A boy named Santiago was sleeping in a Church in Spain. In fact, he was but a mere shepherd who took shelter for the night accompanied by his flock of sheep. The lad then proceeds by exposing and describing the deep bond omnipresent between his followers and himself, they have somehow become accustomed to his routine and habits, or has he become accustomed to theirs? The sheep were good listeners, they provided him with wool, milk and sometimes meat, in exchange they only demanded to be fed and given water, nothing more. Moreover, while the young man was exploiting his book as a pillow and his jacket as a bed sheet, he begins describing a fascinating young woman who he has obviously fallen deeply in love with. The boy seemed enchanted by her to the point where he had spontaneously felt in love with her just by speaking with her, she was the daughter of a merchant whom he made business with a year ago. Whilst the boy was waiting for the merchant in order to sheer the sheep, his daughter had arrived and made acquaintance with the man, but for some ambiguous reason she was special in comparison to the other woman he had met during his journeys. In consequence to the merchant’s admiration towards Santiago’s services he demanded he come again at the same time of year, thus the boy’s heart was filled with anxiety at the mere idea of having the opportunity of seeing the girl once more.
The next morning, the boy woke up early in order to make his way to Tarrif city in hope of reaching it before the sun reached its zenith thus making the weather unbearable to travel in. Once he had arrived, the boy had set out to accomplish a number of tasks he had permitted, such as: getting a haircut and shaving to impress the girl, exchanging his book for a thicker one and one rather peculiar activity; he wished to visit a gipsy given that he needed someone to interpret an odd dream he had been having for the past couple of nights. In contrast, the young lad had always feared gipsy’s, and was appalled at the idea of being in the presence of one in deference to the horrifying legends told about their kind. Nevertheless, he was determined to find out the meaning of his nocturnal premonition.
After contemplating his palm and the events of his dream, the gipsy stated that this phenomena fore-told the presence of a hidden treasure located at the Pyramids of Egypt which only he could achieve. The woman did not ask for economic compensation in exchange for her services but made Santiago swear to give her 1/10 of the treasure, given the circumstances he actually finds it.
Afterwards, the boy makes his way to the city plaza where he enjoys sitting on a bench whilst reading a new book he obtained through trade. Surprisingly, an odd looking old man stirs up a conversation and introduces himself as being the king of Salem; the man appears to possess supernatural abilities and telepathic powers. Anyway, the man proffers the boy substantial information about the secret journey the gipsy had told him about, he tempted the lad by explaining the expedience and prominence of pursuing your dreams and ambitions in life! Hence forth, the boys agrees to trade 1/10 of his flock in exchange for the information while selling the remaining sheep to a friend of his in order to be able to travel freely without being chained down. Finally, the man endows Santiago with two magic rocks which will aid him in his quest; they bestow the boy answers with either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ ,and continues by telling him a tale in aim to emphasise that while he explores the world he shouldn’t forget his once dear companions the sheep.
