《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 51 赶驼人的生活经历

The boy, too, had his book, and he had tried to read it during the first few days of the journey. But he found it much more interesting to observe the caravan¹ and listen to the wind.

男孩也有一本书，旅途中的头几天，他曾经想过读一读那本书，但是他发现，观察商队和倾听风声比读书有意思多了。

As soon as he had learned to know his camel better, and to establish a relationship with him, he threw the book away.

因此，当他对骆驼更加熟悉并迷上这种动物之后，便把书扔掉了。

Although the boy had developed a superstition² that each time he opened the book he would learn something important, he decided³ it was an unnecessary burden.

书是不必要的负担，尽管男孩曾养成了一种近乎迷信的观点：以书为友，开卷有益。

He became friendly with the camel driver who traveled alongside him.

男孩最终同那个一直走在他旁边的赶驼人成了朋友。

At night, as they sat around the fire, the boy related to the driver his adventures as a shepherd.

他习惯了夜晚跟大家围坐在篝火旁，把自己当牧羊人时的种种奇遇讲给那赶驼人听。

During one of these conversations, the driver told of his own life.

有一天，聊天的时候，赶驼人也讲起了他的生活经历。

"I used to live near El Cairum," he said.

“我原先住在离开罗很近的一个地方。”他讲道，

"I had my orchard⁴, my children, and a life that would change not at all until I died.

“当时我有孩子，有菜园，过着似乎一辈子也不会变化的生活。

One year, when the crop was the best ever, we all went to Mecca, and I satisfied the only unmet obligation in my life.

有一年收成很好，我们全家人都去了麦加，完成了我今生唯一未尽的义务，

I could die happily, and that made me feel good."

我可以死而无憾了，这使我感到高兴。”

"One day, the earth began to tremble, and the Nile overflowed⁵ its banks.

“有一天，忽然天摇地动，尼罗河河水暴涨，漫出河床。

It was something that I thought could happen only to others, never to me.

我原以为只会发生在别人身上的事，最终落在了我的头上。

My neighbors feared they would lose all their olive trees in the flood, and my wife was afraid that we would lose our children.

我的邻居们担心洪水夺去他们的橄榄树，我妻子生怕大水卷走我们的孩子，

I thought that everything I owned would be destroyed."

我则惧怕看到我打拼来的一切毁于一旦。”

"The land was ruined, and I had to find some other way to earn a living. So now I'm a camel driver.

“但是毫无办法。土地无法耕种了，我只好另谋生路。如今我成了赶驼人。

But that disaster taught me to understand the word of Allah: people need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want."

不过从此我理解了安拉的那句话：谁也不必担心未知的事情，因为谁都能得到他期望和需要的一切。”

"We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property.

“我们担心失去的，只是那些我们现在拥有的东西：我们的生命，或我们的作物。

But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand."

但是，当我们明白了生命的历程与世界的历程都是由同一只手写就的时候，这种担心就会消失。”

1 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

2 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

5 overflowed   

溢出的

参考例句：

• Plates overflowed with party food. 聚会上的食物碟满盘盈。
• A great throng packed out the theater and overflowed into the corridors. 一大群人坐满剧院并且还有人涌到了走廊上。 来自《简明英汉词典》