Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea

老人与海

欧内斯特·海明威（美）  著

安萍  译

外语教学与研究出版社

FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND RESEARCH PRESS

北京 Beijing

Chinese translation copyright © Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

本书版权由外语教学与研究出版社独家所有。如未获得该社书面同意，书中任何部分之文字及图片，不得用任何方式抄袭、节录、翻印或存储利用于任何数据库及检索系统等。

Published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press

No. 19 Xisanhuan Beilu

Beijing, China 100089

http://www.fltrp.com

目 录

- The Old Man and the Sea  老人与海

To Charlie Shribner And To Max Perkins

献给查利·施里布纳和马克斯·珀金斯

The Old Man and the Sea

老人与海

He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy's parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky, and the boy had gone at their orders in another boat which caught three good fish the first week. It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his skiff empty and he always went down to help him carry either the coiled lines or the gaff and harpoon and the sail that was furled around the mast. The sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat.

他是一位在湾流中的一条小船上独自垂钓的老人，至今他已去了八十四天，却未钓到一条鱼。开始的四十天，有个男孩和他在一起。但是，四十天后还没钓到一条鱼，男孩的父母告诉他，这个老头是彻头彻尾地走了霉运，也就是说倒霉透顶了。于是，在父母的吩咐下，男孩上了另一条船，第一周就捕到了三条好鱼。看到老人每天总是空船归来，男孩心里很难过，他总是下岸去帮老人拿卷起的钓线，或是手钩、鱼叉和缠在桅杆上的帆。这帆用面粉袋打着补丁，收起时，就像一面象征着永远失败的旗子。

The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck. The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert.

老人瘦削而憔悴，脖子后面有着深深的皱纹。他的脸颊上有些棕色的斑点，那是一种良性皮肤癌，是由于太阳在热带海面上的反射光线的照射而形成的。这些斑点从他面容的两侧蔓延下去，他的双手有些很深的疤痕，是在对付钓线上的大鱼时留下的。但这些疤痕没有一块是刚刚留下的。它们老得就像无鱼的沙漠上的侵蚀地一样。

Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.

他的一切都很老，只有那双眼睛，它们与海水同色，充满欢乐，不可战胜。

"Santiago," the boy said to him as they climbed the bank from where the skiff was hauled up. "I could go with you again. We've made some money."

“圣地亚哥，”他们从小船停泊的地方爬上岸时，男孩对他说，“我又能和你一起出海了。我们赚了点钱。”

The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him.

老人曾教过男孩捕鱼，男孩爱他。

"No," the old man said. "You're with a lucky boat. Stay with them."

“不行。”老人说，“你遇上了一条幸运的船。跟着他们吧。”

"But remember how you went eighty-seven days without fish and then we caught big ones every day for three weeks.”

“可是，还记得吗，您有一次一连八十七天没捕到一条鱼，然后接下来的三个礼拜，我们每天都捕到大鱼。”

"I remember," the old man said. "I know you did not leave me because you doubted."

“我记得。”老人说，“我知道你不是因为怀疑才离开我的。”

"It was papa made me leave. I am a boy and I must obey him."

“是爸爸叫我离开的。我还是个孩子，必须得听他的。”

"I know," the old man said. "It is quite normal."

“我知道，”老人说，“这是人之常情。”

"He hasn't much faith."

“他信心不足。”

"No," the old man said. "But we have. Haven't we?"

“是的，”老人说，“但我们有信心。不是吗？”

"Yes," the boy said. "Can I offer you a beer on the Terrace and then we'll take the stuff home."

“没错。”男孩说，“我可以请您去露台饭店喝杯啤酒吗，然后咱们再把这些渔具带回家。”

"Why not?" the old man said. "Between fishermen."

“那好啊！”老人说，“都是渔人嘛！”

They sat on the Terrace and many of the fishermen made fun of the old man and he was not angry. Others, of the older fishermen, looked at him and were sad. But they did not show it and they spoke politely about the current and the depths they had drifted their lines at and the steady good weather and of what they had seen. The successful fishermen of that day were already in and had butchered their marlin out and carried them laid full length across two planks, with two men staggering at the end of each plank, to the fish house where they waited for the ice truck to carry them to the market in Havana. Those who had caught sharks had taken them to the shark factory on the other side of the cove where they were hoisted on a block and tackle, their livers removed, their fins cut off and their hides skinned out and their flesh cut into strips for salting.

他们坐在露台上，许多渔夫都取笑老人，老人并不生气。其他一些年长的渔夫看着他，感到难过。但他们并没有表现出来，他们礼貌地谈论着水流，谈着他们把钓线放到海下的深度和一贯的好天气，还谈到他们的见闻。当天打到鱼的渔夫们都已经来了，已把他们捕到的枪鱼剖开，整片地放在两块木板上，有两个人摇摇晃晃地分别抬着木板的两端，把鱼送往鱼站，在那儿等待冷冻车把它们运往哈瓦那的市场。那些捉到鲨鱼的人已把它们送到了河湾另一边的鲨鱼厂，在那儿，鲨鱼被滑轮组吊起，除去肝脏，切掉鱼鳍，剥去外皮，鱼肉被切成条状，供腌制之用。

When the wind was in the east a smell came across the harbour from the shark factory; but today there was only the faint edge of the odour because the wind had backed into the north and then dropped off and it was pleasant and sunny on the Terrace.

当东风刮起时，会有一股气味从鲨鱼加工厂越过海湾传出来；但今天，仅有微微的一丝气味，因为风已经退回了北方，后来又渐渐停息了。露台上天气宜人、阳光灿烂。

"Santiago," the boy said.

“圣地亚哥。”男孩说。

"Yes," the old man said. He was holding his glass and thinking of many years ago.

“嗯。”老人说。他手握酒杯，想着许多年前的事。

"Can I go out to get sardines for you for tomorrow?"

“我出去弄点沙丁鱼来给你明天用好吗？”

"No. Go and play baseball. I can still row and Rogelio will throw the net."

“不用。去打棒球吧。我还能划船，罗杰利奥会撒网的。”

"I would like to go. If I cannot fish with you, I would like to serve in some way."

“我想去。即使不能和您一起钓鱼，我也想帮您做点什么。”

"You bought me a beer," the old man said. "You are already a man."

“你请我喝过啤酒了，”老人说,“你已经是个大人了。”

"How old was I when you first took me in a boat?"

“您第一次带我上船时，我有多大？”

"Five and you nearly were killed when I brought the fish in too green and he nearly tore the boat to pieces. Can you remember?"

“五岁，那天我捞上来一条活蹦乱跳的鱼，它差点把船撞成碎片，你也险些丧命啊。你还记得吗？”

"I can remember the tail slapping and banging and the thwart breaking and the noise of the clubbing. I can remember you throwing me into the bow where the wet coiled lines were and feeling the whole boat shiver and the noise of you clubbing him like chopping a tree down and the sweet blood smell all over me."

“我记得那鱼的尾巴东拍西撞，打断了船上的横坐板，还记得棍棒打鱼的声音。我记得您把我推向船头，那儿放着湿湿的卷着的钓线，我感觉整条船都在颤抖，还听到您用棍子打它的啪啪声，就像在砍一棵树，我还记得我浑身上下那甜甜的血腥味。”

"Can you really remember that or did I just tell it to you?"

“你真的记得那些事吗，还是我前不久给你讲过？”

"I remember everything from when we first went together."

“从我们第一次一块儿出海开始，所有的事我都记得。”

The old man looked at him with his sun-burned, confident loving eyes.

老人用他那饱经日晒而又自信坚定、充满爱意的眼睛望着他。

"If you were my boy I'd take you out and gamble," he said. "But you are your father's and your mother's and you are in a lucky boat."

“你要是我儿子，我肯定会带你出去闯荡一番。”他说，“可你是你爸爸妈妈的孩子，而且你又搭上了一条幸运的船。”

"May I get the sardines? I know where I can get four baits too."

“我去弄些沙丁鱼来可以吗？我知道从哪可以弄来四个鱼饵。”

"I have mine left from today. I put them in salt in the box."

“今天我自己还剩了点儿。我把它们放在盒子里用盐腌上了。”

"Let me get four fresh ones."

“我去弄四条新鲜的吧！”

"One," the old man said. His hope and his confidence had never gone. But now they were freshening as when the breeze rises.

“一条就行了。”老人说。他从来没有失去过希望和信心。但现在，它们又像微风拂起时那样清新了。

"Two," the boy said.

“两条吧。”男孩说。

"Two," the old man agreed. "You didn't steal them?"

“两条就两条。”老人答应了。“你不是去偷吧？”

"I would," the boy said. "But I bought these."

“我倒想去偷，”男孩说，“但这些是我买来的。”

"Thank you," the old man said. He was too simple to wonder when he had attained humility. But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride.

“谢谢你。”老人说。他太纯朴了，不会去想自己何时变得这样谦卑。但他知道，自己已经变得谦卑了，也知道这没什么不光彩的，不会伤害到真正的自尊。

"Tomorrow is going to be a good day with this current," he said.

“瞧这水流，明天会是个好日子。”他说。

"Where are you going?" the boy asked.

“您要去哪儿？”男孩问。

"Far out to come in when the wind shifts. I want to be out before it is light."

“去远方，风向变了才回来。我想在天亮前就动身。”

"I'll try to get him to work far out," the boy said. "Then if you hook something truly big we can come to your aid."

“我会想办法让我的船主也往远开。”男孩说，“那样，您要是钓到大家伙，我们就能去帮您了。”

"He does not like to work too far out."

“他不想开太远的。”

"No," the boy said. "But I will see something that he cannot see such as a bird working and get him to come out after dolphin."

“是这样。”男孩说，“但我会看见一些他看不见的东西，比如说空中飞的鸟，我还会告诉他去赶追鲯鳅。”

"Are his eyes that bad?"

“他眼神那么差吗？”

"He is almost blind."

“他几乎是个瞎子。”

"It is strange," the old man said. "He never went turtle-ing. That is what kills the eyes.”

“真怪了,”老人说,“他从没捉过海龟。那才会伤眼睛呢。”

"But you went turtle-ing for years off the Mosquito Coast and your eyes are good.”

“可您在莫斯基托海岸捕了好多年海龟，您的眼睛还是很好啊。”

"I am a strange old man."

“我是个怪老头。”

"But are you strong enough now for a truly big fish?"

“不过，您现在还能有足够的力气对付真正的大鱼吗？”

"I think so. And there are many tricks."

“有啊。而且有好多诀窍呢。”

"Let us take the stuff home," the boy said. "So I can get the cast net and go after the sardines."

“咱们把这些东西拿回家吧，”男孩说，“这样我就能拿上鱼网去捉沙丁鱼了。”

They picked up the gear from the boat. The old man carried the mast on his shoulder and the boy carried the wooden box with the coiled, hard-braided brown lines, the gaff and the harpoon with its shaft. The box with the baits was under the stern of the skiff along with the club that was used to subdue the big fish when they were brought alongside. No one would steal from the old man but it was better to take the sail and the heavy lines home as the dew was bad for them and, though he was quite sure no local people would steal from him, the old man thought that a gaff and a harpoon were needless temptations to leave in a boat.

他们从船上拿起渔具。老人把桅杆扛在肩上，男孩抱着一个木箱，里面装着卷起来的结实的棕色钓线，还有手钩和带杆子的鱼叉。装鱼饵的盒子和一根棍子一起，都放在了小船的船尾下面，这棍子是用来制服被拖到船边的大鱼的。没人会偷老人的东西，但最好还是把帆和沉重的钓线拿回家，因为露水会对这些东西没有好处，而且，虽说老人深信当地人不会偷他的东西，但他还是觉得，把手钩和鱼叉放在船上是不必要的诱惑。

They walked up the road together to the old man's shack and went in through its open door. The old man leaned the mast with its wrapped sail against the wall and the boy put the box and the other gear beside it. The mast was nearly as long as the one room of the shack. The shack was made of the tough bud-shields of the royal palm which are called guano and in it there was a bed, a table, one chair, and a place on the dirt floor to cook with charcoal. On the brown walls of the flattened, overlapping leaves of the sturdy fibered guano there was a picture in color of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and another of the Virgin of Cobre. These were relics of his wife. Once there had been a tinted photograph of his wife on the wall but he had taken it down because it made him too lonely to see it and it was on the shelf in the corner under his clean shirt.

他们沿着马路走到了老人的棚屋，门开着，他们走了进去。老人把缠着帆的桅杆靠在墙上，男孩把盒子和其他渔具放在它旁边。桅杆几乎和棚屋的单间屋子一样长。这棚屋是用王棕树上被称为“鸟粪”的坚硬的芽壳搭造而成的，里面有一张床、一张桌子、一把椅子，泥地上还有一处用炭烧饭的地方。棕色的墙是用有着坚韧纤维的“鸟粪”压平后紧密相叠而成，墙上挂着一幅彩色的耶稣圣心图，还有一幅科伯圣母图。这些是他妻子的遗物。墙上也曾挂着他妻子的彩照，但他把它摘下来了，因为看到它会令他感到很孤独。那照片如今被放在了屋角的架子上，他的一件干净衬衫的下面。

"What do you have to eat?" the boy asked.

“您吃什么啊？”男孩问。

"A pot of yellow rice with fish. Do you want some?"

“一锅黄米饭煮鱼。想来点吗？”

"No. I will eat at home. Do you want me to make the fire?"

“不了。我回家吃。您需要我生火吗？”

"No. I will make it later on. Or I may eat the rice cold."

“不用。一会儿我生吧。或者，兴许我就凉着吃了。”

"May I take the cast net?"

“我可以拿走鱼网吗？”

"Of course."

“当然可以啦。”

There was no cast net and the boy remembered when they had sold it. But they went through this fiction every day.

其实并没有鱼网，男孩还记得他们是什么时候卖掉它的。但他们每天都要编这样的谎话。

There was no pot of yellow rice and fish and the boy knew this too.

而且根本就没有黄米饭煮鱼，这个男孩也知道。

"Eighty-five is a lucky number," the old man said. "How would you like to see me bring one in that dressed out over a thousand pounds?"

“八十五是个吉利数字。”老人说，“你想不想看到我捉回一条去掉内脏净重一千多磅的鱼呢？”

"I'll get the cast net and go for sardines. Will you sit in the sun in the doorway?"

“我去拿鱼网捉沙丁鱼去。您坐在门口晒晒太阳好吗？”

"Yes. I have yesterday's paper and I will read the baseball."

“好。我有昨天的报纸，我要看下棒球信息。”

The boy did not know whether yesterday's paper was a fiction too. But the old man brought it out from under the bed.

男孩不知道昨天的报纸是不是也是谎话。可老人把它从床底下拿出来了。

"Perico gave it to me at the bodega," he explained.

“佩里科在杂货店给我的。”他解释道。

"I'll be back when I have the sardines. I'll keep yours and mine together on ice and we can share them in the morning. When I come back you can tell me about the baseball."

“我捉到沙丁鱼就回来。我会把您的鱼和我的一块搁在冰上，明天早上我们就能分着用了。我回来时，您告诉我棒球赛的情况。”

"The Yankees cannot lose."

“扬基队一定不会输的。”

"But I fear the Indians of Cleveland."

“可我怕克利夫兰印第安人队会赢。”

"Have faith in the Yankees my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."

“要对扬基队有信心，孩子。想想迪马乔有多棒。”

"I fear both the Tigers of Detroit and the Indians of Cleveland."

“底特律老虎队和克利夫兰印第安人队，这两个队我都怕。”

"Be careful or you will fear even the Reds of Cincinnati and the White Sax of Chicago."

“当心，不然你连辛辛那提红队和芝加哥白短袜队都要怕了。”

"You study it and tell me when I come back."

“您好好看吧，等我回来讲给我听。”

"Do you think we should buy a terminal of the lottery with an eighty-five? Tomorrow is the eighty-fifth day.”

“你说我们去买张尾数是八十五的彩票怎么样？明天是第八十五天。”

"We can do that," the boy said. "But what about the eighty-seven of your great record?”

“我们可以这么做。”男孩说，“不过，您创下的伟大纪录是在第八十七天啊，这个数字怎么样？”

"It could not happen twice. Do you think you can find an eighty-five?”

“那不会再发生了。你觉得你能找到一张尾数是八十五的吗？”

"I can order one.

“我可以订一张。

"One sheet. That's two dollars and a half. Who can we borrow that from?"

“一张。那就要两块五。我们跟谁去借钱呢？”

"That's easy. I can always borrow two dollars and a half."

“这简单。两块五我总能借到的。”

"I think perhaps I can too. But I try not to borrow. First you borrow. Then you beg."

“我想说不定我也能借上。但我尽量不借钱。先借了钱。然后就得讨饭了。”

"Keep warm old man," the boy said. "Remember we are in September."

“穿暖和点，老爷爷。”男孩说，“别忘了我们这可是在九月啊。”

"The month when the great fish come," the old man said. "Anyone can be a fisherman in May."

“是大鱼露面的月份。”老人说，“五月里，谁都能成为好渔夫。”

"I go now for the sardines," the boy said.

“我现在去捉沙丁鱼。”男孩说。

When the boy came back the old man was asleep in the chair and the sun was down. The boy took the old army blanket off the bed and spread it over the back of the chair and over the old man's shoulders. They were strange shoulders, still powerful although very old, and the neck was still strong too and the creases did not show so much when the old man was asleep and his head fallen forward. His shirt had been patched so many times that it was like the sail and the patches were faded to many different shades by the sun. The old man's head was very old though and with his eyes closed there was no life in his face. The newspaper lay across his knees and the weight of his arm held it there in the evening breeze. He was barefooted.

男孩回来的时候，老人在椅子上睡着了，太阳已经落山。男孩从床上拿起老人的旧军毯，把它搭在椅背上，盖住了老人的双肩。这肩膀很奇怪，虽然老了却依然强壮有力，颈部也很健壮，而且，老人睡着了头向前耷拉着的时候，皱纹也显得不是那么多了。他的衬衫已经补了又补，简直就像那张帆一样，补丁由于日晒而褪了色，变得深一块浅一块。老人的头却是非常苍老了，闭上眼睛，脸上显得毫无生气。报纸摊在他膝盖上，由于他用一只胳膊压着，所以没被晚风吹走。他的脚赤裸着。

The boy left him there and when he came back the old man was still asleep.

男孩没管他，走了，他回来时，老人还在睡。

"Wake up old man," the boy said and put his hand on one of the old man's knees.

“醒醒吧，老爷爷。”男孩说着，把手搭在老人的一个膝盖上。

The old man opened his eyes and for a moment he was coming back from a long way away. Then he smiled.

老人睁开双眼，一时间，仿佛正从遥远的地方回来。然后他笑了。

"What have you got?" he asked.

“你弄到什么了？”他问。

"Supper," said the boy. "We're going to have supper."

“晚餐，”男孩说，“我们要吃晚餐了。”

"I'm not very hungry."

“我不怎么饿。”

"Come on and eat. You can't fish and not eat."

“来吧，吃吧。您不能只打鱼不吃饭呀。”

"I have," the old man said getting up and taking the newspaper and folding it. Then he started to fold the blanket.

“我这么做过。”老人一边说，一边站起身来，拿起报纸，把它折起来。接着他又开始叠毯子。

"Keep the blanket around you," the boy said. "You'll not fish without eating while I'm alive."

“就把毯子披在身上吧。”男孩说，“我活着，您就不会不吃饭就去打鱼。”

"Then live a long time and take care of yourself," the old man said. "What are we eating?"

“那你可得活得长点，要照顾好自己啊。”老人说，“咱们吃什么？”

"Black beans and rice, fried bananas, and some stew."

“黑豆米饭，炸香蕉，还有些炖菜。”

The boy had brought them in a two-decker metal container from the Terrace. The two sets of knives and forks and spoons were in his pocket with a paper napkin wrapped around each set.

男孩是从露台饭店用一个两层的金属餐盒把这些饭菜带回来的。他口袋里装着两副刀叉和勺子，每副都用餐巾纸包着。

"Who gave this to you?"

“谁给你这个的？”

"Martin. The owner."

“马丁。那个老板。”

"I must thank him."

“我一定要谢谢他。”

"I thanked him already," the boy said. "You don't need to thank him."

“我已经谢过他了，”男孩说，“您不用谢他了。”

"I'll give him the belly meat of a big fish," the old man said. "Has he done this for us more than once?"

“我要给他一块大鱼鱼肚上的肉。”老人说，“他这样帮助我们不止一次了吧？”

"I think so."

“我想是的。”

"I must give him something more than the belly meat then. He is very thoughtful for us."

“那我除了鱼肚肉之外还得给他些东西。他很为我们着想。”

"He sent two beers."

“他送了两瓶啤酒。”

"I like the beer in cans best."

“我最喜欢罐装啤酒了。”

"I know. But this is in bottles, Hatuey beer, and I take back the bottles."

“我知道。可这是瓶装的，阿图埃伊啤酒，我还得还回瓶子。”

"That's very kind of you," the old man said. "Should we eat?"

“你可真好。”老人说，“我们可以吃了吧？”

"I've been asking you to," the boy told him gently. "I have not wished to open the container until you were ready."

“我一直在叫您吃啊，”男孩温和地对他说，“我可不想没等您准备好就打开餐盒。”

"I'm ready now," the old man said. "I only needed time to wash."

“现在我准备好了，”老人说，“我刚才只是需要点时间洗洗手。”

Where did you wash? the boy thought. The village water supply was two streets down the road. I must have water here for him, the boy thought, and soap and a good towel. Why am I so thoughtless? I must get him another shirt and a jacket for the winter and some sort of shoes and another blanket.

