− the little prince converses with the snake; the little prince consoles the narrator; the little prince returns to his planet

Beside the well there was the ruin of an old stone wall. When I came back from my work, the next evening, (虽说是童话，但我仍把它当真实的故事看待，可这里作者明明是从飞机失事处走了几个小时才找到了这口井，现在修理工作却发生在井附近的，我觉得逻辑上说不通(●—●)，好吧，就当是作者修理完毕之后回来找小王子，亏他还记得怎么找到这口井( ¨̮ ))I saw from some distance away my little prince sitting on top of a wall, with his feet dangling(adj. suspending; hanging from above so it moves freely悬挂...). And I heard him say:在井旁边有一道残缺的石墙。第二天晚上我工作完回来的时候,我远远的看见了小王子耷拉着双脚坐在墙上，我听见他说:

"Then you don't remember. This is not the exact spot."你怎么不记得了呢，绝不是在这儿！

Another voice must have answered him, for he replied to it:大概有另一个声音回应他...

"Yes, yes! It is the right day, but this is not the place."他搭着腔回答道:没错没错，日子是对的，但地点不是这里。

I continued my walk toward the wall. At no time did I see or hear anyone. The little prince, however, replied once again:我继续朝墙走去，没看见也没听见任何什么人。

"−−Exactly. You will see where my track begins, in the sand. You have nothing to do but wait for me there. I shall be there tonight."那当然，你会在沙子中看到我的脚印是从什么地方开始的。你在那儿等着我就行了，今天夜里我会去那里。

I was only twenty metres from the wall, and I still saw nothing. After a silence the little prince spoke again:我离墙约有20米远，可是我还是什么都没看到。

"You have good poison? You are sure that it will not make me suffer too long?"你的毒液管用吗，确定不会让我长时间的痛苦吗？

I stopped in my tracks, my heart torn asunder(adj 分离＝apart＝separate；化为碎片【记】as正如，under下－正如掉在地上－成为碎片" ); but still I did not understand.我停下了脚步，我感觉心都要碎掉了，可是还是不能理解到底发生了什么。

"Now go away," said the little prince. "I want to get down from the wall."

I dropped my eyes, then, to the foot of the wall−− and I leaped into the air.我下意识朝墙角处看去，吓了一跳(纵身一跃) 。There before me, facing the little prince, was one of those yellow snakes that take just thirty seconds to bring your life to an end.就在那儿，一条黄蛇直立着身子面对着小王子，这可是半分钟就能让你毙命的剧毒蛇呀！ Even as I was digging into my pocket to get out my revolver(左轮手枪) I made a running step back. 我一边赶紧从口袋掏出手枪，一边向后退。But, at the noise I made, the snake let himself flow(流动) easily across the sand like the dying spray(喷洒) of a fountain,(n. spring, source of water; 泉水) and, in no apparent hurry, disappeared, with a light metallic(金属性的) sound, among the stones.可是一听到我的脚步声，这条蛇就像是即将干涸的的喷泉慢慢钻进沙堆里，它不慌不忙的在石头缝隙中钻动着，发出轻轻的金属般的响声。

I reached the wall just in time to catch my little man in my arms; his face was white as snow. 我到了墙边及时抓住了小王子，他的脸色煞白。

"What does this mean?" I demanded. "Why are you talking with snakes?"你怎么跟蛇也谈起心来了？！

I had loosened the golden muffler(【类】muffler:neck＝mitten:hand围巾带在脖子上＝手套带在手上") that he always wore. I had moistened(弄湿) his temples(两鬓，太阳穴，寺庙), and had given him some water to drink. And now I did not dare ask him any more questions. He looked at me very gravely(adv. seriously;), and put his arms around my neck. I felt his heart beating like the heart of a dying bird, shot with someone's rifle(步枪，来复枪)...我解开了他一直带着的金黄色的围脖，用水浸渍了他的太阳穴，给他喝了些水，这个时候，现在我什么也不敢问他。他严肃地看着我，用双手搂着我的脖子，我感觉他的心就像一只被枪弹击中的濒死的小鸟的心脏那样跳动着...

