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"The oasis is neutral ground. No one attacks an oasis," said a third chieftain.
“绿洲是中立地区，没人会攻击一块绿洲。”又有一个头领说。
"I can only tell you what I saw. If you don't want to believe me, you don't have to do anything about it."
“我只是把我看到的东西讲出来。如果你们不相信，可以不必理会。”
The men fell into an animated discussion.
随后，部落头领们热烈地讨论起来。
They spoke in an Arabic dialect that the boy didn't understand, but, when he made to leave, the guard told him to stay.
他们讲的是一种阿拉伯方言，圣地亚哥根本听不懂。可当他提出要离开的时候，一名卫兵让他留下来。
The boy became fearful; the omens told him that something was wrong.
男孩开始担心。预兆告诉他，事情不对头了。
He regretted having spoken to the camel driver about what he had seen in the desert.
他后悔了，不该跟赶驼人讲这件事。
Suddenly, the elder at the center smiled almost imperceptibly, and the boy felt better.
忽然，圣地亚哥看到坐在中间的那位老人露出一丝不易察觉的微笑，他平静下来。
The man hadn't participated in the discussion, and, in fact, hadn't said a word up to that point.
老人没有参与刚才的讨论，到现在也没有开口。
But the boy was already used to the Language of the World, and he could feel the vibrations of peace throughout the tent.
但是，男孩早已熟悉宇宙的语言，他能感觉到一种和平的气氛笼罩了整座帐篷。
Now his intuition was that he had been right in coming. The discussion ended.
直觉告诉他，他来对了。讨论结束了。
The chieftains were silent for a few moments as they listened to what the old man was saying.
大家静下来，听老人说话。
Then he turned to the boy: this time his expression was cold and distant.
过了一会儿，老人转向圣地亚哥，表情变得严峻而冷漠。
"Two thousand years ago, in a distant land, a man who believed in dreams was thrown into a dungeon and then sold as a slave," the old man said, now in the dialect the boy understood.
“两千年以前，在一个遥远的地方，有一个相信梦的人被投入井内，后来被卖去做奴隶。”老人用圣地亚哥能听懂的方言说道，
"Our merchants bought that man, and brought him to Egypt.
“我们的商队买下了他，并带回埃及。
All of us know that whoever believes in dreams also knows how to interpret them."
我们这儿的人都知道，相信梦的人也会解梦。”
The elder continued, "When the pharaoh dreamed of cows that were thin and cows that were fat, this man I'm speaking of rescued Egypt from famine.
老人继续说：“法老梦到了痩弱的牛和肥胖的牛，这个人帮法老解梦，使埃及避免了饥荒。
His name was Joseph. He, too, was a stranger in a strange land, like you, and he was probably about your age."
他的名字叫约瑟，和你一样，也是个外国人，年龄也与你相仿。”
He paused, and his eyes were still unfriendly.
人们继续沉默，老人的目光一直十分严厉。
"We always observe the Tradition.
“我们一向恪守传统。
The Tradition saved Egypt from famine in those days, and made the Egyptians the wealthiest of peoples.
当初传统把埃及从饥荒中解救出来，并使它成为最富有的国家。
The Tradition teaches men how to cross the desert, and how their children should marry.
传统教给人们怎样穿越沙漠，怎样嫁女儿。
The Tradition says that an oasis is neutral territory, because both sides have oases, and so both are vulnerable."
传统告诉我们，绿洲要保持中立，因为交战双方都有绿洲，而且很容易被攻破。”
No one said a word as the old man continued.
老人说话的时候，所有人都一声不吭。