您是去哪洗的？男孩想。村里的水源在沿大路过两条街的地方。我得给他把水带到这儿来，男孩想，还要弄块肥皂和一条干净毛巾。我怎么这么粗心？我必须给他再弄件衬衫和一件夹克好让他过冬，再找双鞋子啥的，还得再弄条毯子。

"Your stew is excellent," the old man said.

“你这炖菜太好吃了。”老人说。

"Tell me about the baseball," the boy asked him.

“给我说说棒球赛的情况吧。”男孩请求他说。

"In the American League it is the Yankees as I said," the old man said happily.

“在美国联赛中，就是扬基队最棒，正如我所说。”老人愉快地说。

"They lost today," the boy told him.

“他们今天输了。”男孩告诉他。

"That means nothing. The great DiMaggio is himself again."

“这说明不了什么。那了不起的迪马乔又找回自己了。”

"They have other men on the team."

“他们队里还有其他人呢。”

"Naturally. But he makes the difference. In the other league, between Brooklyn and Philadelphia I must take Brooklyn. But then I think of Dick Sisler and those great drives in the Old Park."

“那当然。但有了他就不一样了。在另一个联赛中，布鲁克林队和费城队之间的比赛，我看好布鲁克林队。不过我还记得迪克·西斯勒和他在老公园打的那些好球。”

"There was nothing ever like them. He hits the longest ball I have ever seen."

“从没有人打过那么好的球。他击的球是我见过最远的。”

"Do you remember when he used to come to the Terrace?" "I wanted to take him fishing but I was too timid to ask him. Then I asked you to ask him and you were too timid."

“你记得他以前常来露台饭店吗？”“我想带他去打鱼，可我不敢跟他讲。所以我让你去跟他说，你也不敢。”

"I know. It was a great mistake. He might have gone with us. Then we would have that for all of our lives."

“我记得呀。这真是个巨大的失误。他有可能会和我们一起去的。那样的话，我们就可以一辈子回味这件事了。”

"I would like to take the great DiMaggio fishing," the old man said. "They say his father was a fisherman. Maybe he was as poor as we are and would understand."

“我想带那了不起的迪马乔去打鱼，”老人说，“他们说他父亲是个渔夫。或许他当初和我们一样穷，会理解我们的。”

"The great Sisler's father was never poor and he, the father, was playing in the Big Leagues when he was my age."

“那出色的西斯勒的爸爸可没有穷过，他，这位父亲，像我这么大的时候就在大联盟里打球了。”

"When I was your age I was before the mast on a square rigged ship that ran to Africa and I have seen lions on the beaches in the evening."

“我像你这么大时，就在一条开往非洲的方帆船上当普通水手了，我还在傍晚的海滩上见过狮子。”

"I know. You told me."

“我知道。您告诉过我。”

"Should we talk about Africa or about baseball?"

“我们是该谈非洲还是谈棒球？”

"Baseball I think," the boy said. "Tell me about the great John J. McGraw." He said Jota for J.

“我想还是谈棒球吧，”男孩说，“跟我说说那出色的约翰·J. 麦格劳的事吧。”他把"J"读成了“乔塔”。

"He used to come to the Terrace sometimes too in the older days. But he was rough and harsh-spoken and difficult when he was drinking. His mind was on horses as well as baseball. At least he carried lists of horses at all times in his pocket and frequently spoke the names of horses on the telephone.”

以前的时候，他有时也会来露台饭店。但是他一喝酒，就粗暴无礼，话语尖刻，难以相处。他既喜欢棒球，又热衷于赛马。至少他口袋里总是装着赛马的名单，还经常在电话里提到马的名字。”

"He was a great manager," the boy said. "My father thinks he was the greatest."

“他是个出色的经理。”男孩说，“我爸爸认为他是最出色的。”

"Because he came here the most times," the old man said. "If Durocher had continued to come here each year your father would think him the greatest manager."

“那是因为他来这儿来得最多，”老人说，“如果杜罗切连续每年都来这儿，你爸爸就会觉得他是最出色的经理了。”

"Who is the greatest manager, really, Luque or Mike Gonzalez?"

“说真的，谁是最出色的经理呢，卢克还是迈克·冈萨雷斯？”

"I think they are equal."

“我觉得他们不分高下。”

"And the best fisherman is you."

“而最好的渔夫是您。”

"No. I know others better."

“不是。我知道有别的渔夫比我强。”

"Que Va," the boy said. "There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But there is only you."

“哪里呀！”男孩说，“好渔夫有很多，也有一些是非常棒的。但您却是独一无二的。”

"Thank you. You make me happy. I hope no fish will come along so great that he will prove us wrong."

“谢谢你。你让我很开心。我不希望来一条大得让我对付不了的鱼，那样就证明我们错了。”

"There is no such fish if you are still strong as you say."

“没有这样的鱼，只要您还是像您说的那么强壮。”

"I may not be as strong as I think," the old man said. "But I know many tricks and I have resolution."

“我可能没有我想的那么强壮了。”老人说，“不过我知道很多窍门，而且我有决心。”

"You ought to go to bed now so that you will be fresh in the morning. I will take the things back to the Terrace."

“您现在该睡觉了，这样明天早上才有精神。我要把这些东西送回露台饭店。”

"Good night then. I will wake you in the morning."

“那晚安。早上我来叫你起床。”

"You're my alarm clock," the boy said.

“您是我的闹钟。”男孩说。

"Age is my alarm clock," the old man said. "Why do old men wake so early? Is it to have one longer day?"

“年龄是我的闹钟。”老人说，“为什么老年人醒得那么早？是想让白天长点儿吗？”

"I don't know," the boy said. "All I know is that young boys sleep late and hard."

“我不知道，”男孩说，“我只知道年轻小伙儿早起不来，睡得沉。”

"I can remember it," the old man said. "I'll waken you in time."

“我能记住，”老人说，“我会及时叫醒你的。”

"I do not like for him to waken me. It is as though I were inferior."

“我不喜欢让他叫醒我。这样好像我低他一等。”

"I know."

“我明白。”

"Sleep well old man."

“睡个好觉，老爷爷。”

The boy went out. They had eaten with no light on the table and the old man took off his trousers and went to bed in the dark. He rolled his trousers up to make a pillow, putting the newspaper inside them. He rolled himself in the blanket and slept on the other old newspapers that covered the springs of the bed.

男孩出去了。他们吃饭的时候桌子上没灯，老人就脱了裤子摸黑上了床。他把裤子卷起来当枕头，把报纸塞进裤子里。他用毯子把自己裹住，睡在了弹簧床垫上铺着的其他旧报纸上。

He was asleep in a short time and he dreamed of Africa when he was a boy and the long golden beaches and the white beaches, so white they hurt your eyes, and the high capes and the great brown mountains. He lived along that coast now every night and in his dreams he heard the surf roar and saw the native boats come riding through it. He smelled the tar and oakum of the deck as he slept and he smelled the smell of Africa that the land breeze brought at morning.

他不一会儿就睡着了，梦见了儿时的非洲，那长长的金色海滩和白色海滩，白得刺眼，还有那高高的海角和棕色的大山。现如今，他每天夜里都生活在那海岸边，在梦里，他听见海浪的轰鸣声，看见土著人的船只在海浪中穿行。他睡觉时闻到了甲板上的焦油和麻絮味，还闻到了清晨陆地上的微风带来的非洲气息。

Usually when he smelled the land breeze he woke up and dressed to go and wake the boy. But tonight the smell of the land breeze came very early and he knew it was too early in his dream and went on dreaming to see the white peaks of the Islands rising from the sea and then he dreamed of the different harbours and roadsteads of the Canary Islands.

通常，他一闻到陆地上的微风就醒了，然后穿好衣服去叫醒那孩子。但今晚，陆地上微风的气息吹来得很早，他在梦里感到时间还早，就继续做着梦，梦中看见群岛的白色顶峰从海面上升起，接着又梦到了加那利群岛的各个海港和锚泊地。

He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy. He never dreamed about the boy. He simply woke, looked out the open door at the moon and unrolled his trousers and put them on. He urinated outside the shack and then went up the road to wake the boy. He was shivering with the morning cold. But he knew he would shiver himself warm and that soon he would be rowing.

他不再梦见风暴，不再梦见女人，不再梦见伟大事件，不再梦见大鱼，不再梦见打斗，不再梦见力量角逐，也不再梦见他的妻子。此时他只是梦见了一些地方，还有海滩上的狮子。它们在薄暮中似小猫一般嬉戏玩耍，他爱它们，就像他爱那个男孩一样。他从来不曾梦见那男孩。他就这样醒来，看了看敞开的门外面的月亮，展开裤子穿上了。他在棚屋外解了手，然后沿着大路出发去叫醒那男孩。清晨的寒气把他冻得直发抖。可他知道打哆嗦会让身体暖和起来，也清楚马上他就要去划船了。

The door of the house where the boy lived was unlocked and he opened it and walked in quietly with his bare feet. The boy was asleep on a cot in the first room and the old man could see him clearly with the light that came in from the dying moon. He took hold of one foot gently and held it until the boy woke and turned and looked at him. The old man nodded and the boy took his trousers from the chair by the bed and, sitting on the bed, pulled them on.

男孩住的那个房子门没锁，他推开门，赤着脚悄悄地走进去。男孩在外屋的折叠床上熟睡着，老人借着渐渐消退的月亮的光线，可以清楚地看见他。他轻轻地抓住男孩的一只脚，就这么抓着，直到男孩醒来，转过身来看着他。老人点了点头，男孩从床边的椅子上拿起他的裤子，坐在床上穿了起来。

The old man went out the door and the boy came after him. He was sleepy and the old man put his arm across his shoulders and said, "I am sorry."

老人走出门去，男孩尾随其后。他仍睡意未消，老人伸出胳膊搂住他的肩膀说：“抱歉啊。”

"Qua Va," the boy said. "It is what a man must do."

“哪儿的话！”男孩说，“男人就该这么做。”

They walked down the road to the old man's shack and all along the road, in the dark, barefoot men were moving, carrying the masts of their boats.

他们沿着马路走向老人的棚屋，一路上，在黑暗中，赤着脚的男人们扛着他们船上的桅杆，来回穿梭着。

When they reached the old man's shack the boy took the rolls of line in the basket and the harpoon and gaff and the old man carried the mast with the furled sail on his shoulder.

他们到了老人的棚屋，男孩拿起篮子里的一卷卷钓线，还有鱼叉和手钩，老人扛起卷着帆的桅杆。

"Do you want coffee?" the boy asked.

“您想喝咖啡吗？”男孩问。

"We'll put the gear in the boat and then get some."

“我们把渔具放到船里，然后喝点吧。”

They had coffee from condensed milk cans at an early morning place that served fishermen.

在一个清晨招待渔夫的地方，他们喝着用炼乳罐盛着的咖啡。

"How did you sleep old man?" the boy asked. He was waking up now although it was still hard for him to leave his sleep.

“您睡得怎么样，老爷爷？”男孩问。他现在已经醒过来了，尽管仍然很难完全消除睡意。

"Very well, Manolin," the old man said. "I feel confident today."

“很好，马诺林。”老人说，“我今天蛮有信心的。”

"So do I," the boy said. "Now I must get your sardines and mine and your fresh baits. He brings our gear himself. He never wants anyone to carry anything."

“我也是。”男孩说，“现在我得去拿你和我的沙丁鱼，还有你的新鲜鱼饵。他总是自己拿我们的渔具。他从不要任何人帮他拿东西。”

"We're different," the old man said. "I let you carry things when you were five years old."

“我们不一样，”老人说，“你五岁时我就让你帮着拿东西了。”

"I know it," the boy said. "I'll be right back. Have another coffee. We have credit here."

“这我知道。”男孩说，“我会很快回来的。再喝一杯咖啡吧。我们在这儿能赊账。”

He walked off, bare-footed on the coral rocks, to the ice house where the baits were stored.

他离开了这儿，赤着脚走在珊瑚石道上，去往储存鱼饵的冷藏室。

The old man drank his coffee slowly. It was all he would have all day and he knew that he should take it. For a long time now eating had bored him and he never carried a lunch. He had a bottle of water in the bow of the skiff and that was all he needed for the day.

老人慢慢地喝着咖啡。他一整天里能下肚的就只有这个了，他知道该把它喝了。很久以来，吃饭令他感到厌倦，他从不带午饭。他有一瓶水，放在小船的船头，他这一整天有这个就够了。

The boy was back now with the sardines and the two baits wrapped in a newspaper and they went down the trail to the skiff, feeling the pebbled sand under their feet, and lifted the skiff and slid her into the water.

男孩回来了，带回了沙丁鱼和两份用报纸包着的鱼饵，他们沿着小路向小船走去，感觉到脚下沙地里嵌着鹅卵石。他们拉起小船，把它划入水中。

"Good luck old man."

“祝您好运，老爷爷。”

"Good luck," the old man said. He fitted the rope lashings of the oars onto the thole pins and, leaning forward against the thrust of the blades in the water, he began to row out of the harbour in the dark. There were other boats from the other beaches going out to sea and the old man heard the dip and push of their oars even though he could not see them now the moon was below the hills.

“祝你好运。”老人道。他把桨上的绳索挂在桨栓的钉子上，身子俯向前去，设法抵消桨片在水下遇到的阻力，动身在黑暗中划出港口。其他海滩上也有些船只出海了，尽管此时月亮已经落到山下，老人看不见他们了，但却听到他们的桨落水和划动的声音。

Sometimes someone would speak in a boat. But most of the boats were silent except for the dip of the oars. They spread apart after they were out of the mouth of the harbour and each one headed for the part of the ocean where he hoped to find fish. The old man knew he was going far out and he left the smell of the land behind and rowed out into the clean early morning smell of the ocean. He saw the phosphorescence of the Gulf weed in the water as he rowed over the part of the ocean that the fishermen called the great well because there was a sudden deep of seven hundred fathoms where all sorts of fish congregated because of the swirl the current made against the steep walls of the floor of the ocean. Here there were concentrations of shrimp and bait fish and sometimes schools of squid in the deepest holes and these rose close to the surface at night where all the wandering fish fed on them.

有时某只船上会有人说话。但大部分船都沉寂无声，只能听到船桨的落水声。它们出了港口便分散开了，每条船都驶向它们希望能钓到鱼的那片海域。老人知道他要驶向远方，他把陆地的气息抛在身后，划入清晨海洋的清新气息中。他划过一片水域，看见了马尾藻闪着的磷光，渔夫们把这片水域称为“大井”，因为这里的水深突然达到七百英寻，由于水流冲击在海底峭壁上，形成了涡流，各种鱼类都聚集在这儿。这里聚集着海虾和可用作鱼饵的小鱼，有时在最深处的水洞里还有成群的枪乌贼，它们在夜里浮到接近海面的地方，在附近浮游的所有的鱼都会捕食它们。

In the dark the old man could feel the morning coming and as he rowed he heard the trembling sound as flying fish left the water and the hissing that their stiff set wings made as they soared away in the darkness. He was very fond of flying fish as they were his principal friends on the ocean. He was sorry for the birds, especially the small delicate dark terns that were always flying and looking and almost never finding, and he thought, the birds have a harder life than we do except for the robber birds and the heavy strong ones. Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when the ocean can be so cruel? She is kind and very beautiful. But she can be so cruel and it comes so suddenly and such birds that fly, dipping and hunting, with their small sad voices are made too delicately for the sea.

黑暗中，老人可以感觉到早晨的到来，他划船时听到了飞鱼跃出海面时的颤抖声，以及它们在黑暗中翱翔时挺直的翅膀发出的嘶嘶声。他很喜欢飞鱼，因为它们是他在海洋上的主要朋友。他为鸟儿们感到难过，尤其是那些娇弱的黑色小燕鸥，它们总是在飞翔，在搜寻，却几乎从没找到什么，因此他想，鸟儿们比我们还生活得艰难，除非是猛禽和又大又壮的鸟类。为什么海洋如此残酷，而像海燕那样的小鸟却生得如此娇弱纤巧？海洋亲切而又美丽万分。但她也能这般残酷，海浪来得如此突然，而这些飞翔的、轻声哀鸣着降到海面觅食的鸟儿，却娇弱得难以在海上生存。

He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger fishermen, those who used buoys as floats for their lines and had motorboats, bought when the shark livers had brought much money, spoke of her as el mar which is masculine. They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.

他总是把大海想成是"la mar"（女性），这是人们喜爱大海时用西班牙语对她的称呼。有时，那些喜爱她的人也会说她的不好，但他们谈论时总是把她当成女人来看待。一些年轻的渔夫，他们把浮标当作钓线上的浮子，当他们把鲨鱼肝脏卖了个好价钱时，又购置了摩托艇后，他们谈及海洋时就称她为"el mar"（男性），这是代表男性的。他们提到她时，把她当成是一个竞争者，或是一个地方，甚至把她当成一个敌人。但是，这位老人总是把她想成是女性，认为她或是给人以恩惠或是拒绝给予帮助，如果她做出暴劣或邪恶的事情，那是因为她也没法控制。月亮影响着她，就像影响着女人一样，他想。

He was rowing steadily and it was no effort for him since he kept well within his speed and the surface of the ocean was flat except for the occasional swirls of the current. He was letting the current do a third of the work and as it started to be light he saw he was already further out than he had hoped to be at this hour.

他平稳地划着，对他来说这并不费力，因为他始终在自己的速度范围内行进，而且海面是平坦的，只是偶尔会有水流的涡动。他正在让水流替他完成三分之一的任务，此时天已开始亮了，他看到自己此时已经划到了比预计的更远的地方了。

I worked the deep wells for a week and did nothing, he thought. Today I'll work out where the schools of bonito and albacore are and maybe there will be a big one with them.

我在这深井里忙活了一个礼拜了却一无所获，他想。今天，我要想法儿弄清狐鲣和长鳍金枪鱼的鱼群在哪儿，没准儿会有条大鱼和它们在一块儿呢。

Before it was really light he had his baits out and was drifting with the current. One bait was down forty fathoms. The second was at seventy-five and the third and fourth were down in the blue water at one hundred and one hundred and twenty-five fathoms. Each bait hung head down with the shank of the hook inside the bait fish, tied and sewed solid and all the projecting part of the hook, the curve and the point, was covered with fresh sardines. Each sardine was hooked through both eyes so that they made a half-garland on the projecting steel. There was no part of the hook that a great fish could feel which was not sweet smelling and good tasting.

天还没有大亮，他就放出了鱼饵，小船随着水流漂动着。一个鱼饵沉到了水下四十英寻处。第二个到了七十五英寻的地方，第三个和第四个沉入到蓝色海水中的一百英寻和一百二十五英寻处。每个鱼饵都是头朝下的，鱼钩的钩身穿进了鱼的身体里，用钓线系着，并牢牢地缝住，鱼钩的所有突出部分、弯曲的部分和尖端，都包在新鲜沙丁鱼的身体里。每条沙丁鱼都是用鱼钩穿过双眼的，这样它们在突出的钢钩上就形成了个半环形。大鱼可以触到的鱼钩的部分，无处不是鲜香而味美的。

The boy had given him two fresh small tunas, or albacores, which hung on the two deepest lines like plummets and, on the others, he had a big blue runner and a yellow jack that had been used before; but they were in good condition still and had the excellent sardines to give them scent and attractiveness. Each line, as thick around as a big pencil, was looped onto a green-sapped stick so that any pull or touch on the bait would make the stick dip and each line had two forty-fathom coils which could be made fast to the other spare coils so that, if it were necessary, a fish could take out over three hundred fathoms of line.

男孩给过他两条新鲜的小金枪鱼，或称长鳍金枪鱼，它们像铅锤一样挂在两条潜得最深的钓线上；其他两根钓线上，他挂了一条大蓝鲹和一条黄鳝，它们以前已被用过，但仍然完好，还有绝好的沙丁鱼给它们增添香味和吸引力。每条钓线都像一支大铅笔那样粗，缠在一根绿皮钓竿上，这样，鱼饵的任何拉动或触碰都会使钓竿下落。每根钓线上都有两个四十英寻的线圈，它们可以牢牢地系在其他备用的线圈上，这样，如果确能用上的话，一条鱼就能拉出三百多英寻长的钓线来。

Now the man watched the dip of the three sticks over the side of the skiff and rowed gently to keep the lines straight up and down and at their proper depths. It was quite light and any moment now the sun would rise.

此刻，老人注视着挑在船边的那三根钓竿的动静，慢慢地划着船，以使钓线保持上下笔直，并停留在适当的水深处。天已大亮，现在太阳随时都会升起。

The sun rose thinly from the sea and the old man could see the other boats, low on the water and well in toward the shore, spread out across the current. Then the sun was brighter and the glare came on the water and then, as it rose clear, the flat sea sent it back at his eyes so that it hurt sharply and he rowed without looking into it. He looked down into the water and watched the lines that went straight down into the dark of the water. He kept them straighter than anyone did, so that at each level in the darkness of the stream there would be a bait waiting exactly where he wished it to be for any fish that swam there. Others let them drift with the current and sometimes they were at sixty fathoms when the fishermen thought they were at a hundred.

太阳从海上升起了，发出淡淡的光。老人看见其他的船，低低地贴着水面，在靠近海岸处对着水流铺展开来。而后，太阳更亮了，眩目的阳光照射在水面上，接着，当它完全升起时，平坦的海面把阳光反射到他的眼里，剧烈地刺痛了他的双眼，于是他只顾划着，不敢直视太阳。他低头向水中看去，观察着那些直入漆黑海底的钓线。他把钓线弄得直直的，比任何人弄得都直，这样，在漆黑湾流的任何深度，都会恰好有个鱼饵在他所期望的地方，等着任何游到那儿的鱼来吃。其他渔夫则任钓线随着水流漂浮，有时候，钓线在六十英寻处，他们却以为在一百英寻处。

But, he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck any more. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.

