《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 50 商队永远只朝着一个方向行进（在线收听）

He thought of the merchant's daughter, and was sure that she had probably married.

后来，他又想起了那个商人的女儿，并确信她已经结婚。

Perhaps to a baker, or to another shepherd who could read and could tell her exciting stories—after all, he probably wasn't the only one.

说不定是跟一个面包店店主，或者跟一个也会读书识字和讲神奇故事的牧羊人。毕竟，他不可能是唯一具有这类本事的牧羊人。

But he was excited at his intuitive understanding of the camel driver's comment:

男孩开始为自己的一种预感而惊讶不已：

maybe he was also learning the universal language that deals with the past and the present of all people.

也许他也在学习宇宙语言的历史，宇宙语言能知道每个人的过去与未来。

"Hunches," his mother used to call them.

照他母亲习惯的说法，这就是“预感”。

The boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life,

男孩明白了，预感就是灵魂飞快地投入生命的洪流当中，

where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it's all written there.

世上所有人的经历都在这洪流中联系在一起。我们因此能无所不知，无所不晓，因为一切均已命中注定。

"Maktub," the boy said, remembering the crystal merchant.

“马克图布。”男孩说，想起了水晶店老板。

The desert was all sand in some stretches, and rocky in others.

沙漠里，有的地方黄沙遍野，有的地方乱石嶙峋。

When the caravan was blocked by a boulder, it had to go around it;

如果面前有一块石头，商队绕过去就可以了；

if there was a large rocky area, they had to make a major detour.

如果遇到的是陡哨的山岩，那就得兜上一个大圈子。

If the sand was too fine for the animals' hooves, they sought a way where the sand was more substantial.

如果骆驼感觉沙粒过于细腻，它们就找沙子比较密实的地方通过。

In some places, the ground was covered with the salt of dried-up lakes.

有时，地面上覆盖着一层盐，那地方从前应该是一个湖泊。

The animals balked at such places, and the camel drivers were forced to dismount and unburden their charges. The drivers carried the freight themselves over such treacherous footing, and then reloaded the camels.

于是，牲口都不肯往前走。赶驼人便跳下地，把货物背在身上，等通过那段难走的路之后，再把货物放回牲口背上。

If a guide were to fall ill or die, the camel drivers would draw lots and appoint a new one.

如果某个领队病了或是死了，他们就通过抓阄选出一个新领队。

But all this happened for one basic reason: no matter how many detours and adjustments it made, the caravan moved toward the same compass point.

所有这一切，都是因为无论绕行多少弯路，商队永远只朝着一个方向行进。

Once obstacles were overcome, it returned to its course, sighting on a star that indicated the location of the oasis.

克服所有障碍，循着那颗指示着绿洲方位的星斗前进。

When the people saw that star shining in the morning sky, they knew they were on the right course toward water, palm trees, shelter, and other people.

清晨，当人们望见那颗星星在天空中闪烁的时候，心中明白，它指示的地方，有水源、椰枣树、住所和人们。

It was only the Englishman who was unaware of all this; he was, for the most part, immersed in reading his books.

只有英国人不在意这一切，大部分时间里，他都在埋头读书。