小王子 The Little Prince 第二十六章

Beside the well there was the ruin of an oldstone wall. When I came back from mywork, the next evening, I saw from somedistance away my little prince sitting on top of

this wall, withhis feet dangling. And I heard him say:

“Then you don’tremember. This is not the exact spot.” Another voice must have answeredhim, for he replied

to it:

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

I continued mywalk toward the wall. At no time did I

see or hear anyone.The little prince, however, replied once again:

“-Exactly.You will see where my track begins, in the sand. You have nothingto do but wait for me there. I shall be theretonight.”

I wasonly twenty yards from the wall, and I still saw nothing.

After a silence the little prince spokeagain:

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

I stoppedin my tracks, my heart tornasunder; but still I did not understand.

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

I droppedmy eyes, then, to the foot of the wall-and I leaped into the air. There beforeme, facing the little prince, was one of those yellow snakes that

take thirty seconds to bring your life to an end. Even as I was digging into my pocket to get out myrevolver 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 afountain, and, in no apparenthurry, disappeared, with a light metallic sound, among the stones.

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

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

I hadloosened the golden muffler that he alwayswore. I had moistened his temples,and had givenhim some water to drink. Andnow I did not dare ask him any more questions. He looked at me very gravely,and put his arms around my neck. Ifelt his heart beating like theheart of a dying bird, shot with someone’srifle…

“I amglad that you have found what was the matter with your engine,” he said. “Nowyou can go back home-”

“How do you know about that?”

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

He made no answerto my question, but he added: “I, too, am going back home today…”

Then, sadly-

“It is muchfarther… It ismuch more difficult…”

Irealized clearly that something extraordinary was happening. I was holdinghim close in my arms as if he were alittle child; and yet it seemed to me that hewas rushing headlong toward an abyss from which I could do nothing torestrain him…

His look was veryserious, like someone lost far away.“I have your sheep. And I have the sheep’sbox. And I

have the muzzle…”

And he gaveme a sad smile.

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

“Dear little man,” I said to him, “You areafraid…”

He wasafraid, there was no doubt aboutthat. But he laughed lightly.

“I shall be much more afraid this evening…”

Onceagain I felt myself frozen by the sense of something irreparable. And I knewthat I could not bear the thought of never hearing that laughter any more. Forme, it was like a spring of fresh water in the desert.

“Little man,”I said, “I want to hear you laugh again.” But he said to me:

“Tonight, it will be a year… My star, then,can be found right above the place where I cameto the Earth, a year ago…”

“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…” But he did not answer my plea. He said to me, instead:

“The thing that is importantis the thing that is not

seen…”

“Yes, Iknow…”

“It is just asit is with the flower. If you love a flower

that lives on astar, it is sweet to look at the sky at night. All the stars are a-bloom with flowers…”

“Yes, I know…”

“It isjust as it is with the water. Becauseof the pulley, and the rope, what you gave me to drink was like music.

You remember-how good it was.” “Yes, I know…”

“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 isto be found. It is better,like that. My star will be just one ofthestars, for you. And so you willlove to watch all the stars intheheavens… They willall be yourfriends. And, besides,I am going to make you a present…”

He laughed again.

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

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

“What are you trying to say?”

“All peoplehave stars,” he answered, “but they are notthe same things for differentpeople. For some, who are travellers, the stars are guides. For others they areno more than little lights in the sky. For others,who are scholars,they are problems. For mybusinessman they are wealth. But all these stars are silent. You -you alone-will have the stars as no one else has them-”

“What are you trying to say?”

“In oneof the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so itwill be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night… You -only you- will have stars than can laugh!”

And he laughed again.

“And when your sorrowis comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend. You will want to laughwith me. And youwill sometimes openyour window, so, for thatpleasure… And your friends will be properlyastonished to see you laughing as you look up at the sky! Thenyou will say to them, ‘Yes, the starsalways make me laugh!’ And they willthink you

are crazy. It will be a veryshabby trick thatI shall have played on you… ”

And he laughedagain.

“It will be as if, in place of the stars, I had givenyou a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh…”

And he laughed again. Then he quickly became serious:

“Tonight – you know… Do not come.” “I shall not leaveyou,” I said.

“I shall look as if I were suffering. I shall look a little asif I were dying. It is like that. Do not come to see that. It is not worth the trouble…”

“I shall not leaveyou.” But he was worried.

“I tell you-it is also becauseof the snake. He must notbite you. Snakes-they are malicious creatures. This one mightbite you just for fun…”

“I shall notleave you.”

But a thoughtcame to reassure him:

“It is true thatthey have no more poison for a second

bite.”

That might Idid not see him set out on his way. He got

away from me withoutmaking a sound.When I succeeded in catching up with him he waswalking along with a quick and resolute step. He said to me merely:

“Ah! You are there...”

And he tookme by the hand.But he was stillworrying. “It was wrong of you to come. You will suffer. I shall

look as if I were dead; andthat will not be true…” I said nothing.

“You understand… It is too far. I cannot carry this bodywith me. It is too heavy.”

I said nothing.

“But it will be like an old abandoned shell. There isnothing sad about old shells…”

I said nothing.

He was a littlediscouraged. But he made one more

effort:

“You know, itwill be very nice. I, too, shall look at the

stars. All the stars will bewells with a rusty pulley. All the stars will pour out fresh water for me todrink…”

I said nothing.

“Thatwill be so amusing! You will have five hundred million littlebells, and I shall have five hundredmillion springs of fresh water…”

And hetoo said nothing more, because he was crying…

“Here it is. Let me go on by myself.”

And he sat down, because he was afraid. Thenhe said,

again:

“You know-myflower… I am responsible for her. And

she is so weak! She is so naïve! She has four thorns,of no use at all, to protect herselfagainst the world…”

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

“Therenow-that is all…”

He stillhesitated a little; then

he got up. He took one step. I could not move.

82

There was nothing therebut a flash of yellowclose to his ankle.He remained motionless for an instant.He did not cry out. He feel as gently as a tree falls. There was not evenany sound, because of the sand.