打量着我。下面你会看到我后来给他画得最好的一幅画像。可是，跟他本人相比，我的画当然要逊色很多。

I jumped to my feet, completely thunderstruck. I blinkedmy eyes hard. I looked carefully all around me. And I saw a most extraordinarysmall person, who stood there examining me with great seriousness. Here you maysee the best portrait that, later, I was able to make of him. But my drawing iscertainly very much less charming than its model.

但是，这并非我的过错。那些大人在我六岁时就使我对我的画家生涯丧失了信心，除了从内里和从外观画的巨蟒，我再没有学过画其他任何东西。

That, however, is not my fault. The grown-ups discouragedme in my painter’s career when I was six years old, and I never learned to drawanything, except boas from the outside and boas from the inside.

我吃惊地瞪大眼睛盯着这个突然出现的小家伙。别忘了，我坠机的这片沙漠距离人的居住地有千里之遥。而我眼前这个小家伙，看来并不像是在沙漠中迷了路，也没有半点儿因疲惫、饥渴、恐惧而虚弱无力的神情。他一点儿也不像一个迷失在渺无人烟的大沙漠中的孩子。当我最终能开口说话时，我对他说道：

“可是……你在这儿干什么呢？”

他的回应是非常缓慢地，仿佛在谈论一件重大事件一般，对我重复说道：

“请你……给我画一只绵羊……”

Now I stared at this sudden apparition with my eyesfairly starting out of my head in astonishment. Remember, I had crashed in thedesert a thousand miles from any inhabited region. And yet my little man seemedneither to be straying uncertainly among the sands, nor to be fainting fromfatigue, or hunger, or thirst, or fear. Nothing about him gave any suggestionof a child lost in the middle of the desert, a thousand miles from any humanhabitation. When at last I was able to speak, I said to him:

“But — whatare you doing here？”

And in answer he repeated, very slowly, as if he werespeaking of a matter of great consequence:

“If youplease — draw me a sheep ...”

当一个人被某种神秘事物震慑住的时候，他是不敢违抗的。尽管这让我感觉非常荒诞，我——身处在这人迹罕至之地并且面临生命危险——还是从口袋里掏出了一张纸和一支钢笔。然而这时我又想起我只专心学过地理、历史、算术和语法，就有点恼怒地告诉这个小家伙说我不会画画。他回答我说：

“这没有关系，给我画一只绵羊……”

When amystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey. Absurd as it might seem tome, a thousand miles from any human habitation and in danger of death, I tookout of my pocket a sheet of paper and my fountain-pen. But then I rememberedhow my studies had been concentrated on geography, history, arithmetic, andgrammar, and I told the little chap（alittle crossly, too）that I didnot know how to draw. He answered me:

“That doesn’t matter.Draw me a sheep ...”

但是我从没有画过绵羊，于是我就从过去我经常画的那两幅画中选了一张给他画了，也就是那张从外观画的巨蟒图。而这个小家伙对待它的态度让我大吃一惊。

“不，不，不！我不要一头在巨蟒肚子里的大象。巨蟒太危险了，而大象又太笨重。在我住的地方，所有的东西都非常小。我需要的就是一只绵羊。给我画一只绵羊吧。”

But I hadnever drawn a sheep. So I drew for him one of the two pictures I had drawn sooften. It was that of the boa constrictor from the outside. And I was astoundedto hear the little fellow greet it with,

“No, no, no! I do notwant an elephant inside a boa constrictor. A boa constrictor is a verydangerous creature, and an elephant is very cumbersome. Where I live,everything is very small. What I need is a sheep. Draw me a sheep.”

于是我画了一幅。

他认真地看了看，随后说道：

“不！这只羊已经病得很重了。给我另外画一只吧。”

于是我又画了一幅。

So then Imade a drawing.

He lookedat it carefully, then he said:

“No. This sheep isalready very sickly. Make me another.”

So I madeanother drawing.

我的这位朋友温和宽容地笑了。

“你自己看看，”他说道，“这不是绵羊，这是一只公羊。它有犄角。”

于是我又从头到尾重新画了一张。

但是，和其他几幅画一样，这幅画也被拒绝了。

“这只羊太老了。我想要一只能活很久的羊。”

Myfriend smiled gently and indulgently.

