- the little prince befriends the fox
It was then that the fox appeared.
"Good morning," said the fox.
"Good morning," the little prince responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing.
"I am right here," the voice said, "under the apple tree."
"Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at."
"I am a fox," said the fox.
"Come and play with me," proposed the little prince. "I am so unhappy."
"I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed."
"Ah! Please excuse me," said the little prince.
But, after some thought, he added:
"What does that mean-- ’tame’?"
"You do not live here," said the fox. "What is it that you are looking for?"
"I am looking for men," said the little prince. "What does that mean-- ’tame’?"
"Men," said the fox. "They have guns, and they hunt. It is very disturbing. They also raise chickens. These are their only interests. Are you looking for chickens?"
"No," said the little prince. "I am looking for friends. What does that mean-- ’tame’?"
"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. It means to establish ties."
"’To establish ties’?"
"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."
"I am beginning to understand," said the little prince. "There is a flower... I think that she has tamed me..."
"It is possible," said the fox. "On the Earth one sees all sorts of things."
"Oh, but this is not on the Earth!" said the little prince.
The fox seemed perplexed, and very curious.
"On another planet?"
"Yes."
"Are there hunters on this planet?"
"No."
"Ah, that is interesting! Are there chickens?"
"No."
"Nothing is perfect," sighed the fox.
But he came back to his idea.
"My life is very monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life . I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the colour of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat..."
The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.
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小王子和狐狸交朋友
就在这当儿,跑来了一只狐狸。
“你好。”狐狸说。
“你好。”小王子很有礼貌地回答道。他转过身来,但什么也没有看到。
“我在这儿,在苹果树下。”那声音说。
“你是谁?”小王子说,“你很漂亮。”
“我是一只狐狸。”狐狸说。
“来和我一起玩吧,”小王子建议道,“我很苦恼…”
“我不能和你一起玩,”狐狸说,“我还没有被驯服呢。”
“啊!真对不起。”小王子说。
思索了一会儿,他又说道:
“什么叫‘驯服’呀?”
“你不是此地人。”狐狸说,“你来寻找什么?”
“我来找人。”小王子说,“什么叫‘驯服’呢?”
“人,”狐狸说,“他们有枪,他们还打猎,这真碍事!他们唯一的可取之处就是他们也养鸡,你是来寻找鸡的吗?”
“不,”小王子说,“我是来找朋友的。什么叫‘驯服’呢?”
“这是已经早就被人遗忘了的事情,”狐狸说,“它的意思就是‘建立联系’。”
“建立联系?”
“一点不错,”狐狸说。“对我来说,你还只是一个小男孩,就像其他千万个小男孩一样。我不需要你。你也同样用不着我。对你来说,我也不过是一只狐狸,和其他千万只狐狸一样。但是,如果你驯服了我,我们就互相不可缺少了。对我来说,你就是世界上唯一的了;我对你来说,也是世界上唯一的了。”
“我有点明白了。”小王子说,“有一朵花…,我想,她把我驯服了…”
“这是可能的。”狐狸说,“世界上什么样的事都可能看到…”
“啊,这不是在地球上的事。”小王子说。
狐狸感到十分蹊跷。
“在另一个星球上?”
“是的。”
“在那个星球上,有猎人吗?”
“没有。”
“这很有意思。那么,有鸡吗?”
“没有。”
“没有十全十美的。”狐狸叹息地说道。
可是,狐狸又把话题拉回来:
“我的生活很单调。我捕捉鸡,而人又捕捉我。所有的鸡全都一样,所有的人也全都一样。因此,我感到有些厌烦了。但是,如果你要是驯服了我,我的生活就一定会是欢快的。我会辨认出一种与众不同的脚步声。其他的脚步声会使我躲到地下去,而你的脚步声就会象音乐一样让我从洞里走出来。再说,你看!你看到那边的麦田没有?我不吃面包,麦子对我来说,一点用也没有。我对麦田无动于衷。而这,真使人扫兴。但是,你有着金黄色的头发。那么,一旦你驯服了我,这就会十分美妙。麦子,是金黄色的,它就会使我想起你。而且,我甚至会喜欢那风吹麦浪的声音…”
狐狸沉默不语,久久地看着小王子。
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