法国基于《谜语书》的寻宝活动似乎在31年后结束了

这次狩猎活动名为“追踪金猫头鹰”，是根据 1993 年出版的一本谜语书改编的。参与者必须解决书中的 11 个谜题

A decades-long treasure hunt in France appears to be nearing its conclusion after official social media accounts linked to the search said the token needed to claim the grand prize — a 3kg gold owl — has been found.

法国长达数十年的寻宝活动似乎已接近尾声，此前与此次寻宝活动相关的官方社交媒体账户表示，领取大奖所需的代币——一只重达 3 公斤的金猫头鹰——已经被发现。

The hunt, known as On The Trail Of The Golden Owl, is based on a book of riddles that was published in 1993.

这次狩猎被称为“金猫头鹰的踪迹”，是根据 1993 年出版的一本谜语书改编的。

Participants had to solve 11 puzzles in the book — and a 12th one that was hidden — to find the exact location of the token.

参与者必须解决书中的 11 个谜题，以及隐藏的第 12 个谜题，才能找到代币的确切位置。

But a message on a channel on the chat app Discord with tens of thousands of followers on Monday warned: “Don’t go digging!”

但周一，聊天应用程序 Discord 上的一个频道上有数万名粉丝警告说：“不要去挖掘！”

“We confirm that the Golden Owl countermark was unearthed last night,” the message said, prompting a wave of sad and crying emojis. “It is therefore useless to go digging.”

“我们确认金猫头鹰标记已于昨晚出土，”该消息称，引发了一波悲伤和哭泣的表情符号。 “因此，去挖掘是没有用的。”

The solutions provided by those who claimed to have unearthed the token are being vetted, the message said.

该消息称，那些声称发现了代币的人提供的解决方案正在接受审查。

The book, by author Regis Hauser and artist Michel Becker, built a cult-like following with a community of more than 200,000 players, known as 'owlers', from France and abroad, according to the hunt’s official website.

据狩猎官方网站称，这本书由作家雷吉斯·豪瑟和艺术家米歇尔·贝克尔创作，吸引了一批狂热的追随者，社区中有超过 20 万来自法国和国外的玩家，被称为“猫头鹰”。

In a documentary posted on YouTube, Mr Becker said he oversaw and financed the creation of the prize. It is an owl made of 3kg of gold and 7kg of silver with diamond chips on its face.

在 YouTube 上发布的一部纪录片中，贝克尔先生表示，他监督并资助了该奖项的设立。这是一只由3公斤黄金和7公斤白银制成的猫头鹰，脸上贴有钻石碎片。

Events where 'owlers' could meet and share tips were organised across France.

法国各地组织了“猫头鹰”聚会和分享技巧的活动。

Mr Hauser, the intellectual architect of the riddles, had initially used the pen name Max Valentin to prevent the most assiduous treasure hunters from seeking him out. He died in 2009, French newspaper Le Monde reported.

豪瑟先生是谜语的智力设计者，最初使用笔名马克斯·瓦伦丁是为了防止最勤奋的寻宝者找到他。据法国《世界报》报道，他于 2009 年去世。

He and Mr Becker decided to bury a replica of the owl, keeping the precious original in a safe place. Its value is estimated at 150,000 euros ($164,663), fans of the treasure hunt have said online.

他和贝克尔先生决定埋葬一只猫头鹰的复制品，并将珍贵的原件保存在安全的地方。寻宝爱好者在网上表示，它的价值估计为 150,000 欧元（164,663 美元）。

In order to claim the treasure, the winning player would need to submit the replica along with the answers to all of the book’s riddles.

为了获得宝藏，获胜的玩家需要提交复制品以及书中所有谜语的答案。

On Discord, members of the hunt channel were quick to react to the news that the replica owl may have been found, with thousands of messages pouring in.

在 Discord 上，狩猎频道的成员对复制品猫头鹰可能已被发现的消息迅速做出反应，数千条消息涌入。

“Time to get the tissues out,” one wrote, as another said: “It’s the end of an era.”

“是时候拿出纸巾了，”一位写道，另一位则说道：“这是一个时代的结束。”

The concept was inspired by The Masquerade, a 1979 book of riddles by Kit Williams, where hunters also had to solve several puzzles to find a golden rabbit, according to a 2021 documentary.

这个概念的灵感来自基特·威廉姆斯 (Kit Williams) 1979 年出版的一本谜语书《假面舞会》(The Masquerade)，根据 2021 年的一部纪录片，猎人还必须解决几个谜题才能找到金兔。