但是，他想，我总是把它们放到精确位置。只是我不再走运了。可谁知道呢？没准儿今天会转运。每天都是崭新的一天。走运就更好了。但我还是愿意做得精准些。这样，运气来了，你就有准备了。

The sun was two hours higher now and it did not hurt his eyes so much to look into the east. There were only three boats in sight now and they showed very low and far inshore.

两小时以后，太阳升得更高了，他朝东边看时，阳光也不那么刺眼了。此刻，只有三条船在视线内，它们显得很低，远在近海岸处。

All my life the early sun has hurt my eyes, he thought. Yet they are still good. In the evening I can look straight into it without getting the blackness. It has more force in the evening too. But in the morning it is painful.

我这辈子，清早的太阳总是刺我的眼睛，他想。可是眼睛仍然还很好。傍晚，我可以直视着太阳，也不会觉得眼前发黑。阳光在傍晚会更强些。但是早上，阳光会刺痛眼睛。

Just then he saw a man-of-war bird with his long black wings circling in the sky ahead of him. He made a quick drop, slanting down on his back-swept wings, and then circled again.

正在这时，他看见一只长着长长的黑色翅膀的军舰鸟在他前方的空中盘旋。它迅速斜冲下来，翅膀向后掠着，继而又盘旋起来。

"He's got something," the old man said aloud. "He's not just looking."

“它捉到东西啦。”老人大声说，“它不只是看看而已。”

He rowed slowly and steadily toward where the bird was circling. He did not hurry and he kept his lines straight up and down. But he crowded the current a little so that he was still fishing correctly though faster than he would have fished if he was not trying to use the bird.

他慢慢地、稳稳地朝着鸟儿盘旋的地方划去。他不慌不忙，把钓线放得笔直。但他还是向海流靠近了一点，这样他就仍然是在用正确的方法钓鱼，尽管在速度上比他没想利用鸟儿时要快些。

The bird went higher in the air and circled again, his wings motionless. Then he dove suddenly and the old man saw flying fish spurt out of the water and sail desperately over the surface.

鸟儿在空中飞得更高了，又盘旋起来，翅膀一动不动。接着，它突然俯冲下来，老人看见飞鱼跃出水面，在海面上拼命地前行。

"Dolphin," the old man said aloud. "Big dolphin."

“鲯鳅。”老人大声说道，“大鲯鳅。”

He shipped his oars and brought a small line from under the bow. It had a wire leader and a medium-sized hook and he baited it with one of the sardines. He let it go over the side and then made it fast to a ring bolt in the stern. Then he baited another line and left it coiled in the shade of the bow. He went back to rowing and to watching the long-winged black bird who was working, now, low over the water.

他把船桨安好，从船头底下取出一条细钓线。钓线上有一截铁丝导线和一个中号钩子，他把一条沙丁鱼挂在上面做鱼饵。他把钓线从船的侧面放下水去，然后把它牢系在船尾的带环螺栓上。接着，他又在另一根钓线上装上鱼饵，把它缠绕起来，放在船头的阴影处。他又划起船来，继续注视着那只长翅膀的黑鸟，此刻，它正在水面上低低地飞着。

As he watched the bird dipped again slanting his wings for the dive and then swinging them wildly and ineffectually as he followed the flying fish. The old man could see the slight bulge in the water that the big dolphin raised as they followed the escaping fish. The dolphin were cutting through the water below the flight of the fish and would be in the water, driving at speed, when the fish dropped. It is a big school of dolphin, he thought. They are widespread and the flying fish have little chance. The bird has no chance. The flying fish are too big for him and they go too fast.

他正看着，鸟儿又飞了下来，俯冲时，它把翅膀斜向后方，然后又剧烈地扇着翅膀，追赶着飞鱼，但却徒劳无功。老人看见海面稍稍隆起，这是大鲯鳅跟在逃脱的鱼后面时把海面顶起来了。鲯鳅从飞掠的鱼儿下面破水而过，鱼儿一掉下来，它们就钻入水中，飞快地游过去。这可是一大群鲯鳅啊，他想。它们分布范围很广，飞鱼几乎无法逃脱。那只鸟却没有机会。飞鱼对它来说太大了，而且它们游得太快。

He watched the flying fish burst out again and again and the ineffectual movements of the bird. That school has gotten away from me, he thought. They are moving out too fast and too far. But perhaps I will pick up a stray and perhaps my big fish is around them. My big fish must be somewhere.

他看着飞鱼一次又一次地冲出海面，还有那只鸟儿徒劳无功的行动。那群鱼从我身边逃走了，他想。它们游得太快，太远了。但是没准儿我会捉到一条掉队的，没准儿我的大鱼就在它们周围。我的大鱼一定在某个地方。

The clouds over the land now rose like mountains and the coast was only a long green line with the gray blue hills behind it. The water was a dark blue now, so dark that it was almost purple. As he looked down into it he saw the red sifting of the plankton in the dark water and the strange light the sun made now. He watched his lines to see them go straight down out of sight into the water and he was happy to see so much plankton because it meant fish. The strange light the sun made in the water, now that the sun was higher, meant good weather and so did the shape of the clouds over the land. But the bird was almost out of sight now and nothing showed on the surface of the water but some patches of yellow, sun-bleached Sargasso weed and the purple, formalized, iridescent, gelatinous bladder of a Portuguese man-of-war floating close beside the boat. It turned on its side and then righted itself. It floated cheerfully as a bubble with its long deadly purple filaments trailing a yard behind it in the water.

陆地上空的云朵像山一般耸起，海岸成了一条长长的绿色的线，背后是些灰蓝色的小山。此刻的海水是深蓝色的，深得几乎快变成紫色了。他俯视海水，看到深色水中闪现出点点红色的浮游生物，还看到此刻太阳映射在水中发出的奇妙光彩。他注视着钓线，看见它们直直地伸入水中看不见的地方，他很高兴看到如此之多的浮游生物，因为这就意味着有鱼在附近。此刻太阳又升得高了些，阳光映射到水中发出的奇妙的光，意味着会有好天气，陆地上空云朵的形状也预示着这一点。但是，那只鸟儿现在几乎看不见了，海面上没什么东西，只有几片被太阳晒得褪了色的黄色马尾藻和一只紧靠着小船浮游的僧帽水母，它的凝胶状的气囊是紫色的，有一定的形状，呈现出彩虹般的色彩。它转向一边，然后又直起身体。它快乐地浮游着，就像一个气泡，它长长的有毒的紫色触须在水中漂着，在身后拖了一码长。

"Agua mala," the man said. "You whore."

“水母，”老人说，“你这婊子。”

From where he swung lightly against his oars he looked down into the water and saw the tiny fish that were coloured like the trailing filaments and swam between them and under the small shade the bubble made as it drifted. They were immune to its poison. But men were not and when same of the filaments would catch on a line and rest there slimy and purple while the old man was working a fish, he would have welts and sores on his arms and hands of the sort that poison ivy or poison oak can give. But these poisonings from the agua mala came quickly and struck like a whiplash.

他从轻轻摇桨的地方向下朝水中望去，看到了一些小鱼，它们同那些拖在水中的触须颜色一样，在触须间以及浮囊漂动时所投下的小片阴影中游着。它们对它的毒是有免疫力的。不过，人就不行了，老人捕鱼的时候，一些这样的触须会缠到钓线上，紫色的、黏黏的，他的胳膊和手上就会出现伤痕和溃烂，就像被毒漆藤和毒葛毒过似的。但水母身上的这些毒素会迅速发作，疼起来就像被鞭子抽一样。

The iridescent bubbles were beautiful. But they were the falsest thing in the sea and the old man loved to see the big sea turtles eating them. The turtles saw them, approached them from the front, then shut their eyes so they were completely carapaced and ate them filaments and all. The old man loved to see the turtles eat them and he loved to walk on them on the beach after a storm and hear them pop when he stepped on them with the horny soles of his feet.

这些闪着彩虹般色彩的气泡很漂亮。可它们却是海洋里最具欺骗性的东西，老人喜欢看到大海龟吃掉它们。海龟看见了它们，就从前面向它们逼近，然后闭上眼睛，这样，海龟就完全被龟壳保护起来，然后连同触须把它们全部吃掉。老人喜欢看到海龟吃掉它们，喜欢在暴风雨过后在海滩上踩着它们走，喜欢听到自己用起了老茧的脚板踩它们时发出的劈啪声。

He loved green turtles and hawk-bills with their elegance and speed and their great value and he had a friendly contempt for the huge, stupid loggerheads, yellow in their armour-plating, strange in their love-making, and happily eating the Portuguese men-of-war with their eyes shut.

他喜爱绿色的海龟和玳瑁，它们优雅、迅捷、价值颇高。他对那些庞大笨拙的蠵龟抱有一种友好的轻蔑态度，它们的甲壳是黄色的，做爱方式很奇特，总是闭着眼睛高兴地吞食僧帽水母。

He had no mysticism about turtles although he had gone in turtle boats for many years. He was sorry for them all, even the great trunk backs that were as long as the skiff and weighed a ton. Most people are heartless about turtles because a turtle's heart will beat for hours after he has been cut up and butchered. But the old man thought, I have such a heart too and my feet and hands are like theirs. He ate the white eggs to give himself strength. He ate them all through May to be strong in September and October for the truly big fish.

他对海龟并没有什么神秘的看法，尽管他曾多年乘船捕龟。他为所有的海龟感到难过，甚至包括那些大棱皮龟，它们和小船一样长，有一吨重。多数人对海龟都很残忍，因为海龟在被剖开和被残杀后，它的心脏仍然会跳动数小时。但是老人却想，我也有这样一颗心脏，我的脚和手也和它们的相像。他吃白色的龟蛋，想让自己有力气。他整个五月一直都吃，为的是使自己能在九月和十月有力气去捕捉那些真正的大鱼。

He also drank a cup of shark liver oil each day from the big drum in the shack where many of the fishermen kept their gear. It was there for all fishermen who wanted it. Most fishermen hated the taste. But it was no worse than getting up at the hours that they rose and it was very good against all colds and grippes and it was good for the eyes.

他每天还喝一杯鲨鱼肝油，是从许多渔夫存放渔具的棚屋中的一个大桶里舀来的。桶就放在那儿，需要的渔夫都可以去舀。大多数渔夫都讨厌这种味道。但是，这并不像他们到点就得早起那么让人难受，而且它对抵御所有伤风流感都很有好处，对眼睛也很有益。

Now the old man looked up and saw that the bird was circling again.

这时老人抬头望去，看到那只鸟儿又在盘旋了。

"He's found fish," he said aloud. No flying fish broke the surface and there was no scattering of bait fish. But as the old man watched, a small tuna rose in the air, turned and dropped head first into the water. The tuna shone silver in the sun and after he had dropped back into the water another and another rose and they were jumping in all directions, churning the water and leaping in long jumps after the bait. They were circling it and driving it.

“它发现鱼了。”他大声地说。此时没有飞鱼冲出海面，也没有可做鱼饵的小鱼四处游窜。但是，老人看着看着，只见一条小金枪鱼跃到空中，接着又转身头朝下投入水里。这条金枪鱼在阳光下银光闪闪，待它回到水中以后，又有一条接一条的金枪鱼跃出水面，它们跳向四面八方，搅动着海水，跳得远远的去追捕小鱼。它们正围着小鱼转，追赶着小鱼。

If they don't travel too fast I will get into them, the old man thought, and he watched the school working the water white and the bird now dropping and dipping into the bait fish that were forced to the surface in their panic.

如果它们游得不那么快的话，我就赶到它们中间去，老人想。他看着这群鱼把海水搅出白色的泡沫，还看着那鸟儿此时正俯冲下来，冲入惊慌中被迫浮上水面的小鱼群中。

"The bird is a great help," the old man said. Just then the stern line came taut under his foot, where he had kept a loop of the line, and he dropped his oars and felt the weight of the small tuna's shivering pull as he held the line firm and commenced to haul it in. The shivering increased as he pulled in and he could see the blue back of the fish in the water and the gold of his sides before he swung him over the side and into the boat. He lay in the stern in the sun, compact and bullet shaped, his big, unintelligent eyes staring as he thumped his life out against the planking of the boat with the quick shivering strokes of his neat, fast-moving tail. The old man hit him on the head for kindness and kicked him, his body still shuddering, under the shade of the stern.

“这鸟儿可帮了大忙了。”老人说。正在这时，船尾的钓线在他脚下绷紧了，事先他已用钓线在脚上打了个圈，接着他放下船桨，紧紧抓着钓线，开始往回拉，此时他感觉到那小金枪鱼在颤颤地向下坠，分量不轻。他往回拉时，钓线颤得更厉害了，他可以看见水中蓝色的鱼背和它两侧的金黄色，然后他摇起钓线，使鱼越过船舷，落入船中。在日光下，它躺在船尾，身体结实，形状像颗子弹，瞪着一双木讷的大眼睛，它用那动作利落、移动迅速的尾巴飞快而颤抖地拍打着船板，就这样渐渐耗尽了生命。出于善意，老人击了下它的头，把它踢到了船尾背阴处，它的身体仍在颤抖。

"Albacore," he said aloud. "He'll make a beautiful bait. He'll weigh ten pounds."

“长鳍金枪鱼。”他大声地说。“它会是个很棒的鱼饵。它应该有十磅重。”

He did not remember when he had first started to talk aloud when he was by himself. He had sung when he was by himself in the old days and he had sung at night sometimes when he was alone steering on his watch in the smacks or in the turtle boats. He had probably started to talk aloud, when alone, when the boy had left. But he did not remember. When he and the boy fished together they usually spoke only when it was necessary. They talked at night or when they were storm-bound by bad weather. It was considered a virtue not to talk unnecessarily at sea and the old man had always considered it so and respected it. But now he said his thoughts aloud many times since there was no one that they could annoy.

他不记得他是什么时候第一次开始在独自一人的时候大声地说话了。过去，他一个人呆着的时候曾唱过歌，夜里他独自在小渔船或捕龟船上盯梢掌舵时，有时候也会唱。很可能是在那男孩离开后，他独自一人时开始大声说话的。但他不记得了。他和男孩一起捕鱼时，他们通常只在必要时才说话。他们在夜里说话，要么就是在遇到坏天气，被暴风雨困在海上的时候说话。在海上不必要时不说话被认为是个善行，老人始终这样认为，并且遵守着这规矩。然而此刻，他把自己的想法说出声来有很多次了，因为没有人会受到他说话的干扰。

"If the others heard me talking out loud they would think that I am crazy," he said aloud. "But since I am not crazy, I do not care. And the rich have radios to talk to them in their boats and to bring them the baseball."

“如果别人听到我自己在大声说话，会觉得我疯了。”他大声说。“可既然我没有疯，我就不在乎。那些有钱人船上有收音机和他们说话，还向他们传达棒球消息。”

Now is no time to think of baseball, he thought. Now is the time to think of only one thing. That which I was born for. There might be a big one around that school, he thought. I picked up only a straggler from the albacore that were feeding. But they are working far out and fast. Everything that shows on the surface today travels very fast and to the north-east. Can that be the time of day? Or is it some sign of weather that I do not know?

这会儿可不是想棒球赛的时候，他想。这会儿只能想一件事。就是我生下来要做的事。那群鱼周围可能会有一条大鱼，他想。我只捉住一条从正在吃东西的金枪鱼中失散的。然而它们正向远方游去，速度很快。今天所有出现在海面上的东西都游得很快，朝着东北方。一天的这个时辰就是这样的吗？还是，这是我不知道的某种天气征兆？

He could not see the green of the shore now but only the tops of the blue hills that showed white as though they were snow-capped and the clouds that looked like high snow mountains above them. The sea was very dark and the light made prisms in the water. The myriad flecks of the plankton were annulled now by the high sun and it was only the great deep prisms in the blue water that the old man saw now with his lines going straight down into the water that was a mile deep.

他此刻已看不见海岸的绿色了，只能看到青山的顶端，白白的，仿佛积着白雪一样，还能看到山顶上方如高耸的雪山一般的云朵。大海颜色很深，阳光在水中映射出彩虹般的光彩。太阳升高了，那无数的斑驳的浮游生物都不见了，现在老人看到的只是蓝色海水深处巨大的彩光，还有他那几根直直垂入水中一英里深的钓线。

The tuna, the fishermen called all the fish of that species tuna and only distinguished among them by their proper names when they came to sell them or to trade them for baits, were down again. The sun was hot now and the old man felt it on the back of his neck and felt the sweat trickle down his back as he rowed.

金枪鱼又沉入海下了。渔夫们把所有这种鱼都叫做金枪鱼，只有当要卖掉它们或用它们来换鱼饵时才会有区别地叫它们的专用名字。此刻，阳光炙热，老人感到脖子后面火辣辣的，划着划着，他感觉到汗水从背上滴落下来。

I could just drift, he thought, and sleep and put a bight of line around my toe to wake me. But today is eighty-five days and I should fish the day well.

我可以就这么漂流，他想，就这么睡去，把钓线在脚趾上缠一圈，这样有动静了就可以把我弄醒。但是今天是第八十五天，我今天该好好钓。

Just then, watching his lines, he saw one of the projecting green sticks dip sharply.

正在这时，他注视着钓线，看到挑出在水面上的绿色钓竿中有一根突然往水中一沉。

"Yes," he said. "Yes," and shipped his oars without bumping the boat. He reached out for the line and held it softly between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. He felt no strain nor weight and he held the line lightly. Then it came again. This time it was a tentative pull, not solid nor heavy, and he knew exactly what it was. One hundred fathoms down a marlin was eating the sardines that covered the point and the shank of the hook where the hand-forged hook projected from the head of the small tuna.

“好嘞，”他说，“好嘞。”他取下船桨，把它们放入船内，没有撞到船身。他伸手去拉钓线，然后把它轻轻地夹在右手大拇指和食指之间。他感觉不到钓线被拉紧，也觉不出什么分量，就轻轻地抓着。接着它又动开了。这次是试探地拉，拉得不紧也不沉，他完全知道是怎么一回事了。在水下一百英寻处，有一条马林鱼正在吃包着鱼钩顶端和钩身的沙丁鱼，这个手工制作的钓钩是从一条小金枪鱼头部穿出来的。

The old man held the line delicately, and softly, with his left hand, unleashed it from the stick. Now he could let it run through his fingers without the fish feeling any tension.

老人小心地握着钓线，轻轻地，用左手把它从竿子上解下来。此刻他可以让钓线在手指间滑动，而不会让鱼儿觉察到钓线拉紧。

This far out, he must be huge in this month, he thought. Eat them, fish. Eat them. Please eat them. How fresh they are and you down there six hundred feet in that cold water in the dark. Make another turn in the dark and come back and eat them.

在出海这么远的地方，它在这个月份一定长得很大了，他想。吃鱼饵吧，鱼儿。吃吧。请吃吧。它们多新鲜啊，你呢，呆在那六百英尺的深处，呆在漆黑冰冷的水里。在黑暗里再转一圈，然后回来吃它们吧。

He felt the light delicate pulling and then a harder pull when a sardine's head must have been more difficult to break from the hook. Then there was nothing.

他感到钓线被轻轻地、微弱地拉了一下，接着是较用力的一下，这个时候，一定是有条沙丁鱼的头很难从钩子上拽下来。跟着就没有声响了。

"Come on," the old man said aloud. "Make another turn. Just smell them. Aren't they lovely? Eat them good now and then there is the tuna. Hard and cold and lovely. Don't be shy, fish. Eat them."

“快来呀。”老人大声地说，“再兜个圈子吧。闻闻它们呀。难道它们不鲜美吗？现在趁它们还新鲜的时候吃吧，吃完还有那条金枪鱼。结实、凉爽、又鲜美。别不好意思，鱼儿。吃了它们吧。”

He waited with the line between his thumb and his finger, watching it and the other lines at the same time for the fish might have swum up or down. Then came the same delicate pulling touch again.

他等待着，把钓线夹在拇指和食指之间，注视着它，同时还注视着其他几根钓线，因为这鱼可能游到或高或低的地方。接着又有一下微弱的拉碰。

"He'll take it," the old man said aloud. "God help him to take it."

“它会吃鱼饵的。”老人说出声来，“上帝保佑让它吃鱼饵吧。”

He did not take it though. He was gone and the old man felt nothing.

而它却没有吃鱼饵。它游走了，老人什么都没有觉察到。

"He can't have gone," he said. "Christ knows he can't have gone. He's making a turn. Maybe he has been hooked before and he remembers something of it."

“它不可能游走，”他说，“上帝知道它不可能游走的。它正兜圈子呢。或许它以前上过钩，它还记得点儿。”

Then he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy.

然后他感到有东西轻轻地碰了下钓线，他高兴了。

"It was only his turn," he said. "He'll take it."

“它刚才只是在转弯，”他说，“它会咬鱼饵的。”

He was happy feeling the gentle pulling and then he felt something hard and unbelievably heavy. It was the weight of the fish and he let the line slip down, down, down, unrolling off the first of the two reserve coils. As it went down, slipping lightly through the old man's fingers, he still could feel the great weight, though the pressure of his thumb and finger were almost imperceptible.

他很高兴感到这轻微的一拉，接着他感到有种强烈的拉动，重得让人难以置信。这是鱼的重量，他松手让钓线向下滑，向下，再向下，从两卷备用钓线中的一卷上放出钓线。当钓线从老人的指间轻轻滑落下去时，他仍可以感觉到很大的分量，尽管他的拇指和食指的压力几乎觉察不到。

"What a fish," he said. "He has it sideways in his mouth now and he is moving off with it."

