第二十一章
此时，跑来了一只狐狸。
“你好。”狐狸说。
“你好。”小王子很有礼貌地回答。他转过身，却什么也没见到。
“我在这儿，我是说，苹果树下。”
“你是谁？”小王子说，“你很漂亮。”
“我是一只狐狸。”狐狸说。
“来和我一起玩吧？”小王子建议，“我是如此的悲伤……”
“我不能和你一起玩，”狐狸说，“我还没有被驯服呢。”
“啊！真对不起。”小王子说。
思索了一会儿，他又说道：
“什么叫‘驯服’呀？”
“你不是这里人。”狐狸说，“你来寻找什么？”
“我来找人。”小王子说，“什么叫‘驯服’呢？”
“人，”狐狸说，“他们有枪，他们还打猎，这真碍事！他们也饲养鸡，这些就是他们全部兴趣，你是来寻找鸡的吗？”
“不，”小王子说，“我是来找朋友的。什么叫‘驯服’呢？”
“这是常常被忽略的事情，”狐狸说，“它的意思就是‘建立联系’。”
“建立联系？”
“一点不错，”狐狸说，“对我来说，你无非是个小男孩，就和其他千万个小男孩一样。我不需要你，你也同样不需要我。对你来说，我也不过是一只狐狸，和其他千万只狐狸一样。但是，如果你驯服了我，我们就互相不可缺少了。对我来说，你就是世界上唯一的了，我对你来说也是世界上唯一的了。”
“我有点明白了。”小王子说，“有一朵花……我想，她把我驯服了……”
“这是可能的。”狐狸说，“地球上什么样的事都可能看到……”
“哦，这不是在地球上的事。”小王子说。
狐狸感到迷惑，但却十分好奇。
“在另一个星球上？”
“是的。”
“在那个星球上，有猎人吗？”
“没有。”
“这很有意思。那么，有鸡吗？”
“没有。”
“没有十全十美的。”狐狸叹息地说道。
狐狸又把话题拉回来：
“我的生活很单调。我捕捉鸡，而人又猎杀我。所有的鸡全都一样，所有的人也全都一样。因此，我感到有些厌烦了。但是，如果你要是驯服了我，我的生活将充满阳光。我会辨认出一种与众不同的脚步声。别人的脚步声会使我躲到地下去，而你的脚步声就会像音乐一样让我从洞里走出来。再说，你看！你看到那边的麦田吗？我不吃面包，麦子对我来说，一点用也没有。麦田不会让我有任何感想。而这真使人扫兴。但是，你有金黄色的头。那么，一旦你驯服了我，这就会十分美妙。麦子是金黄色的，它就会使我想起你。到时，我甚至会喜欢那风吹麦浪的声音……”
狐狸久久地看着小王子。
“请你驯服我吧！”他说。
“我是很愿意的。”小王子回答道，“可我的时间不多了。我还要去寻找朋友，还有许多事物要了解。”
“只有被驯服了的事物，才会被了解。”狐狸说，“人再也不会花时间去了解任何东西的。他们总是到商店那里去购买现成的东西。因为世界上还没有购买朋友的商店，所以人也就没有朋友。如果你想要一个朋友，那就驯服我吧！”
“那么我应当做些什么呢？”小王子说。
“先要耐心。”狐狸回答道，“开始你就这样坐在离我稍微远些的草丛中。我用眼角偷偷看着你，你什么也不要说。语言是误会的根源。但是，每天，你要坐得靠我更近些……”
第二天，小王子又来了。
“最好是在相同的那个时间来。”狐狸说，“比如说，你下午四点钟来，那么从三点钟起，我就开始感到幸福。时间越临近，我就越感到幸福。到了四点钟的时候，我就会坐立不安；我应该向你展示我有多么开心。但是，如果你随便什么时候来，我就不知道在什么时候该准备好我的心情……应当有一定的仪式。”
“仪式是什么？”小王子问道。
“这也是一种常常被忽略的事。”狐狸说，“它就是使某一天与其他日子不同，使某一时刻与其他时刻不同。比如说，那些猎人就有一种仪式。他们每星期四都和村子里的姑娘们跳舞。于是，星期四就是一个美好的日子！我可以一直散步到葡萄园去。如果猎人们不在固定的时间跳舞，天天又全都一样，那么我也就没有假日了。”
就这样，小王子驯服了狐狸，可是转眼就要分离。
“啊！”狐狸说，“我一定会哭的。”
“这是你的过错，”小王子说，“我本来并不想带给你任何痛苦，可你却要我驯服你……”
“是的，就是这样的。”狐狸说。
“你还要哭啊！”小王子说。
“当然。”狐狸说。
“可是你什么好处也没得到。”
“由于麦子的颜色，我得到了好处。”狐狸说。
然后，他又接着说：
“再去看看那些玫瑰花吧。你一定会明白，你的那朵是世界上独一无二的玫瑰。你回来和我告别时，我再赠送给你一个秘密。”
于是小王子又去看那些玫瑰。
“你们一点也不像我的那朵玫瑰，你们现在什么都不是呢！”小王子对她们说，“没有人驯服过你们，你们也没有驯服过任何人。你们就像我的狐狸过去那样，他那时只是和千万只别的狐狸一样的一只狐狸。但是，我和他成了朋友，于是他现在就是世界上独一无二的了。”
这时，那些玫瑰花显得十分难堪。
