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He thought of the merchant's daughter, and was sure that she had probably married.
后來，他又想起了那個商人的女兒，并確信她已經(jīng)結(jié)婚。
Perhaps to a baker, or to another shepherd who could read and could tell her exciting stories—after all, he probably wasn't the only one.
說不定是跟一個面包店店主，或者跟一個也會讀書識字和講神奇故事的牧羊人。畢竟，他不可能是唯一具有這類本事的牧羊人。
But he was excited at his intuitive understanding of the camel driver's comment:
男孩開始為自己的一種預感而驚訝不已：
maybe he was also learning the universal language that deals with the past and the present of all people.
也許他也在學習宇宙語言的歷史，宇宙語言能知道每個人的過去與未來。
"Hunches," his mother used to call them.
照他母親習慣的說法，這就是“預感”。
The boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life,
男孩明白了，預感就是靈魂飛快地投入生命的洪流當中，
where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it's all written there.
世上所有人的經(jīng)歷都在這洪流中聯(lián)系在一起。我們因此能無所不知，無所不曉，因為一切均已命中注定。
"Maktub," the boy said, remembering the crystal merchant.
“馬克圖布。”男孩說，想起了水晶店老板。
The desert was all sand in some stretches, and rocky in others.
沙漠里，有的地方黃沙遍野，有的地方亂石嶙峋。
When the caravan was blocked by a boulder, it had to go around it;
如果面前有一塊石頭，商隊繞過去就可以了；
if there was a large rocky area, they had to make a major detour.
如果遇到的是陡哨的山巖，那就得兜上一個大圈子。
If the sand was too fine for the animals' hooves, they sought a way where the sand was more substantial.
如果駱駝感覺沙粒過于細膩，它們就找沙子比較密實的地方通過。
In some places, the ground was covered with the salt of dried-up lakes.
有時，地面上覆蓋著一層鹽，那地方從前應該是一個湖泊。
The animals balked at such places, and the camel drivers were forced to dismount and unburden their charges. The drivers carried the freight themselves over such treacherous footing, and then reloaded the camels.
于是，牲口都不肯往前走。趕駝人便跳下地，把貨物背在身上，等通過那段難走的路之后，再把貨物放回牲口背上。
If a guide were to fall ill or die, the camel drivers would draw lots and appoint a new one.
如果某個領(lǐng)隊病了或是死了，他們就通過抓鬮選出一個新領(lǐng)隊。
But all this happened for one basic reason: no matter how many detours and adjustments it made, the caravan moved toward the same compass point.
所有這一切，都是因為無論繞行多少彎路，商隊永遠只朝著一個方向行進。
Once obstacles were overcome, it returned to its course, sighting on a star that indicated the location of the oasis.
克服所有障礙，循著那顆指示著綠洲方位的星斗前進。
When the people saw that star shining in the morning sky, they knew they were on the right course toward water, palm trees, shelter, and other people.
清晨，當人們望見那顆星星在天空中閃爍的時候，心中明白，它指示的地方，有水源、椰棗樹、住所和人們。
It was only the Englishman who was unaware of all this; he was, for the most part, immersed in reading his books.
只有英國人不在意這一切，大部分時間里，他都在埋頭讀書。