"I am glad that you have found what was the matter with your engine," he said.我很高兴你解决了机器的问题

"Now you can go back home−−"现在你可以回家了

"How do you know about that?"你是怎么知道的？

I was just coming to tell him that my work had been successful, beyond anything that I had dared to hope. 在没有任何希望的情况下，我竟成功地完成了修理工作，正是为此想把这个好消息告诉他的。

He made no answer to my question, but he added:

"I, too, am going back home today..."他又没有直视我的问题，"今天我也要回家了……"

Then, sadly−−

"It is much farther...it is much more difficult..."可是，要远的多...要难得多...

I realised clearly that something extraordinary was happening. I was holding him close in my arms as if he were a little child; and yet it seemed to me that he was rushing headlong (adj /adv 头冲前的（地）＝headfirst；轻率鲁莽的（地）＝rashly＝impetuous；飞快迅猛的（地）＝hasty＝rash)toward an abyss(n 深渊，深坑＝chasm【例】the abyss of despair 绝望的深渊【记】a没有，byss＝bottom底－无底洞－深渊") from which I could do nothing to restrain(克制，阻止) him...我把他当成小孩一样紧紧的搂在怀里，可是我感觉他径直地向一个无底深渊沉陷下去，我设法拉住他，可怎么也做不到...

His look was very serious, like some one lost far away.他神情很严肃，就像一个人在遥远的地方迷失了一样。

"I have your sheep. And I have the sheep's box. And I have the muzzle..."

And he gave me a sad smile.他面带忧容的笑了笑。

I waited a long time. I could see that he was reviving(bring back to life; renew, 苏醒，复活) little by little.我等了很长时间，才感受到他在一点点恢复。

"Dear little man," I said to him, "you are afraid..."

He was afraid, there was no doubt about that. But he laughed lightly. 毫无疑问，他确实害怕了...

"I shall be much more afraid this evening..."

Once again I felt myself frozen by the sense of something irreparable. And I knew that I could not bear the thought of never hearing that laughter any more. For me, it was like a spring of fresh water in the desert.我感觉我的心一下子就凉了，我觉得我无法忍受以后再也听不到这样的笑声了，对我来说，这笑声就如沙漠中的清泉那般清冽。

"Little man," I said, "I want to hear you laugh again."

But he said to me:

"Tonight, it will be a year... my star, then, can be found right above the place where I came to the Earth, a year ago..."到了今晚，就满一年了……我的星球就在那儿，就在一年前我降落的那个地方的上空……

"Little man," I said, "tell me that it is only a bad dream−− this affair of the snake, and the meeting−place, and the star..."小家伙，告诉我这不过是场噩梦……

But he did not answer my plea(恳求). He said to me, instead: "The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen..."他没有理会我，"真正重要的东西用眼睛是看不见的……"

"Yes, I know..."是的，我知道的……

"It is just as it is with the flower. If you love a flower that lives on a star, it is sweet to look at the sky at night. All the stars are a−bloom with flowers..."就像花儿一样，如果你爱上了星球上生长的一朵花，每到夜晚你看着星空就觉得十分幸福甜蜜，好像所有的星星都开出了花儿一样……

"Yes, I know..."是的，我知道的……

"It is just as it is with the water. Because of the pulley, and the rope, what you gave me to drink was like music. You remember−− how good it was."就像水一样，由于辘轳和绳子的缘故，你给我喝的水就像音乐那般美好，你还记得吗？那水真的很好喝的。

"Yes, I know..."是的，我知道的……

"And at night you will look up at the stars. Where I live everything is so small that I cannot show you where my star is to be found. It is better, like that. My star will just be one of the stars, for you. And so you will love to watch all the stars in the heavens... they will all be your friends. And, besides, I am going to make you a present..."夜晚时，你可以抬头看看星星，我生活的那个星球太小了，可能我没办法告诉你具体位置，不过，这样也好。我的星球就是那众多星球中的一颗，你会爱上天空中所有的星星的……他们都会成为你的好朋友的……

He laughed again.

"Ah, little prince, dear little prince! I love to hear that laughter!"

"That is my present. Just that. It will be as it was when we drank the water..."

"What are you trying to say?"

