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On the seventh day, the alchemist decided to make camp earlier than usual.
第七天傍晚，煉金術士決定改變以往的習慣，早一點安排住宿。
The falcon flew off to find game, and the alchemist offered his water container to the boy.
獵鷹飛出去尋找獵物了，煉金術士取出旅行水壺遞給男孩。
"You are almost at the end of your journey," said the alchemist.
“現在你就要到達這次旅行的終點了，”煉金術士說。
"I congratulate you for having pursued your personal legend."
“祝賀你追隨了自己的天命。”
"And you've told me nothing along the way," said the boy.
“您一直默默地為我引路，”男孩說。
"I thought you were going to teach me some of the things you know.
“我以為您會把掌握的本領教給我呢。
A while ago, I rode through the desert with a man who had books on alchemy. But I wasn't able to learn anything from them."
前些時候，我曾和一個帶著煉金術書籍的人相處過，但是沒能學到什么。”
"There is only one way to learn," the alchemist answered.
“要想學到本事，只有一種方式，”煉金術士回答說。
"It's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey. You need to learn only one thing more."
“那就是行動。你需要學會的一切，這次旅行都教給你了。只缺少一樣。”
The boy wanted to know what that was, but the alchemist was searching the horizon, looking for the falcon.
男孩想知道是什么，可煉金術士的眼睛卻盯著地平線，等待獵鷹回來。
"Why are you called the alchemist?"
“為什么人們叫您煉金術士？”
"Because that's what I am."
“因為我就是煉金術士。”
"And what went wrong when other alchemists tried to make gold and were unable to do so?"
“別的煉金術士也在冶煉黃金，都不成功，他們到底錯在哪兒？”
"They were looking only for gold," his companion answered.
“他們一門心思追求黃金，”他的同伴回到道。
"They were seeking the treasure of their personal legend, without wanting actually to live out the personal legend."
尋求天命中的財寶，卻不愿履行自己的天命。”
"What is it that I still need to know?" the boy asked.
“我還有什么需要學的東西？”男孩追問。
But the alchemist continued to look to the horizon.
但煉金術士仍舊凝視著地平線。
And finally the falcon returned with their meal.
過了一段時間，獵鷹帶著食物回來了。
They dug a hole and lit their fire in it, so that the light of the flames would not be seen.
他們挖了一個洞，在洞中點上火，為的是不讓任何人看見火光。
"I'm an alchemist simply because I'm an alchemist," he said, as he prepared the meal.
“由于我是煉金術士，所以我是煉金術士。”做飯的時候，煉金術士說道。
"I learned the science from my grandfather, who learned from his father, and so on, back to the creation of the world.
“我從我祖父那里學會煉金術，我祖父是從他祖父那里學會的，這樣可以一直追溯到創世之初。
In those times, the Master Work could be written simply on an emerald.
當時，煉金術的全部知識可以寫在一塊普通的翡翠板上。
But men began to reject simple things, and to write tracts, interpretations, and philosophical studies.
但是人們根本不重視普通的事物，便開始著書立說，作出詮釋，并進行哲學研究。
They also began to feel that they knew a better way than others had. Yet the Emerald Tablet is still alive today."
他們還宣稱自己比別人更通曉此道。但是那塊翡翠板一直保存至今。”
