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(机修工、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(仅仅) enough drinking water to last a week.
我孤独地生活着，没有一个人可以和我真正的聊天，直到六年前我的飞机在撒哈拉的一次故障。因为没有机械师也没有乘客，我只好一个人艰难的维修。对我来说是一个生与死的问题:我随身带的水只能管一个星期。
The first night, then, I went to sleep on the sand, a thousand miles from any human habitation(住所).I was more isolated(孤单的) than a shipwrecked(遭遇船难的) sailor(水手) on a raft(木筏) in the middle of the ocean(海洋).Thus you can imagine my amazement(惊讶), 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!”
我的第一个晚上在旷无人烟的沙漠上度过，那儿距离居住区差不多一千多米。我比在大海中失事乘着小木筏的水手还孤独。你可以想象一下这个不可思议的画面，夕阳西下，我被一个弱小低沉的声音惊醒他说“你可以帮我画一只羊吗”
“What!”
“Draw me a sheep!”
I jumped to my feet, completely thunderstruck(大吃一惊的).I blinked(眨眼) my eyes hard. I looked carefully all around me.And I saw a most extraordinary(特别的) small person, who stood there examining me with great seriousness.Here you may see the best portrait(肖像画) 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”
“帮我画一只羊”
我高兴地跳了起来，几乎都惊呆了。我仔细的观察我周围的一切，看见一个极不寻常的小人，在那儿认真的看着我。后来，我最好的一副关于他的画像就产生了。我可以把他画出来，但是比起他的原型我逊色多了。
That, however, is not my fault(过失).The grown-ups discouraged(使失去信心) me in my painter’s career(职业) when I was six years old,and I never learned to draw anything, except boas from the outside and boas from the inside.
但这不是我的错，六岁那次大人们的打击使我很沮丧，除了画过蟒蛇的外观图和内在图以外，我再也没有学着画画了。
Now I stared(凝视) at this sudden apparition(幽灵) with my eyes fairly starting out of my head in astonishment(惊讶).Remember, I had crashed(坠落) 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(晕倒) from fatigue(疲劳), 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?”
现在我突然被出现的这个离奇的小人注视着，我非常震惊。别忘了，我现在滞留在一个旷无人迹的沙漠里。而这个小人看起来并没有被困在沙漠中的感觉，也没有疲惫饥饿之感。感觉一点也不像是在旷无人迹的沙漠中走失的孩子。于是我开口跟他说话:“你在这儿做什么？”
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...”
他却不慌不忙地低声重复着，就像在谈论一件极其重要的一件事情:
“你能帮我画一只羊吗”
When a mystery(神秘事物) is too overpowering(不可抗拒的), one dare(敢) not disobey(不服从).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(纸张) of paper and my fountain-pen(钢笔).But then I remembered how my studies had been concentrated(集中) on geography, history, arithmetic(算术), 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...”
当一个东西过于神秘的时候，你将没有勇气去打破。尽管看起来有些可笑，我还是在人迹罕至，随时可能有生命危险的大荒漠中拿出了纸和笔。但是我突然意识到我一直集中在地理、历史、算术和语法的学习。于是我对这个小人说我不会画画。他回答到:“没关系，画一只羊就可以了”
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(震惊的) 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.
但我以前从来没画过羊，所以我给他画了我之前经常画的两幅画，就是蟒蛇外部轮廓那副。我惊奇的听见这个小人连连称赞，“不不，我不想让一头大象在蟒蛇肚子里，蟒蛇是很危险的动物，但是大象很笨重。我居住的地方所有东西都很小，我需要的是一只羊，给我画一只羊吧”。
于是我给他画了一只羊。
He looked at it carefully, then he said:“No. This sheep is already very sickly. Make me another.”
So I made another drawing.
他仔细地看着画，然后说“这只羊看起来已经严重的病了，给我重新画一副吧”。
我又重新画了一副。
My friend smiled gently and indulgently(宽厚地).
“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(拒绝) too, just like the others.
“This one is too old. I want a sheep that will live a long time.”
“你看见了你自己”，他说，“这不是一只绵阳，这是公羊，因为他有角”。
于是我又重新画了一副，但是他还是不同意，就像先前画的一样。
“这只太老了，我想要一只可以生活很长时间的绵阳”。
By this time my patience was exhausted(耗尽), 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.”
到现在我完全没有耐心了，因为我忙着把引擎的零件拆开，就草草地画了一张，并且还编了一个理由“这只是他的箱子，你要的绵阳在里面”。
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.”
我非常惊讶的看见这个小评委一脸微笑地说“我就想要这个！你觉得它需要一些草吗？”
“为什么？”
“因为我住的地方所有东西都很小”
“所以它确实需要足够的草”
我说“我给你话的是一只很小的绵羊”
He bent(弯曲) his head over the drawing:“Not so small that—Look! He has gone to sleep...”
And that is how I made the acquaintance(认识) of the little prince.
他低头看着这幅画:“它没有那么小，你看它睡着了”
这就是我与小王子相遇的全过程。
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