🔊 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 with the first drop of water. I was also thirsty for this water. But the little prince was tired, and sat down, and I sat down beside him. And, after a little silence, he spoke again: "The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen."

Siku hii ilikuwa siku ya nane tangu nilipopata ajali yangu jangwani, na nilikuwa nimesikia hadithi ya mchuuzi pamoja na tone la kwanza la maji. Mimi pia nilikuwa na kiu ya maji haya. Lakini mfalme mdogo alikuwa amechoka, akaketi, nami nikaketi kando yake. Na, baada ya ukimya kidogo, aliongea tena: "Nyota ni nzuri, kwa sababu ya ua ambalo haliwezi kuonekana."

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merchant /ˈmɜːtʃənt/

n. Mfanyabiashara, mtu anayefanya biashara ya kununua na kuuza bidhaa.

🔊 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.

Niliitikia, "Ndio, ni kweli." Na, bila kusema chochote zaidi, niliangalia vichokocho vya mchanga vilivyonyooka mbele yetu kwenye mwangaza wa mwezi.

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ridges /ˈrɪdʒɪz/

n. Miinuko, safu ndefu za milima au nyuso zilizoinuka.

🔊 "The desert is beautiful," he added.

"Jangwa ni zuri," aliongeza.

🔊 And that was true. I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams . . .

Na hilo lilikuwa kweli. Mimi siku zote nimependa jangwa. Mtu hukaa juu ya lundo la mchanga jangwani, haoni chochote, hasikii chochote. Lakini kupitia ukimya huo, kuna kitu kinapiga na kung'aa . . .

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dune /djuːn/

n. Lundo la mchanga, kilima cha mchanga kilichoundwa na upepo.

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throbs /θrɒbz/

v. Kupiga kwa nguvu na kwa kasi, kusisimka (kwa moyo, mishipa, n.k.).

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gleams /ɡliːmz/

v. Kung'aa kwa mwanga mdogo na wa kudumu, kumetameta.

🔊 "What makes the desert beautiful," said the little prince, "is that somewhere it hides a well..."

"Kinachofanya jangwa kuwa zuri," alisema mfalme mdogo, "ni kwamba mahali fulani linaficha kisima..."

🔊 I was astonished by a sudden understanding of that mysterious radiation of the sands. When I was a little boy I lived in an old house, and legend told that a treasure was buried there. To be sure, no one had ever known how to find it; perhaps no one had ever even looked for it. But it cast an enchantment over that house. My home was hiding a secret in the depths of its heart . . .

Nilishangaa kwa ghafla kuelewa mwale wa siri wa mchanga huo. Nilipokuwa mvulana mdogo, niliishi katika nyumba ya zamani, na hadithi zilisema kwamba hazina ilikuwa imezikwa hapo. Hakika, hakuna mtu aliyewahi kujua jinsi ya kuipata; labda hakuna mtu hata aliyewahi kuikuta. Lakini ilitupa uchawi juu ya nyumba hiyo. Nyumba yangu ilikuwa ikificha siri katika kina cha moyo wake . . .

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astonished /əˈstɒnɪʃt/

adj. Kushangaa sana, kustaajabishwa.

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mysterious /mɪˈstɪəriəs/

adj. -a fumbo, -a kushangaza na kutoaminika.

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radiation /ˌreɪdiˈeɪʃn/

n. Mnururisho, mionzi, nishati inayotoka kwa chanzo na kuenea kwa mawimbi.

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legend /ˈledʒənd/

n. Hadithi ya zamani isiyo na uhakika, simulizi la jadi.

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treasure /ˈtreʒə(r)/

n. Hazina, mali ya thamani kubwa iliyofichwa.

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enchantment /ɪnˈtʃɑːntmənt/

n. Uchawi, hali ya kuvutia na kushangaza kama kwa uchawi.

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depths /depθs/

n. Sehemu za chini kabisa, kina.

🔊 "Yes," I said to the little prince. "The house, the stars, the desert—what gives them their beauty is something that is invisible!"

"Ndio," nikamwambia mfalme mdogo. "Nyumba, nyota, jangwa—kinachowapa uzuri wao ni kitu kisichoonekana!"

🔊

invisible /ɪnˈvɪzəbl/

adj. Isiyoonekana, isiyo na sura inayoweza kuonekana.

🔊 "I am glad," he said, "that you agree with my fox."

"Ninafurahi," alisema, "kwamba umekubaliana na mbweha yangu."

🔊 As the little prince dropped off to sleep, I took him in my arms and set out walking once more. I felt deeply moved, and stirred. It seemed to me that I was carrying a very fragile treasure. 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: "What I see here is nothing but a shell. What is most important is invisible . . ."

Wakati mfalme mdogo alipokuwa akilala, nikamchukua mikononi mwangu na nikaanza kutembea tena. Nilihisi moyo wangu umeguswa sana, na kutetereka. Ilionekana kwangu kwamba nilibeba hazina dhaifu sana. Hata ilionekana kwangu kwamba hakukuwa na kitu kingine dhaifu zaidi duniani kote. Kwenye mwangaza wa mwezi, nilimtazama paji la uso wake lenye rangi nyeupe, macho yake yaliyofungwa, na nywele zake zilizotikisika kwenye upepo, nikajiambia: "Ninachokiona hapa si chochote ila ganda. Kile kilicho muhimu zaidi hakiwezi kuonekana . . ."

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stirred /stɜːd/

v. Kusisimka, kuchochewa hisia.

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fragile /ˈfrædʒaɪl/

adj. Dhaifu, nyororo, rahisi kuvunjika.

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pale /peɪl/

adj. -eupe mwanga, -enye rangi nyepesi isiyo na uhai.

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locks /lɒks/

n. Nywele, sehemu za nywele.

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trembled /ˈtrembld/

v. Kutetemeka, kudunda kwa hofu, baridi au uchovu.

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shell /ʃel/

n. Gamba, kifuniko cha nje cha kitu.

🔊 As his lips opened slightly with the suspicion of a half-smile, I said to myself, again: "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 . . ." And I felt him to be more fragile still. I felt the need of protecting him, as if he himself were a flame that might be extinguished by a little puff of wind . . .

Mdomo wake ulipofunguka kidogo kwa tuhuma ya tabasamu la nusu, nikajiambia tena: "Kinachonigusa sana, kuhusu mfalme huyu mdogo anayelala hapa, ni uaminifu wake kwa ua—mfano wa waridi unaong'aa katika uhai wake wote kama mwali wa taa, hata wakati anapolala . . ." Nilihisi kuwa yeye ni dhaifu zaidi. Nilihisi hitaji la kumlinda, kana kwamba yeye mwenyewe alikuwa mwali ambao unaweza kuzimwa na upepo mdogo . . .

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suspicion /səˈspɪʃn/

n. Tuhuma, wazo la kuwa kitu kinaweza kuwa kweli.

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loyalty /ˈlɔɪəlti/

n. Uaminifu, ushikamano wa kudumu kwa mtu, kikundi au dhana.

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extinguished /ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃt/

v. Kuzimwa, kufutwa (moto, taa).

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puff /pʌf/

n. Pepo ndogo, mvuke wa hewa uliotolewa kwa nguvu moja.

🔊 And, as I walked on so, I found the well, at daybreak.

Na, nilipokuwa nikitembea hivi, nikapata kisima, alfajiri.

🔊

daybreak /ˈdeɪbreɪk/

n. Mapambazuko, wakati jua linapoanza kuonekana asubuhi.

Chapter XXIV (Sura ya Ishirini na Nne)