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The crystal merchant awoke with the day, and felt the same anxiety that he felt every morning.
水晶店的老板眼瞅着天放亮了。每天早晨，他都会一如既往地感到心烦意乱。
He had been in the same place for thirty years: a shop at the top of a hilly street where few customers passed.
他的店铺在一座山丘的顶部，几乎三十年了，一直在这个地方，很少有人光顾。
Now it was too late to change anything—the only thing he had ever learned to do was to buy and sell crystal glassware.
现在作任何改变都为时已晚，他这辈子唯一的本事就是做水晶生意。
There had been a time when many people knew of his shop: Arab merchants, French and English geologists, German soldiers who were always well-heeled.
过去有一段时间，很多人知道他的商店，有阿拉伯商人，有英国和法国的地质学家，还有口袋里从不缺钱的德国士兵。
In those days it had been wonderful to be selling crystal, and he had thought how he would become rich, and have beautiful women at his side as he grew older.
那年头卖水晶风险很大，他曾盘算着发财，在晚年的时候有美女相伴。
But, as time passed, Tangier had changed.
尔后，好景不长，风光不再。整座城市都是这样。
The nearby city of Ceuta had grown faster than Tangier, and business had fallen off.
休达市发展得更快，超过了丹吉尔，商机随之发生变化。
Neighbors moved away, and there remained only a few small shops on the hill.
邻居纷纷搬走，山丘上只剩下少数几家店。
And no one was going to climb the hill just to browse through a few small shops.
由于商店太少，很少有人到山坡上来了。
But the crystal merchant had no choice.
但是，水晶店老板别无选择。
He had lived thirty years of his life buying and selling crystal pieces, and now it was too late to do anything else.
三十年来，他一直靠卖水晶维持生计，现在改弦易辙为时太晚了。
He spent the entire morning observing the infrequent comings and goings in the street.
整个上午，他都在望着行人稀少的街道。
He had done this for years, and knew the schedule of everyone who passed.
这种情形已经有些年头了，他甚至熟知每个行人的作息时间。
But, just before lunchtime, a boy stopped in front of the shop.
还差几分钟就该吃午饭的时候，一个外国男孩在水晶店的橱窗前停了下来。
He was dressed normally, but the practiced eyes of the crystal merchant could see that the boy had no money to spend.
他的穿着很平常，阅历丰富的水晶店老板认定男孩没钱。
Nevertheless, the merchant decided to delay his lunch for a few minutes until the boy moved on.
老板决定回到店里稍等片刻，待那男孩离去后再吃饭。
