《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 22 老人祈愿牧羊少年得偿所愿

At the highest point in Tarifa there is an old fort, built by the Moors¹.

在小城塔里法的制高点有一座旧城堡，那是当年摩尔人修建的。

From atop its walls, one can catch a glimpse of Africa.

坐在城堡的高墙上，可以隐约看到非洲大陆的一角。

Melchizedek, the king of Salem, sat on the wall of the fort that afternoon, and felt the levanter blowing in his face.

撒冷之王麦基洗德那天下午正坐在城堡的高墙上，地中海的东风吹拂着他的脸庞。

The sheep fidgeted nearby, uneasy with their new owner and excited by so much change.

他身旁那几只羊由于害怕新主人，一直骚动不安，频繁的变化刺激了它们的神经。

All they wanted was food and water.

它们想要的仅仅是水和食物。

Melchizedek watched a small ship that was plowing² its way out of the port.

麦基洗德看了一眼正驶离港口的那条小船。

He would never again see the boy, just as he had never seen Abraham again after having charged him his one-tenth fee.

在得到了男孩十分之一的羊之后，他再也不会见到那男孩了，就如同再也见不到亚伯拉罕一样。

That was his work.

然而，他就是干这一行的。

The gods should not have desires, because they don't have personal legends.

神不应该有欲望，因为神没有天命，

But the king of Salem hoped desperately³ that the boy would be successful.

但是撒冷之王却由衷地祈愿牧羊少年得偿所愿。

It's too bad that he's quickly going to forget my name, he thought.

他想道，遗憾的是男孩很快便会忘掉我的名字。

I should have repeated it for him. Then when he spoke⁴ about me he would say that I am Melchizedek, the king of Salem.

当时我应该多重复几遍，那样的话，他今后提到我的时候，就会说我是麦基洗德，是撒冷之王。

He looked to the skies, feeling a bit abashed⁵, and said,

他抬头望向天空，有些后悔地说道：

"I know it's the vanity of vanities, as you said, my Lord. But an old king sometimes has to take some pride in himself."

“主啊，正如您所说，这是纯粹的虚荣，我明白这一点。不过一个老迈的王，有时需要为自己感到骄傲。”

1 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 plowing   

v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
• Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句

3 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 abashed   

adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He glanced at Juliet accusingly and she looked suitably abashed. 他怪罪的一瞥，朱丽叶自然显得很窘。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The girl was abashed by the laughter of her classmates. 那小姑娘因同学的哄笑而局促不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》