Chapter 25-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《小王子The Little Prince》

25 “Men,”said the little prince,“set out on their way in express trains,but they do not know what they are looking for.Then they rush about,and get excited,and turn round and round?..." And he added,“It is not worth the trouble...” The well that we had come to was not like the wells of the Sahara. The wells of the Sahara are mere holes dug in the sand.This one was like a well in a village.But there was no village here,and I thought I must be dreaming... “It is strange,”I said to the little prince,“Everything is ready for use:the pulley,the bucket,the rope..." He laughed,touched the rope,and set the pulley to working.And the pulley moaned③，like an old weather-vane④which the wind has long since forgotten. “Do you hear?”said the little prince.“We have wakened the well, and it is singing..” I did not want him to tire himself with the rope. “Leave it to me,”I said,“It is too heavy for you.” I hoisted 5 the bucket slowly to the edge of the well and set it there-happy,tired as I was,over my achievement.The song of the ·142 25 “人啊，”小王子说，“乘坐特快列车出发，却不 知道自己在寻找些什么。他们四处奔波，兴高采 烈，忙得团团转…” ①rush about四处奔波 ②turn round and round不停 他又说：“真不值得费那么大的劲…” 地转，团团转 我们所找到的这口井，不像是在撒哈拉沙漠里 的。通常撒哈拉沙漠里的井只是在沙中挖一个洞而 已，这口井却好像是村镇里的井。不过这儿并没有 村镇，我想我一定是在做梦… “真奇怪，”我对小王子说，“这里每一样东西都 是现成能用的，滑轮、水桶、绳子…” 他笑着，紧握绳子，转动滑轮。而滑轮却嘎嘎 ③moan /m3un/y.发出呻吟 作响，像一座被风遗忘许久的风向标。 声：抱怨 “你听！”小王子说，“这口井让我们吵醒了，它 ④weather-vane风向标 在唱歌呢…” 我不希望他因拉绳子而累坏自己。 “让我来，”我说，“这活儿对你来说太重了。” 我把桶缓缓拉上井边搁着—我虽然很累，却 ⑤hoist /horst/升起来；扯 起来 庆幸自己能完成这项差事。耳边不断回响着滑轮的 ⑥bucket /bAkrt/n桶：一桶 歌唱，我能看到水中的阳光闪闪发亮。 的量 ·143· The Little Prince pulley was still in my ears,and I could see the sunlight shimmer in the still trembling2 water. “I am thirsty③for this water,”said the little prince..“Give me some of it to drink..” And I understood what he had been looking for. I raised the bucket to his lips.He drank,his eyes closed.It was as sweet as some special festival treat.This water was indeed a different thing from ordinary nourishment.Its sweetness was born of the walk under the stars,the song of the pulley,the effort of my arms.It was good for the heart,like a present.When I was a little boy,the lights of the Christmas tree,the music of the Midnight Mass,the tenderness of smiling faces,used to make up,so,the radiance of the gifts I received. “The men where you live,”said the little prince,“raise five thousand roses in the same garden-and they do not find in it what they are looking for..” “They do not find it,”I replied. "And yet what they are looking for could be found in one single rose,or in a little water." “Yes,that is true,”I said, And the little prince added, "But the eyes are blind.One must look with the heart..." I had drunk the water.I breathed easily.At sunrise the sand is the color of honey.And that honey color was making me happy,too.What brought me,then,this sense of grief? “You must keep your promise⑦，”said the little prince,.softly,as he sat down beside me once more. “What promise?" ·144· 小王子 ①shimmer∫imal,闪烁 “我想喝这水，”小王子说，“给我一些水喝…” 2trembling /'tremblin/a. 我终于明白了他长久以来在寻找的是什么。 亮的：发抖的，战栗的 ③thirsty03st/a.口渴的， 我把桶凑近他的唇边，他闭上眼睛喝了起来。 渴求的 水的味道就像节日的佳酿那般甘醇。