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The Little Prince |Language: zh-cn Genres: Arts, Performing Arts Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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The Little Prince-Chapter 26 | 小王子-第26章
Episode 27
Tuesday, 28 April, 2026
The Little Prince — Chapter 26Beside the well there was the ruin of an old stone wall. When I came back from my work, the next evening, I saw from some distance away my little prince sitting on top of a wall, with his feet dangling. And I heard him say:"Then you don't remember. This is not the exact spot."Another voice must have answered him, for he replied to it:"Yes, yes! It is the right day, but this is not the place."I continued my walk toward the wall. At no time did I see or hear anyone. The little prince, however, replied once again:"—Exactly. You will see where my track begins, in the sand. You have nothing to do but wait for me there. I shall be there tonight."I was only twenty metres from the wall, and I still saw nothing. After a silence the little prince spoke again:"You have good poison? You are sure that it will not make me suffer too long?"I stopped in my tracks, my heart torn asunder; but still I did not understand."Now go away," said the little prince. "I want to get down from the wall."I dropped my eyes, then, to the foot of the wall—and I leaped into the air. There before me, facing the little prince, was one of those yellow snakes that take just thirty seconds to bring your life to an end. Even as I was digging into my pocket to get out my revolver I made a running step back. But, at the noise I made, the snake let himself flow easily across the sand like the dying spray of a fountain, and, in no apparent hurry, disappeared, with a light metallic sound, among the stones.I reached the wall just in time to catch my little prince in my arms; his face was as white as snow."What is this?" I said to him. "What are you doing talking with snakes?"I loosened his golden scarf that was always about his neck; I moistened his temples with a little water, and I made him drink some. Now I dared not ask him any more questions. He looked at me very gravely, and put his arms around my neck. I could feel his heart beating like the heart of a bird dying after being shot by a bullet.He said to me:"I am glad that you have found what was the matter with your engine. Now you can go back home—""How do you know about that?"I had just come to tell him the good news: that, contrary to all expectations, I had been able to repair my machine.He made no answer to my question, but added:"I too, am going back home today..."Then he said sadly—"It is much farther... it is much more difficult..."I realized clearly that something extraordinary was happening. I was holding him close in my arms as if he were a little child; and yet it seemed to me that he was rushing headlong toward an abyss from which I could do nothing to restrain him...His look was very serious, like someone lost far away."I have your sheep. And I have the sheep's box. And I have the muzzle..."And he gave me a sad smile.I waited a long time. I could see that he was reviving little by little."Dear little man," I said to him, "you are afraid..."He was afraid, and there was no doubt about that. But he laughed lightly."I shall be much more afraid this evening..."Once again I felt myself frozen by the sense of something irreparable. And I knew that I could not bear the thought of never hearing that laughter any more. For me, it was like a spring of fresh water in the desert."Little man," I said, "I want to hear you laugh again."But he said to me:"Tonight, it will be a year... my star, then, can be found right above the place where I came to the Earth, a year ago...""Little man," I said, "tell me that it is only a bad dream—this affair of the snake, and the meeting-place, and the star..."But he did not answer my plea. He said to me, instead:"The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen...""Yes, I know...""It is just as it is with the flower. If you love a flower that lives on a star, it is sweet to look at the sky at night. All the stars are abloom with flowers...""Yes, I know..."I looked at the sands stretching away into the darkness. We were not far from the well."I am going to have," he said, "look at the snake again. I am afraid of its teeth..."I felt a pang of anguish. But he added:"You understand. It is too far. I cannot carry this body with me. It is too heavy."I said nothing."But it will be like an old abandoned shell. There is nothing sad about old shells..."I said nothing.He was a little discouraged. But he made one more effort:"You know, it will be very nice. I, too, shall look at the stars. All the stars will be wells with a rusty pulley. All the stars will pour out fresh water for me to drink..."I said nothing."That will be so amusing. You will have five hundred million little bells, and I shall have five hundred million springs of fresh water..."And he too said nothing more, because he was crying.Here it is. Let me go on by myself."He sat down because he was afraid.He still hesitated a little. Then he got up. He took one step. But I could not move.There was nothing but a flash of yellow close to his ankle. After that he stood there motionless, and did not make any sound; then he fell gently to the ground, as softly as a tree falls, without even making a sound from the sand.I have never since found the place where he fell.
