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The boy approached the guard at the front of the huge white tent at the center of the oasis.
圣地亚哥对站在绿洲中心白色大帐篷门口的卫兵说道：
"I want to see the chieftains. I've brought omens from the desert."
“我要见你们的头领。我带来了沙漠的预兆。”
Without responding, the guard entered the tent, where he remained for some time.
卫兵没说话，转身走进帐篷，久久没有出来。
When he emerged, it was with a young Arab, dressed in white and gold.
后来，他和一个年轻的阿拉伯人走了出来。那年轻人身着一袭白色镶黄边的长袍。
The boy told the younger man what he had seen, and the man asked him to wait there. He disappeared into the tent.
男孩告诉他自己看到的幻象。年轻人要他稍候，便返回帐篷。
Night fell, and an assortment of fighting men and merchants entered and exited the tent.
夜幕降临。有几个阿拉伯人和商队的人进出帐篷。
One by one, the campfires were extinguished, and the oasis fell as quiet as the desert. Only the lights in the great tent remained.
渐渐地，篝火熄灭了。绿洲变得像沙漠一样寂静无声，只有大帐篷里仍旧灯火通明。
During all this time, the boy thought about Fatima, and he was still unable to understand his last conversation with her.
在这段漫长的时间里，圣地亚哥一直想着法蒂玛，他还是无法理解那天下午他们的谈话。
Finally, after hours of waiting, the guard bade the boy enter.
等待许久之后，卫兵终于把男孩叫进帐篷。
The boy was astonished by what he saw inside.
眼前的景象令圣地亚哥惊叹不已。
Never could he have imagined that, there in the middle of the desert, there existed a tent like this one.
他简直想不到，在沙漠中还会有这样的帐篷。
The ground was covered with the most beautiful carpets he had ever walked upon, and from the top of the structure hung lamps of hand-wrought gold, each with a lighted candle.
地上铺着他从未踏足过的漂亮地毯，帐篷顶部垂下黄金打造的枝形吊灯，上面点满了蜡烛。
The tribal chieftains were seated at the back of the tent in a semicircle, resting upon richly embroidered silk cushions.
部落头领们围成半圆坐在帐篷深处，身子靠在绣着精美图案的丝绸垫子上。
Servants came and went with silver trays laden with spices and tea.
仆人们进进出出，手上端着盛满茶水和香料的银托盘。
Other servants maintained the fires in the hookahs.
有人负责往水烟袋里添加炭火。
The atmosphere was suffused with the sweet scent of smoke.
一股淡淡的烟草香味飘散在空中。
There were eight chieftains, but the boy could see immediately which of them was the most important: an Arab dressed in white and gold, seated at the center of the semicircle.
头领有八位，圣地亚哥很快就看出哪个最重要：那位坐在正中央，身着白色镶黃边长袍的阿拉伯人。
At his side was the young Arab the boy had spoken with earlier.
他身边坐着那个曾和男孩交谈过的阿拉伯青年。
"Who is this stranger who speaks of omens?" asked one of the chieftains, eyeing the boy.
“谁是那个谈论预兆的外国人？”一个头领两眼盯着男孩问道。
"It is I," the boy answered. And he told what he had seen.
“我就是。”圣地亚哥回答，接着讲了他看到的幻象。
"Why would the desert reveal such things to a stranger, when it knows that we have been here for generations?" said another of the chieftains.
“沙漠知道我们好几代人都生活在这里，为什么要把这种事告诉一个外来人呢？”另一个头领问。
"Because my eyes are not yet accustomed to the desert," the boy said.
“因为我对沙漠还没习以为常。”男孩回答，
"I can see things that eyes habituated to the desert might not see." And also because I know about the Soul of the World, he thought to himself.
“对沙漠熟视无睹的人眼里看不到的东西，我却能够看到。”还因为我了解世界之魂，男孩心中暗想。
