《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 26 男孩哭了

The boy wanted to believe that his friend had simply become separated from him by accident.

圣地亚哥仍一厢情愿地认为，他们只是偶然失散了。

He decided¹ to stay right there and await his return.

他决定留在原地，等着少年回来。

As he waited, a priest climbed to the top of a nearby tower and began his chant;

过了一会儿，有个人爬上一座高塔，开始诵经。

everyone in the market fell to their knees, touched their foreheads to the ground, and took up the chant.

所有人都双膝跪倒，以头触地，亦跟着诵经。

Then, like a colony of worker ants, they dismantled² their stalls and left.

随后，人们像勤劳的蚂蚁般，拆掉摊位，四散而去。

The sun began its departure, as well.

太阳快要落山了。

The boy watched it through its trajectory³ for some time, until it was hidden behind the white houses surrounding the plaza⁴.

男孩望着太阳，望了许久，直到它隐藏到广场周围那些白色房屋的后面。

He recalled that when the sun had risen that morning,

男孩想起早晨太阳升起的时候，

he was on another continent, still a shepherd with sixty sheep, and looking forward to meeting with a girl.

他还在另一块大陆，还是个牧羊人，拥有六十只羊，而且要依约去见一个女孩。

That morning he had known everything that was going to happen to him as he walked through the familiar fields.

早晨，他走在田野上，那时，将会发生什么事情他全都知道。

But now, as the sun began to set, he was in a different country, a stranger in a strange land, where he couldn't even speak the language.

然而，太阳落山的此时此刻，他却已置身于异国他乡，身为异乡客，来到一个陌生的国度。在这里，他甚至听不懂人家说话。

He was no longer a shepherd, and he had nothing, not even the money to return and start everything over.

他已不再是牧羊人，已经一无所有，甚至连回程的钱都没有，何谈实现心愿？

All this happened between sunrise and sunset, the boy thought.

一切都发生在太阳东升和西落之前，男孩想。

He was feeling sorry for himself, and lamenting⁵ the fact that his life could have changed so suddenly and so drastically.

他为自己的处境感到难过。在生活中，事情有时会在一瞬间发生变化，人们根本来不及去适应这种变化。

He was so ashamed that he wanted to cry. He had never even wept in front of his own sheep.

他一向羞于流泪，甚至从未在他的羊群面前哭过。

But the marketplace was empty, and he was far from home, so he wept.

但此时，集市已散，广场上空空荡荡，他独自一人身在异地，远离家乡。男孩哭了。

He wept because God was unfair, and because this was the way God repaid those who believed in their dreams.

上帝如此不公平，竟以这种方式回报相信梦想的人。

When I had my sheep, I was happy, and I made those around me happy.

从前跟羊群在一起的时候，我很快乐，而且总是把快乐传达给周围的人。

People saw me coming and welcomed me, he thought.

大家看到我出现，都会热情款待。

But now I'm sad and alone. I'm going to become bitter and distrustful of people because one person betrayed me.

但是现在，我既伤心又郁闷。我会更加痛苦不堪，不再相信任何人，因为有人背叛了我。

I'm going to hate those who have found their treasure because I never found mine.

我会仇视那些找到秘密宝藏的人，因为我未能找到自己的宝藏。

And I'm going to hold on to what little I have, because I'm too insignificant⁶ to conquer the world.

我永远要尽全力保住手中所有，哪怕是很少的一点。因为我太渺小了，无法将整个世界揽在怀里。

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

3 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

4 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

5 lamenting   

adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Katydids were lamenting fall's approach. 蝈蝈儿正为秋天临近而哀鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lamenting because the papers hadn't been destroyed and the money kept. 她正在吃后悔药呢，后悔自己没有毁了那张字条，把钱昧下来！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

6 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。