finding a well, the narrator and the little prince discuss his return to his planet “Men,” said the little prince, “set out on their way in express trains, but they do not know what they are looking for.
找到了一口井，叙述者和小王子讨论他返回自己的星球的事情。“人们，”小王子说道，“他们乘坐快车上路，但是他们不知道他们在寻找什么。 —

Then they rush about, and get excited, and turn round and round…” And he added:
然后他们匆忙地奔走，激动万分，转来转去……” 他补充道： —

“It is not worth the trouble.
“这不值得麻烦。 —

..” The well that we had come to was not like the wells of the Sahara.
……”我们来到的这口井不像撒哈拉沙漠中的井。 —

The wells of the Sahara are mere holes dug in the sand.
撒哈拉沙漠中的井只是在沙子里挖的一个个洞。 —

This one was like a well in a village.
而这个井就像村子里的井。 —

But there was no village here, and I thought I must be dreaming.
可是这里并没有村庄，我觉得我一定是在做梦。 —

.. “It is strange,” I said to the little prince.
……“太奇怪了，”我对小王子说道， —

“Everything is ready for use:
“什么都准备就绪： —

the pulley, the bucket, the rope.
滑轮，水桶，绳子。 —

..” He laughed, touched the rope, and set the pulley to working.
……”他笑了笑，碰了碰绳子，让滑轮开始工作。 —

And the pulley moaned, like an old weathervane which the wind has long since forgotten.
滑轮发出哼哼声，就像被风遗忘已久的老风向标一样。“你听到了吗？ —

“Do you hear?” said the little prince.
”小王子说。 —

“We have wakened the well, and it is singing.
“我们唤醒了这口井，它正在唱歌。” —

..” I did not want him to tire himself with the rope.
“我不希望他用绳子把自己累坏了。” —

“Leave it to me,” I said.
我说道。”交给我吧， —

“It is too heavy for you.” I hoisted the bucket slowly to the edge of the well and set it there– happy, tired as I was, over my achievement.
对你来说太重了。” 我将水桶慢慢提到井口，放在那里，对于自己的成就，我感到高兴又疲惫。 —

The song of the pulley was still in my ears, and I could see the sunlight shimmer in the still trembling water.
滑轮的歌声还在我耳边回荡，我可以看到阳光在还颤动的水面上闪烁。 —

“I am thirsty for this water,” said the little prince.
“我渴望这些水。” 小王子说道。” —

“Give me some of it to drink.
给我点喝吧。” —

..” And I understood what he had been looking for. I raised the bucket to his lips.
..“我明白他一直在寻找什么。我将水桶举到他的嘴边。 —

He drank, his eyes closed.
他闭着眼睛喝了。 —

It was as sweet as some special festival treat.
这水像某种特别的节日美食那般甜美。 —

This water was indeed a different thing from ordinary nourishment.
这水与平常的滋养确实不同。 —

Its sweetness was born of the walk under the stars, the song of the pulley, the effort of my arms.
它的甜美源于在星光下的散步、滑轮的歌声和我的双臂努力。 —

It was good for the heart, like a present.
它对心脏有好处，就像一份礼物。 —

When I was a little boy, the lights of the Christmas tree, the music of the Midnight Mass, the tenderness of smiling faces, used to make up, so, the radiance of the gifts I received.
当我还是个小男孩的时候，圣诞树的灯光、午夜弥撒的音乐、微笑的面孔的温柔，就构成了我接收到的礼物的光辉。 —

“The men where you live,” said the little prince, “raise five thousand roses in the same garden– and they do not find in it what they are looking for.” “They do not find it,” I replied.
“住你们那儿的人们，”小王子说，“在同一个花园里养了五千朵玫瑰花，但他们没能找到他们要找的东西。” “他们没能找到，”我回答道。 —

“And yet what they are looking for could be found in one single rose, or in a little water.” “Yes, that is true,” I said.
“可是他们要找的东西其实可以在一朵玫瑰花，或者一点水中找到。” “是的，没错，”我说。 —

