小王子 第54期:现成的水井

 "Men," said the little prince, "set out on their way in express trains, but they do not know what they are looking for."

那些人们，他们往快车里拥挤，但是他们却不知道要寻找什么。

Then they rush about, and get excited, and turn round and round...

“于是，他们就忙忙碌碌，来回转圈子…”小王子说道。

And he added: "It is not worth the trouble..."

他接着又说：“这没有必要…”

The well that we had come to was not like the wells of the Sahara.

我们终于找到的这口井，不同于撒哈拉的那些井。

The wells of the Sahara are mere¹ holes dug in the sand.

撒哈拉的井只是沙漠中挖的洞。

This one was like a well in a village.

这口井则很象村子中的井。

But there was no village here, and I thought I must be dreaming...

可是，那里又没有任何村庄，我还以为是在做梦呢。

"It is strange," I said to the little prince. "Everything is ready for use: the pulley, the bucket, the rope... "

“真怪，”我对小王子说：“一切都是现成的：辘轳、水桶、绳子…”

He laughed, touched the rope, and set the pulley to working.

他笑了，拿着绳子，转动着辘轳。

And the pulley moaned², like an old weathervane which the wind has long since forgotten.

辘轳就象是一个长期没有风来吹动的旧风标一样，吱吱作响。

"Do you hear?" said the little prince. "We have wakened the well, and it is singing... "

“你听，”小王子说：“我们唤醒了这口井，它现在唱起歌来了…”

I did not want him to tire himself with the rope. "Leave it to me," I said. "It is too heavy for you."

我不愿让他费劲。我对他说：“让我来干吧。这活对你太重了。”

I hoisted³ the bucket slowly to the edge of the well and set it there– happy, tired as I was, over my achievement.

我慢慢地把水桶提到井栏上。我把它稳稳地放在那里。

The song of the pulley was still in my ears,and I could see the sunlight shimmer⁴ in the still trembling water.

我的耳朵里还响着辘轳的歌声。依然还在晃荡的水面上，我看见太阳的影子在跳动。

"I am thirsty for this water," said the little prince. "Give me some of it to drink... "

“我正需要喝这种水。”小王子说：“给我喝点…”

And I understood what he had been looking for.

这时我才明白了他所要寻找的是什么！

I raised the bucket to his lips. He drank, his eyes closed.

我把水桶提到他的嘴边。他闭着眼睛喝水。

It was as sweet as some special festival treat.

就象节日一般舒适愉快。

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 moaned   

v.呻吟，悲叹( moan的过去式和过去分词 )；抱怨；发出萧萧声

参考例句：

• Facer moaned out a sound and then closed his eyes. 费塞呻吟了一声，然后就闭上了眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sick child moaned a little, and then fell asleep. 那个生病的孩子呻吟了一会儿就睡着了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

4 shimmer   

v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光

参考例句：

• The room was dark,but there was a shimmer of moonlight at the window.屋子里很黑，但靠近窗户的地方有点微光。
• Nor is there anything more virginal than the shimmer of young foliage.没有什么比新叶的微光更纯洁无瑕了。