“多好的鱼呀。”他说，“它把鱼饵斜叼在嘴里，正在带着它游动。”

Then he will turn and swallow it, he thought. He did not say that because he knew that if you said a good thing it might not happen. He knew what a huge fish this was and he thought of him moving away in the darkness with the tuna held crosswise in his mouth. At that moment he felt him stop moving but the weight was still there. Then the weight increased and he gave more line. He tightened the pressure of his thumb and finger for a moment and the weight increased and was going straight down.

接着它就会转身把鱼饵吞下去的，他想。他没把这些话说出来，因为他明白，如果把好事说破了，可能就不会发生了。他知道这是多么大的一条鱼，他想象着它嘴里横咬着金枪鱼，在黑暗中游走的情形。此时，他感到它不动了，但是还可以感觉到它的分量。接着，这分量增加了，他又放出一些钓线。一时间他加大了拇指和食指上的压力，钓线上的分量增加了，径直传入水下。

"He's taken it," he said. "Now I'll let him eat it well."

“它吃鱼饵了。”他说，“现在我要让它好好地饱餐一顿。”

He let the line slip through his fingers while he reached down with his left hand and made fast the free end of the two reserve coils to the loop of the two reserve coils of the next line. Now he was ready. He had three forty-fathom coils of line in reserve now, as well as the coil he was using.

他一边让钓线从他的指间滑落，一边伸出左手，把两卷备用钓线的一端牢系在另一根钓线的两卷备用的钓线圈上。此时他已经准备好了。他现在除了正用的那卷钓线外，还有三卷四十英寻长的钓线备用。

"Eat it a little more," he said. "Eat it well."

“再吃点吧，”他说，“好好地吃吧。”

Eat it so that the point of the hook goes into your heart and kills you, he thought. Come up easy and let me put the harpoon into you. All right. Are you ready? Have you been long enough at table?

吃吧，让钩子穿进你的心脏，把你刺死，他想。慢慢地游上来吧，让我把鱼叉刺进你的身体里。好了。你准备好了吗？你吃饭的时间足够长了吗？

"Now!" he said aloud and struck hard with both hands, gained a yard of line and then struck again and again, swinging with each arm alternately on the cord with all the strength of his arms and the pivoted weight of his body.

“快咬啊！”他说出声来，用双手使劲拽，拉上来一码，然后又接连往上拉，使出胳膊上的所有力气，以身体的重量为支撑，双臂轮流挥动，往上拉着绳索。

Nothing happened. The fish just moved away slowly and the old man could not raise him an inch. His line was strong and made for heavy fish and he held it against his back until it was so taut that beads of water were jumping from it. Then it began to make a slow hissing sound in the water and he still held it, bracing himself against the thwart and leaning back against the pull. The boat began to move slowly off toward the north-west.

没什么动静。那鱼只是慢慢地游走，老人没法儿把它拉上来一英寸。他的钓线很结实，是为应付大鱼而制的，他把它扛在背上使劲往上拉，钓线被绷得太紧了，竟有水珠从里面渗出。接着，它开始在水里发出一阵缓缓的嘶嘶声，他仍抓着它，顶着座板用力支撑着自己，向后斜着身子来抵消这拉力。小船开始慢慢地向西北方驶去。

The fish moved steadily and they travelled slowly on the calm water. The other baits were still in the water but there was nothing to be done.

这鱼从容地游着，鱼和船都在平静的水面上缓慢地前进。其他鱼饵还在水里，但还不需要对它们做什么。

"I wish I had the boy," the old man said aloud. "I'm being towed by a fish and I'm the towing bitt. I could make the line fast. But then he could break it. I must hold him all I can and give him line when he must have it. Thank God he is travelling and not going down."

“我真希望那男孩儿在这儿呀。”老人说出声来，“我正被一条鱼拖着，简直成了根拖缆桩了。我可以把钓线固定住。可接着鱼儿会把它弄断的。我必须尽我所能拽住鱼儿，必要时再给它放出点线。感谢上帝，它是在游走，而不是下潜。”

What I will do if he decides to go down, I don't know. What I'll do if he sounds and dies I don't know. But I'll do something. There are plenty of things I can do.

如果它要向下游，我该做些什么？我不晓得。如果它突然下潜，死了，我该怎么办？我不知道。但是我必须做点什么。我可以做的事很多。

He held the line against his back and watched its slant in the water and the skiff moving steadily to the north-west.

他紧紧抓着扛在背上的钓线，注视着它斜向水中，小船渐渐向西北方驶去。

This will kill him, the old man thought. He can't do this forever. But four hours later the fish was still swimming steadily out to sea, towing the skiff, and the old man was still braced solidly with the line across his back.

这样会让它丧命的，老人想。它不能总是这么干。可是四个小时以后，那鱼还是不停地向大海游去，拖着那小船，老人仍然拽着背上的钓线，死死地撑着。

"It was noon when I hooked him," he said. "And I have never seen him."

“我钓上它的时候是中午，”他说，“可我还没看见它。”

He had pushed his straw hat hard down on his head before he hooked the fish and it was cutting his forehead. He was thirsty too and he got down on his knees and, being careful not to jerk on the line, moved as far into the bow as he could get and reached the water bottle with one hand. He opened it and drank a little. Then he rested against the bow. He rested sitting on the un-stepped mast and sail and tried not to think but only to endure.

他在钓上这条鱼之前，使劲把头上的草帽拉下来，现在帽子勒得他的额头很痛。他还感到很渴，于是他就跪下来，小心翼翼地，尽量不使钓线大幅度猛动，努力向船头爬去，伸出一只手去够水瓶。他打开瓶子，喝了些水。接着他就靠在船头上休息。他坐在从桅座上取下的缠着帆的桅杆上，尽量什么都不去想，只是这么熬着。

Then he looked behind him and saw that no land was visible. That makes no difference, he thought. I can always come in on the glow from Havana. There are two more hours before the sun sets and maybe he will come up before that. If he doesn't maybe he will come up with the moon. If he does not do that maybe he will come up with the sunrise. I have no cramps and I feel strong. It is he that has the hook in his mouth. But what a fish to pull like that. He must have his mouth shut tight on the wire. I wish I could see him. I wish I could see him only once to know what I have against me.

接着，他朝身后望去，发现陆地已经离开了视线。这不会影响什么，他想。我总是可以借着哈瓦那的灯火回来的。再过两个钟头太阳才落山，或许到不了那会儿，鱼儿就会游上来的。如果它没有上来，或许会伴随月亮的升起而浮上来。如果它没这么做，也许会在日出时游上来。我没有抽筋，我感到自己很强壮。是它的嘴让钩子钩住了。可是，这是条多么大的鱼呀，能有这么大的拉力。它一定用嘴紧紧咬住了钓钩。但愿我能看见它。但愿我能见见它，哪怕一次也行，好知道我的对手是什么样的。

The fish never changed his course nor his direction all that night as far as the man could tell from watching the stars. It was cold after the sun went down and the old man's sweat dried cold on his back and his arms and his old legs. During the day he had taken the sack that covered the bait box and spread it in the sun to dry. After the sun went down he tied it around his neck so that it hung down over his back and he cautiously worked it down under the line that was across his shoulders now. The sack cushioned the line and he had found a way of leaning forward against the bow so that he was almost comfortable. The position actually was only somewhat less intolerable; but he thought of it as almost comfortable.

老人通过观察星星判断出，那鱼儿整晚都没有改变它的路线和方向。太阳落山后天凉了，老人背上、胳膊上和那双老腿上的汗都干了，开始发冷。白天时，他曾把盖在鱼饵箱上的麻袋拿下来，把它铺在阳光下晒干。太阳落山后，他把麻袋系在脖子上，这样麻袋就在他的背上摊开来，他小心翼翼地把它放到了此时正在肩上挂着的钓线下面。麻袋垫着钓线，他可以前倾靠在船头上，这样也算舒服点了。这个姿势实际上也只能说不那么叫人难受了；但他觉得也差不多算舒服了。

I can do nothing with him and he can do nothing with me, he thought. Not as long as he keeps this up.

我根本不能对它怎样，它也完全拿我没办法，他想。它要总是这样，我们俩就都拿彼此一点办法也没有。

Once he stood up and urinated over the side of the skiff and looked at the stars and checked his course. The line showed like a phosphorescent streak in the water straight out from his shoulders. They were moving more slowly now and the glow of Havana was not so strong, so that he knew the current must be carrying them to the eastward. If I lose the glare of Havana we must be going more to the eastward, he thought. For if the fish's course held true I must see it for many more hours. I wonder how the baseball came out in the grand leagues today, he thought. It would be wonderful to do this with a radio. Then he thought, think of it always. Think of what you are doing. You must do nothing stupid.

一次，他站起来，隔着船舷撒尿，望着星星，核实他的航线。钓线像一道磷光，从他肩上一直钻入水中。他们此时行动放慢了，哈瓦那的灯火也不那么亮了，这么一来他就知道水流一定是在把他们带向东方。如果我看不到哈瓦那的灯火，我们一定是走到了更东的地方，他想。因为如果鱼的路线没问题，那再过好几个钟头我一定还能看见灯火。我真想知道今天的棒球大联赛结果怎么样了，他想。干这个要是有台收音机就太好了。然后他想，老是想这个。想想你正在做的事吧。你千万不能做蠢事。

Then he said aloud, "I wish I had the boy. To help me and to see this."

接着他说出声来：“我真希望那男孩在啊。可以帮帮我，也能见识一下此时的情景。”

No one should be alone in their old age, he thought. But it is unavoidable. I must remember to eat the tuna before he spoils in order to keep strong. Remember, no matter how little you want to, that you must eat him in the morning. Remember, he said to himself.

上了年纪还孤身一人，谁也不该遭这样的罪啊，他想。可这也是不可避免的。为了使身体强壮，我一定要记住在金枪鱼坏了之前吃掉它。记住，不管你多么不想吃，早上都必须把它吃了。记住，他跟自己说。

During the night two porpoises came around the boat and he could hear them rolling and blowing. He could tell the difference between the blowing noise the male made and the sighing blow of the female.

夜晚，两条海豚游到船边，他可以听见它们翻滚和喷水的声音。他可以区分出雄海豚喧闹的喷水声和雌海豚如叹息般的喷水声。

"They are good," he said. "They play and make jokes and love one another. They are our brothers like the flying fish."

“它们都很棒。”他说，“它们玩耍、嬉闹，相亲相爱。它们是我们的兄弟，正如那飞鱼一般。”

Then he began to pity the great fish that he had hooked. He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is, he thought. Never have I had such a strong fish nor one who acted so strangely. Perhaps he is too wise to jump. He could ruin me by jumping or by a wild rush. But perhaps he has been hooked many times before and he knows that this is how he should make his fight. He cannot know that it is only one man against him, nor that it is an old man. But what a great fish he is and what will he bring in the market if the flesh is good. He took the bait like a male and he pulls like a male and his fight has no panic in it. I wonder if he has any plans or if he is just as desperate as I am.

然后他开始同情他钓住的这条大鱼了。它很棒，很奇特，谁知道它年龄有多大呢，他想。我从来没钓到过这么强壮的鱼，也没钓到过这样行为奇特的鱼。或许它太聪明了，不想跳出来。它可以跳出来，或者猛地向前冲，这样就能搞垮我。然而，或许它以前被钩住过许多次了，它知道这是它应该采取的斗争方式。它不会知道它的对手只有一个人，也不会知道这个人竟是个老头。然而它是条多么大的鱼啊，要是鱼肉好的话，在市场上能卖多少钱啊。它咬饵时像条雄鱼，拉钓线时也像雄鱼，搏斗中毫无惊慌。我不知道它是否有什么打算，还是就和我一样拼了性命？

He remembered the time he had hooked one of a pair of marlin. The male fish always let the female fish feed first and the hooked fish, the female, made a wild, panic-stricken, despairing fight that soon exhausted her, and all the time the male had stayed with her, crossing the line and circling with her on the surface. He had stayed so close that the old man was afraid he would cut the line with his tail which was sharp as a scythe and almost of that size and shape. When the old man had gaffed her and clubbed her, holding the rapier bill with its sandpaper edge and clubbing her across the top of her head until her colour turned to a colour almost like the backing of mirrors, and then, with the boy's aid, hoisted her aboard, the male fish had stayed by the side of the boat. Then, while the old man was clearing the lines and preparing the harpoon, the male fish jumped high into the air beside the boat to see where the female was and then went down deep, his lavender wings, that were his pectoral fins, spread wide and all his wide lavender stripes showing. He was beautiful, the old man remembered, and he had stayed.

他记得有一次曾钓上了一对大马林鱼中的一条。那条雄鱼总是让雌鱼先吃，被钩住的正是那条雌鱼，它疯狂地、惊恐而绝望地挣扎着，没过多久就耗尽了力气，那条雄鱼一直都守在它身边，在钓线周围来回穿梭，与它一起在水面上回旋。这雄鱼离钓线很近，老人担心它会用尾巴割断钓线。它的尾巴如镰刀般锋利，大小和形状几乎和镰刀不相上下。老人用钩子把雌鱼钩上来，用棍子打它，抓着它那边缘如砂纸般的像剑一样的喙，朝着它的头顶接连猛击，直到它的颜色变得如镜子背面的颜色一般，然后，在那男孩的帮助下，把它拖到船上。这期间，雄鱼始终守在船边。然后，在老人解下钓线，准备鱼叉的时候，那条雄鱼在船边高高地跳向空中，想看看雌鱼在哪儿，接着又潜入水下深处。它那淡紫色的羽翼，也就是它的胸鳍，大大地展开，它身上所有的淡紫色条纹都显现了出来。它很美，老人回想起来，它当时一直呆在那里．

That was the saddest thing I ever saw with them, the old man thought. The boy was sad too and we begged her pardon and butchered her promptly.

那是我对付它们时所见到的最伤心的事了，老人想。那男孩也很难过，我们请求雌鱼的原谅，立刻把它杀了。

"I wish the boy was here," he said aloud and settled himself against the rounded planks of the bow and felt the strength of the great fish through the line he held across his shoulders moving steadily toward whatever he had chosen.

“我真希望那男孩儿在这儿啊。”他说出声来，身子倚在船头那被磨圆了的木板上，通过肩上的钓线，他感觉到这大鱼的力量，它正向着它所选择的方向平稳地游去。

When once, through my treachery, it had been necessary to him to make a choice, the old man thought.

因为我曾经欺骗了它，对它来说，作出选择是很有必要的，老人想。

His choice had been to stay in the deep dark water far out beyond all snares and traps and treacheries. My choice was to go there to find him beyond all people. Beyond all people in the world. Now we are joined together and have been since noon. And no one to help either one of us.

它的选择就是呆在漆黑的深水中，远离所有的圈套、陷阱和诡计。我的选择则是去没人去过的地方找它。世上所有人都没去过的地方。此刻我们已经命运相连了，从中午开始就一直是这样了。而且我们俩都没人来帮忙。

Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman, he thought. But that was the thing that I was born for. I must surely remember to eat the tuna after it gets light.

也许我不该做渔夫，他想。可是这才是我天生就该做的事。我一定得记住天亮后吃了那条金枪鱼。

Some time before daylight something took one of the baits that were behind him. He heard the stick break and the line begin to rush out over the gunwale of the skiff. In the darkness he loosened his sheath knife and taking all the strain of the fish on his left shoulder he leaned back and cut the line against the wood of the gunwale. Then he cut the other line closest to him and in the dark made the loose ends of the reserve coils fast. He worked skillfully with the one hand and put his foot on the coils to hold them as he drew his knots tight. Now he had six reserve coils of line. There were two from each bait he had severed and the two from the bait the fish had taken and they were all connected.

天还没亮的时候，有个什么东西咬住了他身后的一个鱼饵。他听到钓竿断了的声音，钓线开始向外窜，越过了船舷边缘。黑暗中，他拔出了鞘中的刀，用左肩承担所有来自大鱼的拉力，他身子向后倾斜，靠着船舷的木头，割断了那根钓线。接着他又割断了另一根离他最近的钓线，摸着黑把两个备用钓线卷的头牢牢捆在一起。他用一只手熟练地干着，在他紧紧地打结时，一只脚踩住了钓线卷，以防它滑动。现在他有六卷备用钓线了。他割断的钓线上的每个鱼饵各连着两卷备用钓线，还有两卷连着被鱼咬住鱼饵的那根，它们都连在一起了。

After it is light, he thought, I will work back to the forty-fathom bait and cut it away too and link up the reserve coils. I will have lost two hundred fathoms of good Catalan cordel and the hooks and leaders. That can be replaced. But who replaces this fish if I hook some fish and it cuts him off? I don't know what that fish was that took the bait just now. It could have been a marlin or a broadbill or a shark. I never felt him. I had to get rid of him too fast.

天亮以后，他想，我要回到那根连着水下四十英寻深的鱼饵的钓线那里，把它也割断，接在那些备用钓线卷上。我会失去两百英寻那根很棒的卡塔兰钓线，还有钩子和接钩绳。这些可以再置备。但是，如果我钓上了别的鱼，把大鱼弄丢了，谁能取代这大鱼呢？我不知道刚才是什么鱼咬了鱼饵。它可能是大马林鱼，或是剑鱼，或是鲨鱼。我压根没感觉出它是什么鱼。我得赶快摆脱它。

Aloud he said, "I wish I had the boy."

他说出声来：“真希望那男孩在我身边啊。”

But you haven't got the boy, he thought. You have only yourself and you had better work back to the last line now, in the dark or not in the dark, and cut it away and hook up the two reserve coils.

可你身边并没有那孩子，他想。你只是孤身一人，你现在最好还是回到最后那根钓线那儿，不论天黑了还是没黑，割断它，把它捆在那两卷备用钓线上。

So he did it. It was difficult in the dark and once the fish made a surge that pulled him down on his face and made a cut below his eye. The blood ran down his cheek a little way. But it coagulated and dried before it reached his chin and he worked his way back to the bow and rested against the wood. He adjusted the sack and carefully worked the line so that it came across a new part of his shoulders and, holding it anchored with his shoulders, he carefully felt the pull of the fish and then felt with his hand the progress of the skiff through the water.

他这么做了。摸着黑干很困难，一次，那大鱼猛冲了一下，把他脸朝下拉倒了，把他眼睛底下划了一个口子。血顺着他的脸颊流了下来。可血还没流到他的下巴就凝固了，干了。他拖着身子回到船头，倚在木头上休息。他调整好麻袋，小心地把钓线挪到肩膀的另一个地方，用肩膀固定住它，又小心地试了试那鱼的拉力，然后把手伸入水中，感受了一下小船在水中行进的速度。

I wonder what he made that lurch for, he thought. The wire must have slipped on the great hill of his back. Certainly his back cannot feel as badly as mine does. But he cannot pull this skiff forever, no matter how great he is. Now everything is cleared away that might make trouble and I have a big reserve of line; all that a man can ask.

不知道那鱼突然晃动一下做什么，他想。一定是钓线在它那如高山一般的脊背上滑动了一下。当然，它的背不会像我的痛得这么厉害。不过，不管它多么强壮，也不可能永远拖着小船走的。此时，任何可能会制造麻烦的东西都清除掉了，我还有许多备用绳索；一个人还能要求什么呢。

"Fish," he said softly, aloud, "I'll stay with you until I am dead."

“鱼儿呀，”他轻轻地说出声来，“我会和你拼到死。”

He'll stay with me too, I suppose, the old man thought and he waited for it to be light. It was cold now in the time before daylight and he pushed against the wood to be warm. I can do it as long as he can, he thought. And in the first light the line extended out and down into the water. The boat moved steadily and when the first edge of the sun rose it was on the old man's right shoulder.

我想，它也会和我拼下去的，老人想，他等待着天明。此时的天气很冷，正是破晓前的时分，他紧靠着船舷来取暖。它能扛多久，我就能扛多久，他想。天色微微亮了，钓线向外伸展着，向下伸入水中。小船平稳地行进，太阳刚刚露出头来，阳光洒在老人的右肩上。

"He's headed north," the old man said. The current will have set us far to the eastward, he thought. I wish he would turn with the current. That would show that he was tiring. When the sun had risen further the old man realized that the fish was not tiring. There was only one favorable sign. The slant of the line showed he was swimming at a lesser depth. That did not necessarily mean that he would jump. But he might.

“它在向北走。”老人说。水流会把我们远远地冲向东方，他想。希望它会随着水流转向。这样就表明它开始感到疲惫了。太阳升得更高了，老人意识到这鱼并没有感到疲劳。只有一个好的征兆。钓线倾斜了，说明它正在较浅的地方游着。这并不一定意味着它会跳出水面。不过，它也许会这么做。

"God let him jump," the old man said. "I have enough line to handle him."

“上帝，让它跳吧，”老人说，“我有足够长的线来对付它。”

Maybe if I can increase the tension just a little it will hurt him and he will jump, he thought. Now that it is daylight let him jump so that he'll fill the sacks along his backbone with air and then he cannot go deep to die.

也许我可以拉紧一点点，这样就会弄疼它，它就会跳了，老人想。既然是白天了，就让它跳吧，它会把脊背上的液囊充满空气，这样它就无法潜入海底深处而死去了。

He tried to increase the tension, but the line had been taut up to the very edge of the breaking point since he had hooked the fish and he felt the harshness as he leaned back to pull and knew he could put no more strain on it. I must not jerk it ever, he thought. Each jerk widens the cut the hook makes and then when he does jump he might throw it. Anyway I feel better with the sun and for once I do not have to look into it.

他试图拉紧钓线，但是从他钓上这条鱼以来，钓线已经绷得快要断了。他向后斜着身体拉时，感觉到钓线很紧，就知道不能再使劲拉了。我千万不能猛拉，他想。每次猛拉都会加宽钓钩划的口子，这样等它真要跳时，他可能会甩掉钓钩。不管怎样，太阳出来了，我就觉得好过些了，这次我可用不着盯着太阳看了。

There was yellow weed on the line but the old man knew that only made an added drag and he was pleased. It was the yellow Gulf weed that had made so much phosphorescence in the night.