And the little prince added:
小王子接着说： —

“But the eyes are blind.
“但是眼睛是盲目的。 —

One must look with the heart.
人们必须用心去看。” —

..” I had drunk the water. I breathed easily.
..我喝了一口水。我呼吸起来很轻松。 —

At sunrise the sand is the color of honey.
日出时，沙子变成了蜜糖的颜色。 —

And that honey color was making me happy, too.
那蜜糖的颜色也让我快乐起来。 —

What brought me, then, this sense of grief?
那么，是什么让我感到悲伤呢？ —

“You must keep your promise,” said the little prince, softly, as he sat down beside me once more.
“你必须履行你的承诺，”小王子轻轻地说着，再次坐在我的旁边，“什么承诺？ —

“What promise?” “You know– a muzzle for my sheep.
”“你知道的——为我的羊做个口罩……我对这朵花负有责任。 —

.. I am responsible for this flower.
” —

..” I took my rough drafts of drawings out of my pocket.
..我从口袋里掏出自己的草稿画。 —

The little prince looked them over, and laughed as he said:
小王子看了看，笑着说： —

“Your baobabs– they look a little like cabbages.” “Oh!” I had been so proud of my baobabs!
“你的猴面包树——看起来有点像甘蓝。” “哦！”我一直为我的猴面包树感到自豪！ —

“Your fox– his ears look a little like horns;
“你的狐狸——他的耳朵看起来有点像角， —

and they are too long.” And he laughed again. “You are not fair, little prince,” I said.
而且太长了。”他又笑了。“你不公平，小王子，”我说道。 —

“I don’t know how to draw anything except boa constrictors from the outside and boa constrictors from the inside.” “Oh, that will be all right,” he said, “children understand.” So then I made a pencil sketch of a muzzle.
“除了画外表的蟒蛇和内部的蟒蛇，我不知道怎么画其他东西。”“哦，没关系的，”他说，“孩子们都能理解。”于是我画了一个口鼻的素描。 —

And as I gave it to him my heart was torn.
当我把它给他时，我的心被撕裂了。 —

“You have plans that I do not know about,” I said.
“你有一些我不知道的计划，”我说。 —

But he did not answer me.
但他没有回答我， —

He said to me, instead:
而是对我说道： —

“You know– my descent to the earth.
“你知道——我下凡. —

.. Tomorrow will be its anniversary.” Then, after a silence, he went on:
..明天将是它的周年纪念日。”然后，沉默了一会儿，他继续说： —

“I came down very near here.” And he flushed.
“我就降落在这附近。”他脸红了。 —

And once again, without understanding why, I had a queer sense of sorrow.
再一次，不明白为什么，我感到一种奇怪的悲伤。 —

One question, however, occurred to me:
然而，我有一个问题： —

“Then it was not by chance that on the morning when I first met you– a week ago– you were strolling along like that, all alone, a thousand miles from any inhabited region?
那一天早上，当我第一次遇见你的时候，你就像那样漫步，孤身一人，离任何有人居住的地方有千里之遥，这并非偶然吧？ —

You were on the your back to the place where you landed?” The little prince flushed again.
你是回到了你降落的地方吗？小王子又红了脸。 —

And I added, with some hesitancy:
我迟疑地补充道： —

“Perhaps it was because of the anniversary?” The little prince flushed once more.
或许是因为纪念日的缘故吗？小王子又红了脸。 —

He never answered questions– but when one flushes does that not mean “Yes”?
他从不回答问题，但当他脸红的时候，不就意味着“是”吗？ —

“Ah,” I said to him, “I am a little frightened–” But he interrupted me.
“啊，”我对他说，“我有点害怕……”但他打断了我。 —

“Now you must work. You must return to your engine.
“现在你必须去工作。你必须回到你的引擎那里。 —

I will be waiting for you here.
我会在这里等你。 —

Come back tomorrow evening.
明天晚上回来……”但我并没有获得安慰。 —

..” But I was not reassured. I remembered the fox.
我记得那只狐狸。 —

One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed…
如果被驯服了，就有一点儿流泪的风险，这是不可避免的。