《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 09 男孩离开老妇人（在线收听）

The boy was surprised, and then irritated. He didn't need to seek out the old woman for this!

男孩感到有点意外，然后又很气愤。要是为这样一个解释，他根本没必要来找这老妇人。

But then he remembered that he wasn't going to have to pay anything.

好歹最后他想起来，自己并未付任何费用。

"I didn't need to waste my time just for this," he said.

“我没必要浪费时间来听这样的解释。”他说。

"I told you that your dream was a difficult one.

“所以我先前就对你说过，你的梦非常难解。

It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them.

简单的事情往往最异乎寻常，只有智者才能看透。

And since I am not wise, I have had to learn other arts, such as the reading of palms."

我不是智者，所以必须有其他的能耐，比如看手相。”

"Well, how am I going to get to Egypt?"

“那么，我怎样才能到埃及呢？”

"I only interpret dreams. I don't know how to turn them into reality. That's why I have to live off what my daughters provide me with."

“我只管解梦，不会把梦变成现实。因此，我只能依靠女儿们养活。”

"And what if I never get to Egypt?"

“如果我到不了埃及呢？”

"Then I don't get paid. It wouldn't be the first time."

“那我就拿不到酬金了。这是常事。”

And the woman told the boy to leave, saying she had already wasted too much time with him.

之后，老妇人没再说什么。她让男孩离开，因为她在他身上花费的时间已经够多了。

So the boy was disappointed; he decided that he would never again believe in dreams.

圣地亚哥失望地走了，他决定永远不再相信梦。

He remembered that he had a number of things he had to take care of:

想起还有几件事需要办，

he went to the market for something to eat, he traded his book for one that was thicker,

他先去商店买了些吃的，又用手上的书换了一本更厚的书，

and he found a bench in the plaza where he could sample the new wine he had bought.

然后坐在公园里一条长凳上品尝刚买来的新酿葡萄酒。

The day was hot, and the wine was refreshing.

是个大热天，葡萄酒使他的身体凉爽了些。

The sheep were at the gates of the city, in a stable that belonged to a friend.

羊群留在了城门外，关在他的一个朋友家的羊圈里。

The boy knew a lot of people in the city.

在那一带，他认识很多人。

That was what made traveling appeal to him—he always made new friends, and he didn't need to spend all of his time with them.

这正是他喜欢云游四方的原因，因为总能结交新明友，而且不必天天跟他们低头不见抬头见。

When someone sees the same people every day, as had happened with him at the seminary,

当总是面对同样的面孔，像在神学院里那样，

they wind up becoming a part of that person's life.

就会渐渐让那些人成为生活的一部分。

And then they want the person to change.

而由于他们是你生活的一部分，当然就想改变你的生活。

If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry.

如果你不像他们所期望的那样，他们就会不高兴。

Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.

因为，对于该怎样生活，所有人都有固定的观念。但是他们对于自己该怎样生活却一头雾水。

He decided to wait until the sun had sunk a bit lower in the sky before following his flock back through the fields.

他决定等日头落一落，再领着羊群继续赶路。

Three days from now, he would be with the merchant's daughter.

再过三天，他就能见到那个女孩了。

He started to read the book he had bought. On the very first page it described a burial ceremony.

他开始阅读那本换来的书。开卷第一页讲的是一场葬礼。

And the names of the people involved were very difficult to pronounce.

人物的名字十分复杂。

If he ever wrote a book, he thought, he would present one person at a time, so that the reader wouldn't have to worry about memorizing a lot of names.

男孩想，倘若有一天我写书，就只写一个人物，好让读者不必费心去记人名。