小王子第26章下

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

“啊，小家伙！我亲爱的小家伙，我爱听这笑声！”

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

“这就是我的礼物......这就像我们喝过的泉水......”

"What are you trying to say?"     

“你想说什么呢？”

"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--"

“每个人都能看到星星，”他回答说，“但对于不同的人，星星的意义也是不同的，对于旅行者来说，星星是他们的向导，对于其它一些人，星星只不过是天空中的点点亮光，对于学者来说，星星是他们研究的课题，对于商人来说，星星就是财富，但他们的那些星星都是缄默无声的。只有你......只有你的星星，是这么的与众不同......”

"What are you trying to say?"

“你想要说什么呢？”

"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，当你仰望星空，因为我住在其中一颗星星上面，因为我在那颗星星上朝你微笑，那么对你来说，就好像所有星星都在朝你笑，只有你的星星是会笑的！”

And he laughed again.

他又笑了起来。

"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…"

“当你的悲伤平息了（时间会平息一切悲伤的），你会高兴认识了我这个朋友，你永远都是我的朋友。你会想和我一起笑，也正是因为这个原因，有时你会打开窗户......你的朋友看到你抬头对着天空笑，一定会感到非常奇怪的，然后你就对他们说，‘是啊，星星总是让我想笑！’他们会认为你疯了，这就是个我给你开的小小的不怎么高明的玩笑......”

And he laughed again.

说着他又笑了起来。

"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…"

“这就好像我给你的不是一颗颗星星，而是一串串会笑的小铃铛......”

And he laughed again. Then he quickly became serious:

他仍然笑着，接着很快又严肃了起来：

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

“今天晚上，你知道的......你不要来了。”你小王子说。

"I shall not leave you," I said.

“我不会离开你的。”我说。

"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…"

“我会看起来很痛苦......有点像快死去似的。就是这样，你不要来看了，这没有必要......”

"I shall not leave you."

“我不会离开你的。”

But he was worried.

可是他又担心了起来。

"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…"

“我告诉你这些......也是因为那条蛇。你不能被它咬到......蛇这种生物是很恶毒的。他们可能 只是因为好玩就来咬你......”

"I shall not leave you."

“我不会离开你的。”

But a thought came to reassure him:

但他似乎想起了什么，让他放松了下来：

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

“对了蛇在咬第二口的时候就没有毒液了......”

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:

那天夜里我没有看到他的动身。他不声不响的就离开了。当我终于追上他的时候，他正坚定地快步走着。他只是对我说：

"Ah! You are there…"

“啊！你来了......”

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

他抓住了我的手，但还是很紧张。

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

“你不该来的。你会感到很伤心的。我会看起来就像是死了，但那不是真的......”

I said nothing.

我沉默无语。

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

“你明白的，路途太远了。我没法带上这副躯壳。他太重了。”

I said nothing.

我沉默不语。

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

“不过这就像被剥落的老树皮。没有必要为了老树皮而感到难过......”

I said nothing.

我依然沉默无语。

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

他有些泄气。但还是试图劝慰我：

"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…"

“你知道的，那将是多么美妙呀。我也会抬着仰望星星。所有的星都将会成为水井，所有的星星都会倒水给我喝，......”

I said nothing.

我还是沉默无语。

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

“这将是多么美妙呀，你会拥有五亿颗小铃铛，而我也会拥有五亿眼清泉......”

And he too said nothing more, because he was crying…

这时，他也说不下去了，因为他已经哭了......

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

“就这里。让我自己走完最后一程吧。”

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

他坐下来，因为他害怕了。但他接着又说：

"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…"

“你知道的，我的花......我要对她负责呀！她是那么的柔弱！那么的天真！她只有四根微不足道的刺来保护自己抵抗外敌......”

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

我也坐了下来，因为我再也站立不住了。他说：

"There now-- that is all…"

“好吧......就这些了......”

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

他犹豫了片刻，还是站了起来。他跨出了一步。而我却无法动弹。

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.

只见一道黄光在他脚踝附近闪过，他纹丝不动地伫立了片刻，他没有叫喊。他轻轻地像一棵树一样倒在地上，由于沙地的缘故，一丝声响都没有。