Two men on the train invited me to their sister’s wedding, but they didn’t look at all like brothers.

火车上认识的两个人邀请我参加他们妹妹的婚礼，但是他们完全不像是兄弟俩。

Tall, fair-skinned Achmed and short, swarthy, moustachioed Mustafa entered my cabin midway between Marrakech and Fez. “A thousand welcomes to Morocco,” they said, putting their hands over their hearts.

又高又白的艾哈迈德(Achmed)和又矮又黑、还留着小胡子的穆斯塔法(Mustafa)半路走进了我从马拉喀什(Marrakech)到非斯(Fez)的车厢。“非常欢迎到摩洛哥，”他们说，并将他们的手放在心口。

I gave them a noncommittal nod, wary of yet another scam, having spent most of my time in Marrakech fleeing from touts, tour guides and con artists. Lacking contacts, a guidebook or much cash, I was essentially a refugee in this land, dependent on the good will of people I didn’t know.

我礼貌性地点了点头，谨防这又是一场骗局，因为在马拉喀什的大部分时间我都疲于应付各种兜售、导游和骗子。不善交际、也没有旅游指南或很多现金，我基本是这片土地上的一个流浪汉，依赖于我不认识的那些人们的善意。

The duo asked why I was visiting Morocco. I was too embarrassed to say it was actually just a cheap side trip from my stay in Spain. I didn’t want to admit I chose Marrakech because of a Crosby, Stills & Nash song and that I was travelling to Fez because of the funny hats.

那对兄弟问我为什么要来摩洛哥。我尴尬不已，不好意思说这只是我在西班牙逗留期间的一次穷游而已。我不想承认我选择马拉喀什只是因为美国民谣合唱团体“Crosby, Stills & Nash”的一首歌，而我到非斯旅行则是因为滑稽帽子。

So I made up a story with the old clichés, telling them I had always wanted to visit the land of the Arabian Nights, snake charmers and exotic desert adventures.

因此我编造了一个陈腔滥调故事，告诉他们我一直都想拜访天方夜谭之地、弄蛇人和异国沙漠之旅。

They laughed.

他们大笑。

“Well, perhaps those tales have some truths. But if you want to see the real Morocco, you must come to our sister’s wedding tonight,” Achmed said.

“好吧，或许这些故事不无道理。但是如果你想见识真正的摩洛哥，你一定要来参加今晚我妹妹的婚礼。”艾哈迈德说，

“Really?” I said, slowly looking them up and down. “I’m supposed to believe you two are actually brothers?”

“真的吗？”我说，一边上下细细打量着他们。“我应该相信你们是真的两兄弟吗？”

“We have different mothers. Our father has three wives, you see. And 15 children! What do you think about that?”

“我们是同父异母的兄弟。我们的父亲有三个妻子，你看。还有15个孩子！你觉得呢？”

“Your father must be a very energetic man.”

“你们的父亲一定精力充沛。”

“Oh yes! He once played for our national football team. But nowadays, we usually only take one wife here in Morocco. It is too expensive to support all those women.”

“当然！他曾经入选过我们国家的足球队。但是现在，在摩洛哥，我们通常都只娶一个妻子。要养活这些女人可是太贵了。”

“Plus it’s less trouble with one – you don’t have to worry about the other wives ganging up on you.” They laughed.

“而且一个妻子也会少很多麻烦——你不用担心其他妻子联合起来对付你。”他们大笑。

“You will see all this and so much more at the wedding.”

“在婚礼你不仅能见到这些，还有更多其他方面。”

“You will come, yes?”

“你会来的，对吗？”

They both looked at me intently, awaiting my reply. The rhythmic “ca-chunk, ca-chunk” of the train filled an awkward moment of silence.

他们俩认真地看着我，等待回应。在这略显尴尬的沉默时刻，只有火车发出有节奏的“咔嗒、咔嗒”声。

I tried to find a face-saving excuse.

我试图找到一个不太丢面子的借口。

“But I’m just backpacking here,” I said, gesturing to my dirty bag on the luggage rack. “I don’t have anything to wear to a wedding.”

“但是我只是在这里自助旅行，”我说，用手指着行李架上的脏袋子。“我并没有参加婚礼可穿的衣服。”

They smiled at each other. Achmed said, “Oh, not to worry at all! Of course, we will help you buy a genuine Morocco djellaba robe at the market!”

他们相视一笑。艾哈迈德说：“完全不用担心！我们当然会帮你到市场买一件正宗的摩洛哥长袍！”

Mustafa then asked me if I had a hotel already. “No? Of course we will find you a good hotel in Fez, very safe, very clean and very, very good price!”

穆斯塔法然后问我有没有预订酒店。“没有？我们当然也会帮你在非斯找一家好酒店，非常安全、非常干净而且价格非常实惠！”

Ok, I thought, this was the old “help for a commission” scam. They’d lead me to a hotel and market and get a cut of my purchases. Still doubting the wedding story, I shrugged and agreed, figuring it would be a small price to pay for temporary guides.

好吧，我想，这就是古老的“助人为钱”骗局。他们会把我带到一家酒店和市场，然后从我购买的东西里得到回扣。对婚礼的故事将信将疑，我耸了耸肩表示同意，心想在临时导游上也花不了太多钱。

But when we arrived at Fez, Achmed grabbed me just before we exited the rail station. “I will say goodbye for a moment. You will meet me at the end of the block, by the cafe, in a few minutes. It wouldn’t look good if we walked out of the station together.”

但是当我们到达非斯时，艾哈迈德在我们要走出火车站时抓住了我。“我要离开一会了。几分钟后我们在街区的尽头见面，咖啡馆旁边。如果我们一起走出火车站的话，会不太好看。”

“What, why not?”

“什么，为什么不好看？”

“People in Fez are funny. Don’t worry. No problem.”

“非斯的人们很有趣。不用担心。没问题的。”

Confused, I walked to the end of the block by the cafe and waited. A few minutes later, Achmed emerged, leading me to a dingy nearby hotel where he negotiated a rate and had me store my backpack.

带着疑惑，我走到了街区尽头的咖啡馆等待。几分钟后，艾哈迈德出现了，带我到了附近的一家有些昏暗的酒店，他跟老板商量好价格后就帮我存放背包。

We then went me to Fez’s Old Town market, where shouting merchants stood behind stone counters covered with kaleidoscopic arrays of shimmering cloth. He asked me to choose my favourite robe and secretly signal it to him so he could haggle for the best price.

然后我们去了非斯的老城市场，在那里叫卖的商贩站在石头柜台后，上面盖着闪闪发光、五彩斑斓的桌布。他让我挑选最喜欢的长袍然后悄悄向他示意，然后他去向老板讨价还价。

I selected a long white robe with an embroidered collar and a silvery hue, with a pocket on one side and a slit cut in the other. The shop owner declared that such a fine robe could not be sold for less than the absolute final and rock bottom price of 550 dirham – double the price of my hotel room.

我选了一件带有刺绣衣领的银白色长袍，一侧有一个口袋，另一侧则是一条狭缝。店主表示这么好的一条长袍，最低价至少550迪拉姆——是我酒店房间价格的两倍。