《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 27 男孩察看宝石

He opened his pouch¹ to see what was left of his possessions; maybe there was a bit left of the sandwich he had eaten on the ship.

圣地亚哥打开褡裢，看看里面，或许还有点在船上吃剩下的三明治。

But all he found was the heavy book, his jacket, and the two stones the old man had given him.

然而，他只找到那本厚书、那件外套和老人送给他的两块宝石。

As he looked at the stones, he felt relieved for some reason.

一看到宝石，他顿时觉得轻松了许多。

He had exchanged six sheep for two precious stones that had been taken from a gold breastplate.

他用六只羊换来了这两块宝石，它们是从一面纯金胸牌上取下来的。

He could sell the stones and buy a return ticket.

他可以卖掉宝石，买一张回程的船票。

But this time I'll be smarter, the boy thought, removing them from the pouch so he could put them in his pocket.

这回我可得机灵点，男孩一边想，一边将宝石从褡裢里拿出来，藏进衣服口袋里。

This was a port town, and the only truthful² thing his friend had told him was that port towns are full of thieves.

这里是港口，这是那少年对他说的唯一一句真话：凡是港口，总免不了盗贼充斥。

Now he understood why the owner of the bar had been so upset: he was trying to tell him not to trust that man.

现在，他明白了酒吧老板发脾气的原因：那老板试图告诉他不要轻信那个少年。

"I'm like everyone else—I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does."

我和别人没什么两样：总是以理想的眼光看待世界，以为事情会按理想的方式发展，而不会用现实的眼光看待世界，看不到事情真相。他想。

He ran his fingers slowly over the stones, sensing their temperature and feeling their surfaces. They were his treasure.

圣地亚哥再一次察看那两块宝石，小心翼翼地依次抚摸它们，感觉到了宝石的温度和光滑。这是他的一笔财富。

Just handling them made him feel better. They reminded him of the old man.

单是摸摸它们，心里就踏实了许多。宝石让他想起了那位老者。

"When you want something, all the universe conspires³ in helping⁴ you to achieve it," he had said.

“当你想要某种东西时，整个宇宙会合力助你实现愿望。”老人曾这样对他说。

The boy was trying to understand the truth of what the old man had said.

圣地亚哥很想弄明白那句话是否真实。

There he was in the empty marketplace, without a cent to his name, and with not a sheep to guard through the night.

他正站在一个空荡荡的市场上，身无分文，今晚也没有羊群需要他照管。

But the stones were proof that he had met with a king—a king who knew of the boy's past.

然而，他曾遇到过一位王，这宝石就是明证。王知道他的经历。

"They're called Urim and Thummim, and they can help you to read the omens⁵."

老人还告诉他：“这两块宝石是占卜用的，名叫乌凌和图明。”

The boy put the stones back in the pouch and decided⁶ to do an experiment.

男孩将两块宝石放回褡裢，他决定做个试验。

The old man had said to ask very clear questions, and to do that, the boy had to know what he wanted.

老人说过，问问题要清楚明白，因为宝石只对知道自己欲求的人起作用。

So, he asked if the old man's blessing⁷ was still with him.

男孩先问，老人对他的祝福是否依然有效。

He took out one of the stones. It was "yes."

他掏出的是那块意味着“是”的黑宝石。

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 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

3 conspires   

密谋( conspire的第三人称单数 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• You speak as if all Sparta conspires against you. 你说得好像整个斯巴达在共谋对抗你。
• The mystical organization syndicate, conspires to harass the social order. 神秘组织辛迪加，密谋扰乱社会治安。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 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

6 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。

7 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。