小王子 第58期:受到惊吓

 I had loosened the golden muffer that he always wore.

我解开了他一直带着的金黄色的围脖。

I had moistened his temples, and had given him some water to drink.

我用水渍湿了他的太阳穴，让他喝了点水。

And now I did not dare ask him any more questions.

这时，我什么也不敢再问他。

He looked at me very gravely, and put his arms around my neck.

他严肃地看着我，用双臂搂着我的脖子。

I felt his heart beating like the heart of a dying bird, shot with someone's rifle.

我感到他的心就象一只被枪弹击中而濒于死亡的鸟的心脏一样在跳动着。

"I am glad that you have found what was the matter with your engine," he said. "Now you can go back home–"

他对我说：“我很高兴，你找到了你的机器所缺少的东西。你不久就可以回家去了。”

How do you know about that?

你怎么知道的？

I was just coming to tell him that my work had been successful, beyond anything that I had dared to hope.

我正是来告诉他，在没有任何希望的情况下，我成功地完成了修理工作。

He made no answer to my question, but he added: "I, too, am going back home today. "

他不回答我的问题，却接着说道：“我今天回家。”

Then, sadly– It is much farther. it is much more diffcult...

要远得多…要难得多…

I realised clearly that something extraordinary was happening.

我清楚地感到发生了某种不寻常的事。

I was holding him close in my arms as if he were a little child;

我把他当作小孩一样紧紧抱在怀里，

and yet it seemed to me that he was rushing headlong toward an abyss from which I could do nothing to restrain him...

可是我感觉到他径直地向着一个无底深渊沉陷下去，我想法拉住他，却怎么也办不到…

His look was very serious, like some one lost far away.

他的眼神很严肃，望着遥远的地方。

"I have your sheep. And I have the sheep's box. And I have the muzzle¹... "

“我有你画的羊，羊的箱子和羊的嘴套子…”

And he gave me a sad smile. I waited a long time. I could see that he was reviving little by little.

他带着忧伤的神情微笑了。我等了很长时间，才觉得他身子渐渐暖和起来。

"Dear little man," I said to him, "you are afraid... "

小家伙，你受惊了…

He was afraid, there was no doubt about that.

他害怕了，这是无疑的！

But he laughed lightly. "I shall be much more afraid this evening... "

他却温柔地笑着说：“今天晚上，我会怕得更厉害…”

Once again I felt myself frozen by the sense of something irreparable.

我再度意识到要发生一件不可弥补的事。

1 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。