介绍:
The Alchemist 原文 （54）
The men fell into an animated discussion. They spoke in an Arabic dialect that the boy didn't understand, but, when he made to leave, the guard told him to stay. The boy became fearful; the omens told him that something was wrong. He regretted having spoken to the camel driver about what he had seen in the desert.
Suddenly, the elder at the center smiled almost imperceptibly, and the boy felt better. The man hadn't participated in the discussion, and, in fact, hadn't said a word up to that point. But the boy was already used to the Language of the World, and he could feel the vibrations of peace throughout the tent. Now his intuition was that he had been right in coming.
The discussion ended. The chieftains were silent for a few moments as they listened to what the old man was saying. Then he turned to the boy: this time his expression was cold and distant.
"Two thousand years ago, in a distant land, a man who believed in dreams was thrown into a dungeon and then sold as a slave," the old man said, now in the dialect the boy understood. "Our merchants bought that man, and brought him to Egypt. All of us know that whoever believes in dreams also knows how to interpret them."
The elder continued, "When the pharaoh dreamed of cows that were thin and cows that were fat, this man I'm speaking of rescued Egypt from famine. His name was Joseph. He, too, was a stranger in a strange land, like you, and he was probably about your age."
He paused, and his eyes were still unfriendly.
"We always observe the Tradition. The Tradition saved Egypt from famine in those days, and made the Egyptians the wealthiest of peoples. The Tradition teaches men how to cross the desert, and how their children should marry. The Tradition says that an oasis is neutral territory, because both sides have oases, and so both are vulnerable."
No one said a word as the old man continued.
"But the Tradition also says that we should believe the messages of the desert. Everything we know was taught to us by the desert."
The old man gave a signal, and everyone stood. The meeting was over. The hookahs were extinguished, and the guards stood at attention. The boy made ready to leave, but the old man spoke again:
"Tomorrow, we are going to break the agreement that says that no one at the oasis may carry arms. Throughout the entire day we will be on the lookout for our enemies. When the sun sets, the men will once again surrender their arms to me. For every ten dead men among our enemies, you will receive a piece of gold.
"But arms cannot be drawn unless they also go into battle. Arms are as capricious as the desert, and, if they are not used, the next time they might not function. If at least one of them hasn't been used by the end of the day tomorrow, one will be used on you."
When the boy left the tent, the oasis was illuminated only by the light of the full moon. He was twenty minutes from his tent, and began to make his way there.
He was alarmed by what had happened. He had succeeded in reaching through to the Soul of the World, and now the price for having done so might be his life. It was a frightening bet. But he had been making risky bets ever since the day he had sold his sheep to pursue his destiny. And, as the camel driver had said, to die tomorrow was no worse than dying on any other day. Every day was there to be lived or to mark one's departure from this world. Everything depended on one word: "Maktub."
Walking along in the silence, he had no regrets. If he died tomorrow, it would be because God was not willing to change the future. He would at least have died after having crossed the strait, after having worked in a crystal shop, and after having known the silence of the desert and Fatima's eyes. He had lived every one of his days intensely since he had left home so long ago.
If he died tomorrow, he would already have seen more than other shepherds, and he was proud of that.
The Alchemist 译文 （54）
那些长老开始讨论起来，他们用一种阿拉伯方言交谈，那是男孩听不懂的语言，不过当他打算离去时，警卫叫他等一下。男孩警戒起来，预兆告诉他事情不对劲了，他真后悔告诉了骆驼夫关于他看见的景象。
忽然，中间那位长老微微笑着，这让男孩觉得好过一些。这位长老并未加入讨论，事实上，他尚未对这件事发表意见。不过男孩已经可以从熟悉的宇宙之语中感觉出，一股平和的能量波贯穿帐篷内。现在他的直觉告诉他来对了。
讨论结束，其他所有的长老都安静下来倾听老人说的话。然后老人转过头来对男孩说话，这一次他的表情冷酷而淡漠。
“两千年以前，在一个遥远地方，有一个人因为相信梦中启示，被丢进一座地牢里，并且被卖身为奴，”老人用着男孩能够听懂的话对他说，“我们的商人买下这个人，把他带到埃及去。我们都知道任何相信梦中启示的人，也能够正确地解梦。”
老人继续说，“当法老梦见七只肥壮的母牛和七只瘦弱的母牛时，我说的这个人帮法老解梦并拯救埃及免于饥荒（注9）。这个人名叫约瑟，他就跟你一样，也是一个来自陌生土地上的陌生人，说不定也跟你同样年纪。”
他停顿了一下，而他的眼光仍然不怎么友善。
“我们仍然观察传统。传统在那时拯救埃及免于饥荒，让埃及人变成最富裕的民族。传统也教导人们如何才能横越沙漠，以及小孩如何结婚。传统说绿洲是一处中立的地区，因为打仗的双方都有自己的绿洲，因此彼此都不可以去侵犯。”所有人都安靜听着，老人继续说道：“不过传统也告诉我们必须相信沙漠给予的讯息。我们知道的所有事情都是沙漠教我们的。”
老人打了个手势，所有人都站起来，会议结束了。水烟筒熄灭，警卫也立正站立着。男孩正准备离开，老人却继续说：“明天我们会打破绿洲里不许武装的约定。一整天我们都会留神戒备敌人是否来临。当日落以后，所有人必须再把武器交还给我。每杀十个敌军，你就可以得到一块金子。“
可是，军队武装一定是要为了战争，因为武装行动就跟沙漠一样难以控制，如果这次他们没派上用场，那么下一次就很难叫他们行动起来。如果明天日落以前都没有人上战场，那么至少就会有一个人把枪剑对准你。”
当男孩离开时，整座绿洲被满月的月光照耀着。那里离他住的帐篷仅只二十分钟路程，他慢慢走回去。
他被刚发生的事情震慑住了。他已经成功地触及了天地之心，然而他却可能必须用生命作为代价。这真是个恐怖的赌注!话说回来，他也曾经下过一个风险很高的赌注，那就是当他把全部羊卖掉来追寻他的天命时。骆驼夫也说过，明天死并不会比死在其他任何一天更糟。每一天都会有人活着，或者离开这个世间，每件事都是Maktub。
他安静地走着，并不觉得后悔。如果他明天会死，那也是因为神不愿意改变未来。至少在他死前，他已经横渡了海峡，曾经在一间水晶商店工作，也理解了沙漠的沉默，还有法谛玛的眼睛。自从很久以前离开家乡后，他已经充实地度过了每一天。即使明天死去，他也已经见识过比其他牧羊人更多的事情了，他为自己感到骄傲。
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