《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 42 男孩离开水晶店

"When you want something, all the universe conspires¹ to help you achieve it," the old king had said.

“当你想要某种东西时，整个宇宙会合力助你实现愿望。”老迈的撒冷王这样说过。

But the old king hadn't said anything about being robbed, or about endless deserts, or about people who know what their dreams are but don't want to realize them.

但是，撒冷王却没说过有人会骗取钱财，没说过大沙漠浩瀚无垠，没说过会有知道自己的梦想却不愿去实现的人。

The old king hadn't told him that the Pyramids were just a pile of stones, or that anyone could build one in his backyard.

撒冷王也没说过金字塔只不过是一个大石头堆，而且谁都可以在自家后院里造一个。

And he had forgotten to mention that, when you have enough money to buy a flock² larger than the one you had before, you should buy it.

还有一件事他也忘记说了：当手上的钱足够买下比原来还要多的羊群时，就应该买下它们。

The boy picked up his pouch³ and put it with his other things.

男孩拿起褡裢，把它同其他包放在一起。

He went down the stairs and found the merchant waiting on a foreign couple, while two other customers walked about the shop, drinking tea from crystal⁴ glasses.

他走下楼梯，老板正在接待一对外国夫妇。同时还有两位顾客一边在店里转悠，一边端着水晶杯喝茶。

It was more activity than usual for this time of the morning.

早晨能有这些顾客就相当不错了。

From where he stood, he saw for the first time that the old merchant's hair was very much like the hair of the old king.

男孩头一次发现，老板的头发非常像撒冷王的头发。

He remembered the smile of the candy seller⁵, on his first day in Tangier, when he had nothing to eat and nowhere to go—that smile had also been like the old king's smile.

他想起了甜食商贩的微笑，那是他来到丹吉尔的第一天，当时他正走投无路，没有食物充饥。那微笑也使他想起撒冷王。

It's almost as if he had been here and left his mark, he thought. And yet, none of these people has ever met the old king.

撒冷王似乎曾经从这里经过并留下了记号，男孩想道，他们这辈子从来就没见到过那位老迈的王。

On the other hand, he said that he always appeared to help those who are trying to realize their personal legend.

但不管怎样，他说过，他总会出现在为天命而奋斗的人面前。

He left without saying good-bye to the crystal merchant. He didn't want to cry with the other people there.

男孩没有跟水晶店老板告别就走了。他不想别人看到自己流泪。

He was going to miss the place and all the good things he had learned⁶.

然而，他将怀念这段时光，怀念学到的所有美好东西。

He was more confident in himself, though, and felt as though he could conquer⁷ the world.

他的自信心更强了，有一种征服世界的冲动。

"But I'm going back to the fields that I know, to take care of my flock again."

“但是，我正要奔赴我熟悉的田野，重新去放牧羊群。”

He said that to himself with certainty⁸, but he was no longer happy with his decision.

他肯定地说道，但他不再为自己的决定感到高兴。

He had worked for an entire year to make a dream come true, and that dream, minute by minute, was becoming less important.

他为实现梦想整整干了一年，而这个梦想正一分一秒地失去其重要意义。

Maybe because that wasn't really his dream.

也许那并不是他的梦想。

1 conspires   

密谋( conspire的第三人称单数 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• You speak as if all Sparta conspires against you. 你说得好像整个斯巴达在共谋对抗你。
• The mystical organization syndicate, conspires to harass the social order. 神秘组织辛迪加，密谋扰乱社会治安。

2 flock   

n.羊群，一群，大量；vi.群集，聚集，成群

参考例句：

• A flock of customers were waiting for the store to open.一群顾客在等候着商店开门。
• A few sheep have been lost from the flock.羊群里少了几只羊。

3 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

4 crystal   

n.水晶，水晶饰品，结晶体；最好的玻璃器皿

参考例句：

• It used to be a crystal stream.那曾是条清澈见底的小溪。
• Those fine wine glasses are made of crystal.那些漂亮的酒杯是用水晶做的。

5 seller   

n.售货者，畅销品

参考例句：

• I hope for this book to become a best seller.我希望这本书会成为一本畅销书。
• She drove a hard bargain with the seller.她狠杀卖主的价。

6 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

7 conquer   

vt.克服，征服，战胜，占领；vi.得胜

参考例句：

• There is always one thing to conquer another.一物降一 物。
• Will can conquer habit.意志能战胜习惯。

8 certainty   

n.必然的事，确定的事实，确信，确实

参考例句：

• I can't say with any certainty where I shall be next week.我不能确切地说下周我在什么地方。
• I know for a certainty that the company has been bought up.我确实知道公司已经被人收购了。