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"It's a book that says the same thing almost all the other books in the world say," continued the old man.
老者接着说道：“这本书和几乎所有的书一样，讲的是同一个道理，
"It describes people's inability to choose their own destinies. And it ends up saying that everyone believes the world's greatest lie."
人们无法选择自己的命运。它要使大家相信这个世上最大的谎言。”
"What's the world's greatest lie?" the boy asked, completely surprised.
“什么是世上最大的谎言？”男孩吃惊地问道。
"It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie."
“在人生的某个时候，我们失去了对自己生活的掌控，命运主宰了我们的人生。这就是世上最大的谎言。”
"That's never happened to me," the boy said. "They wanted me to be a priest, but I decided to become a shepherd."
“这种事没发生在我身上。”男孩道，“别人希望我成为神甫，而我决定当个牧羊人。”
"Much better," said the old man. "Because you really like to travel."
“这样最好。”老人说，“因为你喜欢云游四方。”
"He knew what I was thinking," the boy said to himself.
他竟猜透了我的心思，男孩想。
The old man, meanwhile, was leafing through the book, without seeming to want to return it at all.
老人翻阅着那本厚厚的书，丝毫没有归还的意思。
The boy noticed that the man's clothing was strange. He looked like an Arab, which was not unusual in those parts.
男孩注意到他的衣着有点奇怪，像个阿拉伯人。这种情况在本地并不罕见。
Africa was only a few hours from Tarifa; one had only to cross the narrow straits by boat.
塔里法距离非洲只有几个小时的路程，去那里只需乘船渡过狭窄的海峡。
Arabs often appeared in the city, shopping and chanting their strange prayers several times a day.
城里经常出现阿拉伯人，他们来这儿购物，每天做好几次奇怪的祷告。
"Where are you from?" the boy asked.
“先生是哪里人？”男孩问。
"From many places."
“我是许多地方的人。”
"No one can be from many places," the boy said.
“没有人能够是许多地方的人。”男孩说道，
"I'm a shepherd, and I have been to many places, but I come from only one place—from a city near an ancient castle. That's where I was born."
“我是牧羊人，到过许多地方，但是我只属于一个地方，那是一座古城堡附近的小镇。我就出生在那里。”
"Well then, we could say that I was born in Salem."
“那么，可以说我出生在撒冷。”
The boy didn't know where Salem was, but he didn't want to ask, fearing that he would appear ignorant.
男孩不知道撒冷是哪儿，但是他不想寻根究底，以免因无知而丢脸。
He looked at the people in the plaza for a while; they were coming and going, and all of them seemed to be very busy.
他望着广场，呆了片刻。人们来来往往、行色匆匆，似乎都非常忙碌。
"So, what is Salem like?" he asked, trying to get some sort of clue.
“现在撒冷怎么样？”男孩问道，试图套出点线索来。
"It's like it always has been."
“跟往常一样。”
No clue yet. But he knew that Salem wasn't in Andalusia. If it were, he would already have heard of it.
这说明不了什么。不过他明白，撒冷不在安达卢西亚，否则他早就知道了。
"And what do you do in Salem?" he insisted.
“在撒冷您是做什么的？”男孩又问。
"What do I do in Salem?" The old man laughed. "Well, I'm the king of Salem!"
“在撒冷我是做什么的？”老人第一次开怀大笑起来，“听着，我就是撒冷之王！”
