🔊 And now six years have already gone by... I have never yet told this story. The companions who met me on my return were well content to see me alive. I was sad, but I told them: 'I am tired.'

現在六年已經過去了……我還從未講過這個故事。那些在我回來時遇見我的同伴們看到我還活著,都很高興。我很悲傷,但我告訴他們:「我累了。」

🔊

companions /kəmˈpænjənz/

n. 同伴；夥伴➕

🔊

content /kənˈtent/

adj. 滿意的；滿足的➕

🔊 Now my sorrow is comforted a little. That is to say—not entirely. But I know that he did go back to his planet, because I did not find his body at daybreak. It was not such a heavy body... and at night I love to listen to the stars. It is like five hundred million little bells...

現在我的悲傷稍微得到了一些安慰。也就是說——並非完全。但我知道他確實回到了他的星球,因為在黎明時我沒有找到他的身體。那不是一個很重的身體……而在夜晚,我喜歡聆聽星星。那就像是五億個小鈴鐺……

🔊

sorrow /ˈsɒrəʊ/

n. 悲傷；哀愁➕

🔊

comforted /ˈkʌmfətɪd/

v. 安慰；撫慰（過去分詞）➕

🔊

daybreak /ˈdeɪbreɪk/

n. 黎明；破曉➕

🔊 But there is one extraordinary thing... when I drew the muzzle for the little prince, I forgot to add the leather strap to it. He will never have been able to fasten it on his sheep. So now I keep wondering: what is happening on his planet? Perhaps the sheep has eaten the flower...

但有一件非凡的事情……當我為小王子畫口套時,我忘了加上皮帶。他將永遠無法把它綁在他的羊身上。所以現在我不斷在想:他的星球上發生了什麼事？或許羊把花吃掉了……

🔊

extraordinary /ɪkˈstrɔːdənri/

adj. 非凡的；特別的➕

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muzzle /ˈmʌzl/

n. 口套；槍口➕

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leather strap /ˈleðə stræp/

n. phrase. 皮帶；皮帶條➕

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fasten /ˈfɑːsn/

v. 繫緊；固定➕

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wondering /ˈwʌndərɪŋ/

v. 想知道；疑惑（現在分詞）➕

🔊 At one time I say to myself: 'Surely not! The little prince shuts his flower under her glass globe every night, and he watches over his sheep very carefully...' Then I am happy. And there is sweetness in the laughter of all the stars.

有時候我對自己說:「肯定不會！小王子每晚都把花關在玻璃罩下,而且他非常小心地看管著他的羊……」然後我就快樂了。而所有星星的笑聲中都帶著甜蜜。

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glass globe /ɡlɑːs ɡləʊb/

n. phrase. 玻璃罩；玻璃球➕

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watches over /wɒtʃɪz ˈəʊvə/

v. phrase. 照看；守護➕

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sweetness /ˈswiːtnəs/

n. 甜蜜；甜美➕

🔊

laughter /ˈlɑːftə/

n. 笑聲；歡笑➕

🔊 But at another time I say to myself: 'At some moment or other one is absent-minded, and that is enough! On some one evening he forgot the glass globe, or the sheep got out, without making any noise, in the night...' And then the little bells are changed to tears...

但有時候我對自己說:「在某個時刻,人總會心不在焉,那就夠了！在某個晚上,他忘了玻璃罩,或者羊在夜裡悄無聲息地跑了出來……」然後那些小鈴鐺就變成了淚水……

🔊

absent-minded /ˌæbsənt ˈmaɪndɪd/

adj. 心不在焉的；健忘的➕

🔊 Here, then, is a great mystery. For you who also love the little prince, and for me, nothing in the universe can be the same if somewhere, we do not know where, a sheep that we never saw has—yes or no?—eaten a rose...

那麼,這是一個巨大的謎。對於你們這些也愛著小王子的人,以及對於我來說,如果某處,我們不知道在哪裡,一隻我們從未見過的羊——是或否？——吃掉了一朵玫瑰,那麼宇宙中的一切都將不再相同……

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mystery /ˈmɪstri/

n. 謎；神秘事物➕

🔊

universe /ˈjuːnɪvɜːs/

n. 宇宙；萬物➕

🔊 Look up at the sky. Ask yourselves: is it yes or no? Has the sheep eaten the flower? And you will see how everything changes...

抬頭看看天空。問問自己:是或否？羊把花吃掉了嗎？然後你會看到一切如何改變……

🔊 And no grown-up will ever understand that this is a matter of so much importance!

而沒有任何成年人會明白這是一件如此重要的事情！

🔊

grown-up /ˈɡrəʊn ʌp/

n. 成人；大人➕

🔊

importance /ɪmˈpɔːtns/

n. 重要性；重大➕

🔊 This is, to me, the loveliest and saddest landscape in the world. It is the same as that on the preceding page, but I have drawn it again to impress it on your memory. It is here that the little prince appeared on Earth, and disappeared.

對我來說,這是世界上最美麗和最悲傷的風景。它與前一頁的相同,但我又畫了一次,以便讓你記住。正是在這裡,小王子出現在地球上,又消失了。

🔊

loveliest /ˈlʌvliɪst/

adj. 最可愛的；最美麗的（最高級）➕

🔊

saddest /ˈsædɪst/

adj. 最悲傷的；最難過的（最高級）➕

🔊

landscape /ˈlændskeɪp/

n. 風景；景觀➕

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preceding /prɪˈsiːdɪŋ/

adj. 前面的；在先的➕

🔊

impress /ɪmˈpres/

v. 使銘記；給...深刻印象➕

🔊

appeared /əˈpɪəd/

v. 出現；顯現（過去式）➕

🔊

disappeared /ˌdɪsəˈpɪəd/

v. 消失；失蹤（過去式）➕

🔊 Look at it carefully so that you will be sure to recognize it in case you travel some day to the African desert. And, if you should come upon this spot, please do not hurry on. Wait for a time, exactly under the star. Then, if a little man appears who laughs, who has golden hair and who refuses to answer questions, you will know who he is. If this should happen, please comfort me. Send me word that he has come back.

仔細看看它,以便萬一有一天你旅行到非洲沙漠時,你能肯定認出它。而且,如果你碰巧來到這個地方,請不要匆匆趕路。等待一段時間,正好在星星下面。然後,如果一個小男人出現,他笑著,有金色的頭髮,並且拒絕回答問題,你就會知道他是誰。如果這發生,請安慰我。捎個信告訴我他回來了。

🔊

recognize /ˈrekəɡnaɪz/

v. 認出；識別➕

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in case /ɪn keɪs/

conj. phrase. 以防；萬一➕

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African desert /ˈæfrɪkən ˈdezət/

n. phrase. 非洲沙漠➕

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come upon /kʌm əˈpɒn/

v. phrase. 偶遇；偶然發現➕

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hurry on /ˈhʌri ɒn/

v. phrase. 匆忙繼續；趕快➕

🔊

golden hair /ˈɡəʊldən heə/

n. phrase. 金髮➕

🔊

comfort /ˈkʌmfət/

v. 安慰；慰藉➕

🔊

send me word /send mi wɜːd/

v. phrase. 捎信給我；通知我➕

Chapter twenty-seven (第二十七章)