“你们很美，但你们是空虚的。”小王子仍然在对她们说，“没有人能为你们去死。当然，我的那朵玫瑰花，一个普通的过路人以为她和你们一样。可是，她比你们全部加起来更重要，因为她是我浇灌的，因为她是我放在花罩中的。因为她是我用屏风保护起来的，因为她身上的毛虫（除了留下两三只为了变蝴蝶而外）是我除灭的，因为我倾听过她的怨艾和自诩，甚至有时我聆听着她的沉默，因为她是我的玫瑰。”
他又回到了狐狸身边。
“再见了。”小王子说道。
“再见。”狐狸说，“喏，这就是我的秘密。很简单：只有用心才能看得清。重要的东西，用眼睛是看不见的。”
“重要的东西，用眼睛是看不见的。”小王子重复着这句话，以便能把它记在心间。
“正因为你为你的玫瑰花费了时间，这才使你的玫瑰变得如此重要。”
“正因为我为我的玫瑰花费了时间……”小王子又重复着，要使自己记住这些。
“人们已经忘记了这个道理，”狐狸说，“可是，你不应该忘记它。你现在要对你驯服过的一切负责到底。你要对你的玫瑰负责……”
“我要对我的玫瑰负责……”小王子又重复着……
Chaptr 21
It as thn that th fox appard.
"Good ornng," sad th fox.
"Good ornng," th lttl prnc rspondd poltly, although hn h turnd around h sa nothng.
"I a rght hr," th voc sad, "undr th appl tr.""Who ar you" askd th lttl prnc, and addd, "You ar vry prtty to look at.""I a a fox," sad th fox.
"Co and play th ," proposd th lttl prnc. "I a so unhappy.""I cannot play th you," th fox sad. "I a not tad.""Ah! Plas xcus ," sad th lttl prnc.
But, aftr so thought, h addd: "What dos that an— ‘ta'""You do not lv hr," sad th fox. "What s t that you ar lookng for""I a lookng for n," sad th lttl prnc. "What dos that an— ‘ta'""Mn," sad th fox. "Thy hav guns, and thy hunt. It s vry dsturng. Thy also ras chckns. Ths ar thr only ntrsts. Ar you lookng for chckns""No," sad th lttl prnc. "I a lookng for frnds. What dos that an— ‘ta'""It s an act too oftn nglctd," sad th fox. It ans to stalsh ts.""To stalsh ts"
"Just that," sad th fox. "To , you ar stll nothng or than a lttl oy ho s just lk a hundrd thousand othr lttl oys. And I hav no nd of you. And you, on your part, hav no nd of . To you, I a nothng or than a fox lk a hundrd thousand othr foxs. But f you ta , thn shall nd ach othr. To , you ll unqu n all th orld. To you, I shall unqu n all th orld...""I a gnnng to undrstand," sad th lttl prnc. "Thr s a flor... I thnk that sh has tad ...""It s possl," sad th fox. "On th Earth on ss all sorts of thngs.""Oh, ut ths s not on th Earth!" sad th lttl prnc.
Th fox sd prplxd, and vry curous.
"On anothr plant"
"Ys."
"Ar thr huntrs on ths plant""No."
"Ah, that s ntrstng! Ar thr chckns""No."
"Nothng s prfct," sghd th fox.
But h ca ack to hs da.
