《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 111 炼金术士把金子分给修士和男孩

When the pan had cooled, the monk¹ and the boy looked at it, dazzled.

锅冷却之后，修士和男孩直看得眼花缭乱。

The lead had dried into the shape of the pan, but it was no longer lead. It was gold.

铅水已经凝固成了圆形硬块，但已不再是铅，那是黄金！

"Will I learn to do that someday?" the boy asked.

“将来我也要学会做这个吗？”男孩问。

"This was my personal legend, not yours," the alchemist answered. "But I wanted to show you that it was possible."

“这是我的天命，不是你的。”炼金术士回答，“但是我要告诉你，这是可能做到的。”

They returned to the gates of the monastery². There, the alchemist separated the disk into four parts.

他们走到修道院门口。在那里，炼金术士把金子分成了四块。

"This is for you," he said, holding one of the parts out to the monk. "It's for your generosity³ to the pilgrims."

“这块给你，”他边说边把其中一块递给修士，“因为你对待路人十分慷慨。”

"But this payment goes well beyond my generosity," the monk responded.

“我得到的报酬远甚于我的慷慨。”修士回答。

"Don't say that again. Life might be listening, and give you less the next time."

“永远别再这么说。生活会听在耳内，下一次就会少给你。”

The alchemist turned to the boy. "This is for you. To make up for what you gave to the general."

然后，他走到男孩跟前。“这块给你，就当偿还你留给那指挥官的金币。”

The boy was about to say that it was much more than he had given the general.

男孩想说这比他留下的钱多多了。

But he kept quiet, because he had heard what the alchemist said to the monk.

但没有开口，因为刚才他听到了炼金术士对修士说的话。

"And this is for me," said the alchemist, keeping one of the parts.

“这一块是给我自己的，”炼金术士边说边收起一块，

"Because I have to return to the desert, where there are tribal⁴ wars."

“因为我必须穿过沙漠返回，而那里的部落之间正在发生战争。”

He took the fourth part and handed it to the monk. "This is for the boy. If he ever needs it."

然后，他拿起第四块金子，再次递给修士。“这一块是留给这个男孩的，如果将来他需要。”

"But I'm going in search of my treasure," the boy said. "I'm very close to it now."

“但是，我要去寻找我的财宝，现在离财宝已经很近了。”男孩说。

"And I'm certain you'll find it," the alchemist said.

“我相信你一定能找到。”炼金术士说。

"Then why this?" "Because you have already lost your savings⁵ twice. Once to the thief, and once to the general.

“那您这么做又是为什么呢？”“因为你已经两次失去了旅途中挣的钱，一次是受骗上当，一次是给了别人。

I'm an old, superstitious⁶ Arab, and I believe in our proverbs. There's one that says,

我是个迷信的阿拉伯老头，我相信自己家乡的一个谚语：

'Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.'"

所有发生过一次的事，可能永远不会再发生；但所有发生过两次的事，肯定还会发生第三次。”

They mounted their horses.

他们骑上各自的马。

1 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

2 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

3 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

4 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。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 superstitious   

adj.迷信的

参考例句：

• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
• These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。