钓线上粘上了黄色的海草，但老人明白这只会增加对鱼的拉力，他很高兴。正是这黄色的果囊马尾藻在夜间发出了如此之强的磷光。

"Fish," he said, "I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends."

“鱼儿呀，”他说，“我爱你，十分尊敬你。可是今天我一定要杀死你。”

Let us hope so, he thought.

但愿如此吧，他想。

A small bird came toward the skiff from the north. He was a warbler and flying very low over the water. The old man could see that he was very tired. The bird made the stern of the boat and rested there. Then he flew around the old man's head and rested on the line where he was more comfortable. "How old are you?" the old man asked the bird. "Is this your first trip?"

一只小鸟从北方向小船飞来。它是一只鸣禽，在水面上低低地飞着。老人看得出它很疲惫了。这鸟飞到船尾，停在那儿休息。接着，它绕着老人的头飞了一圈，停在了那根钓线上，在那儿它觉得更舒服。“你有多大了？”老人问那只鸟。“这是你第一次出来吗？”

The bird looked at him when he spoke. He was too tired even to examine the line and he teetered on it as his delicate feet gripped it fast.

他说话时鸟儿看着他。它太累了，甚至累得都没有细看这钓线，就在上面摇晃着，小巧的爪子紧紧地抓着钓线。

"It's steady," the old man told him. "It's too steady. You shouldn't be that tired after a windless night. What are birds coming to?"

“这钓线很稳的。”老人告诉它。“它非常稳当。夜间无风，你不该这么疲倦啊。鸟儿们都成什么样了？”

The hawks, he thought, that come out to sea to meet them. But he said nothing of this to the bird who could not understand him anyway and who would learn about the hawks soon enough.

老鹰，老人想，会飞到海面来逮它们。但这些他都没和鸟儿说，反正它也听不懂，而且用不了多久就会见识到老鹰的威力了。

"Take a good rest, small bird," he said. "Then go in and take your chance like any man or bird or fish."

“好好休息吧，小鸟，”老人说，“然后进去碰碰运气，像任何人或鸟或鱼一样。”

It encouraged him to talk because his back had stiffened in the night and it hurt truly now.

说话可以给他鼓劲儿，因为他的背在夜里变得很僵，而且此刻着实疼痛。

"Stay at my house if you like, bird," he said. "I am sorry I cannot hoist the sail and take you in with the small breeze that is rising. But I am with a friend."

“你愿意就呆在我家吧，鸟儿。”他说，“很抱歉我不能趁着微风刮起，扬起帆带你回去。不过我有个朋友陪伴了。”

Just then the fish gave a sudden lurch that pulled the old man down onto the bow and would have pulled him overboard if he had not braced himself and given some line.

正在这时，那鱼突然一倾，把老人拉倒在船头，要不是他撑住了身体，放出了些钓线，就把他拖进海里了。

The bird had flown up when the line jerked and the old man had not even seen him go. He felt the line carefully with his right hand and noticed his hand was bleeding.

钓线猛动时，那鸟儿飞走了，老人甚至都没看到它飞走。他用右手小心地去摸钓线，结果发现他的手正在流血。

"Something hurt him then," he said aloud and pulled back on the line to see if he could turn the fish. But when he was touching the breaking point he held steady and settled back against the strain of the line.

“这么说是什么东西伤着这鱼了。”他说出声来，往回拉着钓线，看能否让这鱼转过来。可是，当他拉到快绷断的地方，他就抓稳了钓线，向后倾斜来抵消钓线上的拉力。

"You're feeling it now, fish," he said. "And so, God knows, am I."

“你这会儿觉得疼了吧，鱼儿。”他说，“而且，天知道啊，我也是如此呀。”

He looked around for the bird now because he would have liked him for company. The bird was gone.

他此刻环顾四周寻找那只鸟，因为他喜欢以它为伴。那鸟儿飞走了。

You did not stay long, the man thought. But it is rougher where you are going until you make the shore. How did I let the fish cut me with that one quick pull he made? I must be getting very stupid. Or perhaps I was looking at the small bird and thinking of him. Now I will pay attention to my work and then I must eat the tuna so that I will not have a failure of strength.

你没有停留多久，老人想。但是你去的地方天气更恶劣，飞到岸上才能安全。那鱼猛地拉了一下，怎么就把我的手划破了呢？我一定是变得越来越笨了。不然的话，或许是因为我只顾看那小鸟，想那小鸟了。眼下我要顾着自己的活儿了，然后一定得吃了那只金枪鱼，这样才不至于没有一丝力气。

"I wish the boy were here and that I had some salt," he said aloud.

“我真希望那男孩在这儿，而且我要是有点盐就好了。”他说出声来。

Shifting the weight of the line to his left shoulder and kneeling carefully he washed his hand in the ocean and held it there, submerged, for more than a minute watching the blood trail away and the steady movement of the water against his hand as the boat moved.

他把沉重的钓线移到他的左肩，小心地跪下来，在海水里洗手，然后把手放在水里，浸泡了一分多钟，望着血液漂散开去，望着海水随着小船的移动平稳地在他手上拍打着。

"He has slowed much," he said.

“它慢了许多。”他说。

The old man would have liked to keep his hand in the salt water longer but he was afraid of another sudden lurch by the fish and he stood up and braced himself and held his hand up against the sun. It was only a line burn that had cut his flesh. But it was in the working part of his hand. He knew he would need his hands before this was over and he did not like to be cut before it started.

老人很想让他的手在盐水里多泡一会儿，但他害怕那鱼又突然猛动，于是他站起身，使自己振作起来，举起他的手，朝向太阳。只是让钓线刮了一下，割了肉。可这儿正是手上出力的地方。他知道在事成之前，他需要他的手，他不想还没开始干就给割破手。

"Now," he said, when his hand had dried, "I must eat the small tuna. I can reach him with the gaff and eat him here in comfort."

“现在，”他说，此时他的手已经干了，“我得吃那条小金枪鱼了。我可以用手钩把它弄过来，然后在这儿舒舒服服地吃。”

He knelt down and found the tuna under the stem with the gaff and drew it toward him keeping it clear of the coiled lines. Holding the line with his left shoulder again, and bracing on his left hand and arm, he took the tuna off the gaff hook and put the gaff back in place. He put one knee on the fish and cut strips of dark red meat longitudinally from the back of the head to the tail. They were wedge-shaped strips and he cut them from next to the backbone down to the edge of the belly. When he had cut six strips he spread them out on the wood of the bow, wiped his knife on his trousers, and lifted the carcass of the bonito by the tail and dropped it overboard.

他跪下来，用手钩在船尾下找到了那条金枪鱼，把它钩到他身边，尽量不让它碰到那些卷着的钓线。他又用左肩扛起了钓线，用左手和左臂支撑着，从钩上取下金枪鱼，然后把手钩放回原处。他用一个膝盖压在鱼身上，竖着从它的头后部一直割到尾部，割下来一条条深红色的肉。这些肉是楔形的，他从脊骨边一直割到了肚子边。他割下六条肉以后，把它们铺在船头的木头上，在裤子上擦了擦刀子，揪着鱼尾巴拎起了鱼骨，把它扔进了海里。

"I don't think I can eat an entire one," he said and drew his knife across one of the strips. He could feel the steady hard pull of the line and his left hand was cramped. It drew up tight on the heavy cord and he looked at it in disgust.

“我觉得我吃不了一整条。”他说着，用刀把一条肉切成两半。他能感觉到钓线始终紧紧拉着，他的左手抽筋了。这左手紧紧地拉着这沉重的钓线，他厌恶地看着它。

"What kind of a hand is that," he said. "Cramp then if you want. Make yourself into a claw. It will do you no good."

“这是什么手呀，”他说，“想抽筋就抽吧。变成一只鸟爪得了。这对你没什么好处。”

Come on, he thought and looked down into the dark water at the slant of the line. Eat it now and it will strengthen the hand. It is not the hand's fault and you have been many hours with the fish. But you can stay with him forever. Eat the bonito now.

快啊，他想，俯视着漆黑海水中倾斜的钓线。现在就吃了它，这样会使你的手有劲儿。不是这手的错，你和这鱼已经较量了好几个钟头了。不过你可以奉陪它到底。现在就吃了这金枪鱼吧。

He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly. It was not unpleasant.

他拿起半块鱼肉，把它放到嘴里，慢慢咀嚼。这肉也不算难吃。

Chew it well, he thought, and get all the juices. It would not be bad to eat with a little lime or with lemon or with salt.

好好地嚼嚼，他想，把汁液全都嚼出来。如果再加点酸橙或者柠檬或者盐，那味道可不赖。

"How do you feel, hand?" he asked the cramped hand that was almost as stiff as rigor mortis. "I'll eat some more for you."

“你觉得怎么样了，手？”他问那只抽筋的手，它几乎和死尸一般僵直。“为了你，我要再吃一点。”

He ate the other part of the piece that he had cut in two. He chewed it carefully and then spat out the skin.

他吃了他切成两块的那条鱼肉的另一半。他小心地嚼着，然后吐出鱼皮。

"How does it go, hand? Or is it too early to know?"

“感觉如何，手？或者现在还太早，还说不上来？”

He took another full piece and chewed it.

他又拿起一整条鱼肉，嚼了起来。

"It is a strong full-blooded fish," he thought. "I was lucky to get him instead of dolphin. Dolphin is too sweet. This is hardly sweet at all and all the strength is still in it."

“这是条很结实、气血很旺的鱼。”他想。“我很幸运，捉到了它，而不是鲯鳅。鲯鳅太甜了。这条鱼一点都不甜，而且元气尚存。”

There is no sense in being anything but practical though, he thought. I wish I had some salt. And I do not know whether the sun will rot or dry what is left, so I had better eat it all although I am not hungry. The fish is calm and steady. I will eat it all and then I will be ready.

然而一点不讲求实际是毫无意义的，他想。我真希望我有点盐啊。而且，我不知道太阳是否会把剩下的鱼肉晒坏或晒干，所以我最好还是把它们全部吃掉，尽管我不饿。那大鱼此刻平静而安稳。我要把鱼肉全部吃掉，这样我就会做好准备。

"Be patient, hand," he said. "I do this for you."

“有点耐心，手，”他说，“我这么吃是为了你。”

I wish I could feed the fish, he thought. He is my brother. But I must kill him and keep strong to do it. Slowly and conscientiously he ate all of the wedge-shaped strips of fish.

我真希望我能喂喂那大鱼，他想。它是我兄弟。但是我必须杀掉它，必须保持强壮的身体去做这件事。慢慢地，小心谨慎地，他吃掉了所有的楔形鱼肉条。

He straightened up, wiping his hand on his trousers.

他直起身，在裤子上擦了擦手。

"Now," he said. "You can let the cord go, hand, and I will handle him with the right arm alone until you stop that nonsense." He put his left foot on the heavy line that the left hand had held and lay back against the pull against his back.

“现在，”他说，“你可以放开钓线了，手，在你停止捣乱之前，我会只用右臂来对付它。”他用左脚踩住他方才左手抓着的那根沉重的钓线，身子向后倾斜，用背部顶住那拉力。

"God help me to have the cramp go," he said. "Because I do not know what the fish is going to do."

“上帝帮帮我，快让这手别抽筋了，”他说，“因为我不晓得这鱼还要干什么。”

But he seems calm, he thought, and following his plan. But what is his plan, he thought. And what is mine? Mine I must improvise to his because of his great size. If he will jump I can kill him. But he stays down forever. Then I will stay down with him forever.

可它似乎很平静，他想，它在依计划行事。但是它的计划是什么，他想。我的又是什么呢？我的计划就是我得根据它的计划随时调整我的，因为它是条这么大的鱼。如果它跳起来，我就能杀掉它。但它老是呆在下面。那么我也要始终陪着它。

He rubbed the cramped hand against his trousers and tried to gentle the fingers. But it would not open. Maybe it will open with the sun, he thought. Maybe it will open when the strong raw tuna is digested. If I have to have it, I will open it, cost whatever it costs. But I do not want to open it now by force. Let it open by itself and come back of its own accord. After all I abused it much in the night when it was necessary to free and untie the various lines.

他在裤子上揉擦着那只抽筋的手，试图想让手指变得柔软些。但是手还是展不开。或许太阳出来它就能展开了，他想。或许等那些结实的生金枪鱼消化掉，它就能展开了。如果我必须得用它，我就一定要让它展开，不惜一切代价。可现在我不想硬让它展开。让它自己展开，自己恢复到原来的状态吧。毕竟我昨晚用它用得过了火，当时我必须把那些钓线解开。

He looked across the sea and knew how alone he was now. But he could see the prisms in the deep dark water and the line stretching ahead and the strange undulation of the calm. The clouds were building up now for the trade wind and he looked ahead and saw a flight of wild ducks etching themselves against the sky over the water, then blurring, then etching again and he knew no man was ever alone on the sea.

他向大海望去，感到此刻自己是多么地形单影只。然而，他能够看到漆黑海水深处的折射光，还有向前伸展开来的钓线和平静海面上奇妙的波动。由于刮起了信风，云朵此时正聚集起来。他向前望去，看到一群野鸭正在水面上飞，在天空映衬下轮廓十分清晰，跟着模糊起来，继而又开始变得清晰，因此他意识到，其实从来没有一个人是独自在海上的。

He thought of how some men feared being out of sight of land in a small boat and knew they were right in the months of sudden bad weather. But now they were in hurricane months and, when there are no hurricanes, the weather of hurricane months is the best of all the year.

他想到有些人是多么害怕乘着小船驶到看不见陆地的地方，他知道在天气突然变糟的那几个月里，他们害怕也是正常的。但是此时正是飓风刮起的月份，在不刮风的时候，飓风月份的天气是一年之中最好的。

If there is a hurricane you always see the signs of it in the sky for days ahead, if you are at sea. They do not see it ashore because they do not know what to look for, he thought. The land must make a difference too, in the shape of the clouds. But we have no hurricane coming now.

如果有飓风，要是你在海上，总会在几天前就看到天空中有种种迹象。人们在岸上看不到什么迹象，因为他们不知道该看什么，他想。陆地上也会有异常现象，云的形状会有所不同。但现在并没有飓风要来。

He looked at the sky and saw the white cumulus built like friendly piles of ice cream and high above were the thin feathers of the cirrus against the high September sky.

他眺望着天空，看到那白色的积云，形状宛如堆堆可人的冰淇淋，高高的上空，簇拥着一团团如轻盈羽毛般的卷云，映衬在九月高爽的天空下。

"Light brisa," he said. "Better weather for me than for you, fish."

“微风。”他说，“天气对我比对你更有利，鱼儿。”

His left hand was still cramped, but he was unknotting it slowly.

他的左手还在抽筋，但他正慢慢地把它展开。

I hate a cramp, he thought. It is a treachery of one's own body. It is humiliating before others to have a diarrhoea from ptomaine poisoning or to vomit from it. But a cramp, he thought of it as a calambre, humiliates oneself especially when one is alone.

我讨厌抽筋，他想。这是对自己身体的背叛。因食物中毒而腹泻或呕吐是在别人面前丢脸。可抽筋，他想到在西班牙语中叫"calambre"，是丢自己的脸，尤其是独自一人的时候。

If the boy were here he could rub it for me and loosen it down from the forearm, he thought. But it will loosen up.

如果那男孩在这儿，他还可以给我揉一揉手，从前臂一直揉下去，让它松开，他想。不过它总会松开的。

Then, with his right hand he felt the difference in the pull of the line before he saw the slant change in the water. Then, as he leaned against the line and slapped his left hand hard and fast against his thigh he saw the line slanting slowly upward.

接着，他用右手感觉到钓线上的拉力变了，之后才看到它在水中的倾斜度也不一样了。然后，他朝着钓线俯下身，左手猛烈而迅速地拍在大腿上，看见钓线慢慢向上倾斜。

"He's coming up," he said. "Come on hand. Please come on."

“它正往上游呢。”他说，“加把劲儿啊，手。请加把劲儿呀。”

The line rose slowly and steadily and then the surface of the ocean bulged ahead of the boat and the fish came out. He came out unendingly and water poured from his sides. He was bright in the sun and his head and back were dark purple and in the sun the stripes on his sides showed wide and a light lavender. His sword was as long as a baseball bat and tapered like a rapier and he rose his full length from the water and then re-entered it, smoothly, like a diver and the old man saw the great scythe-blade of his tail go under and the line commenced to race out.

钓线缓慢而稳当地向上升，接着海面在小船的前方鼓了起来，鱼儿露面了。它不停地浮出，水溢向它的两侧。它在阳光下闪闪发光，头和背是深紫色的，身体两侧的条纹在阳光下显得很宽，呈淡紫色。它那剑一般的嘴和棒球拍一样长，渐渐变细，犹如轻剑一般。它全身都露出水面，然后又滑溜地钻入水中，就像潜水员一样。老人看见它那大镰刀般的尾巴落了下去，那钓线开始急速地向外滑去。

"He is two feet longer than the skiff," the old man said. The line was going out fast but steadily and the fish was not panicked. The old man was trying with both hands to keep the line just inside of breaking strength. He knew that if he could not slow the fish with a steady pressure the fish could take out all the line and break it.

“它比这小船长两英尺。”老人说。钓线正快速而稳当地向外滑着，鱼儿没有受惊。老人设法用双手拉钓线，尽量使钓线刚好不被拉断。他清楚，如果他不能用稳定的力量使鱼慢下来，这鱼就会拽出所有的绳索，并把它扯断。

He is a great fish and I must convince him, he thought. I must never let him learn his strength nor what he could do if he made his run. If I were him I would put in everything now and go until something broke. But, thank God, they are not as intelligent as we who kill them; although they are more noble and more able.

它是条大鱼，我必须征服它，他想。我决不能让它知道自己的力量，也不能让它知道要是逃跑的话能怎么做。如果我是它，我现在就要全力以赴地逃跑，直到绷断什么东西为止。可是，感谢上帝，它们没有我们这些杀害它们的人聪明；尽管它们更高尚、更能干。

The old man had seen many great fish. He had seen many that weighed more than a thousand pounds and he had caught two of that size in his life, but never alone. Now alone, and out of sight of land, he was fast to the biggest fish that he had ever seen and bigger than he had ever heard of, and his left hand was still as tight as the gripped claws of an eagle.

老人见过很多大鱼。他见过很多一千多磅的，以前他还捕到过两条这么大个儿的，可从来不是独自一人。眼下是孤身一人，看不见陆地，他和这条他所见过的最大的、比他曾听说过的还要大的鱼拴在了一起，而且他的左手仍然像紧握的鹰爪一样紧蜷着。

It will uncramp though, he thought. Surely it will uncramp to help my right hand. There are three things that are brothers: the fish and my two hands. It must uncramp. It is unworthy of it to be cramped. The fish had slowed again and was going at his usual pace.

尽管如此，它还是会恢复正常的，他想。它一定会恢复，来帮助我的右手的。有三样东西是兄弟：这鱼和我的两只手。它一定会恢复的。它抽筋真是可耻。鱼儿又慢了下来，正以它平常的速度游着。

I wonder why he jumped, the old man thought. He jumped almost as though to show me how big he was. I know now, anyway, he thought. I wish I could show him what sort of man I am. But then he would see the cramped hand. Let him think I am more man than I am and I will be so. I wish I was the fish, he thought, with everything he has against only my will and my intelligence.

不知道它为什么跳了出来，老人想。它跳出来简直就是想让我瞧瞧它有多大。不管怎么说，我现在知道了，他想。真希望我能让它看看我是怎样一个人。可是这样它就会看见这只抽筋的手了。让它觉得我比现在的我更男人，我会变成那样的。但愿我是那条鱼，他想，用上它所有的力气，对付的却仅仅是我的意志和智慧。

He settled comfortably against the wood and took his suffering as it came and the fish swam steadily and the boat moved slowly through the dark water. There was a small sea rising with the wind coming up from the east and at noon the old man's left hand was uncramped.

他舒服地靠在木板上，承受着袭来的种种痛苦。那鱼从容地游着，小船穿越深色的海水徐徐前行。随着东方刮来的风，涌起了一个小海浪，到了中午，老人抽筋的左手恢复了。

"Bad news for you, fish," he said and shifted the line over the sacks that covered his shoulders.

“对你来说是坏消息，鱼儿。”他说着，把披在他肩上的麻袋上的钓线换了下位置。

He was comfortable but suffering, although he did not admit the suffering at all.

他舒服但又痛苦，尽管他全然不承认这痛苦。

"I am not religious," he said. "But I will say ten Our Fathers and ten Hail Marys that I should catch this fish, and I promise to make a pilgrimage to the Virgin of Cobre if I catch him. That is a promise."

“我不是教徒，”他说，“不过我愿意念十遍《天主经》和十遍《圣母经》，让我能捉住这条鱼，而且我保证如果捉住了它，我一定去朝拜科伯圣母。这是一个承诺。”

He commenced to say his prayers mechanically. Sometimes he would be so tired that he could not remember the prayer and then he would say them fast so that they would come automatically. Hail Marys are easier to say than Our Fathers, he thought.

他开始机械地做祷告。有时候他太累了，累得记不起祷文了，他就快快地背，这样祷文就会顺嘴说出来。《圣母经》比《天主经》更易诵读，他想。

"Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen." Then he added, "Blessed Virgin, pray for the death of this fish. Wonderful though he is."

