The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.
狐狸沉默不语，久久地看着小王子。
"Please-- tame me!" he said.
“请你驯服我吧！”他说。
"I want to, very much," the little prince replied. "But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand."
“我是很愿意的。”小王子回答道，“可我的时间不多了。我还要去寻找朋友，还有许多事物要了解。”
"One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox. "Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops.
只有被驯服了的事物，才会被了解。”狐狸说，“人不会再有时间去了解任何东西的。他们总是到商人那里去购买现成的东西。
But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me..."
“因为世界上还没有购买朋友的商店，所以人也就没有朋友。如果你想要一个朋友，那就驯服我吧！”
"What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.
“那么应当做些什么呢？”小王子说。
"You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me-- like that-- in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing.
“应当非常耐心。”狐狸回答道，“开始你就这样坐在草丛中，坐得离我稍微远些。我用眼角瞅着你，你什么也不要说。
Words are the source of misunderstandings. But yo u will sit a little closer to me, every day..."
话语是误会的根源。但是，每天，你坐得靠我更近些…”
The next day the little prince came back.
第二天，小王子又来了。
"It would have been better to come back at the same hour," said the fox. "If, for example, you come at four o'clock in the afternoon, then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy.
“最好还是在原来的那个时间来。”狐狸说道，“比如说，你下午四点钟来，那么从三点钟起，我就开始感到幸福。时间越临近，我就越感到幸福。
I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o'clock, I shall already be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am!
到了四点钟的时候，我就会坐立不安；我就会发现幸福的代价。
But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you... One must observe the proper rites..."
但是，如果你随便什么时候来，我就不知道在什么时候该准备好我的心情…应当有一定的仪式。”
