Page 3 - The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

“What a lovely story,” the alchemist thought.

The boy’s name was Santiago. Dusk was falling as the boy arrived with his herd at an
abandoned church. The roof had fallen in long ago, and an enormous sycamore had
grown on the spot where the sacristy had once stood.

He decided to spend the night there, He saw to it that all the sheep entered through the
ruined gate, and then laid some planks across it to prevent the flock from wandering
away during the night.

"Well, usually I learn more from my sheep than from books," he answered. During the
two hours that they talked, she told him she was the merchant’s daughter, and spoke of
life in the village, where each day was like all the others, The shepherd told her of the
Andalusian countryside, and related the news from the other towns where he had stopped.
It was a pleasant change from talking to his sheep.

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...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.

“People from all over the world have passed through this village, son,” said his father.
“They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same
people they were when they arrived, They climb the mountain to see the castle, and they
wind up thinking that the past was better than what we have now.”

“The people who come here have a lot of money to spend, so they can afford to travel,”
his father said, “Amongst us, the only ones who travel are the shepherds.”

“Well, then I’ll be a shepherd!”

And he gave the boy his blessing, The boy could see in his father’s gaze a desire to be
able, himself, to travel the world—a desire that was still alive, despite his father’s having
had to bury it, over dozens of years, under the burden of struggling for water to drink,
food to eat, and the same place to sleep every night of his life.