《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 20 分手前,老人给男孩讲故事(1)

"Don't forget that everything you deal with is only one thing and nothing else. And don't forget the language of omens¹.

“不要忘了万物皆为一物，不要忘了各种预兆的表达方式，

And, above all, don't forget to follow your personal legend through to its conclusion."

不要忘了去完成你的天命。”

"But before you go, I want to tell you a little story."

不过，分手之前，我还想给你讲个小故事。”

"A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world.

“一位商人派他的儿子去向人类的智慧大师讨教幸福的秘密。

The lad wandered through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain.

少年在沙漠中跋涉了四十天，最后来到一座美丽的城堡。城堡坐落在高山之巅，

It was there that the wise man lived."

少年寻找的智慧大师就住在那里。”

"Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity:

“少年没有遇到圣人，却走进了一个大厅，看见一派热闹的场面：

tradesmen came and went, people were conversing² in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music,

商人进进出出，四周角落里的人在聊天，一支小乐队演奏着曼妙的轻音乐，

and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world.

桌子上摆满了当地的美味珍馐。

The wise man conversed³ with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man's attention."

智慧大师在同所有的人交谈，足足等了两个小时才轮到少年。”

"The wise man listened attentively⁴ to the boy's explanation of why he had come,

“智慧大师认真地听完少年陈述此番来访的目的，

but told him that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness.

却说他此刻没时间给他讲解幸福的秘密。

He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours."

他建议少年现在他的城堡里转一转，两个小时之后再回来见他。”

"'Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something,' said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon⁵ that held two drops of oil.

“‘同时，我想请你办件事。’智慧大师说着，递给少年一把茶匙，并在茶匙里滴了两滴油。

'As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.'"

‘你走路的时候拿着这把茶匙，不要让油洒出来。’”

"The boy began climbing and descending⁶ the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed⁷ on the spoon.

“少年开始沿着城堡的大小台阶上上下下，两眼始终盯着那茶匙不放。

After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was."

两个小时之后，他回到智慧大师面前。”

1 omens   

n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The omens for the game are still not propitious. 这场比赛仍不被看好。 来自辞典例句
• Such omens betide no good. 这种征兆预示情况不妙。 来自辞典例句

2 conversing   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 conversed   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 )

参考例句：

• I conversed with her on a certain problem. 我与她讨论某一问题。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She was cheerful and polite, and conversed with me pleasantly. 她十分高兴，也很客气，而且愉快地同我交谈。 来自辞典例句

4 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 teaspoon   

n.茶匙

参考例句：

• Add one teaspoon of sugar.加一小茶匙糖。
• I need a teaspoon to stir my tea.我需要一把茶匙搅一搅茶。

6 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。