《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 62 男孩需要毅力和勇气

"Those are the rules of war," the leader explained.

“这是战争的规则。”商队首领解释道。

"The oases¹ may not shelter armies or troops."

因为有规定，所有的绿洲都不可以接纳军队或士兵。

To the boy's surprise, the Englishman took a chrome-plated revolver out of his bag and gave it to the men who were collecting the arms.

令男孩意想不到的是，英国人竟从外套口袋里掏出了一把镀铬的左轮手枪，交给了前来收缴武器的人。

"Why a revolver?" he asked.

“你带左轮手枪干吗？”男孩问。

"It helped me to trust in people," the Englishman answered.

“为了学会信任别人。”英国人回答。

Meanwhile, the boy thought about his treasure.

不过，男孩想到的是那笔财宝。

The closer he got to the realization² of his dream, the more difficult things became.

离自己的梦想越近，事情就变得越困难。

It seemed as if what the old king had called "beginner's luck" were no longer functioning.

撒冷王口中所谓“新手的运气”不再起作用。

In his pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence³ and courage.

男孩明白，现在需要的，是毅力和勇气。

So he could not be hasty, nor impatient.

因此，他不能莽撞行事，不能失去耐心。

If he pushed forward impulsively⁴, he would fail to see the signs and omens⁵ left by God along his path.

假如做不到这一点，最后他将看不到上帝在他前进道路上布下的预兆。

God placed them along my path. He had surprised himself with the thought.

上帝在我前进道路上布下预兆，男孩想，并对自己的想法感到吃惊。

Until then, he had considered the omens to be things of this world.

在这之前，他一直把预兆视作凡间的事情，

Like eating or sleeping, or like seeking love or finding a job.

就好像吃饭或睡觉之类的事情，或者就好像谈情说爱、谋求职位，

He had never thought of them in terms of a language used by God to indicate what he should do.

他从未想过，这是上帝给他指点迷津的方式。

"Don't be impatient," he repeated to himself.

不要失去耐心，男孩想，

"It's like the camel driver said: 'Eat when it's time to eat. And move along when it's time to move along.'"

就像赶驼人所说，该吃饭时吃饭，该走路时走路。

1 oases   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲( oasis的名词复数 )；（困苦中）令人快慰的地方（或时刻）；乐土；乐事

参考例句：

• There was a hundred miles between the two oases. 这两片绿洲间有一百英里。 来自辞典例句
• Where underground water comes to the surface, there are oases. 地下水流到地表的地方，就成为了绿洲。 来自互联网

2 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

3 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

4 impulsively   

adv.冲动地

参考例句：

• She leant forward and kissed him impulsively. 她倾身向前，感情冲动地吻了他。
• Every good, true, vigorous feeling I had gathered came impulsively round him. 我的一切良好、真诚而又强烈的感情都紧紧围绕着他涌现出来。

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