《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 03 重返镇子

And now it was only four days before he would be back in that same village.

四天后就要再次去那个镇子。

He was excited, and at the same time uneasy: maybe the girl had already forgotten him.

圣地亚哥既兴奋又忐忑：也许那个少女已经把他忘了。

Lots of shepherds passed through, selling their wool.

有很多卖羊毛的牧羊人去那个商店。

"It doesn't matter," he said to his sheep. "I know other girls in other places."

“没关系。”男孩对他的羊群说，“我在其他村镇也认识别的女孩子。”

But in his heart he knew that it did matter.

但是，他内心深处明白，这对他很重要。

And he knew that shepherds, like seamen¹ and like traveling salesmen,

不管是牧羊人、海员，还是推销员，

always found a town where there was someone who could make them forget the joys of carefree wandering.

总会有一个地方令他们魂牵梦萦，那里会有一个人让他们忘记自由自在周游世界的快乐。

The day was dawning, and the shepherd urged his sheep in the direction of the sun.

天刚破晓，圣地亚哥便赶着羊群朝日出的方向走去。

They never have to make any decisions, he thought. Maybe that's why they always stay close to me.

这些羊永远不需要拿什么主意。他想，也许这就是它们一直跟在我身边的原因。

The only things that concerned the sheep were food and water.

羊唯一需要的就是食物和水。

As long as the boy knew how to find the best pastures in Andalusia, they would be his friends.

只要他了解安达卢西亚最好的草场，羊群就将永远跟随他。

Yes, their days were all the same, with the seemingly endless hours between sunrise and dusk;

即使日复一日在日出日落之间苦熬，

and they had never read a book in their young lives, and didn't understand when the boy told them about the sights of the cities.

即使在其短暂的一生中从未读过一本书，也不懂人的语言，听不懂男孩讲述的新鲜事，

They were content with just food and water, and, in exchange, they generously gave of their wool, their company,

只要有水和食物，它们就心满意足。作为回报，它们慷慨地奉献出羊毛，心甘情愿地陪伴着牧人，

and—once in a while—their meat.

时不时还奉献出自己的肉。

If I became a monster today, and decided² to kill them, one by one,

如果我变成魔鬼，决定把它们一只接一只杀死，

they would become aware only after most of the flock had been slaughtered³, thought the boy.

它们也只在整个羊群几乎被杀光的时候才会有所察觉，男孩想。

They trust me, and they've forgotten how to rely on their own instincts, because I lead them to nourishment⁴.

因为它们相信我，而忘记了它们自己的本能。这只是因为我能引领它们找到食物。

1 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 nourishment   

n.食物，营养品；营养情况

参考例句：

• Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。
• He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。