That first day, everyone slept from exhaustion, including the Englishman.
到達(dá)綠洲的第一天,由于疲勞,很多人很快睡著了,英國(guó)人也睡了。
The boy was assigned a place far from his friend, in a tent with five other young men of about his age.
男孩離英國(guó)人住的地方很遠(yuǎn),和五個(gè)年齡與他相仿的小伙子睡在一個(gè)帳篷里。
They were people of the desert, and clamored to hear his stories about the great cities.
那五個(gè)小伙子都是沙漠里的人,很想聽聽大城市的故事。
The boy told them about his life as a shepherd, and was about to tell them of his experiences at the crystal shop when the Englishman came into the tent.
男孩談起了他此前的生活,正講到在水晶店的經(jīng)歷時(shí),英國(guó)人走進(jìn)了他們的帳篷。
"I've been looking for you all morning," he said, as he led the boy outside.
“我找了你整整一個(gè)上午。”英國(guó)人一邊說,一邊把男孩拉出帳篷,
"I need you to help me find out where the alchemist lives."
“我需要你幫我找那個(gè)煉金術(shù)士的住處。”
First, they tried to find him on their own.
一開始,他們想憑自己的力量去找。
An alchemist would probably live in a manner that was different from that of the rest of the people at the oasis,
煉金術(shù)士的生活方式應(yīng)該與綠洲里的其他居民不同。
and it was likely that in his tent an oven was continuously burning.
在他的帳篷里,很可能會(huì)有一只熊熊燃燒的火爐。
They searched everywhere, and found that the oasis was much larger than they could have imagined; there were hundreds of tents.
他們走了很多地方,到最后不得不承認(rèn),綠洲比他們想象中要大得多,足以支好幾百頂帳篷。
"We've wasted almost the entire day," said the Englishman, sitting down with the boy near one of the wells.
“我們差不多浪費(fèi)了一整天。”英國(guó)人說著,同男孩在一口水井旁坐下。
"Maybe we'd better ask someone," the boy suggested.
“也許,最好的辦法是找人打聽一下。”男孩說。

The Englishman didn't want to tell others about his reasons for being at the oasis, and couldn't make up his mind.
英國(guó)人不想讓別人知道他來綠洲的目的,所以猶豫了半天,
But, finally, he agreed that the boy, who spoke better Arabic than he, should do so.
不過,最后他還是同意了。他讓男孩去打聽,因?yàn)槟泻⒌陌⒗Z講得比他好。
The boy approached a woman who had come to the well to fill a goatskin with water.
于是,圣地亞哥便向一個(gè)正在井邊用羊皮水襄取水的婦女打聽。
"Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm trying to find out where the alchemist lives here at the oasis."
“下午好,太太。您能告訴我綠洲里的那位煉金術(shù)士住在哪兒?jiǎn)幔俊蹦泻枴?/div>
The woman said she had never heard of such a person, and hurried away.
那女人聲稱自己從未聽說過什么煉金術(shù)士,說完拔腿就走。
But before she fled, she advised the boy that he had better not try to converse with women who were dressed in black, because they were married women.
臨走之前,她告誡男孩不要與穿黑衣的女人說話,因?yàn)樗齻兌际且鸦榕恕?/div>
He should respect tradition.
他必須尊重當(dāng)?shù)氐娘L(fēng)俗。
The Englishman was disappointed. It seemed he had made the long journey for nothing.
英國(guó)人大失所望,生怕他這趟旅行一無所獲。
The boy was also saddened; his friend was in pursuit of his personal legend.
男孩也很難過,畢竟他這位同伴也在追尋自己的天命。
And, when someone was in such pursuit, the entire universe made an effort to help him succeed—that's what the old king had said.
撒冷王說過,當(dāng)一個(gè)人在追尋自己的天命時(shí),整個(gè)宇宙都會(huì)合力助他實(shí)現(xiàn)愿望。
He couldn't have been wrong.
老國(guó)王的話不會(huì)有錯(cuò)。
來源:可可英語 http://www.ccdyzl.cn/Article/202010/618848.shtml