这水的确和 一般的食物不同。它的甘醇来自星光下的长途跋 涉、滑轮的歌唱，以及我双臂汲水的努力。它就 像一件能慰藉心灵的礼物。小时候，圣诞树的灯 nourishment/nArIfmant/n. 光、子夜弥撒的乐曲，都能使我沉浸在收到礼物 食物：营养品 的喜悦之中。 “你所居住的行星上的人们，”小王子说，“在同 样的花园培育了五千朵玫瑰一却无法从中找到他 们所要寻找的东西。” ⑤radiance∥reidions/n.光 辉：闪烁：喜悦 “他们确实找不到。”我回答。 “但是，他们所寻找的，其实可以在一朵玫瑰或 一滴水中找到。” “不错，的确是这样。”我说。 小王子又说： “可是眼睛往往会被蒙蔽。必须用心去看…” 我喝下水后，感觉神清气爽。太阳出来了，将 沙漠照耀成一片蜜色。这个颜色也令我愉快。可 是，为什么我心中会有悲哀的感觉呢？ “你一定要信守承诺。”小王子再度在我身边坐 下，轻声地说。 “什么承诺？” ⑥honey /hAni/n.蜂蜜，蜜 袋 “就是一你答应给我的绵羊画上口套…我对 这朵花负有责任…” ⑦keep one's promise遵守诺 我从口袋拿出那幅画的草稿。 言 ·145· The Little Prince "You know-a muzzle for my sheep...I am responsible for this flower...” I took my rough drafts of drawings out of my pocket. The little prince looked them over,and laughed as he said, “Your baobabs--they look a little like cabbages②” “oh!" I had been so proud of my baobabs! "Your fox-his ears look a little like horns;and they are too long." And he laughed again. “You are not fair③，little prince,”I said.“Idon't know how to draw anything except boa constrictors from the outside and boa constrictors from the inside." “Oh,that will be all right,.”he said,.“children understand." So then I made a pencil sketch of a muzzle.And as I gave it to him my heart was torn. "You have plans that I do not know about,I said. But he did not answer me.He said to me,instead5, "You know-my descent of the earth...Tomorrow will be its anniversary.” Then,after a silence,he went on, “I came down very near here.” And he flushed. And once again,without understanding why,I had a queer sense of sorrow.One question,however,occurred to me, "Then it was not by chance that on the morning when I first met you-a week ago-you were strolling along like that,all alone,a thousand miles from any inhabited region?You were on your way back to the place where you landed?" ·146· 小王子 小王子看了一下，笑着说：“你画的猴面包 树 看起来好像卷心菜。” ①rough /rAf/a.粗糙的，粗 “啊！” 略的 ②cabbage/kabid3/n甘蓝， 我一直为自己画的猴面包树感到自豪呢！ 卷心菜 “你画的狐狸一耳朵看起来像角，而且也太 长了。” 他又笑了。 “你这样说就太不公平了，小王子。”我说， “除了看得见和看不见大蟒蛇内部的两幅画之外， ③fair/ea/a公正的 其他的东西我都不会画。” “哦！不要紧，”他说，“小孩子可以看得懂的。” 于是，我用铅笔画了一只口套给他看，心里却 痛苦不已。 “你在计划一些我不知道的事情。”我说。 ④sketch /sketf/n略图，草 他并没有回答我的问题，而是对我说：“你知 图 道一我来到地球…到明天为止就满一周年了。” 沉默片刻，他接着说： ⑤instead/m'stcd/ad.代替， 改为 “我降落的地点离这里很近。” 6 anniversary /aeni'v3:sari/n. 他的脸红了。 周年纪念 再一次，不知道为什么，我心中油然升起一股 莫名的悲哀。我忽然又想起一个问题。 “就在一星期之前的那天早上，我初次见到你， 当时你正独自走在离人烟千里之外的沙漠，这并不 是偶然的吧？你是要回到初次降落之地吗？” ⑦occur to想起，想到 小王子的脸又红了。 ⑧by chance偶然，意外地 我犹豫地补充道： ⑨stroll/straul闲逛，漫步： 跋涉 “或许是因为周年的缘故？” 小王子的脸再度通红了。他从来不会回答问 题一不过当一个人脸红的时候，这不就表示“是 ·147· The Little Prince The little prince flushed again. And I added,with some hesitancy, "Perhaps it was because of the anniversary?" The little prince flushed once more.He never answered questions- but when one flushes does that not mean "Yes"? “Ah,”I said to him,“I am a little frightened--” But he interrupted me. "Now you must work.You must return to your engine.I will be waiting for you here.Come back tomorrow evening..." But I was not reassured.I remembered the fox.One runs the risk of weeping a little,if one lets himself be tamed... ·148· 小王子 的”吗？ “啊，”我对他说，“我有一点恐慌一” 他打断我的话。 “现在你必须工作，你必须回去修理你的引擎， 我会在这里等你，明天黄昏时刻请你再来这里…” 但我还是放心不下，我想起了那只狐狸。假如 一个人被驯服了，就得有流泪的准备… ①reassure ri:afua/g使… 安心：再保证 ②run the risk of冒风险：有 准备 ·149·