《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 60 炼金术士寻找弟子（在线收听）

The times rush past, and so do the caravans, thought the alchemist, as he watched the hundreds of people and animals arriving at the oasis.

日月如梭，商队也穿行如梭，当看到数百人的商队连同牲口来到绿洲的时候，炼金术士不禁想。

People were shouting at the new arrivals, dust obscured the desert sun, and the children of the oasis were bursting with excitement at the arrival of the strangers.

绿洲里的人跟在刚刚到达的人群后面大呼小叫，扬起的尘土遮蔽了太阳，孩子们见到陌生人，兴奋得又蹦又跳。

The alchemist saw the tribal chiefs greet the leader of the caravan, and converse with him at length.

炼金术士看到部落头领们朝商队首领走过去，双方交谈了很长时间。

But none of that mattered to the alchemist.

但是，炼金术士对这一切不感兴趣。

He had already seen many people come and go, and the desert remained as it was.

人们来了又去，他见得多了，而绿洲和沙漠却依然如故。

He had seen kings and beggars walking the desert sands.

他见过国王和乞丐踏上那些沙丘，

The dunes were changed constantly by the wind, yet these were the same sands he had known since he was a child.

沙丘随风不断改变形状，但沙子却依旧是他从小就熟悉的沙子。

He always enjoyed seeing the happiness that the travelers experienced when, after weeks of yellow sand and blue sky, they first saw the green of the date palms.

尽管如此，看到脚踏黄沙，头顶蓝天，长途跋涉的旅行者们见到绿色椰枣树时的狂喜，炼金术士内心深处仍不由自主地为他们感到高兴。

Maybe God created the desert so that man could appreciate the date trees, he thought.

也许真主创造沙漠的目的，就是为了让人们见到椰枣树的时候能开心地笑，他想。

He decided to concentrate on more practical matters.

接着，他决定考虑一下更为实际的事情。

He knew that in the caravan there was a man to whom he was to teach some of his secrets. The omens had told him so.

他明白，他必须把自己知道的部分秘密传授给那支商队里的一个人，预兆已经向他揭示了这一点。

He didn't know the man yet, but his practiced eye would recognize him when he appeared.

目前他还不知道那个人是谁，但是只要见到那人，他这双经验丰富的眼睛就能辨认出来。

He hoped that it would be someone as capable as his previous apprentice.

但愿那人也像他前一个弟子那么有能力。

I don't know why these things have to be transmitted by word of mouth, he thought.

我不明白为什么这些事情必须要口耳相传，他想。

It wasn't exactly that they were secrets; God revealed his secrets easily to all his creatures.

这不完全是因为它们是秘密，真主向来是慷慨地向世人披露秘密的。

He had only one explanation for this fact:

对这种现象他只有一种解释：

things have to be transmitted this way because they were made up from the pure life, and this kind of life cannot be captured in pictures or words.

这些事情必须以这种方式传授，因为它们是由纯粹的生命体构成的，而这类生命体用图画和文字很难捕捉得到。

Because people become fascinated with pictures and words, and wind up forgetting the Language of the World.

人们由于迷恋图画和文字，忘记了宇宙的语言。