我就這樣獨(dú)自一個(gè)人生活著，沒(méi)有一個(gè)能真正談得來(lái)的人，直到六年前我駕駛飛機(jī)陷落在撒哈拉沙漠上。飛機(jī)引擎壞掉了。由于當(dāng)時(shí)既沒(méi)有機(jī)械師也沒(méi)有任何乘客和我一起飛行，所以我只好自己獨(dú)自嘗試完成這個(gè)困難的維修工作。于我而言，這是一個(gè)關(guān)乎生死的問(wèn)題：剩余的飲用水僅僅夠我維持八天的時(shí)間。
第一天晚上，我就睡在這遠(yuǎn)離人間煙火的沙漠上，我比大海中浮在小木筏上的遇難水手還要孤獨(dú)。因此，你們可以想象到，當(dāng)我在第二天拂曉時(shí)被一個(gè)奇怪而微小的聲音吵醒時(shí)是有多么吃驚。這個(gè)小小的聲音說(shuō)：“請(qǐng)你給我畫(huà)一只綿羊，好嗎？”
“什么！”
“給我畫(huà)一只綿羊！”
像是被閃電擊中般，我跳著腳站起來(lái)，使勁揉了揉眼睛，仔細(xì)地循聲望去。我看見(jiàn)一個(gè)十分奇怪的小家伙正站在那里嚴(yán)肅地打量著我。這是后來(lái)我給他畫(huà)出來(lái)的最好的一幅畫(huà)像?？上?，我的畫(huà)要比他本人的模樣遜色得多。這不是我的過(guò)錯(cuò)。六歲時(shí)，大人們讓我對(duì)自己的畫(huà)家生涯喪失了勇氣，除了畫(huà)過(guò)開(kāi)著肚皮和閉著肚皮的蟒蛇，我后來(lái)再?zèng)]有學(xué)過(guò)畫(huà)別的東西。
對(duì)于這個(gè)突然出現(xiàn)的小家伙，我感到萬(wàn)分驚奇。我記得，當(dāng)時(shí)我墜機(jī)的地方是一個(gè)遠(yuǎn)離人煙、千里之外的地方。然而，這個(gè)小家伙看起來(lái)既不像迷了路，也沒(méi)有半點(diǎn)疲乏、饑渴、害怕的神情。種種跡象顯示，他是一個(gè)迷失在空曠無(wú)人煙的大沙漠中的孩子。當(dāng)我終于靜下心可以說(shuō)出話來(lái)時(shí)，我對(duì)他說(shuō)道：“我說(shuō)，你在這兒干什么呢？”
他慢慢地好像在講述一件非常重要的事情一般，對(duì)我重復(fù)說(shuō)道：“請(qǐng)……給我畫(huà)一只綿羊……”
當(dāng)一種神秘的東西把你鎮(zhèn)住的時(shí)候，沒(méi)人敢不服從。在這空曠無(wú)人煙的沙漠上，面臨死亡的危險(xiǎn)的情況下，盡管這看起來(lái)非?；闹?，我還是掏出了一張紙和一支鋼筆。這時(shí)我卻又記起，我的學(xué)習(xí)是怎樣集中在地理、歷史、計(jì)算和語(yǔ)法上的，我對(duì)這個(gè)小家伙說(shuō)（也有一點(diǎn)生氣）我不知道如何畫(huà)。他回答我說(shuō)：“沒(méi)有關(guān)系，給我畫(huà)一只綿羊吧！”
因?yàn)槲覐膩?lái)沒(méi)有畫(huà)過(guò)羊，我就給他畫(huà)我常常畫(huà)的那幅閉著肚皮的巨蟒，然后我非常震驚地聽(tīng)到這個(gè)小家伙說(shuō)：“不！不！我不要一個(gè)在蟒蛇肚子里的大象。”
“蟒蛇太危險(xiǎn)，大象非常笨重。我住的地方，一切都非常小，我需要的是一只綿羊。給我畫(huà)一只綿羊?！?br/>
我就給他畫(huà)了。
他仔細(xì)地看了下，隨后又說(shuō)：“我不要，這只綿羊已經(jīng)病得很重了。給我重新畫(huà)一只?！?br/>
我又另外畫(huà)了一只。
我的這位朋友溫和放任地笑了。
“你自己看看，”他說(shuō)，“你畫(huà)的不是綿羊，是頭公羊，還有兩個(gè)角呢?！?br/>
于是我又重新畫(huà)了一張。
這幅畫(huà)同前幾幅一樣又被拒絕了。
“這一只羊太老了。我想要一只長(zhǎng)壽的綿羊?！?br/>
這次，我不耐煩了，因?yàn)槲壹庇谝獧z修發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)，于是就草草畫(huà)了這張畫(huà)，隨手扔給他：“這是一只箱子，你要的綿羊就在里面?！?br/>
這時(shí)，我十分驚訝地看到我的這位小評(píng)判員喜笑顏開(kāi)。
“這正是我想要的……你說(shuō)這只羊需要很多草嗎？”
“為什么問(wèn)這個(gè)呢？”
“因?yàn)槲易〉牡胤?，一切都非常小……?br/>
“我確定會(huì)有足夠的草給它?！蔽艺f(shuō)，“我給你的是一只非常小的綿羊?！?br/>
他歪著腦袋靠近這張畫(huà)。
“并不像你說(shuō)的那么小……瞧！它睡著了……”
就這樣，我認(rèn)識(shí)了小王子。
chapter 2
so i lived my life alone, without anyone that i could really talk to, until i had an accident with my plane in the desert of sahara, six years ago. something was broken in my engine. and as i had with me neither a mechanic 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 enough drinking water to last a week.
the first night, then, i went to sleep on the sand, a thousand miles from any human habitation. i was more isolated than a shipwrecked sailor on a raft in the middle of the ocean. thus you can imagine my amazement, at sunrise, when i was awakened by an odd little voice. it said:"if you please, draw me a sheep!""what!"
"draw me a sheep!"
