小王子 第4期:畫(huà)一頭羊

Remember, I had crashed in the desert a thousand miles from any inhabited region.

你們不要忘記，我當(dāng)時(shí)處在遠(yuǎn)離人煙千里之外的地方。

And yet my little man seemed neither to be straying uncertainly among the sands, nor to be fainting from fatigue or hunger or thirst or fear.

而這個(gè)小家伙給我的印象是，他既不象迷了路的樣子，也沒(méi)有半點(diǎn)疲乏、饑渴、懼怕的神情。

Nothing about him gave any suggestion of a child lost in the middle of the desert, a thousand miles from any human habitation.

他絲毫不象是一個(gè)迷失在曠無(wú)人煙的大沙漠中的孩子。

When at last I was able to speak, I said to him:

當(dāng)我在驚訝之中終于又能說(shuō)出話來(lái)的時(shí)候，對(duì)他說(shuō)道：

But– what are you doing here?

唉，你在這兒干什么?

And in answer he repeated, very slowly, as if he were speaking of a matter of great consequence:

可是他卻不慌不忙地好象有一件重要的事一般，對(duì)我重復(fù)地說(shuō)道：

If you please– draw me a sheep.

請(qǐng)…給我畫(huà)一只羊

When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.

當(dāng)一種神秘的東西把你鎮(zhèn)住的時(shí)候，你是不敢不聽(tīng)從它的支配的，

Absurd as it might seem to me, a thousand miles from any human habitation and in danger of death,

在這曠無(wú)人煙的沙漠上，面臨死亡的危險(xiǎn)的情況下，盡管這樣的舉動(dòng)使我感到十分荒誕，

I took out of my pocket a sheet of paper and my fountain-pen.

我還是掏出了一張紙和一支鋼筆。

But then I remembered how my studies had been concentrated on geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar,

這時(shí)我卻又記起，我只學(xué)過(guò)地理、歷史、算術(shù)和語(yǔ)法，

and I told the little chap (a little crossly, too) that I did not know how to draw.

就有點(diǎn)不大高興地對(duì)小家伙說(shuō)我不會(huì)畫(huà)畫(huà)。

He answered me:“That doesn’t matter. Draw me a sheep.”

他回答我說(shuō)：“沒(méi)有關(guān)系，給我畫(huà)一只羊吧!”

But I had never drawn a sheep.

因?yàn)槲覐膩?lái)沒(méi)有畫(huà)過(guò)羊，

So I drew for him one of the two pictures I had drawn so often.

我就給他重畫(huà)我所僅僅會(huì)畫(huà)的兩副畫(huà)中的

It was that of the boa constrictor from the outside.

那副閉著肚皮的巨蟒。

And I was astounded to hear the little fellow greet it with.

我聽(tīng)了他的話，簡(jiǎn)直目瞪口呆。

No, no, no! I do not want an elephant inside a boa constrictor.

不，不!我不要蟒蛇，它肚子里還有一頭象。

A boa constrictor is a very dangerous creature, and an elephant is very cumbersome.

他接著說(shuō)：“巨蟒這東西太危險(xiǎn)，大象又太占地方。”

Where I live, everything is very small. What I need is a sheep. Draw me a sheep.

我住的地方非常小，我需要一只羊。給我畫(huà)一只羊吧。

So then I made a drawing.

我就給他畫(huà)了。