就在這當(dāng)兒，跑來了一只狐貍。

“你好?！焙傉f。

“你好?！毙⊥踝雍苡卸Y貌地回答道。他轉(zhuǎn)過身來，但什么也沒有看到。

“我在這兒，在蘋果樹下?！蹦锹曇粽f。

“你是誰？”小王子說，“你很漂亮?！?/p>

“我是一只狐貍?！焙傉f。

“來和我一起玩吧，”小王子建議道，“我很苦惱……”

“我不能和你一起玩，”狐貍說，“我還沒有被馴服呢。”

“??！真對不起?！毙⊥踝诱f。

思索了一會兒，他又說道：

“什么叫‘馴服’呀？”

“你不是此地人?！焙傉f，“你來尋找什么？”

“我來找人?！毙⊥踝诱f，“什么叫‘馴服’呢？”

“人，”狐貍說，“他們有槍，他們還打獵，這真礙事！他們唯一的可取之 處就是他們也養(yǎng)雞，你是來尋找雞的嗎？”

“不，”小王子說，“我是來找朋友的。什么叫‘馴服’呢？”

“這是已經(jīng)早就被人遺忘了的事情，”狐貍說，“它的意思就是‘建立聯(lián)系’?！?/strong>

“建立聯(lián)系？”

“一點不錯，”狐貍說。“對我來說，你還只是一個小男孩，就像其他千萬個小男孩一樣。我不需要你。你也同樣用不著我。對你來說，我也不過是一只狐貍，和其他千萬只狐貍一樣。但是，如果你馴服了我，我們就互相不可缺少了。對我來說，你就是世界上唯一的了；我對你來說，也是世界上唯一的了?！?/strong>

“我有點明白了?！毙⊥踝诱f，“有一朵花……，我想，她把我馴服了……”

“這是可能的?！焙傉f，“世界上什么樣的事都可能看到……”

“啊，這不是在地球上的事。”小王子說。

狐貍感到十分蹊蹺。

“在另一個星球上？”

“是的?！?/p>

“在那個星球上，有獵人嗎？”

“沒有?！?/p>

“這很有意思。那么，有雞嗎？”

“沒有?！?/p>

“沒有十全十美的?！焙倗@息地說道。

可是，狐貍又把話題拉回來：

“我的生活很單調(diào)。我捕捉雞，而人又捕捉我。所有的雞全都一樣，所有的人也全都一樣。因此，我感到有些厭煩了。但是，如果你要是馴服了我，我的生活就一定會是歡快的。我會辨認(rèn)出一種與眾不同的腳步聲。其他的腳步聲會使我躲到地下去，而你的腳步聲就會象音樂一樣讓我從洞里走出來。再說，你看！你看到那邊的麥田沒有？我不吃面包，麥子對我來說，一點用也沒有。我對麥田無動于衷。而這，真使人掃興。但是，你有著金黃色的頭發(fā)。那么，一旦你馴服了我，這就會十分美妙。麥子，是金黃色的，它就會使我想起你。而且，我甚至?xí)矚g那風(fēng)吹麥浪的聲音……”

狐貍沉默不語，久久地看著小王子。

“請你馴服我吧！”他說。

“我是很愿意的?！毙⊥踝踊卮鸬溃翱晌业臅r間不多了。我還要去尋找朋友，還有許多事物要了解?！?/p>

“只有被馴服了的事物，才會被了解。”狐貍說，“人不會再有時間去了解任何東西的。他們總是到商人那里去購買現(xiàn)成的東西。因為世界上還沒有購買朋友的商店，所以人也就沒有朋友。如果你想要一個朋友，那就馴服我吧！”

“那么應(yīng)當(dāng)做些什么呢？”小王子說。

“應(yīng)當(dāng)非常耐心。”狐貍回答道，“開始你就這樣坐在草叢中，坐得離我稍微遠些。我用眼角瞅著你，你什么也不要說。話語是誤會的根源。但是，每天，你坐得靠我更近些……”

第二天，小王子又來了。

“最好還是在原來的那個時間來?！焙傉f道，“比如說，你下午四點鐘來，那么從三點鐘起，我就開始感到幸福。時間越臨近，我就越感到幸福。到了四點鐘的時候，我就會坐立不安；我就會發(fā)現(xiàn)幸福的代價。但是，如果你隨便什么時候來，我就不知道在什么時候該準(zhǔn)備好我的心情……應(yīng)當(dāng)有一定的儀式?！?/p>

“儀式是什么？”小王子問道。

“這也是一種早已被人忘卻了的事?！焙傉f，“它就是使某一天與其他日子不同，使某一時刻與其他時刻不同。比如說，我的那些獵人就有一種儀式。他們每星期四都和村子里的姑娘們跳舞。于是，星期四就是一個美好的日子！我可以一直散步到葡萄園去。如果獵人們什么時候都跳舞，天天又全都一樣，那么我也就沒有假日了?！?/p>

就這樣，小王子馴服了狐貍。當(dāng)出發(fā)的時刻就快要來到時：

“??！”狐貍說，“我一定會哭的?！?/p>

“這是你的過錯，”小王子說，“我本來并不想給你任何痛苦，可你卻要我馴 服你……”

“是這樣的?！焙傉f。

“你可就要哭了！”小王子說。

“當(dāng)然羅?！焙傉f。

“那么你什么好處也沒得到?！?/p>

“由于麥子顏色的緣故，我還是得到了好處?！焙傉f。

_____________________________

It was thenthat the fox appeared.

