《小王子》節選

安東尼·德·圣·埃克蘇佩里（1900—1944），生于法國里昂市。飛行家，作家。安東尼一生喜歡冒險和自由， 1944年他在一次飛行任務中失蹤，成為神秘傳奇。除了飛行，用寫作探索靈魂深處的寂寞是他的另一終生所愛。代表作品有童話《小王子》（1943），該書至今全球發行量已達五億冊，被譽為“閱讀率僅次于《圣經》的最佳書籍”。

It was then that the fox appeared.

這時，一只狐貍出現了。

“Good morning，” said the fox.

“早上好?！焙傉f。

“Good morning，” the little prince responded politely， although when he turned around he saw nothing.

“早上好?！毙⊥踝佣Y貌地回答道。然而當他轉過身時，卻什么也沒看到。

“I am right here，” the voice said， “under the apple tree.”

“我在這兒呢，蘋果樹底下?！币粋€聲音提醒他。

“Who are you？” asked the little prince， and added， “You are very pretty to look at.”

“你是誰？”小王子問道，“你看起來可真漂亮?！?/p>

“I am a fox，” said the fox.

“我是一只狐貍。”狐貍回答道。

“Come and play with me，” proposed the little prince. “I am so unhappy.”

“過來和我一起玩吧，”小王子提議道，“我苦惱極了?！?/p>

“I cannot play with you，” the fox said. “I am not tamed.”

“我不能和你玩，”狐貍說，“我還沒被馴養呢。”

“Ah！ Please excuse me，” said the little prince. But after some thought， he added： “What does that mean—‘tame？”

“??！對不起?！毙⊥踝诱f。但是他思索了一會兒，又說：“‘馴養是什么意思？”

“You do not live here，” said the fox. “What is it that you are looking for？”

狐貍說：“你不是本地人。你在尋找什么？”

“I am looking for men，” said the little prince. “What does that mean—‘tame？”

小王子說：“我在找人類。‘馴養是什么意思呢？”

“Men，” said the fox. “They have guns， and they hunt. It is very disturbing. They also raise chickens. These are their only interests. Are you looking for chickens？”

“人類，”狐貍說，“他們有槍，還會打獵，煩死人了。他們還養雞。這兩件事是他們唯一的愛好。你在尋找雞嗎？”

“No，” said the little prince. “I am looking for friends. What does that mean—‘tame？”

“不是，”小王子說，“我在尋找朋友?！Z養是什么意思呢？”

“It is an act too often neglected，” said the fox. “It means to establish ties.”

“這是一種常常被人類忽視的行為，”狐貍說，“就是建立關系的意思?！?/p>

“To establish ties？”

“建立關系？”

“Just that，” said the fox. “To me， you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you， on your part， have no need of me. To you， I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me， then we shall need each other. To me， you will be unique in all the world. To you， I shall be unique in all the world...”

狐貍說：“沒錯。對我來說，你就是一個普通男孩兒，與其他那些成百上千個小男孩沒什么區別。我不需要你，你也不需要我。對你來說，我也只不過是一只普通的狐貍，與其他成百上千只狐貍一樣。但是，如果你馴養了我，我們就彼此相互需要。那時候，對我來說，在這個世界上你就是獨一無二的。而對你而言，我也是這個世界上獨一無二的……”

“I am beginning to understand，” said the little prince. “There is a flower... I think that she has tamed me...”

“我開始有點明白了，”小王子說，“有這樣一朵花……我想她已經將我馴養了……”

“It is possible，” said the fox. “On the Earth one sees all sorts of things… ”

“這是可能的，”狐貍說，“在這個地球上，什么千奇百怪的事情都有可能發生……”

“My life is very monotonous ，” the fox said. “I hunt chickens； men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike， and all the men are just alike. And， in consequence， I am a little bored. But if you tame me， it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me， like music， out of my burrow. And then look： you see the grain-fields down yonder？ I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the colour of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me！ The grain， which is also golden， will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat... ”

“我的生活單調乏味，”狐貍說，“我捕捉雞，人類獵捕我。所有的雞都是一樣的，所有的人也一樣。因此，我感到有些厭煩了。但是如果你馴養了我，我的生活將會充滿陽光。我會在紛雜的腳步聲中辨認出你的腳步聲。聽到別的腳步聲，我會急急忙忙躲進地下洞穴。而唯獨你的腳步聲會像音樂一樣，喚我出洞。再說，你瞧瞧，你看到那邊的麥田了嗎？我從來不吃面包，小麥對我毫無用處。麥田對我來說，也沒什么意義。這是多么可悲??！但是，你有一頭金黃色的頭發。一旦你馴養我，想象一下那該是多美好的事??！那金黃色的小麥會讓我聯想起你來。于是，我也會喜歡聽穿過麥田的風聲……”

The fox gazed at the little prince， for a long time. “Please—tame me！” he said.

狐貍盯著小王子看了很久?！罢埬恪Z養我吧！”他說。

“I want to， very much，” the little prince replied. “But I have not much time. I have friends to discover， and a great many things to understand.”

“我很想馴養你，”小王子回答道，“但是我沒有那么多時間。我得去結交朋友，還要去弄明白很多事情?！?/p>

“One only understands the things that one tames，” said the fox. “Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship， and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend， tame me... ”

“只有馴養才能真正了解一件事情。”狐貍說，“人們沒有更多時間去弄懂每一件事情。他們到商店里買現成的東西。但是，世界上還沒有賣友誼的商店，因此人類根本就沒有朋友。要是你想交一個朋友，就請馴養我吧……”

“What must I do， to tame you？” asked the little prince.

“馴養你，我得做些什么呢？”小王子問道。

“You must be very patient，” replied the fox. “First you will sit down at a little distance from me—like that—in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye， and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me， every day... ”

“你必須要很有耐心，”狐貍答道，“首先，你坐在草地上，離我有一段距離——就像這樣。我會用眼角不經意地瞟你，你什么也別說。言語是誤會的根源。但是，你每天可以坐得離我更近一些……”