《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 20 分手前,老人给男孩讲故事(1)

（单词翻译）

"Don't forget that everything you deal with is only one thing and nothing else. And don't forget the language of omens¹.

“不要忘了万物皆为一物，不要忘了各种预兆的表达方式，

And, above all, don't forget to follow your personal legend through to its conclusion."

不要忘了去完成你的天命。”

"But before you go, I want to tell you a little story."

不过，分手之前，我还想给你讲个小故事。”

"A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world.

“一位商人派他的儿子去向人类的智慧大师讨教幸福的秘密。

The lad wandered through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain.

少年在沙漠中跋涉了四十天，最后来到一座美丽的城堡。城堡坐落在高山之巅，

It was there that the wise man lived."

少年寻找的智慧大师就住在那里。”

"Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity:

“少年没有遇到圣人，却走进了一个大厅，看见一派热闹的场面：

tradesmen came and went, people were conversing² in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music,

商人进进出出，四周角落里的人在聊天，一支小乐队演奏着曼妙的轻音乐，

and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world.

桌子上摆满了当地的美味珍馐。

The wise man conversed³ with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man's attention."

智慧大师在同所有的人交谈，足足等了两个小时才轮到少年。”

"The wise man listened attentively⁴ to the boy's explanation of why he had come,

“智慧大师认真地听完少年陈述此番来访的目的，

but told him that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness.

却说他此刻没时间给他讲解幸福的秘密。

He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours."

他建议少年现在他的城堡里转一转，两个小时之后再回来见他。”

"'Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something,' said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon⁵ that held two drops of oil.

“‘同时，我想请你办件事。’智慧大师说着，递给少年一把茶匙，并在茶匙里滴了两滴油。

'As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.'"

‘你走路的时候拿着这把茶匙，不要让油洒出来。’”

"The boy began climbing and descending⁶ the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed⁷ on the spoon.

“少年开始沿着城堡的大小台阶上上下下，两眼始终盯着那茶匙不放。

After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was."

两个小时之后，他回到智慧大师面前。”