第二十五章
“人们乘坐列车出，但是他们却不知道要寻找什么。于是，他们就焦躁地向前冲，来回转圈子……”小王子说道。
他接着又说：
“这没有必要……”
我们找到的这口井，和撒哈拉的那些井不一样。撒哈拉的井只是沙漠中挖的洞。这口井很像村子中的井。可是，那里又没有任何村庄，我想我一定是在梦中。
“好奇怪啊，”我对小王子说，“一切都是现成的：辘轳、水桶、绳子……”
他笑了，拿起绳子，转动着辘轳。辘轳像是一个长期被风遗忘的旧风向标一样，吱吱作响。
“你听，”小王子说，“我们唤醒了这口井，它现在唱起歌来了……”
我不想他累到。
“让我来干吧。”我对他说，“这活对你太重了。”
我慢慢地把水桶提到井口上。把它稳稳地放好。因为找到这口井，我既高兴又疲惫。我的耳朵里还响着辘轳的歌声。我看见太阳的影子在晃荡的水面上跳动。
“我很想喝这水。”小王子说，“给我喝点……”
这时我才明白了他一直寻找的是什么！
我把水桶提到他的嘴边。他闭着眼睛喝口水。就像过节一般愉快甜蜜。这水确实不同于一般补给品，它是我们披星戴月走了许多路才找到的，是在辘轳的歌声中，经过我双手的努力得来的。它像是一件礼品慰藉着我的心灵。在我小的时候，圣诞树的灯光，午夜里弥撒的音乐，甜蜜的微笑，这一切都使我圣诞节时收到的礼品辉映着幸福的光彩。
“这里的人会在同一个花园中种五千朵玫瑰。”小王子说，“可是，他们却不能找到自己想要的东西……”
“他们是找不到的。”我回答道。
“然而，他们要找的东西，也许就在一朵玫瑰花或一点儿水中……”
“是的。”我回答道。
小王子又加了一句：
“眼睛是什么也看不见的，应该用心去寻找。”
我喝了水。我惬意地呼吸着空气。沙漠在晨曦中泛出蜂蜜的光泽。这蜂蜜般的光泽也使我感到幸福。那么，是什么给我这些悲伤的感觉呢？
小王子又重新在我的身边坐下。他轻轻地对我说：“你必须信守承诺。”
“什么承诺？”
“你知道……给我的小绵羊一个嘴套子……我要对我的花负责的呀！”
我从口袋中拿出我的画稿。小王子看见了那些草图，笑着说：“你画的猴面包树有点像卷心菜……”
“哦！”
我还为我画的猴面包树而感到骄傲呢！
“你画的狐狸……它那双耳朵……有点像羊犄角……而且又太长了！”
这时，他又笑了。
“小家伙，你太不公正了。我过去只会画开着肚皮和闭着肚皮的巨蟒。”
“哦，这样也可以了。”他说，“孩子们认得出来。”
我就用铅笔勾画了一个嘴套。当我把它递给小王子时，我心里很难受：“你的打算，我一点也不知道……”
但是，他不回答我，他对我说：
“你知道吗，我落在地球上的时间……到明天就一周年了……”
接着，沉默了一会儿，他又说道：“我就落在这附近……”
他的面颊绯红。
再一次，我不知为什么，又感到一阵莫名其妙的悲伤。这时，我想到了一个问题：“一星期以前，我认识你的那天早上，你单独一个人在这旷无人烟的地方走着，这么说，这并不是偶然的了？你是要回到你降落的地方去是吗？”
小王子的脸又红了。
我犹豫不定地又说了一句：
“可能是因为周年到了吧？……”
小王子脸又红了。他从来也不回答这些问题，但是，脸红就等于说“是的”，是吧？
“啊！”我对他说，“我有点怕……”
但他却打断了我：
“你现在该做事了。你应该回到你的飞机那里去。我在这里等你。你明天晚上再来……”
我很担心。我想起了狐狸的话。如果被人驯服了，就可能会要哭的……
Chaptr 25
"Mn," sad th lttl prnc, "st out on thr ay n xprss trans, ut thy do not kno hat thy ar lookng for. Thn thy rush aout, and gt xctd, and turn round and round..."And h addd:
"It s not orth th troul..."Th ll that had co to as not lk th lls of th Sahara. Th lls of th Sahara ar r hols dug n th sand. Ths on as lk a ll n a vllag. But thr as no vllag hr, and I thought I ust drang...
