"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…"
“那些人們，他們往快車里擁擠，但是他們卻不知道要尋找什么。于是，他們就忙忙碌碌，來回轉圈子……”小王子說道。

And he added:
他接著又說：

"It is not worth the trouble…"
“這沒有必要……”

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…
我們終于找到的這口井，不同于撒哈拉的那些井。撒哈拉的井只是沙漠中挖的洞。這口井則很象村子中的井。可是，那里又沒有任何村莊，我還以為是在做夢呢。

"It is strange," I said to the little prince. "Everything is ready for use: the pulley, the bucket, the rope…"
“真怪，”我對小王子說：“一切都是現成的：轆轤、水桶、繩子……”

He laughed, touched the rope, and set the pulley to working. And the pulley moaned, like an old weathervane which the wind has long since forgotten.
他笑了，拿著繩子，轉動著轆轤。轆轤就像是一個長期沒有風來吹動的舊風標一樣，吱吱作響。

"Do you hear?" said the little prince. "We have wakened the well, and it is singing…"
“你聽，”小王子說：“我們喚醒了這口井，它現在唱起歌來了……”

I did not want him to tire himself with the rope.
我不愿讓他費勁。我對他說：

"Leave it to me," I said. "It is too heavy for you."
“讓我來干吧。這活對你太重了。”

I hoisted 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 pulley was still in my ears, and I could see the sunlight shimmer in the still trembling water.
我慢慢地把水桶提到井欄上。我把它穩穩地放在那里。我的耳朵里還響著轆轤的歌聲。依然還在晃蕩的水面上，我看見太陽的影子在跳動。

"I am thirsty for this water," said the little prince. "Give me some of it to drink…"
“我正需要喝這種水。”小王子說：“給我喝點……”

And I understood what he had been looking for.
這時我才明白了他所要尋找的是什么！

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.
我把水桶提到他的嘴邊。他閉著眼睛喝水。就像節日一般舒適愉快。這水遠不只是一種飲料，它是披星戴月走了許多路才找到的，是在轆轤的歌聲中，經過我雙臂的努力得來的。它像是一件禮品慰藉著心田。在我小的時候，圣誕樹的燈光，午夜的彌撒的音樂，甜蜜的微笑，這一切都使圣誕節時我收到的禮品輝映著幸福的光彩。

"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."
“你這里的人在同一個花園中種植著五千朵玫瑰。”小王子說：“可是，他們卻不能從中找到自己所要尋找的東西……”

"They do not find it," I replied.
“他們是找不到的。”我回答道。

"And yet what they are looking for could be found in one single rose, or in a little water."
“然而，他們所尋找的東西卻是可以從一朵玫瑰花或一點兒水中找到的……”

"Yes, that is true," I said.
“一點不錯。”我回答道。

And the little prince added:
小王子又加了一句：

"But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart…"
“眼睛是什么也看不見的。應該用心去尋找。”

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?
我喝了水。我痛快地呼吸著空氣。沙漠在晨曦中泛出蜂蜜的光澤。這蜂蜜般的光澤也使我感到幸福。為什么我要難過……

"You must keep your promise," said the little prince, softly, as he sat down beside me once more.
小王子又重新在我的身邊坐下。他溫柔地對我說：“你應該實踐你的諾言。”

"What promise?"
“什么諾言？”

"You know-- a muzzle for my sheep… I am responsible for this flower…"
“你知道……給我的小羊一個嘴套子……我要對我的花負責的呀！”

I took my rough drafts of drawings out of my pocket. The little prince looked them over, and laughed as he said:
我從口袋中拿出我的畫稿。小王子瞅見了，笑著說：

"Your baobabs-- they look a little like cabbages."
“你畫的猴面包樹，有點像白菜……”

"Oh！"
“啊！”

I had been so proud of my baobabs！
我還為我畫的猴面包樹感到驕傲呢！

"Your fox-- his ears look a little like horns; and they are too long."
“你畫的狐貍……它那雙耳朵……有點像犄角……而且又太長了！”

And he laughed again.
這時，他又笑了。

"You are not fair, little prince," I said. "I don't know how to draw anything except boa constrictors from the outside and boa constrictors from the inside."
“小家伙，你太不公正了。我過去只會畫開著肚皮和閉著肚皮的巨蟒。”

"Oh, that will be all right," he said, "children understand."
“啊！這就行了。”他說：“孩子們認得出來。”

So then I made a pencil sketch of a muzzle. And as I gave it to him my heart was torn.
我就用鉛筆勾畫了一個嘴套。當我把它遞給小王子時，我心里很難受：

"You have plans that I do not know about," I said.
“你的打算，我一點也不知道……”

But he did not answer me. He said to me, instead:
但是，他不回答我，他對我說：

"You know-- my descent to the earth… Tomorrow will be its anniversary."
“你知道，我落在地球上……到明天就一周年了……”

Then, after a silence, he went on:
接著，沉默了一會兒，他又說道：

"I came down very near here."
“我就落在這附近……”

And he flushed.
此時，他的面頰緋紅。

And once again, without understanding why, I had a queer sense of sorrow. One question, however, occurred to me:
我不知為什么，又感到一陣莫名其妙的心酸。這時，我產生了一個問題：

"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 the your back to the place where you landed?"
“一星期以前，我認識你的那天早上，你單獨一個人在這曠無人煙的地方走著;這么說，這并不是偶然的了？你是要回到你降落的地方去是嗎！”

The little prince flushed again.
小王子的臉又紅了。

And I added, with some hesitancy:
我猶豫不定地又說了一句：

"Perhaps it was because of the anniversary?"
“可能是因為周年紀念吧？……”

The little prince flushed once more. He never answered questions-- but when one flushes does that not mean "Yes"?
小王子臉又紅了。他從來也不回答這些問題，但是，臉紅，就等于說“是的”， 是吧？

"Ah," I said to him, "I am a little frightened--"
“啊！”我對他說：“我有點怕……”

But he interrupted me.
但他卻回答我說：

"Now you must work. You must return to your engine. I will be waiting for you here. Come back tomorrow evening…"
“你現在該工作了。你應該回到你的機器那里去。我在這里等你。你明天晚上再來……”

But I was not reassured. I remembered the fox. One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed…
但是，我放心不下。我想起了狐貍的話。如果被人馴服了，就可能會要哭的……

（來源：愛詞霸 編輯：丹妮）