i jumped to my feet, completely thunderstruck. i blinked my eyes hard. i looked carefully all around me. and i saw a most extraordinary small person, who stood there examining me with great seriousness. here you may see the best potrait that, later, i was able to make of him. but my drawing is certainly very much less charming than its model.
that, however, is not my fault. the grown-ups discouraged me in my painter’s career when i was six years old, and i never learned to draw anything, except boas from the outside and boas from the inside.
now i stared at this sudden apparition with my eyes fairly starting out of my head in astonishment. remember, i had crashed in the desert a thousand miles from any inhabited region. 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. nothing about him gave any suggestion of a child lost in the middle of the desert, a thousand miles from any human habitation. when at last i was able to speak, i said to him: "but, what are you doing here"and in answer he repeated, very slowly, as if he were speaking of a matter of great consequence: "if you please, draw me a sheep..."when a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey. absurd as it might seem to me, a thousand miles from any human habitation and in danger of death, i took out of my pocket a sheet of paper and my fountain-pen. but then i remembered how my studies had been concentrated on geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar, and i told the little chap (a little crossly, too) that i did not know how to draw. he answered me:"that doesn’t matter. draw me a sheep..."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 from the outside. and i was astounded to hear the little fellow greet it with, "no, no, no! i do not want an elephant inside a boa constrictor. a boa constrictor is a very dangerous creature, and an elephant is very cumbersome. where i live, everything is very small. what i need is a sheep. draw me a sheep."so then i made a drawing.
he looked at it carefully, then he said: "no. this sheep is already very sickly. make me another."so i made another drawing.
my friend smiled gently and indulgenty. "you see yourself," he said, "that this is not a sheep. this is a ram. it has horns."so then i did my drawing over once more.
but it was rejected too, just like the others. "this one is too old. i want a sheep that will live a long time."by this time my patience was exhausted, because i was in a hurry to start taking my engine apart. so i tossed off this drawing.
and i threw out an explanation with it.
"this is only his box. the sheep you asked for is inside."i was very surprised to see a light break over the face of my young judge:"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."he bent his head over the drawing:"not so small that—look! he has gone to sleep..."and that is how i made the acquaintance of the little prince.