The Mapmaker's Apprentice

Tomas had swept the mapmaker's shop for three years, and in all that time he had learned one rule above the rest: never draw what you have not seen. Old Master Fell was famous for it. His maps were trusted by every captain in the harbor because they contained no guesses.

托马斯在这家地图店打扫了三年，这些年来，他学到的第一条规矩就是：从未见过的东西，绝不能画上去。老菲尔师傅正是以此闻名。港口里每一位船长都信任他的地图，因为上面从来没有任何猜测的成分。

So Tomas was puzzled by the corner of the great wall map that had always been left blank, marked only with three faded words: here, nothing certain.

因此，托马斯一直很纳闷，那幅巨大的墙面地图上有一个角落始终留白，上面只写着三个已经褪色的字：此处，尚无定论。

One grey afternoon a sailor came in with a rolled sketch and a heavy purse. He wanted the blank corner filled with islands he swore he had visited, though he could show no proof but his word.

一个阴沉的午后，一位水手带着一张卷起的草图和一个沉甸甸的钱袋走了进来。他想让人把那空白的角落填上一些岛屿，他发誓自己亲自去过那些地方，尽管除了他自己的话，他拿不出任何证据。

Master Fell refused him. The sailor turned to Tomas and offered him the purse in secret. "One small drawing," he whispered. "Who would ever know?"

菲尔师傅拒绝了他。水手便转向托马斯，偷偷把钱袋递给他。“就画一小笔，”他低声说道，“谁又会知道呢？”

That night Tomas sat alone with the map, the pen warm in his hand, the coins bright on the table. It would be so easy.

那天夜里，托马斯独自坐在那幅地图前，笔在手中还带着体温，桌上的钱币闪闪发亮。这实在是太容易了。

In the morning the blank corner was still blank. Tomas had chosen the empty space over the easy lie.

到了早上，那个空白的角落依旧空白。托马斯选择了留白，而不是那个轻而易举的谎言。

Master Fell said nothing, but a week later he handed Tomas a pen of his own. "A map is a promise," he said. "You have learned how to keep it."

菲尔师傅什么也没说，可一周之后，他递给托马斯一支属于他自己的笔。“一幅地图，就是一个承诺，”他说道，“你已经学会了如何信守承诺。”

Years later, when ships sailed safely by Tomas's own charts, sailors would say there was not a truer map in the world. And in one far corner, where the truth was still unknown, he always left the honest words: here, nothing certain.

多年以后，当船只沿着托马斯自己绘制的海图安全航行时，水手们都说，世上再没有比这更真实可靠的地图了。而在那遥远的一角，在真相依旧无人知晓的地方，他始终留着那句诚实的话：此处，尚无定论。