The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

917 Words2 Pages

Santiago guides his flock throughout the fields of Andalusia. He finds an old abandoned church and churchyard where he and his flock can spend the night. He sleeps on the stone floor using his book as a pillow. He anticipates his approach the Andalusian village where, one year prior, he met a merchant's daughter. Santiago and his flock approach the town. He has been herding this flock for two years. He often reflects about what he has learned from his sheep and what they have learned from him. He observes that the sheep depend fully on him to lead them to food and water. Not having to forage food for themselves, they have forgotten their instincts. Santiago thinks about the beautiful merchant's daughter. He imagines explaining to her why he knows..... Santiago thinks about his discussion with the old man. He is annoyed that the old man was right about his being on the verge of giving up just as he finds his destiny. Wandering around the city, he approaches a ticket seller, but he does not buy a ticket to Africa, where he knows the Egyptian pyramids are. He knows that he could buy a ticket with the money he could make from selling only one of his sheep. As he stands at the ticket window, he decides to go back to shepherding his flock. He muses that neither the old gypsy woman nor the old man understand what it means to have a flock of sheep depend on them. As Santiago imagines staying on with his flock, the wind intensifies...... Santiago begins working for the crystal merchant and receives a good commission for selling each piece. He wants to make more money in order to buy some sheep and realizes that it will take him a year at the rate he is going. He offers to build a display case to place outside and attract more customers. The crystal merchant does not like things to change, and he resists Santiago's attempt to change things. After some reflection and discussion, he gives Santiago his approval to build the display case. Within two months, the display case is a big success, bringing many customers into the shop. In another six months, Santiago will be able to afford to return home and buy twice the amount of sheep. Working in the shop, he has..... The caravan rolls on toward the oasis. As the Englishman attempts to observe the desert and learn its language, Santiago reads the Englishman's books and learns about alchemy.

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