The Little Prince（Ⅱ）

So I lived my life alone，without anyone that I could really talk to，until I had an accident with my plane in the Desert of Sahara，six years ago.Something was broken in my engine.And as I had with me neither a mechanic nor any passengers，I set myself to attempt the difficult repairs all alone.It was a question of life or death for me:I had scarcely(勉強)enough drinking water to last a week.

The first night， then， I went to sleep on the sand， a thousand miles from any human habitation.I was more isolated than a shipwrecked sailor on a raft in the middle of the ocean.Thus you can imagine my amazement，at sunrise，when I was awakened by an odd little voice.It said:

“If you please—draw me a sheep！ ”

“What！ ”

“Draw me a sheep！ ”

I jumped to my feet，completely thunderstruck.I blinked（眨眼）my eyes hard.I looked carefully all around me.And I saw a most extraordinary small person，who stood there examining me with great seriousness.Here you may see the best portrait that， later， I was able to make of him.But my drawing is certainly very much less charming than its model.

That， however， is not my fault.The grown-ups discouraged me in my painter's career when I was six years old， and I never learned to draw anything， except boas from the outside and boas from the inside.

Now I stared at this sudden apparition（幽靈）in astonishment.Remember，I had crashed in the desert a thousand miles from any inhabited region.And yet my little man seemed neither to be straying（迷路）uncertainly among the sands， nor to be fainting from fatigue （疲勞），or hunger， or thirst，or fear.Nothing about him gave any suggestion of a child lost in the middle of the desert，a thousand miles from any human habitation.When at last I was able to speak，I said to him:

我就這樣孤獨地生活著，沒有一個能真正談得來的人，一直到六年前在撒哈拉沙漠里我飛機發生的那次故障。我的發動機里有個東西損壞了。當時由于我既沒有帶機械師也沒有帶旅客，我就試圖獨自完成這個困難的維修工作。這對我來說是個生與死的問題。我隨身帶的水只夠飲用一個星期。

第一天晚上，我就睡在這遠離人間煙火的大沙漠里。我比大海中伏在小木筏上的遇難者還要孤獨得多。而在第二天拂曉，當一個奇怪的小聲音叫醒我的時候，你們可以想象我當時是多么吃驚。這小小的聲音說道：

“請你給我畫一只羊，好嗎？”

“啊！ ”

“給我畫一只羊……”

我像是受到驚雷轟擊一般，一下子就站立起來。我使勁地眨了眨眼睛，仔細地看了看。我看見一個十分奇怪的小家伙嚴肅地朝我凝眸望著。這是后來我給他畫出來的最好的一副畫像。可是，我的畫當然要比他本人的模樣遜色得多。

但這不是我的過錯。六歲時，大人們使我對我的畫家生涯失去了勇氣，除了畫過露著肚皮和閉著肚皮的蟒蛇，后來再沒有學過畫。

我驚奇地睜大著眼睛看著這突然出現的小家伙。你們不要忘記，我當時處在遠離人煙千里之外的地方。而這個小家伙給我的印象是，他既不像迷了路的樣子，也沒有半點疲乏、饑渴、懼怕的神情。他絲毫不像是一個迷失在曠無人煙的大沙漠中的孩子。當我在驚訝之中終于又能說出話來的時候，對他說道：

“唉，你在這兒干什么？”

可是他不慌不忙地好像有一件重要的事一般，對我重復地說道：“請……給我畫一只羊……”

當一種神秘的東西把你鎮住的時候，你是不敢不聽從它的支配的。在這曠無人煙的沙漠里，面臨死亡的危險的情況下，盡管這樣的舉動對我來說十分荒誕，但我還是掏出了一張紙和一支鋼筆。那時我卻又記起，我只學過地理、歷史、算術和語法，就有點不大高興地對小家伙說我不會畫畫。他回答我說：

“沒有關系，給我畫一只羊吧！”

但我從來沒有畫過羊，我就給他重畫我所僅僅會畫的兩幅畫中的那幅閉著肚皮的巨蟒。“不，不，不！我不要蟒蛇，它肚子還有一頭大象。”我聽了他的話，簡直目瞪口呆。他接著說：“巨蟒這東西太危險，大象又太占地方。我住的地方任何事物都非常小，我只需要一只羊。給我畫一只羊吧。”

我就給他畫了。

他專心地看著，隨后又說：

“我不要，這只羊已經病得很重了。給我重新畫一只。”

我又畫了起來。

我的這位朋友天真可愛地笑了，并且客氣地拒絕道：“你看，你畫的不是小羊，是頭公羊，還有犄角呢。”

于是我又重新畫了一張。

“But—what are you doing here？ ”

And in answer he repeated， very slowly， as if he were speaking of a matter of great consequence （后果）：“If you please—draw me a sheep...”

