牧羊少年奇幻之旅
黃金書屋
作者：By Paulo Coelho
保羅·科埃略（Paulo Coelho）1947年出生於裏約熱內盧市一個中產階級家庭，少年時期便立誌成為一名職業作家。受到《一千零一夜》中一個故事的啟發，保羅·科埃略創作出版了寓言故事《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》（又譯《煉金術士》）。這本書是保羅最成功的作品，為他贏得了無數獎項。
《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》講述的是人生的尋夢曆程：西班牙牧羊少年聖地亞哥做了兩次同樣的夢，夢見他能在埃及金字塔附近找到一批埋藏的珍寶。他跨海來到非洲，穿越一望無際的撒哈拉大沙漠，一路奇遇迭起，最後他終於看到了金字塔，並悟出了珍寶的藏身之地。《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》是一部關於追求夢想、完善人生的寓言故事，充滿神秘色彩而又不脫離實際。少年雖然得到神的啟發和幫助，但一路上仍然要經曆無數劫難和誘惑才最終找到寶藏。這部富有強烈象征色彩的作品在世界各地受到盛讚，也是惟一一本譯本語種超過《聖經》的書。對寓言故事的解讀，從來就沒有統一的答案，但似乎許多讀過這本書的人都會被震撼、感動或從中獲得啟發，在實現夢想的道路上重新獲得勇氣，這也正是這本書成為傳世經典、被無數人推崇的原因吧。
文章節選自第二章，少年因向往遊曆各地而當了一名牧羊人，他兩次做夢看到自己在金字塔下找到寶藏，但他對此感到懷疑，沒有動搖要當一個自由快樂的牧羊人的決心。他正準備到一個商人家賣羊毛，這時，撒冷之王出現了……
When you want something， all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
“What was going on？ Are you really the King of Salem？” the boy asked， awed and embarrassed. “Why would a king be talking with a shepherd？”
“For several reasons. But let us say that the most important is that you have succeeded in discovering your destiny.”
The boy didn’t know what a person’s“destiny” was.
“It’s what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone， when they are young， knows what their destiny is. At that point in their lives， everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream， and to 1）yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But， as time passes， a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny. It’s a force that appears to be negative， but actually shows you how to realize your destiny. It prepares your spirit and your will， because there is one great truth on this planet： whoever you are， or whatever it is that you do， when you really want something， it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth.”
“Even when all you want to do is travel？ Or marry the daughter of a textile merchant？”