"Do you know someone here who cures people's illnesses?" the boy asked.
"你知道这里有能治愈人们疾病的人吗？"男孩问道。
"Allah cures our illnesses," said the man, clearly frightened of the strangers. "You're looking for witch doctors." He spoke some verses from the Koran, and moved on.
“安拉能治愈我们的疾病。”男人说道，看起来对陌生人很害怕。
“你在寻找巫医。”他用类似于韩语的口音说道，然后走开。
Another man appeared. He was older, and was carrying a small bucket. The boy repeated his question.
另外一个男人出现了。他很老，拿着一个小水桶。男孩重复着他的问题。
"Why do you want to find that sort of person?" the Arab asked.
“为什么你想要找这样一个人？”阿拉伯人说道。
"Because my friend here has traveled for many months in order to meet with him," the boy said.
“因为我在这里的朋友已经奔波了好几个月就是为了找到这人”男孩说道。
"If such a man is here at the oasis, he must be the very powerful one," said the old man after thinking for a few moments.
“如果这样的人在绿洲，他一定是那个神通广大的人，”这老人在思考了一会儿后说道。
"Not even the tribal chieftains are able to see him when they want to. Only when he consents. "
“甚至连部落的首领想见他也见不到。只有当他同意才能。”
Wait for the end of the war. Then leave with the caravan. Don't try to enter into the life of the oasis," he said, and walked away.
等到战争结束。然后离开这旅行队。不要尝试去进入这绿洲的生活。”他说道，然后走开。
But the Englishman was exultant. They were on the right track.
但是这英格兰人欣喜若狂。他们这趟来对了。
Finally, a young woman approached who was not dressed in black.
最终，一个年轻的女人走了过来，但是没有穿黑色的衣服。
She had a vessel on her shoulder, and her head was covered by a veil, but her face was uncovered.
在她的肩膀上有一个导管，她的头也被纱罩覆盖，但是她的脸没有被盖到。
The boy approached her to ask about the alchemist.
男孩接近她去询问关于炼金术士的事情。
At that moment, it seemed to him that time stood still, and the Soul of the World surged within him.
此时此刻，对他来说时间仿佛停滞，融入世界的灵魂之中。
When he looked into her dark eyes, and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke -- the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart.
当他观察着女人的黑色双眸，发现她的嘴唇处在微笑和沉默的姿态，他学到了语言之中最重要的一部分——人世所说之语言，人人皆可以心会之。
It was love. Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert.
这是爱。爱比人类的历史更悠久，比沙漠之形成更古老。
Something that exerted the same force whenever two pairs of eyes met, as had theirs here at the well.
每当两只眼睛相遇时，就会产生同样的力量，就像他们在井边一样。
She smiled, and that was certainly an omen -- the omen he had been awaiting, without even knowing he was, for all his life.
她微微笑，这确实是一个预兆——预兆到他必须得等着，甚至不知道那炼金术士是谁，也不知道他生平如何。
The omen he had sought to find with his sheep and in his books, in the crystals and in the silence of the desert.
他想从他的羊,书,水晶店还有沙漠的寂静之中中找到预兆。
It was the pure Language of the World.
这是最纯净的世界语言。
It required no explanation, just as the universe needs none as it travels through endless time.
这不需要解释，如同宇宙漫游时间长河时不需一物。
What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing.
男孩此刻只觉得他在他的生命中唯一的女人面前，不需要任何言语，她也觉察到了同样的事情。
He was more certain of it than of anything in the world.
他对这件事的把握比世界上任何事情都要大。
He had been told by his parents and grandparents that he must fall in love and really know a person before becoming committed.
他曾经被他的父母和爷爷奶奶告知，在做承诺之前，他必须坠入爱河，真正的了解一个人。
But maybe people who felt that way had never learned the universal language.
但是也许那种方式生活的人也永远不会学到宇宙的语言。
Because, when you know that language, it's easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it's in the middle of the desert or in some great city.
因为，当你知道这语言，理解世界上有一人在等候着你，无论是在沙漠中心或是在一些大城市就会变得很容易。
And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant.
当两个如此之人相遇，他们双眼会遇，过去与未来将不再重要。
There is only that moment,and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only.
只有那一刻，以及令人难以置信的确定性，即太阳下的一切都是由一只手书写的。
It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world.
这只手产生了爱，给世界上的每一个人都创造了双生灵魂。
Without such love, one's dreams would have no meaning.
没有如此之爱，一个人的梦想就毫无意义。
Maktub, thought the boy.
Maktub,男孩心想。
The Englishman shook the boy: "Come on, ask her!"
英格兰人摇了摇这男孩：“来，我们问问她。”
The boy stepped closer to the girl, and when she smiled, he did the same.
男孩朝女孩走的更近，当她微笑时，男孩也微微一笑。
"What's your name?" he asked.
“你是什么名字？”他问道。
"Fatima," the girl said, averting her eyes.
“Fatima”女孩说道，转移她的目光。
"That's what some women in my country are called."
“这是我们国家的女人所叫之名。”
"It's the name of the Prophet's daughter," Fatima said.
“这是先知女儿的名字”Fatima 说道。
"The invaders carried the name everywhere."
“入侵者们把名字四处传播。”
The beautiful girl spoke of the invaders with pride.
漂亮的女孩说道入侵者时，有一股莫名的自豪。
The Englishman prodded him, and the boy asked her about the man who cured people's illnesses.
英格兰人戳了戳他，男孩问她是否有一个能治愈人们疾病之人。
"That's the man who knows all the secrets of the world," she said.
“那是那个知道世界秘密的人”她说道。
"He communicates with the genies of the desert."
“他与沙漠之灵交流。”
The genies were the spirits of good and evil. And the girl pointed to the south, indicating that it was there the strange man lived.
