第十一回 老人自称“撒冷之王”

Paulo Coelho

Chapter 11Calling himself the king of Salem

“Its a book that says the same thing almost all the other books in the world say，” continued the old man. “It describes peoples inability to choose their own destinies（命运）. And it ends up saying that everyone believes the worlds greatest lie.”

“Whats the worlds greatest lie？” the boy asked， completely surprised.

“Its that at a certain point in our lives， we lose control of whats happening to us， and our lives become controlled by fate. Thats the worlds greatest lie.”

“Thats never happened to me，” the boy said. “They wanted me to be a priest， but I decided to become a shepherd.”

“Much better，” said the old man. “Because you really like to travel.”

“He knew what I was thinking，” the boy said to himself.

The old man， meanwhile， was leafing through the book， without seeming to want to return it at all. The boy noticed that the mans clothing was strange. He looked like an Arab， which was not unusual in those parts. Africa was only a few hours from Tarifa （塔里法，西班牙地名）; one had only to cross the narrow straits by boat. Arabs often appeared in the city， shopping and chanting their strange prayers several times a day.

“Where are you from？” the boy asked.

“From many places.”

“No one can be from many places，” the boy said. “Im a shepherd， and I have been to many places， but I come from only one place—from a city near an ancient castle. Thats where I was born.”

“Well then， we could say that I was born in Salem.”

The boy didnt know where Salem was， but he didnt want to ask， fearing that he would appear ignorant （无知的）. He looked at the people in the plaza for a while; they were coming and going， and all of them seemed to be very busy.

“So， what is Salem like？” he asked， trying to get some sort of clue.

“Its like it always has been.”

No clue yet. But he knew that Salem wasnt in Andalusia （安達卢西亚，西班牙的一个自治区）. If it had been， he would already have heard of it.

“And what do you do in Salem？” he insisted.

“What do I do in Salem？” the old man laughed. “Well， Im the king of Salem！”

What was the theme of the book about？

老人拿到书后，发现书的主题是什么？在与搭讪老者的对话中，牧羊少年得到了自己想要的信息吗？