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The boy was sad as he left her that day.
男孩同法蒂瑪分手之后，無比郁悶。
He thought of all the married shepherds he had known.
他想起了他認識的許多已婚牧羊人。
They had a difficult time convincing their wives that they had to go off into distant fields.
牧羊人必須到野外去放羊，因此很難讓他們的妻子安心。
Love required them to stay with the people they loved.
愛情要求相愛的人廝守在一起。
He told Fatima that, at their next meeting.
第二天，他把這些想法告訴了法蒂瑪。
"The desert takes our men from us, and they don't always return," she said.
“沙漠帶走我們的男人，并不總是把他們再帶回來。”她說，
"We know that, and we are used to it.
“我們習慣了這種事。
Those who don't return become a part of the clouds, a part of the animals that hide in the ravines and of the water that comes from the earth.
那些沒回來的男人活在不下雨的云彩里，活在棲身石縫中的動物身上，活在大地慷慨吐出的泉水之中。
They become a part of everything ... they become the Soul of the World."
他們融入萬物，變成了世界之魂。”
"Some do come back. And then the other women are happy because they believe that their men may one day return, as well.
“有些男人回來了。于是所有的女人都非常髙興，因為其他女人等待的男人也有可能在某一天回來。
I used to look at those women and envy them their happiness. Now, I too will be one of the women who wait."
以前我看著那些女人，很羨慕她們幸福的樣子。如今我也有了期盼。”
"I'm a desert woman, and I'm proud of that. I want my husband to wander as free as the wind that shapes the dunes.
“作為沙漠中的女人，我為此而驕傲。希望我的男人像移動沙丘的風一樣自由。
And, if I have to, I will accept the fact that he has become a part of the clouds, and the animals and the water of the desert."
也希望能在云彩中、動物身上和泉水里看到我的男人。”
The boy went to look for the Englishman. He wanted to tell him about Fatima.
男孩去找英國人，想把自己和法蒂瑪的事告訴他。
He was surprised when he saw that the Englishman had built himself a furnace outside his tent.
當他看到英國人在自己的帳篷邊上建了個小爐灶，感到非常意外。
It was a strange furnace, fueled by firewood, with a transparent flask heating on top.
那爐灶十分古怪，上面還放著一只透明的玻璃瓶。
As the Englishman stared out at the desert, his eyes seemed brighter than they had when he was reading his books.
英國人正一面望著沙漠，一面往爐灶里加木柴。他的眼睛比以前埋頭讀書的時候明亮多了。