"It s strang," I sad to th lttl prnc. "Evrythng s rady for us: th pully, th uckt, th rop..."H laughd, touchd th rop, and st th pully to orkng. And th pully oand, lk an old athrvan hch th nd has long snc forgottn.
"Do you har" sad th lttl prnc. "W hav aknd th ll, and t s sngng..."I dd not ant h to tr hslf th th rop.
"Lav t to ," I sad. "It s too havy for you."I hostd th uckt sloly to th dg of th ll and st t thr— happy, trd as I as, ovr y achvnt. Th song of th pully as stll n y ars, and I could s th sunlght shr n th stll trlng atr.
"I a thrsty for ths atr," sad th lttl prnc. "Gv so of t to drnk..."And I undrstood hat h had n lookng for.
I rasd th uckt to hs lps. H drank, hs ys closd. It as as st as so spcal fstval trat. Ths atr as ndd a dffrnt thng fro ordnary nourshnt. Its stnss as orn of th alk undr th stars, th song of th pully, th ffort of y ars. It as good for th hart, lk a prsnt. Whn I as a lttl oy, th lghts of th Chrstas tr, th usc of th Mdnght Mass, th tndrnss of slng facs, usd to ak up, so, th radanc of th gfts I rcvd.
"Th n hr you lv," sad th lttl prnc, "ras fv thousand ross n th sa gardn— and thy do not fnd n t hat thy ar lookng for.""Thy do not fnd t," I rpld.
"And yt hat thy ar lookng for could found n on sngl ros, or n a lttl atr.""Ys, that s tru," I sad.
And th lttl prnc addd:
"But th ys ar lnd. On ust look th th hart..."I had drunk th atr. I rathd asly. At sunrs th sand s th color of hony. And that hony color as akng happy, too. What rought , thn, ths sns of grf "You ust kp your pros," sad th lttl prnc, softly, as h sat don sd onc or.
"What pros"
"You kno— a uzzl for y shp... I a rsponsl for ths flor..."I took y rough drafts of drangs out of y pockt. Th lttl prnc lookd th ovr, and laughd as h sad:"Your aoas— thy look a lttl lk caags.""Oh!"
I had n so proud of y aoas!
"Your fox— hs ars look a lttl lk horns; and thy ar too long."And h laughd agan.
"You ar not far, lttl prnc," I sad. "I don’t kno ho to dra anythng xcpt oa constrctors fro th outsd and oa constrctors fro th nsd.""Oh, that ll all rght," h sad, "chldrn undrstand."So thn I ad a pncl sktch of a uzzl. And as I gav t to h y hart as torn.
"You hav plans that I do not kno aout," I sad.
But h dd not ansr . H sad to , nstad:"You kno— y dscnt to th arth... Toorro ll ts annvrsary."Thn, aftr a slnc, h nt on:"I ca don vry nar hr."And h flushd.
And onc agan, thout undrstandng hy, I had a qur sns of sorro.
On quston, hovr, occurrd to :"Thn t as not y chanc that on th ornng hn I frst t you— a k ago— you r strollng along lk that, all alon, a thousand ls fro any nhatd rgon You r on th your ack to th plac hr you landd"Th lttl prnc flushd agan.
And I addd, th so hstancy:"Prhaps t as caus of th annvrsary"Th lttl prnc flushd onc or. H nvr ansrd qustons— ut hn on flushs dos that not an "Ys""Ah," I sad to h, "I a a lttl frghtnd—"But h ntrruptd .
"No you ust ork. You ust rturn to your ngn. I ll atng for you hr. Co ack toorro vnng..."But I as not rassurd. I rrd th fox. On runs th rsk of png a lttl, f on lts hslf tad...