“万福玛利亚，恩惠满载，主与尔同在。尔为女中之圣，尔生之子，耶稣，亦为圣。圣洁玛利亚，上帝之母，请于今及吾辈命终之时，为吾等罪人祈福。阿们。”然后，他又补充道：“圣母玛利亚，请为此鱼之死祈祷。尽管它如此不凡。”

With his prayers said, and feeling much better, but suffering exactly as much, and perhaps a little more, he leaned against the wood of the bow and began, mechanically, to work the fingers of his left hand.

做完了祷告，他感觉好多了，但疼痛仍未减少，或许疼得更甚了些。他靠在船头的木板上，开始机械地动起了左手的手指。

The sun was hot now although the breeze was rising gently.

此时阳光炙热，尽管微风正柔和地吹起。

"I had better re-bait that little line out over the stern," he said. "If the fish decides to stay another night I will need to eat again and the water is low in the bottle. I don't think I can get anything but a dolphin here. But if I eat him fresh enough he won't be bad. I wish a flying fish would come on board tonight. But I have no light to attract them. A flying fish is excellent to eat raw and I would not have to cut him up. I must save all my strength now. Christ, I did not know he was so big."

“我最好还是给垂在船尾处的细钓线重新装上鱼饵，”他说，“如果那鱼要在这里再呆一晚上，我就还需要吃些东西，而且瓶子里的水也不多了。我想这里除了鲯鳅也捉不到其他什么了。不过要是我趁它新鲜的时候吃，倒也不会难吃。但愿今晚能有条飞鱼跳到船上。可我没有亮光来引诱它。飞鱼生着吃味道棒极了，而且不必切开。我现在必须保存我的所有体力。天哪，我原来不知道这鱼竟有这么大。”

"I'll kill him though," he said. "In all his greatness and his glory."

“但我还是要杀掉它，”他说，“尽管它个大无比，神气十足。”

Although it is unjust, he thought. But I will show him what a man can do and what a man endures.

虽然这并不公平，他想。但我要让它见识一下人有多么能干，人有多大的忍耐力。

"I told the boy I was a strange old man," he said. "Now is when I must prove it."

“我对那男孩说过，我是个奇怪的老头。”他说，“现在是我必须证实这话的时候了。”

The thousand times that he had proved it meant nothing. Now he was proving it again. Each time was a new time and he never thought about the past when he was doing it.

他曾证实过上千次了，这没什么。现在他又要证实了。每次都是一个新的开始，他做事的时候，从来不想过去。

I wish he'd sleep and I could sleep and dream about the lions, he thought. Why are the lions the main thing that is left? Don't think, old man, he said to himself. Rest gently now against the wood and think of nothing. He is working. Work as little as you can.

真希望它睡睡，这样我也可以睡了，然后梦见狮子，他想。为什么梦里剩下的主要就是狮子了？甭想了，老头，他对自己说，此时只轻靠在木板上休息，啥都别想。它正忙着。尽量少忙碌些吧。

It was getting into the afternoon and the boat still moved slowly and steadily. But there was an added drag now from the easterly breeze and the old man rode gently with the small sea and the hurt of the cord across his back came to him easily and smoothly.

已经到下午了，小船依然缓慢平稳地驶着。然而此时，东方吹来的微风增加了船的阻力，老人随着小海浪缓缓地漂流，绳索勒在背上的疼痛感变得舒缓而温和了。

Once in the afternoon the line started to rise again. But the fish only continued to swim at a slightly higher level. The sun was on the old man's left arm and shoulder and on his back. So he knew the fish had turned east of north.

下午有一次，钓线又开始上升了。但那只是鱼儿在较高一点的地方继续游着。阳光洒在老人的左臂、左肩和后背上。于是他知道鱼儿转到东北方向了。

Now that he had seen him once, he could picture the fish swimming in the water with his purple pectoral fins set wide as wings and the great erect tail slicing through the dark. I wonder how much he sees at that depth, the old man thought. His eye is huge and a horse, with much less eye, can see in the dark. Once I could see quite well in the dark. Not in the absolute dark. But almost as a cat sees.

由于他见过那鱼一次，他能够勾画出那鱼穿梭于水中的情景：它那翅膀般的紫色胸鳍大大展开，竖直的大尾巴将漆黑的海水切成碎片。我不知道它在那么深邃的海里能看见多少东西，老人想。它眼睛很大，马的眼睛要小得多，但能在黑暗中看见东西。以前我也曾在黑暗中看得很清楚。不过不是在完全漆黑的地方。但几乎能像猫一样看得清楚。

The sun and his steady movement of his fingers had uncramped his left hand now completely and he began to shift more of the strain to it and he shrugged the muscles of his back to shift the hurt of the cord a little.

由于阳光的照射，加上他不断地活动手指，现在他那抽筋的左手完全恢复了。他渐渐把更多的拉力转到这只手上，又耸了耸肩，活动了一下背上的肌肉，使绳索从勒痛的地方挪个位置。

"If you're not tired, fish," he said aloud, "you must be very strange."

“如果你不觉得累，鱼儿，”他说出声来，“那你可真是奇妙啊。”

He felt very tired now and he knew the night would come soon and he tried to think of other things. He thought of the Big Leagues, to him they were the Gran Ligas, and he knew that the Yankees of New York were playing the Tigres of Detroit.

他此刻感到非常疲惫了，他知道夜幕很快就要降临了，就尽力去想些别的事。他想到了棒球大联赛，也就是他用西班牙语说的"Gran Ligas"，他知道纽约的扬基队正在与底特律的老虎队交锋。

This is the second day now that I do not know the result of the juegos, he thought. But I must have confidence and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel. What is a bone spur? he asked himself. Un espuela de hueso. We do not have them. Can it be as painful as the spur of a fighting cock in one's heel? I do not think I could endure that or the loss of the eye and of both eyes and continue to fight as the fighting cocks do. Man is not much beside the great birds and beasts. Still I would rather be that beast down there in the darkness of the sea.

现在是第二天了，我还不知道比赛结果如何，他想。不过，我一定得有信心，一定要对得起那伟大的迪马乔，即使他脚后跟长了骨刺，忍着疼痛，他仍然把一切做得那么完美。骨刺是什么？他自问道。西班牙语叫"Un espuela de hueso"。我们没有这东西。它会像斗鸡腿上装的距铁刺扎进人脚后跟时那样疼吗？我觉得我无法忍受这个，也无法像斗鸡那样，一只眼或双眼被啄瞎后仍然继续战斗。人与伟大的鸟兽比起来真算不上什么。我还是情愿做那只呆在漆黑海水下的动物。

"Unless sharks come," he said aloud. "If sharks come, God pity him and me."

“除非鲨鱼来。”他说出声来，“要是鲨鱼来，但愿上帝怜悯一下它和我吧。”

Do you believe the great DiMaggio would stay with a fish as long as I will stay with this one? he thought. I am sure he would and more since he is young and strong. Also his father was a fisherman. But would the bone spur hurt him too much?

你觉得那伟大的迪马乔会像我守着这条鱼一样那么长久地守着一条鱼吗？他想。我想他一定会的，而且会守更久，因为他年轻力壮。而且他父亲也曾是个渔夫。可是那骨刺会不会刺得他太疼呢？

"I do not know," he said aloud. "I never had a bone spur."

“我不清楚，”他说出声来，“我从没长过骨刺。”

As the sun set he remembered, to give himself more confidence, the time in the tavern at Casablanca when he had played the hand game with the great negro from Cienfuegos who was the strongest man on the docks. They had gone one day and one night with their elbows on a chalk line on the table and their forearms straight up and their hands gripped tight. Each one was trying to force the other's hand down onto the table. There was much betting and people went in and out of the room under the kerosene lights and he had looked at the arm and hand of the negro and at the negro's face. They changed the referees every four hours after the first eight so that the referees could sleep. Blood came out from under the fingernails of both his and the negro's hands and they looked each other in the eye and at their hands and forearms and the bettors went in and out of the room and sat on high chairs against the wall and watched. The walls were painted bright blue and were of wood and the lamps threw their shadows against them. The negro's shadow was huge and it moved on the wall as the breeze moved the lamps.

太阳落山时，为了增强自己的信心，他想起了有一次在卡萨布兰卡的小酒店里，和那个从西恩富戈斯来的大个子黑人扳手腕的情景，那人当时是码头上最强壮的人。他们进行了一天一夜，胳膊肘置于桌上的一道粉笔线上，前臂向上伸直，两只手紧握着。两人都尽力把对方的手压倒在桌面上。许多人在赌谁输谁赢，人们在屋里的煤油灯下进进出出，他看着那黑人的胳膊和手，还有那黑人的脸。开始的八小时过后，他们每四个小时换一下裁判，这样裁判就能睡一睡。血从他和那黑人的指甲下渗出来，他们注视着对方的眼睛、手和前臂，打赌的人进进出出，坐在靠墙的高椅子上观看。墙壁涂着亮蓝色的漆，是木制的板壁，灯把他们的影子投射在墙上。那黑人的影子巨大，随着微风吹动挂灯，影子也在墙上移动着。

The odds would change back and forth all night and they fed the negro rum and lighted cigarettes for him. Then the negro, after the rum, would try for a tremendous effort and once he had the old man, who was not an old man then but was Santiago El Campeon, nearly three inches off balance. But the old man had raised his hand up to dead even again. He was sure then that he had the negro, who was a fine man and a great athlete, beaten. And at daylight when the bettors were asking that it be called a draw and the referee was shaking his head, he had unleashed his effort and forced the hand of the negro down and down until it rested on the wood. The match had started on a Sunday morning and ended on a Monday morning. Many of the bettors had asked for a draw because they had to go to work on the docks loading sacks of sugar or at the Havana Coal Company. Otherwise everyone would have wanted it to go to a finish. But he had finished it anyway and before anyone had to go to work.

赌注的赔率一整夜来回变换着，他们给那黑人喝朗姆酒，还为他点香烟。接着，喝完了朗姆酒，那黑人就使出巨大的力气，有一次把老人的手扳下近三英寸。当时他还不是老人，而是冠军圣地亚哥。可老人的手又扳了回来，又呈现出势均力敌的局面。当时他确信他能胜过这黑人，这人身体健壮，是个了不起的运动员。到了天亮，打赌的人们要求按平局算了事，裁判摇头反对，老人则使出浑身力气，把那黑人的手一压再压，最终扳倒在桌面上。这场比赛从一个星期天的早上开始，到星期一早上才告终。许多打赌的人要求算平局是因为他们得去码头干活，把装糖的麻袋装上船，或去哈瓦那煤行干活。不然每个人都会希望比赛进行到底的。然而不管怎么说，他结束了比赛，而且是在所有人开工之前。

For a long time after that everyone had called him The Champion and there had been a return match in the spring. But not much money was bet and he had won it quite easily since he had broken the confidence of the negro from Cienfuegos in the first match. After that he had a few matches and then no more. He decided that he could beat anyone if he wanted to badly enough and he decided that it was bad for his right hand for fishing. He had tried a few practice matches with his left hand. But his left hand had always been a traitor and would not do what he called on it to do and he did not trust it.

此后很长一段时间，谁都称他是“冠军”，来年春天两人又复赛了一场。但是打赌的钱数不多，由于他在第一场比赛中挫伤了那个从西恩富戈斯来的黑人的自信心，他轻而易举就赢了比赛。打那之后，他又赛过几次，然后就不再赛了。他觉得他能打败任何人，只要他决心十足，同时他也认定这对他用来钓鱼的右手不好。他尝试过用左手进行了几次练习赛。但他的左手总是背叛他，不愿做他吩咐给它的事，他不信任它。

The sun will bake it out well now, he thought. It should not cramp on me again unless it gets too cold in the night. I wonder what this night will bring.

现在太阳会好好把它晒干的，他想。如果夜里不是太冷的话，它就不该再抽筋了。不知道今晚会发生什么。

An airplane passed overhead on its course to Miami and he watched its shadow scaring up the schools of flying fish.

一架飞机从头顶飞过，循着它的航线飞往迈阿密，他注视着，看见它的影子惊起了成群的飞鱼。

"With so much flying fish there should be dolphin," he said, and leaned back on the line to see if it was possible to gain any on his fish. But he could not and it stayed at the hardness and water-drop shivering that preceded breaking. The boat moved ahead slowly and he watched the airplane until he could no longer see it.

“有这么多飞鱼，也该有鲯鳅。”他说，接着他拉住钓线向后靠，想看看能否把鱼拉过来一些。但是他拉不动，钓线仍旧绷得紧紧的，上面的水珠颤巍巍的，绳就快断了。小船缓慢前行，他注视着飞机，直到看不见为止。

It must be very strange in an airplane, he thought. I wonder what the sea looks like from that height. They should be able to see the fish well if they do not fly too high. I would like to fly very slowly at two hundred fathoms high and see the fish from above. In the turtle boats I was in the cross-trees of the mast-head and even at that height I saw much. The dolphin look greener from there and you can see their stripes and their purple spots and you can see all of the school as they swim. Why is it that all the fast-moving fish of the dark current have purple backs and usually purple stripes or spots? The dolphin looks green of course because he is really golden. But when he comes to feed, truly hungry, purple stripes show on his sides as on a marlin. Can it be anger, or the greater speed he makes that brings them out?

坐在飞机里一定很奇妙，他想。不知道从那个高度向下看，大海会是什么样儿？如果它们飞得不是太高，应该能看清楚这条鱼。我想在二百英寻高的地方很慢很慢地飞，然后从高空看鱼。在捕龟船上，我曾呆在桅顶的横木上，即使在那个高度，我还能看到不少东西。从那儿，鲯鳅看起来更绿，而且你可以看到它们的条纹和紫色斑点，还能看到整个一群鲯鳅游水的情景。这是怎么回事，怎么在这深色海流中所有游得快的鱼都有着紫色的背，而且通常还有紫色的条纹或斑点？由于鲯鳅实际上是金黄色的，所以在这深水里当然看上去像是绿色了。可是它们饿急了要吃东西的时候，身体两侧就会呈现出和大马林鱼身上一样的紫色条纹。显现出这些条纹是因为愤怒呢，还是因为游得速度太快？

Just before it was dark, as they passed a great island of Sargasso weed that heaved and swung in the light sea as though the ocean were making love with something under a yellow blanket, his small line was taken by a dolphin. He saw it first when it jumped in the air, true gold in the last of the sun and bending and flapping wildly in the air. It jumped again and again in the acrobatics of its fear and he worked his way back to the stern and crouching and holding the big line with his right hand and arm, he pulled the dolphin in with his left hand, stepping on the gained line each time with his bare left foot. When the fish was at the stem, plunging and cutting from side to side in desperation, the old man leaned over the stern and lifted the burnished gold fish with its purple spots over the stem. Its jaws were working convulsively in quick bites against the hook and it pounded the bottom of the skiff with its long flat body, its tail and its head until he clubbed it across the shining golden head until it shivered and was still.

就在天黑之前，他们经过了一大片马尾藻。它在泛着细浪的海面上起伏摇曳，仿佛海洋正和什么东西在一条黄毯子下做爱。就在这时，他的细钓线被一条鲯鳅咬住了。他头回看见它时，它正跃向空中，在最后一缕阳光的照射下身体呈现出真正的金色，它在空中弯曲着身体，疯狂地拍打着。出于恐惧，它一跳再跳，就像表演杂技一般。他则后退到船尾处，蹲了下来，用右手和右臂抓住那根粗钓线，用左手把鲯鳅往回拉，每次收回些钓线都用他光着的左脚踩住。当鱼儿被拉到船尾时，它绝望地跳着，窜来窜去，老人探出身，把这条带着紫色斑点的金光灿灿的鱼从船尾处拎了上来。它的嘴被钓钩钩住了，抽搐着，急促地咬着，接着它用它那又长又扁的身体、尾巴和头重重地拍打着船底，直到他用棍子打了一下它那金光灿灿的头，它才颤了颤，不动弹了。

The old man unhooked the fish, re-baited the line with another sardine and tossed it over. Then he worked his way slowly back to the bow. He washed his left hand and wiped it on his trousers. Then he shifted the heavy line from his right hand to his left and washed his right hand in the sea while he watched the sun go into the ocean and the slant of the big cord.

老人从鱼嘴里取下钓钩，给钓线重新装了一条沙丁鱼作鱼饵，把它抛入水中。然后他慢慢向后挪，回到了船头。他洗了左手，在裤子上擦了擦。接着，他一边把那根重钓线从右手移到左手，在海水里洗了右手，一边注视着太阳沉入海中，注视着那倾斜的粗钓线。

"He hasn't changed at all," he said. But watching the movement of the water against his hand he noted that it was perceptibly slower.

“它一点儿也没变。”他说。但是当他看着海水拍打在他手上时，他发现小船明显地慢了点了。

"I'll lash the two oars together across the stern and that will slow him in the night," he said. "He's good for the night and so am I."

“我要把两个桨交叉捆在船尾，这样晚上就能减慢它的速度。”他说，“它晚上能熬，我也行。”

It would be better to gut the dolphin a little later to save the blood in the meat, he thought. I can do that a little later and lash the oars to make a drag at the same time. I had better keep the fish quiet now and not disturb him too much at sunset. The setting of the sun is a difficult time for all fish. He let his hand dry in the air then grasped the line with it and eased himself as much as he could and allowed himself to be pulled forward against the wood so that the boat took the strain as much, or more, than he did.

稍晚一些再剖开这鲯鳅会更好，可以保存住肉里的血液，他想。我可以稍晚点再下手，同时把桨捆好，拖在后面。目前我最好还是让鱼儿保持安静，在太阳落山时不要过分惊扰它。日落时分对所有的鱼来说都是个艰难的时刻。他让手在空气中风干，然后用手抓住钓线，尽可能使自己放松，任由身体被往前拉得贴在船舷木板上，这样船承担的拉力就和他承担的一样大，或者比他的更大了。

I'm learning how to do it, he thought. This part of it anyway. Then too, remember he hasn't eaten since he took the bait and he is huge and needs much food. I have eaten the whole bonito. Tomorrow I will eat the dolphin. He called it dorado. Perhaps I should eat some of it when I clean it. It will be harder to eat than the bonito. But, then, nothing is easy.

我正学着该怎么做这个，他想。总之至少是在学目前这步该怎么做。还有，别忘了它自从咬了饵还没吃过东西，它身体庞大，需要很多食物。我已经吃掉了那一整条金枪鱼。明天我要吃了那条鲯鳅。他把它称作“剑鱼”。也许我该在给它清理内脏的时候吃上一些。它要比那条金枪鱼难吃。不过，其实干啥都不容易。

"How do you feel, fish?" he asked aloud. "I feel good and my left hand is better and I have food for a night and a day. Pull the boat, fish."

“你感觉如何，鱼儿？”他大声地问道，“我感觉不错，我的左手好些了，而且我有了够一天一夜吃的东西。拉着这小船吧，鱼儿。”

He did not truly feel good because the pain from the cord across his back had almost passed pain and gone into a dullness that he mistrusted. But I have had worse things than that, he thought. My hand is only cut a little and the cramp is gone from the other. My legs are all right. Also now I have gained on him in the question of sustenance.

他并不是真的感觉好，因为绳索勒在他背上的疼痛几乎已经到了极限，进入到一种令他感到疑惑的麻木状态。但是，我曾遇到过比这更糟的事，他想。我一只手只是割破了一点点，另一只手也不抽筋了。我的双腿都还好。而且目前，在食物方面我也比它更具优势。

It was dark now as it becomes dark quickly after the sun sets in September. He lay against the worn wood of the bow and rested all that he could. The first stars were out. He did not know the name of Rigel but he saw it and knew soon they would all be out and he would have all his distant friends.

此时天黑了，因为在九月，太阳一落，天就很快黑了。他倚在船头已磨损的木板上，尽量好好休息一下。第一批星星出来了。他不知道猎户座的那颗星叫什么名字，但他看见它了，于是知道不久其他星星也都会出来，他就会有这些遥远的朋友来做伴了。

"The fish is my friend too," he said aloud. "I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him. I am glad we do not have to try to kill the stars."

“这鱼也是我的朋友。”他说出声来，“我从来没见过，也没听说过这样一条鱼。可我必须杀死它。我很高兴，我们不必设法杀死那些星星。”

Imagine if each day a man must try to kill the moon, he thought. The moon runs away. But imagine if a man each day should have to try to kill the sun? We were born lucky, he thought.

设想一下，如果每天人必须设法弄死月亮，那会怎么样，他想。月亮会逃跑。但是想想看，如果每天人必须设法弄死太阳，那又会怎么样呢？我们生来是幸运的，他想。

Then he was sorry for the great fish that had nothing to eat and his determination to kill him never relaxed in his sorrow for him. How many people will he feed, he thought. But are they worthy to eat him? No, of course not. There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behaviour and his great dignity.

于是他为那条大鱼感到难过，它还什么都没吃呢，然而他要杀死它的决心却从来没有因为对它的哀惜而松懈过。它能供多少人吃啊，他想。可他们配吃它吗？不，当然不配。从它的行为举止和它高贵的尊严来看，没有一个人配吃它。

I do not understand these things, he thought. But it is good that we do not have to try to kill the sun or the moon or the stars. It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers.

我理解不了这些事，他想。但是我们不必去设法弄死太阳或月亮或星星，这很好。在海上生活，杀死我们真正的兄弟，这已经够了。

Now, he thought, I must think about the drag. It has its perils and its merits. I may lose so much line that I will lose him, if he makes his effort and the drag made by the oars is in place and the boat loses all her lightness. Her lightness prolongs both our suffering but it is my safety since he has great speed that he has never yet employed. No matter what passes I must gut the dolphin so he does not spoil and eat some of him to be strong.

