Chapter 22 Trains Without “Destinations”
“Good morning,” said the little prince.
“Good morning,” said the railway switchman.
“What do you do here?” the little prince asked.
“I sort out travelers, in bundles of a thousand,” said the switchman. “I send off the trains that carry them: now to the right, now to the left.”
And a brilliantly lighted express train shook the switchman’s cabin as it rushed by with a roar like thunder.
“They are in a great hurry,” said the little prince. “What are they looking for?”
“Not even the locomotive engineer knows that,” said the switchman.
And a second brilliantly lighted express thundered by, in the opposite direction.
“Are they coming back already?” demanded the little prince.
“They are not the same ones,” said the switchman. “It is an exchange.”
“Were they not satisfied where they were?” asked the little prince.
“No one is ever satisfied where he is,” said the switchman.
And they heard the roaring thunder of a third brilliantly lighted express.
locomotive engineer 机车司机
thunder by 呼啸而过
No one is ever satisfied where he is .没有人会安于现状。
“早上好。”小王子说。
“早上好。”扳道工说。
“你在这里干什么啊？”小王子问。
“我给旅客们分组，一千人一批。”扳道工说。“我为满载旅客的列车送行，它们有时开向左方，有时开向右方。”
一列灯火通明的火车带着雷鸣般的声音呼啸而过，扳道工的小屋被带的一阵抖动。
“他们可真匆忙。”小王子说。“他们在寻找什么？”
“这个可是连机车司机都不知道。”扳道工说。
第二辆灯火通明的列车从相反的方向呼啸而过。
“他们已经回来了吗？”小王子问到。
“这可不是同一辆列车。”扳道工说。“这是对开的火车。”
“他们不满意他们所在的地方吗？”小王子问。
“没有人会安于现状。”扳道工说。
第三辆灯火通明的列车呼啸而过。
“Are they pursuing the first travelers?” demanded the little prince.
“They are pursuing nothing at all,” said the switchman. “They are asleep in there, or if they are not asleep they are yawning. Only the children are flattening their noses against the windowpanes.”
“Only the children know what they are looking for,” said the little prince. “They waste their time over a rag doll and it becomes very important to them; and if anybody takes it away from them, they cry…”
“They are lucky,” the switchman said.
“他们在追赶第一辆列车吗？”小王子问。
“他们什么都没有追赶。”扳道工说。“他们可能在上面睡觉，如果没有睡觉的话就在打哈欠。只有孩子们把鼻子贴在窗玻璃上兴奋地看着窗外。
“只有孩子们知道他们在寻找什么。”小王子说。“他们把花费很多时间和布娃娃玩，所以布娃娃变的对他们很重要。如果有人把布娃娃拿走，他们会哭……”
“他们很幸运。”扳道工说。
