🔊 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."

這是我在沙漠中發生事故的第八天,我聽著商人的故事,喝下了第一滴水。我也渴望著這水。但小王子累了,坐了下來,我也在他身旁坐下。沉默了一會兒後,他又開口說:「星星很美,因為有一朵看不見的花。」

🔊

accident /ˈæksɪdənt/

n. 意外事件；事故

🔊

merchant /ˈmɜːtʃənt/

n. 商人；零售商

🔊 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.

我回答說:「是的,正是如此。」我沒有再多說甚麼,只是望著月光下在我們面前延伸的沙丘稜線。

🔊

ridges /ˈrɪdʒɪz/

n. 脊；山脊；隆起部分

🔊 "The desert is beautiful," he added.

「沙漠很美。」他補充道。

🔊 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 . . .

這話不假。我一直喜愛沙漠。一個人坐在沙漠的沙丘上,甚麼也看不見,甚麼也聽不見。然而,在寂靜之中,有某種東西在搏動,在閃爍……

🔊

dune /djuːn/

n. 沙丘

🔊

throbs /θrɒbz/

v. （有規律地）跳動,搏動

🔊

gleams /ɡliːmz/

v. 閃爍；發出微光

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

「令沙漠美麗的,」小王子說,「是它在某處隱藏著一口井……」

🔊 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 . . .

我突然領悟到沙粒那種神秘的閃爍,為此感到驚異。小時候,我住在一棟老房子裡,傳說那裡埋藏著寶藏。當然,從來沒有人知道如何找到它；或許甚至從未有人尋找過。但它為那棟房子施上了一層魔力。我的家在其內心深處隱藏著一個秘密……

🔊

astonished /əˈstɒnɪʃt/

adj. 感到驚訝的；震驚的

🔊

radiation /ˌreɪdiˈeɪʃn/

n. 輻射；放射

🔊

legend /ˈledʒənd/

n. 傳說；傳奇故事

🔊

treasure /ˈtreʒə(r)/

n. 寶藏；珍寶

🔊

enchantment /ɪnˈtʃɑːntmənt/

n. 魅力；魔法；著迷

🔊

depths /depθs/

n. 深處；深度

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

「是的,」我對小王子說。「房子、星星、沙漠——賦予它們美麗的,是某種看不見的東西！」

🔊

invisible /ɪnˈvɪzəbl/

adj. 看不見的；隱形的

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

「我很高興,」他說,「你同意我的狐狸。」

🔊 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 . . ."

當小王子漸漸入睡時,我將他抱在懷裡,再次出發前行。我深受感動,心潮澎湃。對我而言,我彷彿正抱著一件極其脆弱的珍寶。我甚至覺得,整個地球上再沒有比這更脆弱的東西了。在月光下,我望著他蒼白的額頭、緊閉的雙眼、在風中微顫的髮絲,對自己說:「我眼前所見的不過是一個軀殼。最重要的東西是看不見的……」

🔊

stirred /stɜːd/

v. 攪動；激發（情感）

🔊

fragile /ˈfrædʒaɪl/

adj. 易碎的；脆弱的

🔊

pale /peɪl/

adj. 蒼白的；淺色的

🔊

locks /lɒks/

n. 一綹頭髮

🔊

trembled /ˈtrembld/

v. 顫抖；搖晃

🔊

shell /ʃel/

n. 外殼；空殼

🔊 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 . . .

當他的嘴唇微微張開,隱約帶著一絲笑意時,我再次對自己說:「這位睡在此處的小王子,如此深深打動我的,是他對一朵花的忠誠——那朵玫瑰的形象,如同一盞燈的火焰,即使在他沉睡時,仍透過他的整個生命閃耀著……」我感到他更加脆弱了。我感到有必要保護他,彷彿他本身就是一簇可能被一陣微風吹滅的火焰……

🔊

suspicion /səˈspɪʃn/

n. 懷疑；猜測；一點點

🔊

loyalty /ˈlɔɪəlti/

n. 忠誠；忠心

🔊

flame /fleɪm/

n. 火焰；火苗

🔊

extinguished /ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃt/

v. 熄滅；撲滅

🔊

puff /pʌf/

n. 一陣；一股（氣、煙、風）

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

就這樣走著走著,我在破曉時分找到了那口井。

🔊

daybreak /ˈdeɪbreɪk/

n. 黎明；破曉

Chapter XXIV (第二十四章)