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On the following day, the first clear sign of danger appeared.
第二天，首次出現了真切的危險預兆。
Three armed tribesmen approached, and asked what the boy and the alchemist were doing there.
三名當地士兵向他們走來，詢問他們到這里來做什么。
"I'm hunting with my falcon," the alchemist answered.
“我帶著獵鷹來這里打獵。”煉金術士回答。
"We're going to have to search you to see whether you're armed," one of the tribesmen said.
“我們必須進行捜查，看看你們是否攜帶武器。”一名士兵說。
The alchemist dismounted slowly, and the boy did the same.
煉金術士慢條斯理地下了馬，男孩也下了馬。
"Why are you carrying money?" asked the tribesman, when he had searched the boy's bag.
“你帶這么多錢干什么？”看到男孩的錢袋時，一名士兵問。
"I need it to get to the Pyramids," he said.
“為了去埃及的路上用。”男孩回答。
The tribesman who was searching the alchemist's belongings found a small crystal flask filled with a liquid,
搜查煉金術士的士兵發現了一個裝滿液體的小玻璃瓶，
and a yellow glass egg that was slightly larger than a chicken's egg.
還有一塊比雞蛋稍大一點的卵形黃色玻璃。
"What are these things?" he asked.
“這些是什么東西？”士兵問道。
"That's the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life. It's the Master Work of the alchemists.
“點金石和長生不老液。這是煉金術士們煉出的元精。
Whoever swallows that elixir will never be sick again, and a fragment from that stone turns any metal into gold."
誰要是喝了這種液體，就永遠不會得病，而這塊石頭的一點碎片就能將任何金屬變成黃金。”
The Arabs laughed at him, and the alchemist laughed along.
士兵們哈哈大笑起來。煉金術士也跟著他們一起大笑。
They thought his answer was amusing, and they allowed the boy and the alchemist to proceed with all of their belongings.
士兵覺得煉金術士的回答非常可笑，便不再為難他們，讓他們帶著自己的全部東西走。
"Are you crazy?" the boy asked the alchemist, when they had moved on. "What did you do that for?"
“您瘋了嗎？”他們走出很遠以后，圣地亞哥問煉金術士，“您為什么要那樣說呢？”
"To show you one of life's simple lessons," the alchemist answered.
“為了向你證實一個簡單的真理，”煉金術士回答。
"When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed."
“當巨大的財富就在我們眼前時，我們卻從來都覺察不到，因為人們不相信財寶存在。”
They continued across the desert.
他們繼續在沙漠中趕路。
With every day that passed, the boy's heart became more and more silent.
日子一天天過去，男孩的心一天比一天平靜。
It no longer wanted to know about things of the past or future;
它已經不想知道過去的或者將來的事情，
it was content simply to contemplate the desert, and to drink with the boy from the Soul of the World.
它只滿足于觀望沙漠，和男孩一起汲取世界之魂。
The boy and his heart had become friends, and neither was capable now of betraying the other.
男孩和他的心成了好朋友，彼此都不違背對方的意愿。
