評論
打印
"The oasis is neutral ground. No one attacks an oasis," said a third chieftain.
“綠洲是中立地區，沒人會攻擊一塊綠洲。”又有一個頭領說。
"I can only tell you what I saw. If you don't want to believe me, you don't have to do anything about it."
“我只是把我看到的東西講出來。如果你們不相信，可以不必理會。”
The men fell into an animated discussion.
隨后，部落頭領們熱烈地討論起來。
They spoke in an Arabic dialect that the boy didn't understand, but, when he made to leave, the guard told him to stay.
他們講的是一種阿拉伯方言，圣地亞哥根本聽不懂。可當他提出要離開的時候，一名衛兵讓他留下來。
The boy became fearful; the omens told him that something was wrong.
男孩開始擔心。預兆告訴他，事情不對頭了。
He regretted having spoken to the camel driver about what he had seen in the desert.
他后悔了，不該跟趕駝人講這件事。
Suddenly, the elder at the center smiled almost imperceptibly, and the boy felt better.
忽然，圣地亞哥看到坐在中間的那位老人露出一絲不易察覺的微笑，他平靜下來。
The man hadn't participated in the discussion, and, in fact, hadn't said a word up to that point.
老人沒有參與剛才的討論，到現在也沒有開口。
But the boy was already used to the Language of the World, and he could feel the vibrations of peace throughout the tent.
但是，男孩早已熟悉宇宙的語言，他能感覺到一種和平的氣氛籠罩了整座帳篷。
Now his intuition was that he had been right in coming. The discussion ended.
直覺告訴他，他來對了。討論結束了。
The chieftains were silent for a few moments as they listened to what the old man was saying.
大家靜下來，聽老人說話。
Then he turned to the boy: this time his expression was cold and distant.
過了一會兒，老人轉向圣地亞哥，表情變得嚴峻而冷漠。
"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.
“兩千年以前，在一個遙遠的地方，有一個相信夢的人被投入井內，后來被賣去做奴隸。”老人用圣地亞哥能聽懂的方言說道，
"Our merchants bought that man, and brought him to Egypt.
“我們的商隊買下了他，并帶回埃及。
All of us know that whoever believes in dreams also knows how to interpret them."
我們這兒的人都知道，相信夢的人也會解夢。”
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.
老人繼續說：“法老夢到了痩弱的牛和肥胖的牛，這個人幫法老解夢，使埃及避免了饑荒。
His name was Joseph. He, too, was a stranger in a strange land, like you, and he was probably about your age."
他的名字叫約瑟，和你一樣，也是個外國人，年齡也與你相仿。”
He paused, and his eyes were still unfriendly.
人們繼續沉默，老人的目光一直十分嚴厲。
"We always observe the Tradition.
“我們一向恪守傳統。
The Tradition saved Egypt from famine in those days, and made the Egyptians the wealthiest of peoples.
當初傳統把埃及從饑荒中解救出來，并使它成為最富有的國家。
The Tradition teaches men how to cross the desert, and how their children should marry.
傳統教給人們怎樣穿越沙漠，怎樣嫁女兒。
The Tradition says that an oasis is neutral territory, because both sides have oases, and so both are vulnerable."
傳統告訴我們，綠洲要保持中立，因為交戰雙方都有綠洲，而且很容易被攻破。”
No one said a word as the old man continued.
老人說話的時候，所有人都一聲不吭。
