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……
Chapter25
"Men,"saidthelittleprince,"setoutontheirwayinexpresstrains,buttheydonotknowwhattheyarelookingfor。Thentheyrushabout,andgetexcited,andturnroundandround。。。"Andheadded:
"Itisnotworththetrouble。。。"ThewellthatwehadcometowasnotlikethewellsoftheSahara。ThewellsoftheSaharaaremereholesduginthesand。Thisonewaslikeawellinavillage。Buttherewasnovillagehere,andIthoughtImustbedreaming。。。
"Itisstrange,"Isaidtothelittleprince。"Everythingisreadyforuse:thepulley,thebucket,therope。。。"Helaughed,touchedtherope,andsetthepulleytoworking。Andthepulleymoaned,likeanoldweathervanewhichthewindhaslongsinceforgotten。
"Doyouhear"saidthelittleprince。"Wehavewakenedthewell,anditissinging。。。"Ididnotwanthimtotirehimselfwiththerope。
"Leaveittome,"Isaid。"Itistooheavyforyou。"Ihoistedthebucketslowlytotheedgeofthewellandsetitthere—happy,tiredasIwas,overmyachievement。Thesongofthepulleywasstillinmyears,andIcouldseethesunlightshimmerinthestilltremblingwater。
"Iamthirstyforthiswater,"saidthelittleprince。"Givemesomeofittodrink。。。"AndIunderstoodwhathehadbeenlookingfor。
Iraisedthebuckettohislips。Hedrank,hiseyesclosed。Itwasassweetassomespecialfestivaltreat。Thiswaterwasindeedadifferentthingfromordinarynourishment。Itssweetnesswasbornofthewalkunderthestars,thesongofthepulley,theeffortofmyarms。Itwasgoodfortheheart,likeapresent。WhenIwasalittleboy,thelightsoftheChristmastree,themusicoftheMidnightMass,thetendernessofsmilingfaces,usedtomakeup,so,theradianceofthegiftsIreceived。
"Themenwhereyoulive,"saidthelittleprince,"raisefivethousandrosesinthesamegarden—andtheydonotfindinitwhattheyarelookingfor。""Theydonotfindit,"Ireplied。
"Andyetwhattheyarelookingforcouldbefoundinonesinglerose,orinalittlewater。""Yes,thatistrue,"Isaid。
Andthelittleprinceadded:
"Buttheeyesareblind。Onemustlookwiththeheart。。。"Ihaddrunkthewater。Ibreathedeasily。Atsunrisethesandisthecolorofhoney。Andthathoneycolorwasmakingmehappy,too。Whatbroughtme,then,thissenseofgrief"Youmustkeepyourpromise,"saidthelittleprince,softly,ashesatdownbesidemeoncemore。
"Whatpromise"
"Youknow—amuzzleformysheep。。。Iamresponsibleforthisflower。。。"Itookmyroughdraftsofdrawingsoutofmypocket。Thelittleprincelookedthemover,andlaughedashesaid:"Yourbaobabs—theylookalittlelikecabbages。""Oh!"
Ihadbeensoproudofmybaobabs!
"Yourfox—hisearslookalittlelikehorns;andtheyaretoolong。"Andhelaughedagain。
"Youarenotfair,littleprince,"Isaid。"Idon’tknowhowtodrawanythingexceptboaconstrictorsfromtheoutsideandboaconstrictorsfromtheinside。""Oh,thatwillbeallright,"hesaid,"childrenunderstand。"SothenImadeapencilsketchofamuzzle。AndasIgaveittohimmyheartwastorn。
"YouhaveplansthatIdonotknowabout,"Isaid。
Buthedidnotanswerme。Hesaidtome,instead:"Youknow—mydescenttotheearth。。。Tomorrowwillbeitsanniversary。"Then,afterasilence,hewenton:"Icamedownverynearhere。"Andheflushed。
Andonceagain,withoutunderstandingwhy,Ihadaqueersenseofsorrow。
Onequestion,however,occurredtome:"ThenitwasnotbychancethatonthemorningwhenIfirstmetyou—aweekago—youwerestrollingalonglikethat,allalone,athousandmilesfromanyinhabitedregionYouwereontheyourbacktotheplacewhereyoulanded"Thelittleprinceflushedagain。
AndIadded,withsomehesitancy:"Perhapsitwasbecauseoftheanniversary"Thelittleprinceflushedoncemore。Heneveransweredquestions—butwhenoneflushesdoesthatnotmean"Yes""Ah,"Isaidtohim,"Iamalittlefrightened—"Butheinterruptedme。
"Nowyoumustwork。Youmustreturntoyourengine。Iwillbewaitingforyouhere。Comebacktomorrowevening。。。"ButIwasnotreassured。Irememberedthefox。Onerunstheriskofweepingalittle,ifoneletshimselfbetamed。。。