灵是善恶的精神化身。女孩指向南方，表示那里有一个奇怪的男孩生活在那里。
Then she filled her vessel with water and left.
然后她用水装满了她的管子，然后离开。
The Englishman vanished, too, gone to find the alchemist.
英格兰人也消失了，去寻找那炼金术士。
And the boy sat there by the well for a long time, remembering that one day in Tarifa the levanter had brought to him the perfume of that woman, and realizing that he had loved her before he even knew she existed.
男孩坐在井边，过了很久，他记起有一天在塔里法，黎温特风早已经给他带来了那女人的香味，意识到甚至在他知道她存在时，他就已经爱上了她。
He knew that his love for her would enable him to discover every treasure in the world.
他知道他对她的爱能够让他发现世界上的每一个宝藏。
The next day, the boy returned to the well, hoping to see the girl. To his surprise, the Englishman was there, looking out at the desert.
接下来的一天，男孩回到了井边，希望见到那女孩。令他惊讶的是，英格兰人也在那，望着四周的沙漠。
"I waited all afternoon and evening," he said.
“我等着所有的下午和伴晚。”他说道。
"He appeared with the first stars of evening. I told him what I was seeking, and he asked me if I had ever transformed lead into gold. I told him that was what I had come here to learn. He told me I should try to do so. That's all he said: 'Go and try.'"
“他与夜晚的第一颗星一同出现。我告诉他我在寻找的东西，他问我是否我曾经把铅变成金子。我告诉他这就是我来这里学习的东西。他告诉我我应该去尝试一下。他只对我说道：“行动然后尝试。”
The boy didn't say anything. The poor Englishman had traveled all this way, only to be told that he should repeat what he had already done so many times.
男孩一言不发。这可怜的英格兰人如此艰难的奔波，只被告知他应该重复他已经做了许多次的事情。
"So, then try," he said to the Englishman.
“那么，试试吧。”他对英格兰人说道。
"That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to start now."
“这就是我以后要做的，我现在就要开始做。”
As the Englishman left, Fatima arrived and filled her vessel with water.
当英格兰人离开，Fatima来了，然后给她的管子灌满水。
"I came to tell you just one thing," the boy said.
“我来这里只为了告诉你一件事。”男孩说道。
"I want you to be my wife. I love you."
“我想要你成为我的老婆。我喜欢你。”
The girl dropped the container, and the water spilled.
女孩失手丢掉了盛水器，水花四溢。
"I'm going to wait here for you every day. I have crossed the desert in search of a treasure that is somewhere near the Pyramids, and for me, the war seemed a curse. But now it's a blessing, because it brought me to you."
“我将要每天在这里等你。我已经穿过这沙漠去寻找金字塔附近的宝藏，对于我来说，战争就像一个诅咒。但是现在是赐福，因为它让我遇到了你。”
"The war is going to end someday," the girl said.
“战争有一天终会结束。”女孩说道。
The boy looked around him at the date palms.
男孩在沙枣树下环顾四周。
He reminded himself that he had been a shepherd, and that he could be a shepherd again. Fatima was more important than his treasure.
他提醒他自己他曾经是牧羊人，他可能以后也再次成为一个牧羊人。Fatima 比他的宝藏更重要。
"The tribesmen are always in search of treasure," the girl said, as if she had guessed what he was thinking. "And the women of the desert are proud of their tribesmen."
“部落的人总是在寻找着宝藏，”女孩回答道，就好像他早已猜透男孩的心思一样。“沙漠之中的女孩对她们的部落之人十分自豪。”
She refilled her vessel and left.
他再次装满她的管子然后离开。
The boy went to the well every day to meet with Fatima.
男孩每一天都去井边和Fatima见面。
He told her about his life as a shepherd, about the king, and about the crystal shop.
他告诉她他当牧羊人时的生活，告诉她国王还有水晶商人的事。
They became friends, and except for the fifteen minutes he spent with her, each day seemed that it would never pass.
他们成为了朋友，除了与她在一起的15分钟，每一天似乎都难以度过。
When he had been at the oasis for almost a month, the leader of the caravan called a meeting of all of the people traveling with him.
当他已经在绿洲带了几乎一个月，旅行队的领导人组织跟随他的大家开了一个会议。
"We don't know when the war will end, so we can't continue our journey," he said.
“我们不知道这场战争什么时候会结束，因此我们不能继续我们的旅途了。”他说道。
"The battles may last for a long time, perhaps even years.
“这场战斗可能要持续很久，可能要持续一年。
There are powerful forces on both sides, and the war is important to both armies.
双方都有强力的武装，这场战争对双方的军队都十分重要。
It's not a battle of good against evil.
这不是正义之战。
It's a war between forces that are fighting for the balance of power, and, when that type of battle begins, it lasts longer than others -- because Allah is on both sides."
这是双方为了平衡双方的势力之战，当这种类型的战争发生，通常都会持续很久”因为真主安拉赐福双方。
The people went back to where they were living, and the boy went to meet with Fatima that afternoon.
人们会到自己的住处，男孩在那下午去与Fatima会面。
He told her about the morning's meeting.
他告诉她早上的会议。
"The day after we met," Fatima said, "you told me that you loved me. Then, you taught me something of the universal language and the Soul of the World. Because of that, I have become a part of you."
“在我们见面之后的第一天”Fatima说道，“你告诉我你喜欢我。然后你告诉我一些关于宇宙语言的事情还有世界的灵魂。因为这个，我已经成为了你的一部分。”
The boy listened to the sound of her voice, and thought it to be more beautiful than the sound of the wind in the date palms.
男孩听着女孩的声音，觉得这声音比风吹沙枣树的声音更美。
