the narrator and the little prince, thirsty, hunt for a well in the desert It was now the eighth day since I had had my accident in the desert, and I had listened to the story of the merchant as I was drinking the last drop of my water supply.
叙述者和小王子口渴地在沙漠中寻找一口井 上厕所。 —

“Ah,” I said to the little prince, “these memories of yours are very charming;
我对小王子说：“啊，你的回忆非常迷人， —

but I have not yet succeeded in repairing my plane;
但是我还没有修好我的飞机； —

I have nothing more to drink; and I, too, should be very happy if I could walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water!” “My friend the fox–” the little prince said to me.
我没有水喝了；如果我能悠闲地走向一眼清泉，我也会非常开心！”小王子对我说：“我的朋友狐狸–” —

“My dear little man, this is no longer a matter that has anything to do with the fox!” “Why not?” “Because I am about to die of thirst.
我的亲爱的小人儿，这已经不再是与狐狸有关的事情了！” “为什么不呢？”“因为我要渴死了…” 他没有理解我的推理， —

..” He did not follow my reasoning, and he answered me:
回答我道： —

“It is a good thing to have had a friend, even if one is about to die.
即使一个人即将死去，拥有过朋友也是件好事。 —

I, for instance, am very glad to have had a fox as a friend.
比如说，我非常高兴曾经有一只狐狸作为朋友。 —

..” “He has no way of guessing the danger,” I said to myself.
.. “他无法猜测到危险，”我自言自语道。 —

“He has never been either hungry or thirsty.
“他从未感到饥饿或口渴。 —

A little sunshine is all he needs.
他只需要一点阳光……” 但他注视着我， —

..” But he looked at me steadily, and replied to my thought:
回答了我的思绪： —

“I am thirsty, too. Let us look for a well.
“我也口渴。我们来找个井吧。 —

..” I made a gesture of weariness.
“我做了一个疲倦的手势。 —

It is absurd to look for a well, at random, in the immensity of the desert.
在茫茫沙漠中随机寻找一口井是荒谬的。 —

But nevertheless we started walking.
但是尽管如此，我们开始走了起来。 —

When we had trudged along for several hours, in silence, the darkness fell, and the stars began to come out.
我们默默地跋涉了几个小时，黑暗降临，星星开始出现。 —

Thirst had made me a little feverish, and I looked at them as if I were in a dream.
口渴使我有些发烧，我像在梦中一样看着它们。 —

The little prince’s last words came reeling back into my memory:
小王子的最后一句话回荡在我的记忆中：” —

“Then you are thirsty, too?” I demanded. But he did not reply to my question.
那么你也口渴吗？” 我要求道。但他没有回答我的问题。 —

He merely said to me:
他只对我说： —

“Water may also be good for the heart.
“水对心脏也有好处…” 我不明白这个答案， —

..” I did not understand this answer, but I said nothing.
但我没有说什么。 —

I knew very well that it was impossible to cross-examine him.
我很清楚无法盘问他。他很累。 —

He was tired. He sat down.
他坐下了。 —

I sat down beside him.
我就坐在他旁边。 —

And, after a little silence, he spoke again:
并在一阵沉默后，他再次开口说： —

“The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen.” I replied, “Yes, that is so.” And, without saying anything more, I looked across the ridges of sand that were stretched out before us in the moonlight.
“星星之所以美丽，是因为有一朵看不见的花。”我回答道：“是的，没错。”没有再说什么，我只是凝视着月光下展开在我们面前的沙丘。 —

“The desert is beautiful,” the little prince added. And that was true.
“沙漠很美丽，”小王子补充道。这是真的。 —

I have always loved the desert.
我一直很喜欢沙漠。 —

One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams.
人坐在沙丘上，听不见任何声音，看不见任何东西。然而，透过寂静，有一种悸动和闪光。 —

.. “What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well.
.. “沙漠之所以美丽，”小王子说道，“是因为它某处隐藏了一口井。 —

..” I was astonished by a sudden understanding of that mysterious radiation of the sands.
.. 我很惊讶地突然理解了沙漠的那种神秘辐射。 —

When I was a little boy I lived in an old house, and legend told us that a treasure was buried there.
当我还是个小男孩的时候，我住在一座旧房子里，传说那里埋着一个宝藏。 —

To be sure, no one had ever known how to find it;
当然，没有人知道如何找到它； —

perhaps no one had ever even looked for it.
也许甚至没有人曾经寻找过它。 —

But it cast an enchantment over that house.
但它给那座房子带来了一种魔力。 —

My home was hiding a secret in the depths of its heart.
我的家在它内心的深处隐藏着一个秘密. —

.. “Yes,” I said to the little prince.
.. “是的,“我对小王子说。 —

“The house, the stars, the desert– what gives them their beauty is something that is invisible!” “I am glad,” he said, “that you agree with my fox.” As the little prince dropped off to sleep, I took him in my arms and set out walking once more.
“房子、星星、沙漠——给予它们美丽的东西是看不见的！” “我很高兴,“他说, “你同意我的狐狸的话。当小王子入睡时，我抱起他，重新开始走路。 —

I felt deeply moved, and stirred.
我感到非常感动和激动。 —

It seemed to me that I was carrying a very fragile treasure.
在我眼中，我仿佛抱着一个非常脆弱的宝藏。 —

It seemed to me, even, that there was nothing more fragile on all Earth. In the moonlight I looked at his pale forehead, his closed eyes, his locks of hair that trembled in the wind, and I said to myself:
在月光下，我看着他苍白的额头，闭着的眼睛，发丝在风中颤抖，对自己说： —

“What I see here is nothing but a shell.
“我在这里看到的只是一个外壳。 —

What is most important is invisible.
最重要的是看不见的。 —

..” As his lips opened slightly with the suspicious of a half-smile, I said to myself, again:
..“当他的嘴唇微微张开，带着半笑的疑惑时，我再次对自己说： —

“What moves me so deeply, about this little prince who is sleeping here, is his loyalty to a flower– the image of a rose that shines through his whole being like the flame of a lamp, even when he is asleep.
关于这个正在睡觉的小王子，最让我深深感动的是他对一朵花的忠诚 - 这朵玫瑰的形象在他的整个存在中闪耀，就像灯火的火焰，即使他在睡觉的时候也是如此。 —

..” And I felt him to be more fragile still.
..“我感到他更加脆弱。 —

I felt the need of protecting him, as if he himself were a flame that might be extinguished by a little puff of wind.
我感到需要保护他，好像他自己就是一团可以被一丝微风吹灭的火焰。 —

.. And, as I walked on so, I found the well, at daybreak.
..随着我继续前行，在黎明时分我找到了那口井。