評論
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"Did you say a king?" he asked.
“你剛才提到一位王？”他說。
"I guess you don't believe that a king would talk to someone like me, a shepherd," he said, wanting to end the conversation.
“而您并不相信王會和牧羊人對話。”男孩說道，這次是他想結束談話。
"Not at all. It was shepherds who were the first to recognize a king that the rest of the world refused to acknowledge.
“恰恰相反。正是牧羊人最先認識王，世上其余的人則拒絕認識他。
So, it's not surprising that kings would talk to shepherds."
因此，王很有可能會跟牧羊人交談。”
And he went on, fearing that the boy wouldn't understand what he was talking about,
由于擔心男孩聽不懂他說的話，
"It's in the Bible. The same book that taught me about Urim and Thummim.
英國人又補充說：“這是《圣經》里說的。是教會了我加工烏凌和圖明的那本書里說的。
These stones were the only form of divination permitted by God. The priests carried them in a golden breastplate."
這種寶石是上帝允許用于占卜的唯一物品。祭司們都把它們鑲嵌在一塊純金的胸牌上。”
The boy was suddenly happy to be there at the warehouse.
男孩很慶幸自己來到這個貨棧。
"Maybe this is an omen," said the Englishman, half aloud.
“也許這是一個預兆。”英國人故作深沉地說。
"Who told you about omens?" The boy's interest was increasing by the moment.
“誰跟您談到過預兆？”男孩的興趣越來越濃。
"Everything in life is an omen," said the Englishman, now closing the journal he was reading.
“生活中的一切都是預兆。”英國人道，說著便合上了正在閱讀的那本書。
"There is a universal language, understood by everybody, but already forgotten.
“宇宙中有一種人人都能懂的語言，但是這種語言已經被遺忘了。
I am in search of that universal language, among other things. That's why I'm here.
我正在尋找它，還有其他的東西，所以才來到這里。
I have to find a man who knows that universal language. An alchemist."
我必須找到一個了解這種語言的人，一位煉金術士。”
The conversation was interrupted by the warehouse boss.
他們的談話被貨棧老板打斷了。
"You're in luck, you two," the fat Arab said.
“你們二位運氣真好。”胖胖的阿拉伯人說道。
"There's a caravan leaving today for Al-Fayoum."
“今天下午就有一支商隊出發去法尤姆。”
"But I'm going to Egypt," the boy said.
“可我要去的是埃及。”男孩說。
"Al-Fayoum is in Egypt," said the Arab. "What kind of Arab are you?"
“法尤姆就在埃及。”貨棧老板說，“連這都不知道，你算什么阿拉伯人？”
"That's a good luck omen," the Englishman said, after the fat Arab had gone out. "If I could, I'd write a huge encyclopedia just about the words luck and coincidence. It's with those words that the universal language is written."
英國人待那胖胖的阿拉伯人走出去之后，說道，“如果有能力，我將撰寫一部恢弘的百科全書，專門論述‘運氣’與‘巧合’這兩個詞。宇宙的語言就是用這兩個詞書寫的。”
He told the boy it was no coincidence that he had met him with Urim and Thummim in his hand.
接著他又對男孩說，碰到手里拿著烏凌和圖明的人并不是“巧合”。
And he asked the boy if he, too, were in search of the alchemist.
他問男孩是不是也在尋找那個煉金術士。
"I'm looking for a treasure," said the boy, and he immediately regretted having said it.
“我在找一批財寶。”男孩說完，立刻就后悔了。
But the Englishman appeared not to attach any importance to it.
不過英國人似乎并未特別在意他的話。
"In a way, so am I," he said.
“從某個角度來說，我也在尋寶。”他說。
"I don't even know what alchemy is," the boy was saying, when the warehouse boss called to them to come outside.
當貨棧老板招呼他們出去時，男孩說了一句：“我根本不知道什么是煉金術。”
