The first time he saw my airplane, for instance (I shall not draw my airplane; that would be much too complicated for me), he asked me:

例如，當(dāng)他第一次瞅見我的飛機(jī)時(shí)（我就不畫出我的飛機(jī)了， 因?yàn)檫@種圖畫對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)太復(fù)雜），他問(wèn)我道：

'What is that object?'

這是個(gè)啥玩藝？”

'That is not an object. It flies. It is an airplane. It is my airplane.'

這不是‘玩藝兒’。它能飛。這是飛機(jī)。是我的飛機(jī)。”

And I was proud to have him learn that I could fly.

我當(dāng)時(shí)很驕傲地告訴他我能飛。

He cried out, then:

于是他驚奇地說(shuō)道：

'What! You dropped down from the sky?'

怎么？你是從天上掉下來(lái)的？”

'Yes,' I answered, modestly.

是的”。我謙遜地答道。

'Oh! That is funny!'

??？這真滑稽。”

And the little prince broke into a lovely peal of laughter, which irritated me very much. I like my misfortunes to be taken seriously.

此時(shí)小王子發(fā)出一陣清脆的笑聲。這使我很不高興。我要求別人嚴(yán)肅地對(duì)待 我的不幸。

Then he added:

然后，他又說(shuō)道：

'So you, too, come from the sky! Which is your planet?'

那么，你也是從天上來(lái)的了！你是哪個(gè)星球上的？”

At that moment I caught a gleam of light in the impenetrable mystery of his presence; and I demanded, abruptly:

即刻，對(duì)于他是從哪里來(lái)的這個(gè)秘密我隱約發(fā)現(xiàn)到了一點(diǎn)線索；于是，我就 突然問(wèn)道：

'Do you come from another planet?'

你是從另一個(gè)星球上來(lái)的嗎？”

But he did not reply. He tossed his head gently, without taking his eyes from my plane:

可是他不回答我的問(wèn)題。他一面看著我的飛機(jī)，一面微微地點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭，接著說(shuō)道：

'It is true that on that you can't have come from very far away…'

可不是么，乘坐這玩藝兒，你不可能是從很遠(yuǎn)的地方來(lái)的……”

And he sank into a reverie, which lasted a long time. Then, taking my sheep out of his pocket, he buried himself in the contemplation of his treasure.

說(shuō)到這里，他就長(zhǎng)時(shí)間地陷入沉思之中。然后，從口袋里掏出了我畫的小羊， 看著他的寶貝入了神。

You can imagine how my curiosity was aroused by this half-confidence about the 'other planets.' I made a great effort, therefore, to find out more on this subject.

你們可以想見這種關(guān)于別的星球”的若明若暗的話語(yǔ)使我心里多么好奇。 因此我竭力地想知道其中更多的奧秘。

'My little man, where do you come from? What is this 'where I live,' of which you speak? Where do you want to take your sheep?'

你是從哪里來(lái)的，我的小家伙？你的家在什么地方？你要把我的小羊帶到 哪里去？”

After a reflective silence he answered:

他沉思了一會(huì)，然后回答我說(shuō)：

'The thing that is so good about the box you have given me is that at night he can use it as his house.'

好在有你給我的那只箱子，夜晚可以給小羊當(dāng)房子用?！?/p>

'That is so. And if you are good I will give you a string, too, so that you can tie him during the day, and a post to tie him to.'

那當(dāng)然。如果你聽話的話，我再給你畫一根繩子，白天可以栓住它。再加 上一根扦桿。”

But the little prince seemed shocked by this offer:

我的建議看來(lái)有點(diǎn)使小王子反感。

'Tie him! What a queer idea!'

栓住它，多么奇怪的主意?！?/p>

'But if you don't tie him,' I said, 'he will wander off somewhere, and get lost.'

如果你不栓住它，它就到處跑，那么它會(huì)跑丟的。”

My friend broke into another peal of laughter:

我的這位朋友又笑出了聲： 

'But where do you think he would go?'

你想要它跑到哪里去呀？”

'Anywhere. Straight ahead of him.'

不管什么地方。它一直往前跑……”

Then the little prince said, earnestly:

這時(shí)，小王子鄭重其事地說(shuō)：

'That doesn't matter. Where I live, everything is so small!'

這沒(méi)有什么關(guān)系，我那里很小很小。”

And, with perhaps a hint of sadness, he added:

接著，他略帶傷感地又補(bǔ)充了一句：

'Straight ahead of him, nobody can go very far…'

一直朝前走，也不會(huì)走出多遠(yuǎn)……”