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"Don't think about what you've left behind," the alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sands of the desert.
“不要再想過去的事情了。”當他們在沙漠中策馬前行的時候，煉金術士說道。
"Everything is written in the Soul of the World, and there it will stay forever."
“一切都已銘刻在世界之魂上，并將永世長存。”
"Men dream more about coming home than about leaving," the boy said.
“人們更多的是夢想歸來，而不是離去，”圣地亞哥說道。
He was already reaccustomed to desert's silence.
他已經重新習慣了沙漠的寂靜。
"If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil.
“如果你碰到的是用純凈物質制成的東西，它將永遠不會腐朽。
And one can always come back.
而你總有一天會回來。
If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return."
如果你碰到的僅僅是像行星爆炸那樣一閃即逝的東西，那么返回的時候你將兩手空空。”
The man was speaking the language of alchemy.
他講的是煉金術的術語。
But the boy knew that he was referring to Fatima.
但是男孩明白他指的是法蒂瑪。
It was difficult not to think about what he had left behind.
不去想過去發生的事情是很難做到的。
The desert, with its endless monotony, put him to dreaming.
沙漠的景色幾乎一成不變，往往使人浮想聯翩。
The boy could still see the palm trees, the wells, and the face of the woman he loved.
男孩仍然看得到那些椰棗樹、那些水井，以及心愛女人的臉龐。
He could see the Englishman at his experiments, and the camel driver who was a teacher without realizing it.
他看得到正在做實驗的英國人，還有那個不知道自己是老師的趕駝人。
Maybe the alchemist has never been in love, the boy thought.
也許煉金術士從來沒有戀愛過，男孩心想。
The alchemist rode in front, with the falcon on his shoulder.
煉金術士騎著馬走在他前面，肩頭站著獵鷹。
The bird knew the language of the desert well, and whenever they stopped, he flew off in search of game.
獵鷹非常熟悉沙漠的語言，每當他們停下來的時候，它就飛出去尋找食物。
On the first day he returned with a rabbit, and on the second with two birds.
第一天，獵鷹帶回來一只野兔，第二天，帶回來兩只鳥。
At night, they spread their sleeping gear and kept their fires hidden.
夜晚，他們便鋪開毛毯，并不點篝火。
The desert nights were cold, and were becoming darker and darker as the phases of the moon passed.
沙漠的夜晚十分寒冷，月亮縮小了，天空隨之變得更加黑暗。
They went on for a week, speaking only of the precautions they needed to follow in order to avoid the battles between the tribes.
他們默默地走了一個星期，期間只交談了幾次，都是關于小心避開部落戰爭這個必要話題。
The war continued, and at times the wind carried the sweet, sickly smell of blood.
戰爭仍在繼續，有時風會帶來甜絲絲的血腥味兒。
Battles had been fought nearby, and the wind reminded the boy that there was the language of omens, always ready to show him what his eyes had failed to observe.
這表明附近曾發生過一場激烈的戰斗，風讓男孩想起，曾經有預兆顯現，預兆總會把男孩的眼睛看不到的東西隨時揭示出來。
