CHAPTER 2
So I lived my life alone, without anyone that I could really talk to, until I had an accident(事故) with my plane in the Desert(撒哈拉沙漠) of Sahara , six years ago.Something was broken in my engine.And as I had with me neither a mechanic(機修工、技工) nor any passengers, I set myself to attempt the difficult repairs all alone.It was a question of life or death for me: I had scarcely(僅僅) enough drinking water to last a week.
我孤獨地生活著，沒有一個人可以和我真正的聊天，直到六年前我的飛機在撒哈拉的一次故障。因為沒有機械師也沒有乘客，我只好一個人艱難的維修。對我來說是一個生與死的問題:我隨身帶的水只能管一個星期。
The first night, then, I went to sleep on the sand, a thousand miles from any human habitation(住所).I was more isolated(孤單的) than a shipwrecked(遭遇船難的) sailor(水手) on a raft(木筏) in the middle of the ocean(海洋).Thus you can imagine my amazement(驚訝), at sunrise(日出), when I was awakened by an odd(奇怪的) little voice.It said: “If you please—draw me a sheep!”
我的第一個晚上在曠無人煙的沙漠上度過，那兒距離居住區差不多一千多米。我比在大海中失事乘著小木筏的水手還孤獨。你可以想象一下這個不可思議的畫面，夕陽西下，我被一個弱小低沉的聲音驚醒他說“你可以幫我畫一只羊嗎”
“What!”
“Draw me a sheep!”
I jumped to my feet, completely thunderstruck(大吃一驚的).I blinked(眨眼) my eyes hard. I looked carefully all around me.And I saw a most extraordinary(特別的) small person, who stood there examining me with great seriousness.Here you may see the best portrait(肖像畫) that, later, I was able to make of him.But my drawing is certainly very much less charming(迷人的) than its model.
“什么”
“幫我畫一只羊”
我高興地跳了起來，幾乎都驚呆了。我仔細的觀察我周圍的一切，看見一個極不尋常的小人，在那兒認真的看著我。后來，我最好的一副關于他的畫像就產生了。我可以把他畫出來，但是比起他的原型我遜色多了。
That, however, is not my fault(過失).The grown-ups discouraged(使失去信心) me in my painter’s career(職業) when I was six years old,and I never learned to draw anything, except boas from the outside and boas from the inside.
但這不是我的錯，六歲那次大人們的打擊使我很沮喪，除了畫過蟒蛇的外觀圖和內在圖以外，我再也沒有學著畫畫了。
Now I stared(凝視) at this sudden apparition(幽靈) with my eyes fairly starting out of my head in astonishment(驚訝).Remember, I had crashed(墜落) in the desert(沙漠) a thousand miles from any inhabited(有人居住的) region.And yet my little man seemed neither to be straying(走散) uncertainly among the sands, nor to be fainting(暈倒) from fatigue(疲勞), or hunger, or thirst, or fear.Nothing about him gave any suggestion of a child lost in the middle of the desert(沙漠), a thousand miles from any human habitation(住所).When at last I was able to speak,I said to him: “But—what are you doing here?”
現在我突然被出現的這個離奇的小人注視著，我非常震驚。別忘了，我現在滯留在一個曠無人跡的沙漠里。而這個小人看起來并沒有被困在沙漠中的感覺，也沒有疲憊饑餓之感。感覺一點也不像是在曠無人跡的沙漠中走失的孩子。于是我開口跟他說話:“你在這兒做什么？”
And in answer he repeated, very slowly, as if he were speaking of a matter of great consequence(非常重要的事):
“If you please—draw me a sheep...”
他卻不慌不忙地低聲重復著，就像在談論一件極其重要的一件事情:
“你能幫我畫一只羊嗎”
When a mystery(神秘事物) is too overpowering(不可抗拒的), one dare(敢) not disobey(不服從).Absurd(荒唐的) as it might seem to me, a thousand miles from any human habitation(住所) and in danger of death,I took out of my pocket a sheet(紙張) of paper and my fountain-pen(鋼筆).But then I remembered how my studies had been concentrated(集中) on geography, history, arithmetic(算術), and grammar,and I told the little chap(小家伙) (a little crossly, too) that I did not know how to draw.He answered me:“That doesn’t matter. Draw me a sheep...”
當一個東西過于神秘的時候，你將沒有勇氣去打破。盡管看起來有些可笑，我還是在人跡罕至，隨時可能有生命危險的大荒漠中拿出了紙和筆。但是我突然意識到我一直集中在地理、歷史、算術和語法的學習。于是我對這個小人說我不會畫畫。他回答到:“沒關系，畫一只羊就可以了”
But I had never drawn a sheep.So I drew for him one of the two pictures I had drawn so often.It was that of the boa constrictor(巨蟒) from the outside.And I was astounded(震驚的) to hear the little fellow greet(打招呼) it with,“No, no, no! I do not want an elephant inside a boa constrictor(巨蟒).A boa constrictor(巨蟒) is a very dangerous creature(生物), and an elephant is very cumbersome(笨重).Where I live, everything is very small.What I need is a sheep. Draw me a sheep.”
So then I made a drawing.
但我以前從來沒畫過羊，所以我給他畫了我之前經常畫的兩幅畫，就是蟒蛇外部輪廓那副。我驚奇的聽見這個小人連連稱贊，“不不，我不想讓一頭大象在蟒蛇肚子里，蟒蛇是很危險的動物，但是大象很笨重。我居住的地方所有東西都很小，我需要的是一只羊，給我畫一只羊吧”。
于是我給他畫了一只羊。
He looked at it carefully, then he said:“No. This sheep is already very sickly. Make me another.”
So I made another drawing.
他仔細地看著畫，然后說“這只羊看起來已經嚴重的病了，給我重新畫一副吧”。
我又重新畫了一副。
My friend smiled gently and indulgently(寬厚地).
“You see yourself,” he said, “that this is not a sheep. This is a ram(公羊). It has horns(犄角).”
So then I did my drawing over once more.
But it was rejected(拒絕) too, just like the others.
“This one is too old. I want a sheep that will live a long time.”
“你看見了你自己”，他說，“這不是一只綿陽，這是公羊，因為他有角”。
于是我又重新畫了一副，但是他還是不同意，就像先前畫的一樣。
“這只太老了，我想要一只可以生活很長時間的綿陽”。
By this time my patience was exhausted(耗盡), because I was in a hurry to start taking my engine apart.So I tossed(扔) off this drawing.And I threw out an explanation with it.“This is only his box. The sheep you asked for is inside.”
到現在我完全沒有耐心了，因為我忙著把引擎的零件拆開，就草草地畫了一張，并且還編了一個理由“這只是他的箱子，你要的綿陽在里面”。
I was very surprised to see a light break over the face of my young judge(裁判):“That is exactly the way I wanted it! Do you think that this sheep will have to have a great deal of grass?”
“Why?”
“Because where I live everything is very small...”
“There will surely be enough grass for him,” I said. “It is a very small sheep that I have given you.”
我非常驚訝的看見這個小評委一臉微笑地說“我就想要這個！你覺得它需要一些草嗎？”
“為什么？”
“因為我住的地方所有東西都很小”
“所以它確實需要足夠的草”
我說“我給你話的是一只很小的綿羊”
He bent(彎曲) his head over the drawing:“Not so small that—Look! He has gone to sleep...”
And that is how I made the acquaintance(認識) of the little prince.
他低頭看著這幅畫:“它沒有那么小，你看它睡著了”
這就是我與小王子相遇的全過程。