"My lf s vry onotonous," th fox sad. "I hunt chckns; n hunt . All th chckns ar just alk, and all th n ar just alk. And, n consqunc, I a a lttl ord. But f you ta , t ll as f th sun ca to shn on y lf. I shall kno th sound of a stp that ll dffrnt fro all th othrs. Othr stps snd hurryng ack undrnath th ground. Yours ll call , lk usc, out of y urro. And thn look: you s th gran-flds don yondr I do not a t rad. What s of no us to . Th hat flds hav nothng to say to . And that s sad. But you hav har that s th colour of gold. Thnk ho ondrful that ll hn you hav tad ! Th gran, hch s also goldn, ll rng ack th thought of you. And I shall lov to lstn to th nd n th hat..."Th fox gazd at th lttl prnc, for a long t.
"Plas— ta !" h sad.
"I ant to, vry uch," th lttl prnc rpld. "But I hav not uch t. I hav frnds to dscovr, and a grat any thngs to undrstand.""On only undrstands th thngs that on tas," sad th fox. "Mn hav no or t to undrstand anythng. Thy uy thngs all rady ad at th shops. But thr s no shop anyhr hr on can uy frndshp, and so n hav no frnds any or. If you ant a frnd, ta ...""What ust I do, to ta you" askd th lttl prnc.
"You ust vry patnt," rpld th fox. "Frst you ll st don at a lttl dstanc fro — lk that— n th grass. I shall look at you out of th cornr of y y, and you ll say nothng. Words ar th sourc of sundrstandngs. But you ll st a lttl closr to , vry day..."Th nxt day th lttl prnc ca ack.
"It ould hav n ttr to co ack at th sa hour," sad th fox. "If, for xapl, you co at four o'clock n th aftrnoon, thn at thr o'clock I shall gn to happy. I shall fl happr and happr as th hour advancs. At four o'clock, I shall alrady orryng and jupng aout. I shall sho you ho happy I a! But f you co at just any t, I shall nvr kno at hat hour y hart s to rady to grt you... On ust osrv th propr rts...""What s a rt" askd th lttl prnc.
"Thos also ar actons too oftn nglctd," sad th fox. "Thy ar hat ak on day dffrnt fro othr days, on hour fro othr hours. Thr s a rt, for xapl, aong y huntrs. Evry Thursday thy danc th th vllag grls. So Thursday s a ondrful day for ! I can tak a alk as far as th vnyards. But f th huntrs dancd at just any t, vry day ould lk vry othr day, and I should nvr hav any vacaton at all."So th lttl prnc tad th fox. And hn th hour of hs dpartur dr nar— "Ah," sad th fox, "I shall cry.""It s your on fault," sad th lttl prnc. "I nvr shd you any sort of har; ut you antd to ta you...""Ys, that s so," sad th fox.
"But no you ar gong to cry!" sad th lttl prnc.
"Ys, that s so," sad th fox.
"Thn t has don you no good at all!""It has don good," sad th fox, "caus of th color of th hat flds." And thn h addd:"Go and look agan at th ross. You ll undrstand no that yours s unqu n all th orld. Thn co ack to say goody to , and I ll ak you a prsnt of a scrt."Th lttl prnc nt aay, to look agan at th ross.
"You ar not at all lk y ros," h sad. "As yt you ar nothng. No on has tad you, and you hav tad no on. You ar lk y fox hn I frst kn h. H as only a fox lk a hundrd thousand othr foxs. But I hav ad h y frnd, and no h s unqu n all th orld."And th ross r vry uch arrassd.
"You ar autful, ut you ar pty," h nt on. "On could not d for you. To sur, an ordnary passry ould thnk that y ros lookd just lk you— th ros that longs to . But n hrslf alon sh s or portant than all th hundrds of you othr ross: caus t s sh that I hav atrd; caus t s sh that I hav put undr th glass glo; caus t s sh that I hav shltrd hnd th scrn; caus t s for hr that I hav klld th catrpllars (xcpt th to or thr that savd to co uttrfls); caus t s sh that I hav lstnd to, hn sh gruld, or oastd, or vn sots hn sh sad nothng. Bcaus sh s y ros.
And h nt ack to t th fox.
"Goody," h sad.
"Goody," sad th fox. "And no hr s y scrt, a vry spl scrt: It s only th th hart that on can s rghtly; hat s ssntal s nvsl to th y.""What s ssntal s nvsl to th y," th lttl prnc rpatd, so that h ould sur to rr.
"It s th t you hav astd for your ros that aks your ros so portant.""It s th t I hav astd for y ros—" sad th lttl prnc, so that h ould sur to rr.
"Mn hav forgottn ths truth," sad th fox. "But you ust not forgt t. You co rsponsl, forvr, for hat you hav tad. You ar rsponsl for your ros...""I a rsponsl for y ros," th lttl prnc rpatd, so that h ould sur to rr.