眼下，他想，我得想想那拖在水里的东西了。这东西既有危险，也有好处。如果鱼儿用力拉，拖着的船桨原地不动，船儿不再轻巧的话，我可能会因为被鱼拉走很长的钓线而最终让它跑掉。船身轻巧会延长我们彼此的痛苦，但却会保护我的安全，因为这鱼速度很快，它这一招还从来没使出过呢。不管发生什么事，我必须得剖开这鲯鳅，免得它腐烂了，还要吃上点，以保持强壮的体力。

Now I will rest an hour more and feel that he is solid and steady before I move back to the stern to do the work and make the decision. In the meantime I can see how he acts and if he shows any changes. The oars are a good trick; but it has reached the time to play for safety. He is much fish still and I saw that the hook was in the corner of his mouth and he has kept his mouth tight shut. The punishment of the hook is nothing. The punishment of hunger, and that he is against something that he does not comprehend, is everything. Rest now, old man, and let him work until your next duty comes.

这会儿我要再休息一个钟头，等我感到那鱼稳定不动了，我再回船尾去做这件事，再想对策。这期间，我可以看看它怎么行动，是否有变化。拖着那两把船桨是个好办法；但是此时已不能再冒风险了。这鱼仍然那么了不起，我看见钩子钩在它嘴角，它紧紧地闭着嘴。钩子的折磨不算什么。饥饿的折磨，再加上它还得对抗它不了解的敌手，才是最棘手的问题。现在歇歇吧，老头，让它忙它的吧，等到了该你干的时候你再干。

He rested for what he believed to be two hours. The moon did not rise now until late and he had no way of judging the time. Nor was he really resting except comparatively. He was still bearing the pull of the fish across his shoulders but he placed his left hand on the gunwale of the bow and confided more and more of the resistance to the fish to the skiff itself.

他估摸着歇了有两个钟头了。月亮晚些时候才会升上来，他没办法判断时间。他并没有真正地休息，只是相对放松了点。他肩上仍然承受着那鱼的拉力，但他把左手压在了船头的舷缘上，让小船本身越来越多地对抗鱼的拉力。

How simple it would be if I could make the line fast, he thought. But with one small lurch he could break it. I must cushion the pull of the line with my body and at all times be ready to give line with both hands.

如果我能把钓线拴紧，那事情该多简单呀，他想。但是，鱼儿只要稍歪一下，就能绷断钓线。我必须用我的身体来缓冲钓线的拉力，始终做好准备用双手放出绳索。

"But you have not slept yet, old man," he said aloud. "It is half a day and a night and now another day and you have not slept. You must devise a way so that you sleep a little if he is quiet and steady. If you do not sleep you might become unclear in the head."

“可你还没睡觉呢，老头。”他说出声来，“已经过了半个白天和一个晚上了，现在又是一个白天了，你还一直没睡觉。你必须想个办法，能趁鱼安静稳定的时候睡上一会儿。要是你不睡觉，你的脑袋就可能不清醒。”

I'm clear enough in the head, he thought. Too clear. I am as clear as the stars that are my brothers. Still I must sleep. They sleep and the moon and the sun sleep and even the ocean sleeps sometimes on certain days when there is no current and a flat calm.

我脑袋够清醒了，他想。太清醒了。我和那些星星，我的兄弟们，一样清醒。但我还是必须睡觉。它们睡觉，月亮和太阳睡觉，甚至连海洋，在没有海流、风平浪静的日子里，有时候也会睡觉。

But remember to sleep, he thought. Make yourself do it and devise some simple and sure way about the lines. Now go back and prepare the dolphin. It is too dangerous to rig the oars as a drag if you must sleep.

但要记得睡觉，他想。强迫你自己去睡觉，然后想出一些简单又保险的办法来处置那些钓线。现在回去处理那条鲯鳅吧。要是你一定要睡，把桨拖在水里就太危险了。

I could go without sleeping, he told himself. But it would be too dangerous.

我不睡觉也可以，他对自己说。可这太危险了。

He started to work his way back to the stern on his hands and knees, being careful not to jerk against the fish. He may be half asleep himself, he thought. But I do not want him to rest. He must pull until he dies.

他开始用手和膝盖向船尾爬去，小心翼翼地，尽量不惊动那条鱼。它自己也许是半睡半醒的，他想。不过我可不想让它休息。它得一直拉着钓线，直到死去。

Back in the stern he turned so that his left hand held the strain of the line across his shoulders and drew his knife from its sheath with his right hand. The stars were bright now and he saw the dolphin clearly and he pushed the blade of his knife into his head and drew him out from under the stern. He put one of his feet on the fish and slit him quickly from the vent up to the tip of his lower jaw. Then he put his knife down and gutted him with his right hand, scooping him clean and pulling the gills clear.

回到船尾，他转过身，这样就可以换成用左手来承担勒在肩上的钓线的拉力，然后他用右手从刀鞘中抽出刀子。此时星星很明亮，他清楚地看见那条鲯鳅。他把刀刃刺入它的头部，从船尾下拉出它来。他一只脚踩着鱼，迅速从肛门处剖开，向上一直剖到它下颌尖端。然后，他把刀放下，用右手取出内脏，把里面掏干净，将鱼鳃也清理了出来。

He felt the maw heavy and slippery in his hands and he slit it open. There were two flying fish inside. They were fresh and hard and he laid them side by side and dropped the guts and the gills over the stern. They sank leaving a trail of phosphorescence in the water. The dolphin was cold and a leprous gray-white now in the starlight and the old man skinned one side of him while he held his right foot on the fish's head. Then he turned him over and skinned the other side and cut each side off from the head down to the tail.

他感到鱼的胃在手中又沉又滑，就把它剖开了。里面有两条飞鱼。它们很新鲜、很结实，他把它们挨着放下，将内脏和鱼鳃从船尾处扔进大海。它们沉了下去，在水中留下一道磷光。鲯鳅身上很凉，此时在星光下就像麻风病人一样灰白。老人一边用右脚踩着鱼头，一边剥下它一面的皮。然后他把鱼翻过来，剥下另一面的皮，又从头到尾把两边的肉割了下来。

He slid the carcass overboard and looked to see if there was any swirl in the water. But there was only the light of its slow descent. He turned then and placed the two flying fish inside the two fillets of fish and putting his knife back in its sheath, he worked his way slowly back to the bow. His back was bent with the weight of the line across it and he carried the fish in his right hand.

他悄悄地把鱼骨扔进大海，注视着，想看看它能否在水中打漩。然而只可以看到它慢慢沉下去，闪着光。他又转过身来，把两条飞鱼放在两片鱼肉之间，把刀子放回刀鞘，然后慢慢挪回到船头。背上绳索的重量压得他直不起腰来，他用右手拿着鱼肉。

Back in the bow he laid the two fillets of fish out on the wood with the flying fish beside them. After that he settled the line across his shoulders in a new place and held it again with his left hand resting on the gunwale. Then he leaned over the side and washed the flying fish in the water, noting the speed of the water against his hand. His hand was phosphorescent from skinning the fish and he watched the flow of the water against it. The flow was less strong and as he rubbed the side of his hand against the planking of the skiff, particles of phosphorus floated off and drifted slowly astern.

回到了船头，他把两片鱼肉摊开在外面的木板上，旁边放着飞鱼。接着，他把肩上背着的钓线挪了个新地方，又用左手拿起了钓线，把手靠在舷缘上。然后，他倚在船边，在水中洗了洗飞鱼，留意着海水冲击到他手上的速度。由于剥了鱼皮，他的手闪着磷光，他注视着冲击在他手上的水流。水流不那么强了，当他把手的一侧在小船的船板上摩擦时，点点的磷粒漂散开去，慢慢漂向船尾。

"He is tiring or he is resting," the old man said. "Now let me get through the eating of this dolphin and get some rest and a little sleep."

“它渐渐感到累了，要么就是在休息。”老人说，“现在我就把这鲯鳅全部吃掉，然后休息一下，睡一会儿。”

Under the stars and with the night colder all the time he ate half of one of the dolphin fillets and one of the flying fish, gutted and with its head cut off.

在星光下，夜晚越来越冷了，他吃掉了半片鲯鳅肉，还吃了一条去除了内脏、切掉了脑袋的飞鱼。

"What an excellent fish dolphin is to eat cooked," he said. "And what a miserable fish raw. I will never go in a boat again without salt or limes."

“鲯鳅煮熟了吃味道多棒啊，”他说，“可生吃就太糟糕了。不带盐或酸橙，我就再也不乘船出海了。”

If I had brains I would have splashed water on the bow all day and drying, it would have made salt, he thought. But then I did not hook the dolphin until almost sunset. Still it was a lack of preparation. But I have chewed it all well and I am not nauseated.

如果我有脑子，我就会整天把水泼到船头上，晒干，这样就会造出盐了，他想。可那个时候我还没有钓到这条鲯鳅，是在太阳快落山时才钓到的。还是准备不充分。不过，我已经把它整个好好咀嚼过了，也没有感到恶心。

The sky was clouding over to the east and one after another the stars he knew were gone. It looked now as though he were moving into a great canyon of clouds and the wind had dropped.

空中的云渐渐向东方聚集，他认识的星星也一颗接一颗地消失了。此时他似乎正驶入一个大大的云彩峡谷，风已停息了。

"There will be bad weather in three or four days," he said. "But not tonight and not tomorrow. Rig now to get some sleep, old man, while the fish is calm and steady."

“三四天后会遭遇坏天气，”他说，“但今晚和明天还好。现在就准备好，睡上一会儿，老头，趁着这会儿鱼儿正安静稳定。”

He held the line tight in his right hand and then pushed his thigh against his right hand as he leaned all his weight against the wood of the bow. Then he passed the line a little lower on his shoulders and braced his left hand on it.

他右手紧紧攥着钓线，然后用大腿顶住右手，把身体的全部重量都压在船头的木板上。接着，他把肩上的钓线向下挪了一点，把左手抵在上面。

My right hand can hold it as long as it is braced, he thought. If it relaxes in sleep my left hand will wake me as the line goes out. It is hard on the right hand. But he is used to punishment. Even if I sleep twenty minutes or a half an hour it is good. He lay forward cramping himself against the line with all of his body, putting all his weight onto his right hand, and he was asleep.

我右手可以抓住钓线，只要它被紧撑着，他想。如果它在我睡着的时候松了，它一向外滑，我的左手就会弄醒我的。这样右手很苦重。但它已经习惯了吃苦了。就算我睡上二十分钟或半个钟头，也是好的。他向前弯曲着身体，用整个身子压住钓线，把全身所有的重量放在右手上，然后，他睡着了。

He did not dream of the lions but instead of a vast school of porpoises that stretched for eight or ten miles and it was in the time of their mating and they would leap high into the air and return into the same hole they had made in the water when they leaped.

他没有梦见狮子，而是梦见了一大群海豚，它们排了八到十英里长。此时正值它们的交配季节，它们总是高高地跃入空中，然后又回到它们跳跃时在水中制造的那个漩涡里。

Then he dreamed that he was in the village on his bed and there was a norther and he was very cold and his right arm was asleep because his head had rested on it instead of a pillow.

跟着他又梦见他在村子里，在他的床上躺着，外面刮着强劲的北风，他觉得很冷，他的右臂麻木了，因为他的头枕在它上面，而不是枕在枕头上。

After that he began to dream of the long yellow beach and he saw the first of the lions come down onto it in the early dark and then the other lions came and he rested his chin on the wood of the bows where the ship lay anchored with the evening off-shore breeze and he waited to see if there would be more lions and he was happy.

之后，他又梦见了那条长长的黄色海滩，他看见傍晚时分第一只狮子来到海滩，跟着其他狮子也来了，他把下巴歇在船头的木板上，船儿就停泊在那儿，夜晚的微风吹向海面，他等着看会不会有更多的狮子，他很快乐。

The moon had been up for a long time but he slept on and the fish pulled on steadily and the boat moved into the tunnel of clouds.

月亮升起已有很长一段时间了，但他还在睡着，鱼儿继续平稳地拉着钓线，小船驶入了云彩的隧道。

He woke with the jerk of his right fist coming up against his face and the line burning out through his right hand. He had no feeling of his left hand but he braked all he could with his right and the line rushed out. Finally his left hand found the line and he leaned back against the line and now it burned his back and his left hand, and his left hand was taking all the strain and cutting badly. He looked back at the coils of line and they were feeding smoothly. Just then the fish jumped making a great bursting of the ocean and then a heavy fall. Then he jumped again and again and the boat was going fast although line was still racing out and the old man was raising the strain to breaking point and raising it to breaking point again and again. He had been pulled down tight onto the bow and his face was in the cut slice of dolphin and he could not move.

他的右拳突然猛地撞在脸上，钓线火辣辣地摩擦着他的右手向外滑，他被惊醒了。他的左手没感觉了，他就使尽所有力气用右手拽住钓线，但它还是使劲向外冲。他的左手最终拽住了钓线，他后仰着身子把线向后拉，线紧紧地勒在他的脊背和左手上，左手承担了所有的拉力，被割得很痛。他向后看了看那些钓线卷儿，它们正顺畅地向水中放着线。就在这时，那鱼跳了出来，使海面剧烈地爆裂开来，而后它又重重地落了下去。接着，它又一次次地跳出，尽管钓线仍然飞速地向外滑，小船还是走得很快，老人把钓线拉得就快要绷断了，他一次又一次地把它拉到了快要绷断的地步。他被紧紧地拉着，倒在船头上，他的脸紧贴着那片割下来的鲯鳅肉，动不了了。

This is what we waited for, he thought. So now let us take it. Make him pay for the line, he thought. Make him pay for it.

这正是我们所期待的，他想。那么，现在我们就来对付它吧。让它为一直拉着钓线而付出代价吧，他想。让它为此付出代价吧。

He could not see the fish's jumps but only heard the breaking of the ocean and the heavy splash as he fell. The speed of the line was cutting his hands badly but he had always known this would happen and he tried to keep the cutting across the calloused parts and not let the line slip into the palm nor cut the fingers.

他看不见鱼跳，只能听见大海的迸裂声和它落下时巨大的海水飞溅声。钓线飞快地下滑，割得他的手很痛，但他一直明白这总会发生的，他尽量把钓线保持在手上起了老茧的部位，不让它滑进掌心或割在手指上。

If the boy was here he would wet the coils of line, he thought. Yes. If the boy were here. If the boy were here.

如果那男孩在这儿，他会把这些钓线卷儿弄湿的，他想。他会的。如果那男孩在这儿。如果那男孩在这儿。

The line went out and out and out but it was slowing now and he was making the fish earn each inch of it. Now he got his head up from the wood and out of the slice of fish that his cheek had crushed. Then he was on his knees and then he rose slowly to his feet. He was ceding line but more slowly all the time. He worked back to where he could feel with his foot the coils of line that he could not see. There was plenty of line still and now the fish had to pull the friction of all that new line through the water.

钓线向外一滑再滑，但现在慢下来了，他正在努力不让鱼儿轻易拉走每一英寸。此时他从木板上抬起头来，脱离开了那片被他脸颊压烂的鱼肉。然后他跪了起来，接着又慢慢地站起来。他向外放着钓线，但越来越慢了。他向后挪动着，直到可以用脚触到那些他看不见的钓线卷儿。还有很多的钓线，现在这鱼不得不拉着这些有很大摩擦力的新钓线在水里游走了。

Yes, he thought. And now he has jumped more than a dozen times and filled the sacks along his back with air and he cannot go down deep to die where I cannot bring him up. He will start circling soon and then I must work on him. I wonder what started him so suddenly. Could it have been hunger that made him desperate, or was he frightened by something in the night? Maybe he suddenly felt fear. But he was such a calm, strong fish and he seemed so fearless and so confident. It is strange.

是这样，他想。而且到现在它已经跳跃了不下十二次了，使背上的那些液囊充满了空气，这样它就不可能潜到深水中而死去，要是到了深水中我可拽不上它来了。它很快就会开始兜圈子了，那时候我一定得好好对付它。我想知道，它为什么突然开始跳跃了？是饥饿使它豁出了性命，还是夜间被什么东西给吓着了？或许它突然觉得害怕了。然而，它是一条那么镇定而强壮的鱼，它似乎无所畏惧，信心十足。这很怪。

"You better be fearless and confident yourself, old man," he said. "You're holding him again but you cannot get line. But soon he has to circle."

“你最好还是让自己也无所畏惧、信心十足吧，老头。”他说，“你又拖住它了，但你还收不回钓线。不过，不久它就得打转了。”

The old man held him with his left hand and his shoulders now and stooped down and scooped up water in his right hand to get the crushed dolphin flesh off of his face. He was afraid that it might nauseate him and he would vomit and lose his strength. When his face was cleaned he washed his right hand in the water over the side and then let it stay in the salt water while he watched the first light come before the sunrise. He's headed almost east, he thought. That means he is tired and going with the current. Soon he will have to circle. Then our true work begins.

此时，老人用左手和肩膀拉住了它，然后弯下腰，用右手去舀水来洗掉他脸上粘着的压烂的鲯鳅肉。他担心这肉会让他恶心，呕吐，从而失去力气。洗干净脸后，他从船边俯下身在水里洗了洗他的右手，接着又把它泡在这盐水里，注视着日出前第一道光的出现。它差不多是向东走的，他想。那就意味着它累了，在随着水流走。很快它就不得不打转了。那时候我们才要大干一场呢。

After he judged that his right hand had been in the water long enough he took it out and looked at it.

在他断定他的右手已经在水里泡了足够长的时间后，就把它拿了出来，看着它。

"It is not bad," he said. "And pain does not matter to a man."

“还不赖，”他说，“疼痛对一个男人来说算不了什么。”

He took hold of the line carefully so that it did not fit into any of the fresh line cuts and shifted his weight so that he could put his left hand into the sea on the other side of the skiff.

他小心地抓着钓线，尽量不让它嵌进任何一个刚割破的伤口里，然后身子挪了个位置，使他能在小船的另一边把左手伸进海水里。

"You did not do so badly for something worthless," he said to his left hand. "But there was a moment when I could not find you."

“你这不中用的，倒还算干得不赖。”他对他的左手说。“可是之前有一阵子，就是指不上你。”

Why was I not born with two good hands? he thought. Perhaps it was my fault in not training that one properly. But God knows he has had enough chances to learn. He did not do so badly in the night, though, and he has only cramped once. If he cramps again let the line cut him off.

为什么我不是天生就有两只好手呢？他想。也许是我不对，没有适当地训练这只手。但上帝知道，它学习的机会够多了。不过，它夜里干得还不错，就抽了一次筋。如果它再抽筋，就让这钓线割断它算了。

When he thought that he knew that he was not being clear-headed and he thought he should chew some more of the dolphin. But I can't, he told himself. It is better to be light-headed than to lose your strength from nausea. And I know I cannot keep it if I eat it since my face was in it. I will keep it for an emergency until it goes bad. But it is too late to try for strength now through nourishment. You're stupid, he told himself. Eat the other flying fish.

他一这么想，就知道自己头脑不清醒了，就琢磨着该再吃点鲯鳅肉了。不过我可不能吃，他跟自己说。头昏眼花总比因为恶心呕吐而丧失力气的好。而且我知道即使吃了它，它在胃里也存不住，因为我的脸曾紧贴在那肉上。我要把它留下来，紧急的时候再用，直到它坏掉为止。然而，现在要通过营养来增长力气已经太迟了。你真愚蠢，他对自己说。吃了另外那条飞鱼吧。

It was there, cleaned and ready, and he picked it up with his left hand and ate it chewing the bones carefully and eating all of it down to the tail.

它就在那里，已洗净待用。他用左手把它拿起，吃了起来，细细地嚼着鱼骨，把它从头到尾吃了个精光。

It has more nourishment than almost any fish, he thought. At least the kind of strength that I need. Now I have done what I can, he thought. Let him begin to circle and let the fight come.

它几乎比任何鱼都更有营养，他想。至少它可以给我我所需要的那种力量。现在我能做的都做了，他想。让它开始打转吧，让战斗开始吧。

The sun was rising for the third time since he had put to sea when the fish started to circle.

太阳正渐渐升起，这是他出海以来的第三次日出，此时，鱼儿开始打转了。

He could not see by the slant of the line that the fish was circling. It was too early for that. He just felt a faint slackening of the pressure of the line and he commenced to pull on it gently with his right hand. It tightened, as always, but just when he reached the point where it would break, line began to come in. He slipped his shoulders and head from under the line and began to pull in line steadily and gently. He used both of his hands in a swinging motion and tried to do the pulling as much as he could with his body and his legs. His old legs and shoulders pivoted with the swinging of the pulling.

从钓线的斜度他还不能断定那鱼在打转。这么说还太早。他只是感到钓线的拉力稍稍变弱了些，接着他开始用右手轻轻地往回拉。钓线绷紧了，就像往常一样，但恰恰是在他快要拉断的时候，钓线却渐渐可以收回了。他把钓线从肩膀和头上慢慢挪下来，开始稳稳地、轻轻地往回收着钓线。他两手交替，身子摆来摆去，大把大把地向上拉着，竭尽所能用整个身体和双腿的力量去拉。拉绳时身体的摆动，带动着他那老朽的双腿和肩膀也跟着转来转去。

"It is a very big circle," he said. "But he is circling." Then the line would not come in any more and he held it until he saw the drops jumping from it in the sun. Then it started out and the old man knelt down and let it go grudgingly back into the dark water.

“这个圈可真是大呀。”“不过它总算是转开了。”接着，钓线一点也拉不回来了，于是他就紧紧地拽住它，拽着拽着，看见日光下竟有水珠从绳上迸出。之后它又开始向外滑了，老人跪了下来，很不情愿地让它退回到那漆黑的海水中。

"He is making the far part of his circle now," he said. I must hold all I can, he thought. The strain will shorten his circle each time. Perhaps in an hour I will see him. Now I must convince him and then I must kill him.

