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"Did you say a king?" he asked.
“你刚才提到一位王？”他说。
"I guess you don't believe that a king would talk to someone like me, a shepherd," he said, wanting to end the conversation.
“而您并不相信王会和牧羊人对话。”男孩说道，这次是他想结束谈话。
"Not at all. It was shepherds who were the first to recognize a king that the rest of the world refused to acknowledge.
“恰恰相反。正是牧羊人最先认识王，世上其余的人则拒绝认识他。
So, it's not surprising that kings would talk to shepherds."
因此，王很有可能会跟牧羊人交谈。”
And he went on, fearing that the boy wouldn't understand what he was talking about,
由于担心男孩听不懂他说的话，
"It's in the Bible. The same book that taught me about Urim and Thummim.
英国人又补充说：“这是《圣经》里说的。是教会了我加工乌凌和图明的那本书里说的。
These stones were the only form of divination permitted by God. The priests carried them in a golden breastplate."
这种宝石是上帝允许用于占卜的唯一物品。祭司们都把它们镶嵌在一块纯金的胸牌上。”
The boy was suddenly happy to be there at the warehouse.
男孩很庆幸自己来到这个货栈。
"Maybe this is an omen," said the Englishman, half aloud.
“也许这是一个预兆。”英国人故作深沉地说。
"Who told you about omens?" The boy's interest was increasing by the moment.
“谁跟您谈到过预兆？”男孩的兴趣越来越浓。
"Everything in life is an omen," said the Englishman, now closing the journal he was reading.
“生活中的一切都是预兆。”英国人道，说着便合上了正在阅读的那本书。
"There is a universal language, understood by everybody, but already forgotten.
“宇宙中有一种人人都能懂的语言，但是这种语言已经被遗忘了。
I am in search of that universal language, among other things. That's why I'm here.
我正在寻找它，还有其他的东西，所以才来到这里。
I have to find a man who knows that universal language. An alchemist."
我必须找到一个了解这种语言的人，一位炼金术士。”
The conversation was interrupted by the warehouse boss.
他们的谈话被货栈老板打断了。
"You're in luck, you two," the fat Arab said.
“你们二位运气真好。”胖胖的阿拉伯人说道。
"There's a caravan leaving today for Al-Fayoum."
“今天下午就有一支商队出发去法尤姆。”
"But I'm going to Egypt," the boy said.
“可我要去的是埃及。”男孩说。
"Al-Fayoum is in Egypt," said the Arab. "What kind of Arab are you?"
“法尤姆就在埃及。”货栈老板说，“连这都不知道，你算什么阿拉伯人？”
"That's a good luck omen," the Englishman said, after the fat Arab had gone out. "If I could, I'd write a huge encyclopedia just about the words luck and coincidence. It's with those words that the universal language is written."
英国人待那胖胖的阿拉伯人走出去之后，说道，“如果有能力，我将撰写一部恢弘的百科全书，专门论述‘运气’与‘巧合’这两个词。宇宙的语言就是用这两个词书写的。”
He told the boy it was no coincidence that he had met him with Urim and Thummim in his hand.
接着他又对男孩说，碰到手里拿着乌凌和图明的人并不是“巧合”。
And he asked the boy if he, too, were in search of the alchemist.
他问男孩是不是也在寻找那个炼金术士。
"I'm looking for a treasure," said the boy, and he immediately regretted having said it.
“我在找一批财宝。”男孩说完，立刻就后悔了。
But the Englishman appeared not to attach any importance to it.
不过英国人似乎并未特别在意他的话。
"In a way, so am I," he said.
“从某个角度来说，我也在寻宝。”他说。
"I don't even know what alchemy is," the boy was saying, when the warehouse boss called to them to come outside.
当货栈老板招呼他们出去时，男孩说了一句：“我根本不知道什么是炼金术。”
