《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 05 父亲的祝福

"People from all over the world have passed through this village, son," said his father.

“孩子，世界各地的人都到过这个村庄。”父亲说，

"They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived.

“他们为追求新奇而来，但是他们离开时和到来时没有差别。

They climb the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better than what we have now.

他们爬到山丘上去看城堡，认为城堡今不如昔。

They have blond hair, or dark skin, but basically they're the same as the people who live right here."

他们或是一头金发，或是皮肤黝黑，但他们和咱们村里的人没啥两样。”

"But I'd like to see the castles in the towns where they live," the boy explained.

“但是我却没见过他们家乡的城堡。”男孩反驳说。

"Those people, when they see our land, say that they would like to live here forever," his father continued.

那些人一旦了解了我们的田园，就会说他们愿意永远留在这里生活。”父亲说。

"Well, I'd like to see their land, and see how they live," said his son.

我希望了解他们生活的地方和他们的生活方式。”男孩说。

"The people who come here have a lot of money to spend, so they can afford to travel," his father said.

“那些人来时，口袋里装满了钱，这样才能负担旅途的费用，”父亲又说，

"Amongst us, the only ones who travel are the shepherds."

“而我们这里，只有牧羊人才四处游走。”

"Well, then I'll be a shepherd!"

“那我就去当牧羊人！”

His father said no more.

父亲没再说什么。

The next day, he gave his son a pouch¹ that held three ancient Spanish gold coins.

第二天，父亲给了男孩一个钱袋，里面有三枚古老的西班牙金币。

"I found these one day in the fields. I wanted them to be a part of your inheritance. But use them to buy your flock.

“有一天我在地里发现了它们。原本想当做遗产给你，现在你拿去买一群羊，

Take to the fields, and someday you'll learn that our countryside is the best, and our women the most beautiful."

去云游四方吧。总有一天，你会懂得，我们的家园才最有价值，我们这儿的女人才最漂亮。”

And he gave the boy his blessing².

父亲祝福了他。

The boy could see in his father's gaze a desire to be able, himself, to travel the world—

从父亲的目光中，男孩看出，父亲也想云游四方。

a desire that was still alive, despite his father's having had to bury it, over dozens of years, under the burden of struggling for water to drink, food to eat,

这个愿望一直存在，尽管几十年来他一直将这个愿望深埋心底，为吃喝而操劳，

and the same place to sleep every night of his life.

夜夜在同一个地方睡觉。

1 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

2 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。