《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 93 男孩的心已经返回世界之魂

"So, we, their hearts, speak more and more softly.

于是，我们心发出的声音越来越微弱。

We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won't be heard:

但我们绝不会住口，我们退让，不再让人们听到我们的话语，

we don't want people to suffer because they don't follow their hearts."

因为我们不愿让人们由于不服从心声而遭受痛苦。”

"Why don't people's hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?" the boy asked the alchemist.

“为什么心不告诉人们，他们应该追寻自己的梦想呢？”男孩问炼金术士。

"Because that's what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don't like to suffer."

“因为这样一来，心将会忍受更大的痛苦，而它不喜欢忍受痛苦。”

From then on, the boy understood his heart. He asked it, please, never to stop speaking to him.

从那一天开始，男孩理解了自己的心。他请求心永远不要离开他。

He asked that, when he wandered far from his dreams, his heart press him and sound the alarm.

他还请求，在他远离了自己的梦想时，心要在胸膛里加快跳动，发出报警信号。

The boy swore that, every time he heard the alarm, he would heed¹ its message.

男孩发誓，一旦他听到这个信号，就立刻遵从行事。

That night, he told all of this to the alchemist.

那天夜里，他同炼金术士谈到了这一切。

And the alchemist understood that the boy's heart had returned to the Soul of the World.

炼金术士明白，男孩的心已经返回了世界之魂。

"So what should I do now?" the boy asked.

“目前我该怎么做？”男孩问。

"Continue in the direction of the Pyramids," said the alchemist.

“继续朝金字塔前进，”炼金术士说道。

"And continue to pay heed to the omens². Your heart is still capable of showing you where the treasure is."

“而且要继续留意所有预兆。你的心已经能够为你指出藏宝之地了。”

"Is that the one thing I still needed to know?"

“这就是我需要知道的吗？”

"No," the alchemist answered.

“不，”炼金术士回答。

"What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way.

“你需要知道的事情是：在实现一个梦想之前，世界之魂永远都会对寻梦者途中所学到的一切进行检验。

It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams,

这种做法并无恶意，仅仅是为了不让我们远离梦想，

master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up.

并让我们获得寻梦过程中学到的经验教训。这是大多数人可能会放弃寻梦的一个时刻。

It's the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.'"

用沙漠的语言，我们称之为‘渴死在椰枣树出现在地平线上的时刻’”。

"Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor's being severely³ tested."

每个人的寻梦过程都是以‘新手的运气’为开端，又总是以‘对远征者的考验’收尾。”

The boy remembered an old proverb from his country.

男孩想起了家乡一句古老的谚语。

It said that the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn.

那谚语说，夜色之浓，莫过于黎明前的黑暗。

1 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

2 omens   

n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The omens for the game are still not propitious. 这场比赛仍不被看好。 来自辞典例句
• Such omens betide no good. 这种征兆预示情况不妙。 来自辞典例句

3 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。