When a mystery is too overpowering （極強大的），one dare not disobey.Absurd as it might seem to me，a thousand miles from any human habitation and in danger of death，I took out of my pocket a sheet of paper and my fountain-pen.But then I remembered how my studies had been concentrated on geography， history， arithmetic， and grammar， and a little crossly， too， I told the little chap that I did not know how to draw.He answered me:

“That doesn't matter.Draw me a sheep...”

But I had never drawn a sheep.So I drew for him one of the two pictures I had drawn so often.It was that of the boa constrictor（蟒）from the outside.And I was astounded（感到震驚的） to hear the little fellow greet it with，“No， no，no！ I do not want an elephant inside a boa constrictor.A boa constrictor is a very dangerous creature，and an elephant is very cumbersome （大而笨重的）.Where I live，everything is very small.What I need is a sheep.Draw me a sheep.”

So then I made a drawing.

He looked at it carefully，and then he said:

“No.This sheep is already very sickly.Make me another.”

So I made another drawing.

My friend smiled gently and indulgently （縱容地）.

“You see yourself，” he said， “that this is not a sheep.This is a ram.It has horns.”

So then I did my drawing over once more.

But it was rejected too，just like the others.

“This one is too old.I want a sheep that will live a long time.”

By this time my patience was exhausted，because I was in a hurry to start taking my engine apart.So I tossed off this drawing.And I threw out an explanation with it.

“This is only his box.The sheep you asked for is inside.”

I was very surprised to see a light break over the face of my young judge:

“That is exactly the way I wanted it！ Do you think that this sheep will have to have a great deal of grass？”

“Why？ ”

“Because where I live everything is very small...”

“There will surely be enough grass for him，” I said. “It is a very small sheep that I have given you.”

He bent his head over the drawing:

“Not so small that—Look！ He has gone to sleep...”

And that is how I made the acquaintance of the little prince.

這幅畫同前幾幅一樣又被拒絕了。

“這一只太老了。我想要一只能活得長的羊。”

我不耐煩了。因為我急于要拆開發動機，于是就草草畫了這張畫，并且匆匆地對他說道：

“這是一只箱子，你要的羊就在里面。”

這時我十分驚奇地看到我的這位小評判員喜笑顏開。他說：

“這正是我想要的，你說這只羊需要很多草嗎？”

“為什么問這個呢？”

“因為我住的地方任何事物都非常小……”

“我給你畫的是一只很小的小羊，地方小也夠喂養它的。”

他把腦袋靠近這張畫。

“并不像你說得那么小……瞧！它睡著了……”

就這樣，我認識了小王子。

巧筆妙記

Ⅰ.詞塊積累

1.habitation n.居住；住所；住處

2.isolated adj.偏遠的；孤立的；孤獨的

3.jump to one's feet跳了起來

4.concentrate on全神貫注于……

Ⅱ.難句分析

as引導倒裝句

在這曠無人煙的沙漠里，面臨死亡的危險的情況下，盡管這樣的舉動對我來說有些荒誕，但我還是掏出了一張紙和一支鋼筆。

_______might _______，a thousand miles from any human habitation and in danger of death，I took out of my pocket a sheet of paper and my fountainpen.

【點石成金】as表“盡管”之意時，常用于引導倒裝句，倒裝的成分可以是表語和狀語。當倒裝的成分是單數可數名詞且前面無修飾語時，要省略名詞前的不定冠詞。

Hard as he tried，he didn't pass the exam in the end.

盡管很努力，他最終還是沒有通過考試。

改錯：To our great relief， a kid as he is， the child can look after himself well.

【答案】Absurd as it；seem to me；去掉冠詞a。