“You seeyourself,” he said, “that this is not a sheep. This is a ram. It has horns.”

Sothen I did my drawing over once more.

Butit was rejected too, just like the others.

“This oneis too old. I want a sheep that will live a long time.”

这一次，我的耐心被耗尽了，因为我急着去拆开我的发动机。于是，我随手画了这样一幅画。

并且我随口解释道：

“这只是它的箱子，你要的绵羊就在里面。”

我十分惊奇地看到这位小裁判的脸上绽开了笑容。

“这正是我想要的！你认为这只羊会吃很多草吗？”

“为什么问这个？”

“因为在我住的地方，所有的东西都很小……”

By thistime my patience was exhausted, because I was in a hurry to start taking myengine apart. So I tossed off this drawing.

And Ithrew out an explanation with it.

“This is only his box.The sheep you asked for is inside.”

I was verysurprised to see a light break over the face of my young judge:

“That is exactly theway I wanted it! Do you think that this sheep will have to have a great deal ofgrass？”

“Why？”

“Because where I liveeverything is very small ...”

“肯定会有足够的草让它吃，”我说道，“我给你画的是一只非常小的羊。”

他低头看着那幅画。

“没有那么小啊……瞧！它睡着了……”

就这样，我结识了小王子。

“There willsurely be enough grass for him,” I said. “It is a very small sheep that I havegiven you.”

Hebent his head over the drawing:

“Not sosmall that — Look! He has gone to sleep ...”

Andthat is how I made the acquaintance of the little prince.

· mechanic ［mi'kænik］ n. 技工；机械工

·habitation ［ˌhæbi'tei∫(ə)n］ n. 居住；住所

·shipwrecked ［'∫iprekt］ a.（船只）失事的

·thunderstruck ［'θʌndəstrʌk］ a. 极其震惊的

· blink ［bliŋk］ v. 眨眼；闪烁

·extraordinary ［ik'strɔ:dinəri］ a. 非凡的；特别的

· examine ［ig'zæmin］ v.（仔细）检查

· portrait ［'pɔ:trit］ n. 肖像

·discourage ［dis'kʌridʒ］ v. 使灰心；使泄气

·apparition ［ˌæpə'ri∫(ə)n］ n. 离奇出现的东西

· fairly ［'fεəli］ ad. 相当地；简直

·astonishment ［ə'stɔni∫mənt］ n. 惊讶

· crash ［kræ∫］ v. 碰撞；坠落

· inhabited［in'hæbitid］ a. 有人居住的

· stray ［strei］ v. 流浪；迷路

· faint ［feint］ v. 昏厥

· fatigue ［fə'ti:g］ n. 疲劳；疲乏

·overpowering ［ˌəuvə'pauəriŋ］ a. 压倒性的；无法抵抗的

· disobey ［ˌdisə'bei］ v. 违反；不服从

· absurd ［əb'sə:d］ a. 愚蠢的；荒唐的

· a sheetof 一张

·concentrated ［'kɔns(ə)ntreitid］ a. 全神贯注的

· chap ［t∫æp］ n. 小伙子；家伙

· crossly ［'krɔ:sli］ ad. 横地；故意为难地

· astounded［ə'staundid］ a. 震惊的

·cumbersome ［'kʌmbəsəm］ a. 笨重的；累赘的

· sickly ［'sikli］ a. 体弱的；有病的

·indulgently ［in'dʌldʒ(ə)ntli］ ad. 溺爱地；放任地

· ram ［ræm］ n. 公羊

· horn ［hɔ:n］ n.（牛、羊等头上的）角

· reject ［ri'dʒekt］ v. 拒绝

· exhaust ［ig'zɔ:st］ v. 耗尽；用光

· toss off 轻而易举地完成某事

·explanation ［ˌeksplə'nei∫(ə)n］ n. 解释；说明

· bend ［bend］ v. 使弯曲；弯下

·acquaintance ［ə'kweintəns］ n. 相识；熟人