《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 97 二人继续行进

"There are many languages spoken by things," the boy said.

“万物讲许多种语言，”男孩说。

"There was a time when, for me, a camel's whinnying was nothing more than whinnying.

“我看到，骆驼的嘶鸣原本不过是一声嘶鸣。

Then it became a signal of danger. And, finally, it became just a whinny again."

后来却变成了危险将至的信号，而到最后又重新变成一声嘶鸣。”

But then he stopped. The alchemist probably already knew all that.

他停住了，炼金术士应该知道这一切。

"I have known true alchemists," the alchemist continued.

“我认识一些真正的炼金术士，”炼金术士接着说。

"They locked themselves in their laboratories, and tried to evolve, as gold had.

“他们把自己关在实验室里，试图使自己像金子一样发展，

And they found the Philosopher's Stone, because they understood that when something evolves, everything around that thing evolves as well."

于是发现了点金石，因为他们知道，当一个事物在发展时，它周围的一切也会发展。”

"Others stumbled upon the stone by accident.

“有些炼金术士在偶然间得到了点金石。

They already had the gift, and their souls were readier for such things than the souls of others.

他们都有天赋，灵魂比一般人的警醒。

But they don't count. They're quite rare."

但这种人凤毛麟角。”

"And then there were the others, who were interested only in gold.

最后，还有一些炼金术士，他们一门心思追求金子。

They never found the secret. They forgot that lead, copper¹, and iron have their own personal legends to fulfill².

这种人永远也发现不了其中的奥秘。他们忘记了，铅、铜、铁同样也有需要履行的天命。

And anyone who interferes³ with the personal legend of another thing never will discover his own."

谁若干涉其他事物的天命，谁就永远发现不了自己的天命。”

The alchemist's words echoed out like a curse.

炼金术士的这些话如同咒语一样回响在空中。

He reached over and picked up a shell from the ground.

说完，他弯腰从沙地上捡起一个贝壳。

"This desert was once a sea," he said.

“这里过去是一片大海。”炼金术士说。

"I noticed that," the boy answered.

“我已经注意到了。”男孩回答。

The alchemist told the boy to place the shell over his ear.

炼金术士让男孩将耳朵凑到贝壳上。

He had done that many times when he was a child, and had heard the sound of the sea.

小时候，男孩曾许多次这样做过，这次他又听到了大海的喧闹。

"The sea has lived on in this shell, because that's its personal legend.

“大海仍旧在这只贝壳里，因为这就是它的天命。

And it will never cease doing so until the desert is once again covered by water."

大海永远不会离开贝壳，直到沙漠重新被海水淹没。”

They mounted their horses, and rode out in the direction of the Pyramids of Egypt.

然后，二人翻身上马，继续朝埃及金字塔的方向行进。

1 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

2 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

3 interferes   

vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉

参考例句：

• The noise interferes with my work. 这噪音妨碍我的工作。
• That interferes with my plan. 那干扰了我的计划。