小王子第27章

And now six years have already gone by…I have never yet told this story. The companions who met me on my return were well content to see me alive. I was sad, but I told them: "I am tired."

现在说起来，这都已经是六年前的事了......我还从未向人讲起过这个故事。同伴们看到我活着回来，都很高兴。我很难受，但我告诉他们：“这是因为太累的缘故。”

Now my sorrow is comforted a little. That is to say-- not entirely. But I know that he did go back to his planet, because I did not find his body at daybreak. It was not such a heavy body… and at night I love to listen to the stars. It is like five hundred million little bells… 现在我的心里好受一些。也就是说......还没有完全好。但我知道他一定回到了他的星球，因为在天亮的时候我并没有找到他的躯体。他的身体并没有那么重......从此我就喜欢在夜晚倾听着星星，就好像倾听着五亿颗小铃铛......

But there is one extraordinary thing… when I drew the muzzle for the little prince, I forgot to add the leather strap to it. He will never have been able to fasten it on his sheep. So now I keep wondering: what is happening on his planet? Perhaps the sheep has eaten the flower…

但是有一件事，非同小可。我在给小王子画羊嘴套的时候，忘了把皮带画上去！他永远没法给他的羊系上嘴套了。所以，我一直在想：他的星球上会发生什么事呢？也许羊已经把花吃掉了......

At one time I say to myself: "Surely not! The little prince shuts his flower under her glass globe every night, and he watches over his sheep very carefully…" Then I am happy. And there is sweetness in the laughter of all the stars

有时我对自己说：“绝对不会！小王子每天晚上都会把他的花放进玻璃罩里，而且他会好好看着他的羊......”这样一想，我就很开心。所有的星星也都甜美的笑了。

But at another time I say to myself: "At some moment or other one is absent-minded, and that is enough! On some one evening he forgot the glass globe, or the sheep got out, without making any noise, in the night…" And then the little bells are changed to tears…

但有时我又对自己说：“人难免会粗心，哪怕只有一次就够了！如果哪天晚上他忘了盖玻璃罩，或者小羊不声不响地跑了出来......”这样一想，所有的小铃铛都变成了泪珠......

Here, then, is a great mystery. For you who also love the little prince, and for me, nothing in the universe can be the same if somewhere, we do not know where, a sheep that we never saw has-- yes or no?-- eaten a rose…

这真是个巨大的谜题。对于你们这些和我一样爱着小王子的人来说，在某个我们不知道的地方，有一只我们从来没见过的羊，还有没有吃掉一朵玫瑰花，宇宙间的一切将全然不同......

Look up at the sky. Ask yourselves: is it yes or no? Has the sheep eaten the flower? And you will see how everything changes…

抬头仰望星空吧。问问你自己：羊到底有没有把花吃掉？你就会发现一切都会随之变化......

And no grown-up will ever understand that this is a matter of so much importance!

而没有一个大人能明白，这件事是如此重要！

This is, to me, the loveliest and saddest landscape in the world. It is the same as that on the preceding page, but I have drawn it again to impress it on your memory. It is here that the little prince appeared on Earth, and disappeared.

对我而言，这是世界上最美也是最凄凉的景色。这里画的和上一页画的其实是同一个地方，我再次把它画出来，是因为想要给你们留下更深刻的印象。正是在这个地方，小王子出现在地球上，又消失在地球上。

Look at it carefully so that you will be sure to recognise it in case you travel some day to the African desert. And, if you should come upon this spot, please do not hurry on. Wait for a time, exactly under the star. Then, if a little man appears who laughs, who has golden hair and who refuses to answer questions, you will know who he is. If this should happen, please comfort me. Send me word that he has come back……

请仔细看看吧。这样假如你哪天去非洲沙漠旅行，就能认出这个地方。如果你正好路过这个地方，请不要匆匆而过，请站在这颗星星下等候片刻！如果一个小家伙笑着向你走来，如果他有一头金黄色的头发，如果他不回答你的任何问题，那你一定能猜出来他是谁。到时请你帮个忙叫我不要再这么忧伤：请你写信给我，告诉我他已经回来了......