"All men have the stars," he answered, "but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman they were wealth. But all these stars are silent. 人们眼中的星星不尽相同。对一些旅行的人来说，星星是向导;对别的人来说，星星只是些许亮光;对一些学着来说，星星是他们探讨的学问;而对我遇见的那个实业家来说，星星是金钱而其实，这些星星都不会说话……You−− you alone−− will have the stars as no one else has them−−"而你呢，你的星星将会是这些人都不曾拥有的模样。

"What are you trying to say?"

"In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night... you−−only you−− will have stars that can laugh!"而你看到的将是都会笑的星星......

And he laughed again.

"And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes抚慰，镇定 all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. 在你得到安慰之后(时间会治愈一切)，你就会因为认识我而高兴。You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure...and your friends will be properly astonished to see you laughing as you look up at the sky! Then you will say to them, 'Yes, the stars always make me laugh!' And they will think you are crazy. It will be a very shabby(卑鄙的，衣衫破烂的) trick that I shall have played on you..."我的玩笑话会让你特别难堪...

And he laughed again.

"It will be as if, in place of(instead of) the stars, I had given you a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh..."这就好像我并没有给你星星，而是给了你一大堆会笑的小铃铛一样……

And he laughed again. Then he quickly became serious:

"Tonight−− you know... do not come," said the little prince.

"I shall not leave you," I said.

"I shall look as if I were suffering(痛苦的). I shall look a little as if I were dying. It is like that. Do not come to see that. It is not worth the trouble..."

"I shall not leave you."

But he was worried.

"I tell you−− it is also because of the snake. He must not bite you. Snakes−− they are malicious(adj 恶意的（蓄意要伤害别人的）＝spiteful【记】mal坏，icious－恶意的) creatures. This one might bite you just for fun..."我想告诉你……也是由于这条蛇的缘故，蛇是很坏的，别让他咬了你，它们随意伤人，且以此为乐……

"I shall not leave you."

But a thought came to reassure him:

"It is true that they have no more poison for a second bite."对了，它们咬第二口的时候就没有毒液了。

That night I did not see him set out on his way. He got away from me without making a sound. When I succeeded in catching up with him he was walking along with a quick and resolute(adj 坚决的＝unwavering,firm【记】源于：resolve（n 决心；v 决定；溶解；解决) ) step. He said to me merely:今天晚上我没有看见他启程，他就一声不响的离开了。当我终于要追上他的时候，他坚定地快步走着，他只是对我说:"

"Ah! You are there..."啊，你在这儿啊……"

And he took me by the hand(拉手). But he was still worrying.

"It was wrong of you to come. You will suffer. I shall look as if I were dead; and that will not be true..."

I said nothing.

"You understand... it is too far. I cannot carry this body with me. It is too heavy."你知道的……这很遥远，我没法带上这沉重的身躯一块走。

I said nothing.

"But it will be like an old abandoned shell(废弃的外壳). There is nothing sad about old shells..."

I said nothing.

He was a little discouraged. But he made one more effort:他有些泄气了，但是他有重新振作起来了:

"You know, it will be very nice. I, too, shall look at the stars. All the stars will be wells with a rusty(生锈的) pulley. All the stars will pour out fresh water for me to drink..."好像所有的星星都会倒水给我喝……

I said nothing.

"That will be so amusing! You will have five hundred million little bells, and I shall have five hundred million springs of fresh water..."你将有5亿颗小铃铛，而我将有5亿口水井……

And he too said nothing more, becuase he was crying...

"Here it is. Let me go on by myself."

And he sat down, because he was afraid. Then he said, again:

"You know−− my flower... I am responsible for her. And she is so weak! She is so naïve! She has four thorns, of no use at all, to protect herself against all the world..."

I too sat down, because I was not able to stand up any longer.

"There now−− that is all..."

He still hesitated a little; then he got up. He took one step. 他迈出了一步。I could not move.

There was nothing but a flash of yellow close to his ankle.在他的脚踝附近有一道黄光闪现。 He remained motionless for an instant.刹那间，他一动也不动了。 He did not cry out. He fell as gently as a tree falls.他没有叫喊，就像一棵树一样轻轻的倒了下来，大概由于沙子的缘故，没有一点儿声响。 There was not even any sound, because of the sand.