《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 22 老人祈愿牧羊少年得偿所愿

（单词翻译）

At the highest point in Tarifa there is an old fort, built by the Moors¹.

在小城塔里法的制高点有一座旧城堡，那是当年摩尔人修建的。

From atop its walls, one can catch a glimpse of Africa.

坐在城堡的高墙上，可以隐约看到非洲大陆的一角。

Melchizedek, the king of Salem, sat on the wall of the fort that afternoon, and felt the levanter blowing in his face.

撒冷之王麦基洗德那天下午正坐在城堡的高墙上，地中海的东风吹拂着他的脸庞。

The sheep fidgeted nearby, uneasy with their new owner and excited by so much change.

他身旁那几只羊由于害怕新主人，一直骚动不安，频繁的变化刺激了它们的神经。

All they wanted was food and water.

它们想要的仅仅是水和食物。

Melchizedek watched a small ship that was plowing² its way out of the port.

麦基洗德看了一眼正驶离港口的那条小船。

He would never again see the boy, just as he had never seen Abraham again after having charged him his one-tenth fee.

在得到了男孩十分之一的羊之后，他再也不会见到那男孩了，就如同再也见不到亚伯拉罕一样。

That was his work.

然而，他就是干这一行的。

The gods should not have desires, because they don't have personal legends.

神不应该有欲望，因为神没有天命，

But the king of Salem hoped desperately³ that the boy would be successful.

但是撒冷之王却由衷地祈愿牧羊少年得偿所愿。

It's too bad that he's quickly going to forget my name, he thought.

他想道，遗憾的是男孩很快便会忘掉我的名字。

I should have repeated it for him. Then when he spoke⁴ about me he would say that I am Melchizedek, the king of Salem.

当时我应该多重复几遍，那样的话，他今后提到我的时候，就会说我是麦基洗德，是撒冷之王。

He looked to the skies, feeling a bit abashed⁵, and said,

他抬头望向天空，有些后悔地说道：

"I know it's the vanity of vanities, as you said, my Lord. But an old king sometimes has to take some pride in himself."

“主啊，正如您所说，这是纯粹的虚荣，我明白这一点。不过一个老迈的王，有时需要为自己感到骄傲。”