Chapter 03 我的飞机

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Chapter 03

It took me a long time to learn where he came from.

我费了好长时间才弄清楚他是从哪里来的。

The little prince, who asked me so many questions, never seemed to hear the ones I asked him.

向我提出了很多问题的小王子似乎压根没听见我问他的问题。

It was from words dropped by chance that, little by little, everything was revealed to me.

他无意中吐露的一些话逐渐使我搞清了他的来历。

The first time he saw my airplane, for instance (I shall not draw my airplane; that would be much too complicated for me), he asked me: "What is that object"?

例如，当他第一次瞅见我的飞机时（我就不画出我的飞机了，因为这种图画对我来说太复杂），他问我道：“这是个啥玩意？”

"That is not an object. It flies. It is an airplane. It is my airplane".

“这不是‘玩艺儿’。它能飞。这是飞机。是我的飞机。”

And I was proud to have him learn that I could fly.

我当时很骄傲地告诉他我能飞。

He cried out, then: "What! You dropped down from the sky"?

于是他惊奇地说道：“什么？！你是从天上掉下来的？”

"Yes," I answered, modestly.

“是的”。我谦逊地答道。

"Oh! That is funny"!

“啊？这真滑稽。”

And the little prince broke into a lovely peal of laughter, which irritated me very much.

此时小王子发出一阵清脆的笑声，这使我很不高兴。

I like my misfortunes to be taken seriously.

我希望别人严肃地对待我的不幸。

Then he added: "So you, too, come from the sky! Which is your planet"?

然后，他又说道：“那么，你也是从天上来的了！你是哪个星球上的？”

At that moment I caught a gleam of light in the impenetrable mystery of his presence;and I demanded, abruptly: "Do you come from another planet"?

即刻，对于他是从哪里来的这个秘密我隐约发现到了一点线索；于是，我就突然问道：“你是从另一个星球上来的吗？”

But he did not reply. He tossed his head gently, without taking his eyes from my plane:

可是他不回答我的问题。他缓缓抬头，目不转睛地看着我的飞机，接着说道：

"It is true that on that you can't have come from very far away. . ."

“可不是么，乘坐这玩艺儿，你不可能是从很远的地方来的……”

And he sank into a reverie, which lasted a long time.

说到这里，他就长时间地陷入沉思之中。

Then, taking my sheep out of his pocket, he buried himself in the contemplation of his treasure.

然后，从口袋里掏出了我画的小羊，看着他的宝贝入了神。

You can imagine how my curiosity was aroused by this half-confidence about the "other planets".

你们可以想见这种关于“别的星球”的若明若暗的话语使我心里多么好奇。

I made a great effort, therefore, to find out more on this subject.

因此我竭力地想知道关于这方面更多的奥秘。

"My little man, where do you come from?

“你是从哪里来的，我的小家伙？

What is this 'where I live,' of which you speak?

你住的地方是在什么地方？

Where do you want to take your sheep"?

你要把你的小羊带到哪里去？”

After a reflective silence he answered: "The thing that is so good about the box you have given me is that at night he can use it as his house".

他沉思了一会，然后回答我说：“好在有你给我的那只箱子，夜晚小羊可以把它当房子用。”

"That is so. And if you are good I will give you a string, too, so that you can tie him during the day, and a post to tie him to".

“那当然。如果你听话的话，我再给你画一根绳子，白天可以栓住他。再加上一根扦杆。”

But the little prince seemed shocked by this offer: "Tie him! What a queer idea"!

我的建议看来有点使小王子反感。“拴住他，多么奇怪的主意。”

"But if you don't tie him," I said, "he will wander off somewhere, and get lost."

“如果你不栓住他，他就到处跑，那么他会跑丢的。”

My friend broke into another peal of laughter: "But where do you think he would go"?

我的这位朋友又笑出了声：“你以为他会跑到哪里去呀？”

"Anywhere. Straight ahead of him."

“任何地方。他一直往前跑……”

Then the little prince said, earnestly: "That doesn't matter. Where I live, everything is so small"!

这时，小王子郑重其事地说：“这没有什么关系，我所住的地方所有东西都很小。”

And, with perhaps a hint of sadness, he added: "Straight ahead of him, nobody can go very far. . ."

接着，他略带伤感地又补充了一句：“一直朝前走，没人可以走多远的……”