"Goodmorning," said the fox.

"Goodmorning," the little prince responded politely, although when heturned around he saw nothing.

"I am righthere," the voice said, "under the appletree."

"Who are you?"asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to lookat."

"I am a fox,"said the fox.

"Come and playwith me," proposed the little prince. "I am sounhappy."

"I cannot playwith you," the fox said. "I am not tamed."

"Ah! Pleaseexcuse me," said the little prince.

But, aftersome thought, he added:

"What doesthat mean-- 'tame'?"

"You do notlive here," said the fox. "What is it that you are lookingfor?"

"I am lookingfor men," said the little prince. "What does that mean--'tame'?"

"Men," saidthe fox. "They have guns, and they hunt. It is very disturbing.They also raise chickens. These are their only interests. Are youlooking for chickens?"

"No," said thelittle prince. "I am looking for friends. What does that mean--'tame'?"

"It is an acttoo often neglected," said the fox. It means to establishties."

"'To establishties'?"

"Just that,"said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boywho is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I haveno 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 willbe unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all theworld..."

"I ambeginning to understand," said the little prince. "There is aflower... I think that she has tamed me..."

"It ispossible," said the fox. "On the Earth one sees all sorts ofthings."

"Oh, but thisis not on the Earth!" said the littleprince.

The fox seemedperplexed, and very curious.

"On anotherplanet?"

"Yes."

"Are therehunters on this planet?"

"No."

"Ah, that isinteresting! Are there chickens?"

"No."

"Nothing isperfect," sighed the fox.

But he cameback to his idea.

"My life isvery monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. Allthe 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 beas if the sun came to shine on my life . I shall know the sound ofa step that will be different from all the others. Other steps sendme hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, likemusic, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fieldsdown yonder? I do not ea t bread. Wheat is of no use to me. Thewheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But youhave hair that is the colour of gold. Think how wonderful that willbe when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, willbring me bac k the thought of you. And I shall love to listen tothe wind in the wheat..."

The fox gazedat the little prince, for a long time.

"Please-- tameme!" he said.

"I want to,very much," the little prince replied. "But I have not much time. Ihave friends to discover, and a great many things tounderstand."

"One onlyunderstands the things that one tames," said the fox. "Men have nomore time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made atthe shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buyfriendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want afriend, tame me..."

"What must Ido, to tame you?" asked the little prince.

"You must bevery patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at alittle distance from me-- like that-- in the grass. I shall look atyou out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Wordsare the source of misunderstandings. But yo u will sit a littlecloser to me, every day..."

The next daythe little prince came back.

"It would havebeen better to come back at the same hour," said the fox. "If, forexample, you come at four o'clock in the afternoon, then at threeo'clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happieras the hour advances. At four o'clock, I shall already be worryingand jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am! But if you comeat just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to beready to greet you... One must observe the properrites..."

"What is arite?" asked the little prince.

"Those alsoare actions too often neglected," said the fox. "They are what makeone day different from other days, one hour from other hours. Thereis a rite, for example, among my hunters. Every Thursday they dancewith the village girls. So Thursday is a wonderful day for me! Ican take a walk as far as the vineyards. But if the hunters dancedat just any time, every day would be like every other day, and Ishould never have any vacation at all."

So the littleprince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drewnear--

"Ah," said thefox, "I shall cry."

"It is yourown fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort ofharm; but you wanted me to tame you..."

"Yes, that isso," said the fox.

"But now youare going to cry!" said the little prince.

"Yes, that isso," said the fox.

"Then it hasdone you no good at all!"

"It has doneme good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields."And then he added:

"Go and lookagain at the roses. You will understand now that yours is unique inall the world. Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will makeyou a present of a secret."

The littleprince went away, to look again at theroses.

"You are notat all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one hastamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when Ifirst knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand otherfoxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in allthe world."

And the roseswere very much embarrassed.

"You arebeautiful, but you are empty," he went on. "One could not die foryou. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my roselooked just like you-- the rose that belongs to me. But in herselfalone she is more important than all the hundreds of you otherroses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is shethat I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that Ihave sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I havekilled the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved tobecome butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to,when she grumbled, or boasted, or even sometimes when she saidnothing. Because she is my rose.

And he wentback to meet the fox.

"Goodbye," hesaid.

"Goodbye,"said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: Itis only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essentialis invisible to the eye."

"What isessential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, sothat he would be sure to remember.

"It is thetime you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose soimportant."

"It is thetime I have wasted for my rose--" said the little prince, so thathe would be sure to remember.

"Men haveforgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it.You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You areresponsible for your rose..."

"I am responsible for my rose," the little princerepeated, so that he would be sure to remember.