I ask the indulgence of the children who may read this book for dedicating it to a grown-up. I have a serious reason: he is the best friend I have in the world. I have another reason: this grown-up understands everything, even books about children. I have a third reason: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs cheering up. If all these reasons are not enough, I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew. All grown-ups were once children-although few of them remember it. And so I correct my dedication:

To Leon Werth when he was a little boy

我請(qǐng)求小讀者們?cè)徫野堰@本書(shū)獻(xiàn)給了一個(gè)成年人。我有一個(gè)正當(dāng)?shù)睦碛?，該得到大家的諒解，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)人是我在世界上最要好的朋友；我還有另一個(gè)理由，那就是這個(gè)人善解一切，甚至善解專(zhuān)為兒童寫(xiě)的書(shū)；我的第三個(gè)理由則是，這個(gè)人住在法國(guó)，過(guò)著饑寒交迫的生活，需要得到安慰。如果這幾條理由還不充足的話，那我就愿意把這本書(shū)獻(xiàn)給曾經(jīng)做過(guò)兒童的那個(gè)成年人。所有的成年人本來(lái)都是兒童，可惜很少有成年人還記得這一點(diǎn)。因此，我不妨把我的題詞改為：

獻(xiàn)給雷昂·維爾特

當(dāng)他還是一個(gè)小男孩的時(shí)候