《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 84 男孩决定和炼金术士走

"During the third year, the omens¹ will continue to speak of your treasure and your personal legend.

“第三年，预兆会继续向你提示你那财宝和你的天命。

You'll walk around, night after night, at the oasis², and Fatima will be unhappy because she'll feel it was she who interrupted your quest.

你会整夜整夜地在绿洲踱来踱去，而法蒂玛将成为一个忧伤的女人，因为是她使你中断了前进的道路。

But you will love her, and she'll return your love.

但是你还会爱她，她也爱你。

You'll remember that she never asked you to stay, because a woman of the desert knows that she must await her man.

你会回想起她从未要求你留下，因为一个沙漠中的女人知道，应该等待她的男人。

So you won't blame her.

所以，你不会怪罪她。

But many times you'll walk the sands of the desert, thinking that maybe you could have left ... that you could have trusted more in your love for Fatima.

但是，你会有许多个夜晚在沙漠里和椰枣树间徘徊，思考着也许当初应该继续前行，并更加相信自己对法蒂玛的爱。

Because what kept you at the oasis was your own fear that you might never come back.

因为促使你留在绿洲的原因，是你害怕自己再也不会回来。

At that point, the omens will tell you that your treasure is buried forever."

到这时，预兆将告诉你，你的财宝将永远被埋在地下。”

"Then, sometime during the fourth year, the omens will abandon you, because you've stopped listening to them.

“第四年，预兆将会放弃你，因为你不再理会它们。

The tribal³ chieftains will see that, and you'll be dismissed from your position as counselor⁴.

部落头领们将会明白这一点，而你的顾问一职将被解除。

But, by then, you'll be a rich merchant, with many camels and a great deal of merchandise.

到那时，你将成为富商，拥有很多骆驼和货物。

You'll spend the rest of your days knowing that you didn't pursue your personal legend, and that now it's too late."

但是，你的余生都将在沙漠和椰枣树之间游荡，你明白自己没有完成天命，那时再想去做，已经为时晚矣。”

"You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his personal legend.

“你将永远不明白，爱情从来不会阻止一个男人去追寻天命。

If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love ... the love that speaks the Language of the World."

如果阻止，定因为那不是真正的爱情，不是用宇宙语言表达的爱情。”

The alchemist erased⁵ the circle in the sand, and the snake slithered away among the rocks.

炼金术士将地上的圆圈抹掉，那条蛇便飞快地爬走，消失在乱石之中。

The boy remembered the crystal merchant who had always wanted to go to Mecca, and the Englishman in search of the alchemist.

圣地亚哥想起了那个一直向往去麦加朝圣的水晶店老板和寻找炼金术士的英国人。

He thought of the woman who had trusted in the desert.

男孩想起了相信沙漠的法蒂玛。

And he looked out over the desert that had brought him to the woman he loved.

他看向沙漠，正是沙漠把他带到了他心爱的女人身边。

They mounted their horses, and this time it was the boy who followed the alchemist back to the oasis.

他们跨上马背，这一次男孩走在炼金术士后面。

The wind brought the sounds of the oasis to them, and the boy tried to hear Fatima's voice.

风儿带来了绿洲的喧闹声，他想辨别出法蒂玛的声音。

But that night, as he had watched the cobra within the circle, the strange horseman with the falcon⁶ on his shoulder had spoken of love and treasure, of the women of the desert and of his personal legend.

这天晚上，他们看着圆圈中的毒蛇时，那位肩头停着猎鹰的神秘骑士谈到了爱情、财宝、沙漠的女人和他的天命。

"I'm going with you," the boy said. And he immediately felt peace in his heart.

“我跟你走。”男孩说完，内心立刻平静下来。

"We'll leave tomorrow before sunrise," was the alchemist's only response.

炼金术士只说了一句话：“明天太阳出来之前，我们就动身。”

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 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

3 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

4 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

5 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。