第十二回 驚天陰謀

Paulo Coelho

Chapter 12 A big scheme

People say strange things， the boy thought. Sometimes its better to be with the sheep， who dont say anything. And better still to be alone with ones books. They tell their incredible stories at the time when you want to hear them. But when youre talking to people， they say some things that are so strange that you dont know how to continue the conversation.

“My name is Melchizedek，” said the old man. “How many sheep do you have？”

“Enough，” said the boy. He could see that the old man wanted to know more about his life.

“Well， then， weve got a problem. I cant help you if you feel youve got enough sheep.”

The boy was getting irritated（惱怒）. He wasnt asking for help. It was the old man who had asked for a drink of his wine， and had started the conversation.

“Give me my book，” the boy said. “I have to go and gather my sheep and get going.”

“Give me one tenth of your sheep，” said the old man， “and Ill tell you how to find the hidden treasure.”

The boy remembered his dream， and suddenly everything was clear to him. The old woman hadnt charged him anything， but the old man—maybe he was her husband—was going to find a way to get much more money in exchange for information about something that didnt even exist. The old man was probably a Gypsy， too.

But before the boy could say anything， the old man leaned over， picked up a stick， and began to write in the sand of the plaza. Something bright reflected from his chest with such intensity that the boy was momentarily blinded. With a movement that was too quick for someone his age， the man covered whatever it was with his cape. When his vision returned to normal， the boy was able to read what the old man had written in the sand.

There， in the sand of the plaza of that small city， the boy read the names of his father and his mother and the name of the seminary he had attended. He read the name of the merchants daughter， which he hadnt even known， and he read things he had never told anyone.

What scheme did the shepherd think the old man was going to hatch？

在與老人的交談中，牧羊少年發現了一個天大的陰謀。這個陰謀是什么呢？