英文小說連載《小王子》No.24沒水喝了

　　It was now the eighth day since I had had my accident in the desert， and I had listened to the story of the merchant as I was drinking the last drop of my water supply.

　　"Ah，" I said to the little prince， "these memories of yours are very charming； but I have not yet succeeded in repairing my plane； I have nothing more to drink； and I， too， should be very happy if I could walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water！"

　　"My friend the fox--" the little prince said to me.

　　"My dear little man， this is no longer a matter that has anything to do with the fox！"

　　"Why not？"

　　"Because I am about to die of thirst..."

　　He did not follow my reasoning， and he answered me：

　　"It is a good thing to have had a friend， even if one is about to die. I， for instance， am very glad to have had a fox as a friend..."

　　"He has no way of guessing the danger，" I said to myself. "He has never been either hungry or thirsty. A little sunshine is all he needs..."

　　But he looked at me steadily， and replied to my thought：

　　"I am thirsty， too. Let us look for a well..."

　　I made a gesture of weariness. It is absurd to look for a well， at random， in the immensity of the desert. But nevertheless we started walking.

　　When we had trudged along for several hours， in silence， the darkness fell， and the stars began to come out. Thirst had made me a little feverish， and I looked at them as if I were in a dream. The little prince's last words came reeling back into my memory：

　　"Then you are thirsty， too？" I demanded.

　　But he did not reply to my question. He merely said to me：

　　"Water may also be good for the heart..."

　　I did not understand this answer， but I said nothing. I knew very well that it was impossible to cross-examine him.

　　He was tired. He sat down. I sat down beside him. And， after a little silence， he spoke again：

　　"The stars are beautiful， because of a flower that cannot be seen."

　　I replied， "Yes， that is so." And， without saying anything more， I looked across the ridges of sand that were stretched out before us in the moonlight.

　　"The desert is beautiful，" the little prince added.

　　And that was true. I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune， sees nothing， hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs， and gleams...

　　"What makes the desert beautiful，" said the little prince， "is that somewhere it hides a well..."

　　I was astonished by a sudden understanding of that mysterious radiation of the sands. When I was a little boy I lived in an old house， and legend told us that a treasure was buried there. To be sure， no one had ever known how to find it； perhaps no one had ever even looked for it. But it cast an enchantment over that house. My home was hiding a secret in the depths of its heart...

　　"Yes，" I said to the little prince. "The house， the stars， the desert-- what gives them their beauty is something that is invisible！"

　　"I am glad，" he said， "that you agree with my fox."

　　As the little prince dropped off to sleep， I took him in my arms and set out walking once more. I felt deeply moved， and stirred. It seemed to me that I was carrying a very fragile treasure. It seemed to me， even， that there was nothing more fragile on all Earth. In the moonlight I looked at his pale forehead， his closed eyes， his locks of hair that trembled in the wind， and I said to myself： "What I see here is nothing but a shell. What is most important is invisible..."

　　As his lips opened slightly with the suspicious of a half-smile， I said to myself， again： "What moves me so deeply， about this little prince who is sleeping here， is his loyalty to a flower-- the image of a rose that shines through his whole being like the flame of a lamp， even when he is asleep..." And I felt him to be more fragile still. I felt the need of protecting him， as if he himself were a flame that might be extinguished by a little puff of wind...

　　And， as I walked on so， I found the well， at daybreak.

　　這是我在沙漠上出了事故的第八天。我聽著有關這個商人的故事，喝完了我所備用的最后一滴水。

　　“啊！”我對小王子說，“你回憶的這些故事真美。可是，我還沒有修好我的飛機。我沒有喝的了，假如我能悠哉游哉地走到水泉邊去，我一定也會很高興的！”

　　小王子對我說：“我的朋友狐貍…”

　　“我的小家伙，現在還說什么狐貍！”

　　“為什么？”

　　“因為這就要渴死人了。”

　　他不理解我的思路，他回答我道：

　　“即使快要死了，有過一個朋友也好么！我就為我有過一個狐貍朋友而感到很高興…”

　　“他不顧危險。”我自己思量著，“他從來不知道饑渴。只要有點陽光，他就滿足了…”

　　他看著我，答復著我的思想：

　　“我也渴了…我們去找一口井吧…”

　　我顯出厭煩的樣子：在茫茫的大沙漠上盲目地去找水井，真荒唐。然而我們還是開始去尋找了。

　　當我們默默地走了好幾個小時以后，天黑了下來，星星開始發出光亮。由于渴我有點發燒，我看著這些星星，象是在做夢一樣。小王子的話在我的腦海中跳來跳去。

　　“你也渴嗎？”我問他。

　　他卻不回答我的問題，只是對我說：

　　“水對心也是有益處的…”

　　我不懂他的話是什么意思，可我也不做聲…我知道不應該去問他。

　　他累了，他坐下來。我在他身旁坐下。沉默了一會，他又說道：

　　“星星是很美的，因為有一朵人們看不到的花…”

　　我回答道：“當然。”而我默默地看著月光下沙漠的褶皺。

　　“沙漠是美的。”他又說道。

　　確實如此。我一直很喜歡沙漠。坐在一個沙丘上，什么也看不見、聽不見。但是，卻有一種說不出的東西在默默地放著光芒…

　　“使沙漠更加美麗的，就是在某個角落里，藏著一口井…”

　　我很驚訝，突然明白了為什么沙漠放著光芒。當我還是一個小孩子的時候，我住在一座古老的房子里，而且傳說，這個房子里埋藏著一個寶貝。當然，從來沒有任何人能發現這個寶貝，可能，甚至也沒有人去尋找過。但是，這個寶貝使整個房子著了魔似的。我家的房子在它的心靈深處隱藏著一個秘密…

　　我對小王子說道：“是的，無論是房子，星星，或是沙漠，使它們美麗的東西是看不見的！”

　　“我真高興，你和我的狐貍的看法一樣。”小王子說。

　　小王子睡覺了，我就把他抱在懷里，又重新上路了。我很激動。就好象抱著一個脆弱的寶貝。就好象在地球上沒有比這更脆弱的了。我借著月光看著這慘白的面額，這雙緊閉的眼睛，這隨風飄動的綹綹頭發，這時我對自己說道：“我所看到的僅僅是外表。最重要的是看不見的…”

　　由于看到他稍稍張開的嘴唇露出一絲微笑，我又自言自語地說：“在這個熟睡了的小王子身上，使我非常感動的，是他對他那朵花的忠誠，是在他心中閃爍的那朵玫瑰花的形象。這朵玫瑰花，即使在小王子睡著了的時候，也象一盞燈的火焰一樣在他身上閃耀著光輝…”這時，我就感覺到他更加脆弱。應該保護燈焰：一陣風就可能把它吹滅…

　　于是，就這樣走著，我在黎明時發現了水井。