The Alchemist Capter 1 Part 3

Posted by Darius on August 28, 2010
Part3 Chapter 1And now it was only four days before he would be back in that same village. He was excited, and at the same time uneasy: maybe the girl had already forgotten him. Lots of shepherds passed through, selling their wool."It doesn't matter," he said to his sheep. "I know other girls in other places."But in his heart he knew that it did matter. And he knew that shepherds, like seamen and like traveling salesmen, always found a town where there was someone who could make them forget the joys of carefree wandering.The day was dawning, and the shepherd urged his sheep in the direction of the sun. They never have to make any decisions, he thought. Maybe that's why they always stay close to me.The only things that concerned the sheep were food and water. As long as the boy knew how to find the best pastures in Andalusia, they would be his friends. Yes, their days were all the same, with the seemingly endless hours between sunrise and dusk; and they had never read a book in their young lives, and didn't understand when the boy told them about the sights of the cities. They were content with just food and water, and, in exchange, they generously gave of their wool, their company, and—once in a while—their meat.If I became a monster today, and decided to kill them, one by one, they would become aware only after most of the flock had been slaughtered, thought the boy. They trust me, and they've forgotten how to rely on their own instincts, because I lead them to nourishment.The boy was surprised at his thoughts. Maybe the church, with the sycamore growing from within, had been haunted. It had caused him to have the same dream for a second time, and it was causing him to feel anger toward his faithful companions. He drank a bit from the wine that remained from his dinner of the night before, and he gathered his jacket closer to his body. He knew that a few hours from now, with the sun at its zenith, the heat would be so great that he would not be able to lead his flock across the fields. It was the time of day when all of Spain slept during the summer. The heat lasted until nightfall, and all that time he had to carry his jacket. But when he thought to complain about the burden of its weight, he remembered that, because he had the jacket, he had withstood the cold of the dawn.We have to be prepared for change, he thought, and he was grateful for the jacket's weight and warmth.The jacket had a purpose, and so did the boy. His purpose in life was to travel, and, after two years of walking the Andalusian terrain, he knew all the cities of the region. He was planning, on this visit, to explain to the girl how it was that a simple shepherd knew how to read. That he had attended a seminary until he was sixteen. His parents had wanted him to become a priest, and thereby a source of pride for a simple farm family. They worked hard just to have food and water, like the sheep. He had studied Latin, Spanish, and theology. But ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world, and this was much more important to him than knowing God and learning about man's sins. One afternoon, on a visit to his family, he had summoned up the courage to tell his father that he didn't want to become a priest. That he wanted to travel.

3.mp3

You need to be a member of MyEnglishClub to add comments!

Join MyEnglishClub

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Mayumi January 30, 2011 22:49

    Dearest Darius,

     

    You and Ensie had very interesting discussions!

     


  • Azam October 27, 2010 9:06
    what a nice sentence & also a bit bitter :
    "We have to be prepared for change"
  • Darius September 2, 2010 9:50
    Dear Ensieh
    You are completely right .
    But think about that again . If we know all them as stages I think it means we should pass all the previous stages well to reach the next one all of us know so many people who are speaking about higher stages but when you see them you will find out they couldn't be good guides for you because they couldn't pass the latest stages well at the same time we know some people who are living very well without thinking about next stage they are completing the current stage to be able to reach the next one .For the next story I'm thinking about Sidhartha a very nice story by Herman Hesse to answer these questions about stages.

    Ensie said:
    Darius,my dear friend:
    I don't mean that we are the best creations in this world but we can be the best even better than angels.We all have that ability to be the best in this world when we are born.But if we don't use and activate our abilities or we abuse them we can be the worst in this world even worse than animals.It depends on us completely.I mean we shouldn't just think of ourselves like the sheep.They just think of themselves because they don't have that ability that we have,but we can.Have we ever used it?Have we ever thought about anything more than eating,drinking,sleeping.putting on and etc?Have we ever asked ourselves these questions:Where have we come from?Why have we come here in this world?Where will I go to finally?What's our end? When I think about buying a new mobile,a new car,a new house and etc. Do I think there are some people in this world that they don't have anything to eat,there are some people that they are patient but they don't have enough money to be cured and maybe they will die soon because of that.Maybe he/she is a father or a mother of a family,maybe a daughter or a son of a family,maybe someone loves him/her and maybe his life depends on him/her and ...I mean this is the difference between us and the sheep,we can think of the others but they can't.If we do that we are better than the sheep,but if we don't we are worse.
    It's very good to enjoy our lives like the sheep.It's very good to enjoy even simple things in our lives and even the difficulties! If we know the difficulties have also purposes in this world we can be patient about them and maybe enjoy them as the shepherd was about his jacket.But eating and drinking and enjoying them aren't our ends in this world.
  • Darius September 1, 2010 14:50
    Dear Ensieh
    Sheep ,could be a stage too . We are thinking we are human who is over than a ship because we have got our goal and we are following it . But is it really right ??
    Have we ever enjoyed from eating and drinking as a sheep has done it ?
    Let me start from a plant as I've mentioned it once in the previous story " The little prince " Plants can't move So they are there to gt the water even a drop and make it as a leaf , a stalk or a flower . Yes even a drop of water is valuable for them. Have we ever passed this stage of life ?
    Are we able to do something like them ??
    And then animals they can do movement so they should go to find their life . it is another stage after the first one . And at last it is human who is able to think so it is able to dream and able to make real those dreams . .....
    have we passed all these stages regularly ??
    Can we use all the things and situations round as the best ?
    think about this kind of thoughts please .

    Ensie said:
    The day was dawning, and the shepherd urged his sheep in the direction of the sun. They never have to make any decisions, he thought. Maybe that's why they always stay close to me.The only things that concerned the sheep were food and water. As long as the boy knew how to find the best pastures in Andalusia, they would be his friends. Yes, their days were all the same, with the seemingly endless hours between sunrise and dusk; and they had never read a book in their young lives, and didn't understand when the boy told them about the sights of the cities. They were content with just food and water, and, in exchange, they generously gave of their wool, their company, and—once in a while—their meat.
    I think the sheep refer to those people that their goals in their lives are just drinking,eating and ...They just think of themselves and nothing more.Their days are all the same.
    In the other hand, it refers to the second type of love,philos love.The shepherd loves the sheep and also the sheep love the shepherd and this love is based on "give-and-take", where two people benefit each other in a mutual way. One partner is still concerned with what she/he can take, but at the same time is also concerned with her/his partner's benefit and therefore gives back in return.The shepherd loves the sheep,he also loves the merchant's daughter.But they are completely different.One is eros love and the other philos love!
    The heat lasted until nightfall, and all that time he had to carry his jacket. But when he thought to complain about the burden of its weight, he remembered that, because he had the jacket, he had withstood the cold of the dawn.We have to be prepared for change, he thought, and he was grateful for the jacket's weight and warmth.The jacket had a purpose, and so did the boy.
    The jacket refers to the difficulties and limitations that we should bear and we think they are unnecessary.But in a different situation they will be used and we understand they were completely necessary.In other words,there is nothing in this world without a purpose!
    His parents had wanted him to become a priest, and thereby a source of pride for a simple farm family. They worked hard just to have food and water, like the sheep.But ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world, and this was much more important to him than knowing God and learning about man's sins.
    His parents like the sheep don't have any valuable goals,but he has.
This reply was deleted.