第二十六章[第1页/共10页]

“是的，我懂……”

"I shall be much more afraid this evening..."Once again I felt myself frozen by the sense of something irreparable. And I knew that I could not bear the thought of never hearing that laughter any more. For me, it was like a spring of fresh water in the desert.

“你如何晓得的？”

"It is just as it is with the water. Because of the pulley, and the rope, what you gave me to drink was like music. You remember― how good it was.""Yes, I know..."

"What does this mean" I demanded. "Why are you talking with snakes"I had loosened the golden muffler that he always wore. I had moistened his temples, and had given him some water to drink. And now I did not dare ask him any more questions. He looked at me very gravely, and put his arms around my neck. I felt his heart beating like the heart of a dying bird, shot with someone’s rifle...

这时，他又笑了。

他踌躇了一下，然后站起来。他迈出了最后一步。我一动都不能动。

And he took me by the hand. But he was still worrying.

“那多么好玩啊！你将有五亿个铃铛，我将有五亿口水井……”

我也坐了下来，因为我再也站立不住了。他说道：“就是现在……就如许了。”

“我也一样，明天，要回家去了……”

这时，他又笑了。

I was just coming to tell him that my work had been successful, beyond anything that I had dared to hope. He made no answer to my question, but he added:"I, too, am going back home today..."Then, sadly―