“它现在正游向圈子的另一面。”他说。我必须拼命拽住，他想。拽紧些，它绕的圈就会越来越小。或许再过一个钟头我就能看见它了。现在我必须稳住它，过后我定会杀死它的。

But the fish kept on circling slowly and the old man was wet with sweat and tired deep into his bones two hours later. But the circles were much shorter now and from the way the line slanted he could tell the fish had risen steadily while he swam.

但是这鱼一直在慢慢地兜着圈子，两个钟头过去了，老人已浑身是汗，疲惫入骨了。不过，此时它兜的圈已小了许多了，而且从钓线倾斜的方式，他可以知道那鱼已经在边游边平稳上升了。

For an hour the old man had been seeing black spots before his eyes and the sweat salted his eyes and salted the cut over his eye and on his forehead. He was not afraid of the black spots. They were normal at the tension that he was pulling on the line. Twice, though, he had felt faint and dizzy and that had worried him.

老人一直看见眼前有些黑点，这样持续了有一个钟头，咸咸的汗水灼着他的眼睛，灼着他眼睛上方、额头上的伤口。他并不害怕这些黑点。它们是在他使劲拉钓线时出现的，这很正常。然而，他已经有两次感到头晕眼花了，这让他很担心。

"I could not fail myself and die on a fish like this," he said. "Now that I have him coming so beautifully, God help me endure. I'll say a hundred Our Fathers and a hundred Hail Marys. But I cannot say them now."

“我不能让自己垮掉，就这样让一条鱼给整死。”他说，“既然我让它这么漂亮地过来了，那么求上帝保佑我熬过去吧。我会念一百遍《天主经》和一百遍《圣母经》的。但现在我还不能念。”

Consider them said, he thought. I'll say them later. Just then he felt a sudden banging and jerking on the line he held with his two hands. It was sharp and hard-feeling and heavy.

就当已经念过它们了，他想。我以后会念的。就在这时，他觉得他两手拽着的钓线突然被重击、猛拉了一下。这一下急剧、强劲而又沉重。

He is hitting the wire leader with his spear, he thought. That was bound to come. He had to do that. It may make him jump though and I would rather he stayed circling now. The jumps were necessary for him to take air. But after that each one can widen the opening of the hook wound and he can throw the hook.

它在用它的嘴撞击金属丝导线，他想。这种事肯定会有的。它不得不这样。但这或许会使它跳起来，我宁愿它现在还在兜圈子。跳出来呼吸，对它来说是必须的。然而，每跳一次之后，钓钩划的伤口都会扩大些，这样它就可能会扔掉钩子。

"Don't jump, fish," he said. "Don't jump."

“别跳了，鱼儿，”他说，“别跳了。”

The fish hit the wire several times more and each time he shook his head the old man gave up a little line.

那鱼又撞了好几次金属线，每次它一摆头，老人就放出一点钓线。

I must hold his pain where it is, he thought. Mine does not matter. I can control mine. But his pain could drive him mad.

我决不能再增加它的痛处了，他想。我的疼痛没什么。我自己可以控制。可它的疼痛会让它发狂的。

After a while the fish stopped beating at the wire and started circling slowly again. The old man was gaining line steadily now. But he felt faint again. He lifted some sea water with his left hand and put it on his head. Then he put more on and rubbed the back of his neck.

过了一会儿，那鱼停止撞击金属丝了，又慢慢地兜起了圈子。老人此时正不停地往回收着钓线。但他又觉得头晕了。他用左手撩起些海水，泼在了头上。接着他又泼了些，然后揉了揉后脖颈。

"I have no cramps," he said. "He'll be up soon and I can last. You have to last. Don't even speak of it."

“我没有抽筋。”他说，“它很快就会上来的，我扛得住。你必须要扛住。提也别再提它了。”

He kneeled against the bow and, for a moment, slipped the line over his back again. I'll rest now while he goes out on the circle and then stand up and work on him when he comes in, he decided.

他倚着船头跪下来，又把钓线暂时扛在了背上。我现在要趁它向外绕圈的时候休息一下，然后等它回来了再站起来对付它，他决定这么干。

It was a great temptation to rest in the bow and let the fish make one circle by himself without recovering any line. But when the strain showed the fish had turned to come toward the boat, the old man rose to his feet and started the pivoting and the weaving pulling that brought in all the line he gained.

我真想在船头歇歇呀，让鱼儿自己打个转，而不去收钓线。可是当拉力变小时，说明鱼儿已经转身游向小船了，这时老人就站起来，开始摆动着，像织布一样两手交替拉着钓线，就这样收回了所有能收回的绳索。

I'm tireder than I have ever been, he thought, and now the trade wind is rising. But that will be good to take him in with. I need that badly.

我现在比以往任何时候都疲惫，他想，而且这时又刮起了信风。不过，借它来把鱼拉回也很好。我太需要这风了。

"I'll rest on the next turn as he goes out," he said. "I feel much better. Then in two or three turns more I will have him."

“等它下次再向外绕圈时，我要休息一下。”他说，“我感觉好多了。再打两三个圈，我就捉到它了。”

His straw hat was far on the back of his head and he sank down into the bow with the pull of the line as he felt the fish turn.

他的草帽跑到了头后面，他感觉到鱼儿在转身，随着钓线被拉了一下，他也给拉倒在船头里。

You work now, fish, he thought. I'll take you at the turn.

你现在就跑吧，鱼儿，他想。等你转身后我再对付你。

The sea had risen considerably. But it was a fair-weather breeze and he had to have it to get home.

海上泛起了大浪。但这是晴天的微风，他还得借着这风才能回家。

"I'll just steer south and west," he said. "A man is never lost at sea and it is a long island."

“我就是要朝西南方向行驶。”他说，“人从来不会在海上迷路，况且这是条长长的岛屿。”

It was on the third turn that he saw the fish first.

在鱼儿绕到第三圈时，他才第一次看见它。

He saw him first as a dark shadow that took so long to pass under the boat that he could not believe its length.

他最初看见的是一个黑影，它用了那么长的时间才从船底下穿过，他简直无法相信它的长度。

"No," he said. "He can't be that big."

“不可能，”他说，“它不可能有那么大。”

But he was that big and at the end of this circle he came to the surface only thirty yards away and the man saw his tail out of water. It was higher than a big scythe blade and a very pale lavender above the dark blue water. It raked back and as the fish swam just below the surface the old man could see his huge bulk and the purple stripes that banded him. His dorsal fin was down and his huge pectorals were spread wide.

然而它的确有那么大，这圈快兜完时，它浮到水面上来，仅在三十码远的地方，老人看见它的尾巴在水面外露着。它这尾巴比一把长柄大镰刀的刀刃还高些，是极其暗淡的淡紫色，高高地立在深蓝色的海面上。它向后倾斜着身体，当鱼儿就在海水表层游的时候，老人可以看见它庞大的身体和布满全身的紫色条纹。它的背鳍向下垂着，而它巨大的胸鳍则大大地展开着。

On this circle the old man could see the fish's eye and the two gray sucking fish that swam around him. Sometimes they attached themselves to him. Sometimes they darted off. Sometimes they would swim easily in his shadow. They were each over three feet long and when they swam fast they lashed their whole bodies like eels.

这次打转时，老人看见了鱼的眼睛和围着它游的两条灰色的鮣。有时候它们附在它身上。有时候它们又突然游开。有时候它们会在它的影子里自在地游来游去。它们每条都有三英尺多长，当它们快速游动时，就像鳗鱼一样急速摆动着整个身体。

The old man was sweating now but from something else besides the sun. On each calm placid turn the fish made he was gaining line and he was sure that in two turns more he would have a chance to get the harpoon in.

老人此时在冒着汗，但并不全是因为日晒，还有其他的原因。鱼儿每次平静而沉着地兜圈回来时，他总能收回一些钓线，因此他确信等鱼再绕上两圈，他就有机会把鱼叉刺进鱼身了。

But I must get him close, close, close, he thought. I mustn't try for the head. I must get the heart.

不过，我必须把它拉得很近，很近，很近，他想。我绝对不能刺它的头。我必须刺进它的心脏。

"Be calm and strong, old man," he said.

“要镇静、有力，老头。”他说。

On the next circle the fish's back was out but he was a little too far from the boat. On the next circle he was still too far away but he was higher out of water and the old man was sure that by gaining some more line he could have him alongside.

兜下一个圈时，鱼背露出了水面，但它离小船还是有点太远了。再兜下一圈时，它还是太远了，不过露出水面的部分高些了，老人确信，再收回些钓线，他就能把它拉到船边了。

He had rigged his harpoon long before and its coil of light rope was in a round basket and the end was made fast to the bitt in the bow.

他早已装好了鱼叉，鱼叉上连着一卷轻绳，在一个圆篮子里放着，钓线末端牢系在船头的缆柱上。

The fish was coming in on his circle now calm and beautiful looking and only his great tail moving. The old man pulled on him all that he could to bring him closer. For just a moment the fish turned a little on his side. Then he straightened himself and began another circle.

这时，鱼儿正兜了一个圈回来，平静而美丽，只有它的大尾巴在动着。老人拼命地拽着它，想把它拉得更近些。仅有那么一会儿，那鱼微微地转了下身。然后它把身体伸得笔直，又开始打起转来。

"I moved him," the old man said. "I moved him then."

“我拉动它了，”老人说，“刚才我拉动它了。”

He felt faint again now but he held on the great fish all the strain that he could. I moved him, he thought. Maybe this time I can get him over. Pull, hands, he thought. Hold up, legs. Last for me, head. Last for me. You never went. This time I'll pull him over.

这时他又觉得晕了，但他还是使尽浑身力气拉住了这条大鱼。我拉动它了，他想。也许这次我能把它拽过来。拉吧，手啊，他想。撑住，腿啊。为了我坚持住呀，头。为了我坚持住呀。你从来没有倒下过。这次我会把它拉过来的。

But when he put all of his effort on, starting it well out before the fish came alongside and pulling with all his strength, the fish pulled part way over and then righted himself and swam away.

然而，尽管他使出浑身力气，在鱼还远远没游到船边时就开始行动，拼出全力使劲拉，可那鱼儿却只是半个身子往前靠了靠，接着又稳住了身体游走了。

"Fish," the old man said. "Fish, you are going to have to die anyway. Do you have to kill me too?"

“鱼儿呀，”老人说，“鱼儿呀，再怎么折腾你都死定了。你非要把我也害死吗？”

That way nothing is accomplished, he thought. His mouth was too dry to speak but he could not reach for the water now. I must get him alongside this time, he thought. I am not good for many more turns. Yes you are, he told himself. You're good for ever.

这么下去，什么也干不成，他想。他的嘴干得没法儿说话了，可现在他又不能伸手去拿水。这次我一定要把它拉到船边，他想。再多兜几圈，我就撑不住了。不，你可以的，他对自己说。你永远都可以的。

On the next turn, he nearly had him. But again the fish righted himself and swam slowly away.

又兜了一圈回来时，他差点把它拽过来。但是，这鱼又稳了稳身子，慢慢游开了。

You are killing me, fish, the old man thought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who.

你是在置我于死地呀，鱼儿，老人想。可你有权这么做。我从来没见过比你更大、更美、更镇静或更高贵的东西了，兄弟。快来杀死我吧。我不在乎是谁弄死谁。

Now you are getting confused in the head, he thought. You must keep your head clear. Keep your head clear and know how to suffer like a man. Or a fish, he thought.

现在你大脑混乱开了，他想。你一定要保持头脑清醒。保持头脑清醒，要像个男人，明白如何承受苦难。或者像一条鱼，他想。

"Clear up, head," he said in a voice he could hardly hear. "Clear up."

“清醒吧，头。”他对自己说，声音小得连自己都几乎听不见。“清醒吧。”

Twice more it was the same on the turns. I do not know, the old man thought. He had been on the point of feeling himself go each time. I do not know. But I will try it once more. He tried it once more and he felt himself going when he turned the fish. The fish righted himself and swam off again slowly with the great tail weaving in the air. I'll try it again, the old man promised, although his hands were mushy now and he could only see well in flashes. He tried it again and it was the same. So he thought, and he felt himself going before he started; I will try it once again.

那鱼又兜了两个圈，回来时还是老样子。我搞不明白，老人想。每一次他都感觉自己就要顶不住了。我不明白。不过我要再试一次。他又试了一次，当他把鱼拉得转过身来时，他觉得自己就要垮掉了。那鱼稳了稳，又慢慢游开了，大尾巴在空中挥动着。我要再试一次，老人对自己承诺道，尽管此时他的手已经软弱无力，而且眼睛也只是偶尔一瞬间能看清楚。他又试了一次，结果又是老样子。又是这样，他想，他觉得自己还没开始动手就要倒下了；我还要试一次。

He took all his pain and what was left of his strength and his long gone pride and he put it against the fish's agony and the fish came over onto his side and swam gently on his side, his bill almost touching the planking of the skiff and started to pass the boat, long, deep, wide, silver and barred with purple and interminable in the water.

他忍住所有的痛，拿出剩余的力气和早已丢失的傲气，用它们来对付这鱼的垂死挣扎。鱼儿游到他旁边，在他身旁文雅地游着，它的嘴就快要碰到了小船的船壳外板，它正要从小船旁经过。它很长，很高，很宽，是银色的，身上还有紫色的条纹，在水中看起来长得没有尽头。

The old man dropped the line and put his foot on it and lifted the harpoon as high as he could and drove it down with all his strength, and more strength he had just summoned, into the fish's side just behind the great chest fin that rose high in the air to the altitude of the man's chest. He felt the iron go in and he leaned on it and drove it further and then pushed all his weight after it.

老人放下钓线，用脚踩住，把鱼叉尽可能地举高，用尽他所有的力气，还有他方才使出的力气，朝下刺去，直刺入鱼的侧身，就在大胸鳍后面一点儿，这胸鳍高高地立在空中，与老人的胸膛平齐。他感觉到那铁叉刺进去了，就把身体靠在上面，让它刺得更深些，然后用全身的重量把它压下去。

Then the fish came alive, with his death in him, and rose high out of the water showing all his great length and width and all his power and his beauty. He seemed to hang in the air above the old man in the skiff. Then he fell into the water with a crash that sent spray over the old man and over all of the skiff.

接着那鱼翻腾起来，眼看就要丧命了。它从水中高高跃起，充分展示着它那超凡的长度和宽度，以及它那惊人的力量和美丽。它似乎悬在小船上老人的头顶上空。然后，只听一声巨响，它落入水中，海水泼溅到老人身上，也溅到整个小船上。

The old man felt faint and sick and he could not see well. But he cleared the harpoon line and let it run slowly through his raw hands and, when he could see, he saw the fish was on his back with his silver belly up. The shaft of the harpoon was projecting at an angle from the fish's shoulder and the sea was discolouring with the red of the blood from his heart. First it was dark as a shoal in the blue water that was more than a mile deep. Then it spread like a cloud. The fish was silvery and still and floated with the waves.

老人觉得头晕，恶心，看不清东西。可他放开了鱼叉上的钓线，让它从他那擦伤了的双手间慢慢溜下去，等他能看清些了，他看见那鱼仰面朝天，银色的肚皮朝上。鱼叉的柄从鱼的肩部斜戳出来，海水被它心脏里流出的鲜血染成了红色。一开始，这血黑黑的，有如这一英里多深的蓝色海水里的一片暗礁。接着它扩散开来，像云彩一般。这鱼是银色的，一动也不动地随着海浪上下起伏着。

The old man looked carefully in the glimpse of vision that he had. Then he took two turns of the harpoon line around the bitt in the bow and hid his head on his hands.

老人的眼睛很难看得清，但他仍仔细地看着。接着他把鱼叉上的钓线往船头的缆柱上缠了两圈，然后用双手抱着头。

"Keep my head clear," he said against the wood of the bow. "I am a tired old man. But I have killed this fish which is my brother and now I must do the slave work."

“让我的大脑保持清醒吧。”他倚在船头的木板上说，“我是个疲惫的老人。但是我杀死了这条鱼——我的兄弟，眼下我得干苦力活儿了。”

Now I must prepare the nooses and the rope to lash him alongside, he thought. Even if we were two and swamped her to load him and bailed her out, this skiff would never hold him. I must prepare everything, then bring him in and lash him well and step the mast and set sail for home.

他想，现在我必须准备好套索和钓线，把它捆在船边。即使我这儿有两个人，把船灌满水，再把它拖上来，然后把水舀出去，这小船也绝对放不下它。我必须把一切都准备好，再把它拖过来，牢牢捆住，这样就可以立起桅杆，扬帆回家了。

He started to pull the fish in to have him alongside so that he could pass a line through his gills and out his mouth and make his head fast alongside the bow. I want to see him, he thought, and to touch and to feel him. He is my fortune, he thought. But that is not why I wish to feel him. I think I felt his heart, he thought. When I pushed on the harpoon shaft the second time. Bring him in now and make him fast and get the noose around his tail and another around his middle to bind him to the skiff.

他动手把鱼拉到船边，这样就能把钓线穿进它的鳃，再从嘴里拉出来，把它的头牢牢地捆在船头边。我想看看它，他想，还想碰碰它，摸摸它。它是我的财富，他想。不过，我并不是因为这个才想摸它。我觉得我碰到了它的心脏，他想。就是在我第二次握着鱼叉的柄刺进去的时候。现在就把它拖过来，捆牢，用那根套索拴住它的尾巴，再用另一根套住它的腰，把它牢牢地绑在小船上。

"Get to work, old man," he said. He took a very small drink of the water. "There is very much slave work to be done now that the fight is over."

“开始干吧，老头。”他说。他喝了一小口水。“既然战斗结束了，就有许多苦力活儿要干呢。”

He looked up at the sky and then out to his fish. He looked at the sun carefully. It is not much more than noon, he thought. And the trade wind is rising. The lines all mean nothing now. The boy and I will splice them when we are home.

他仰望了一下天空，然后又向外看了看他的鱼。他仔细观察着太阳。正午刚过去没多久，他想。而信风刮起来了。现在这些钓线都没用了。等回了家，那男孩和我要把它们捻接起来。

"Come on, fish," he said. But the fish did not come.

“快过来，鱼儿。”他说。但那鱼没有过来。

Instead he lay there wallowing now in the seas and the old man pulled the skiff upon to him.

此刻它反而躺在海面上翻滚着，于是老人把小船驶到了它身旁。

When he was even with him and had the fish's head against the bow he could not believe his size. But he untied the harpoon rope from the bitt, passed it through the fish's gills and out his jaws, made a turn around his sword then passed the rope through the other gill, made another turn around the bill and knotted the double rope and made it fast to the bitt in the bow. He cut the rope then and went astern to noose the tail. The fish had turned silver from his original purple and silver, and the stripes showed the same pale violet colour as his tail. They were wider than a man's hand with his fingers spread and the fish's eye looked as detached as the mirrors in a periscope or as a saint in a procession.

当他和鱼挨在一起，让鱼头靠在船头边时，他简直无法相信，它竟然有这么大。他从缆柱上解下鱼叉上的钓线，把它穿进鱼鳃，从嘴里拉出来，在它剑一般的长长的上颚上绕了一圈，然后穿进另一个鱼鳃，在那长嘴上又绕了一圈，最后把这两股钓线打成一个结，牢牢地绑在船头的缆柱上。接着，他割下一截钓线，去船尾套住鱼尾巴。这鱼原先是紫银两色，现在变成了纯银色，那些条纹和尾巴一样，呈暗淡的紫罗兰色。这些条纹比五指张开的手掌还要宽，鱼的眼睛看上去很冷漠，就像潜望镜的反射镜一样，或者说像游行队列中的圣徒像。

"It was the only way to kill him," the old man said. He was feeling better since the water and he knew he would not go away and his head was clear. He's over fifteen hundred pounds the way he is, he thought. Maybe much more. If he dresses out two-thirds of that at thirty cents a pound?

“这是杀死它的唯一办法。”老人说。他喝了水，渐渐觉得好些了，他知道自己不会倒下，思维很清晰。看它这样子，重量应该在一千五百磅以上，他想。或许还不止。去掉头尾和内脏，剩下三分之二的重量，如果按每磅三角钱算，能值多少钱呢？

"I need a pencil for that," he said. "My head is not that clear. But I think the great DiMaggio would be proud of me today. I had no bone spurs. But the hands and the back hurt truly." I wonder what a bone spur is, he thought. Maybe we have them without knowing of it.

“我需要一支铅笔来算这个，”他说，“我的脑袋还不是那么清醒。不过，我觉得那伟大的迪马乔今天会为我而骄傲的。我没长骨刺。但手和背可真是疼啊。”不知道骨刺是什么，他想。也许我们都长了骨刺，只是自己不知道。

He made the fish fast to bow and stern and to the middle thwart. He was so big it was like lashing a much bigger skiff alongside. He cut a piece of line and tied the fish's lower jaw against his bill so his mouth would not open and they would sail as cleanly as possible. Then he stepped the mast and, with the stick that was his gaff and with his boom rigged, the patched sail drew, the boat began to move, and half lying in the stern he sailed south-west.

他把鱼牢牢地捆在船头、船尾和中间的横坐板上。它太大了，简直就像在船边又绑了一只大得多的船。他割下一截钓线，把鱼的下颚和长上颚捆到一起，这样它的嘴就不会张开了，船就可以尽可能干净利落地前行了。接着，他立起桅杆，装上他那根当手钩用的棍子和帆的下桁，扬起了带补丁的帆。小船开始行进了，他半躺在船尾，船朝西南方驶去。

He did not need a compass to tell him where southwest was. He only needed the feel of the trade wind and the drawing of the sail. I better put a small line out with a spoon on it and try and get something to eat and drink for the moisture. But he could not find a spoon and his sardines were rotten. So he hooked a patch of yellow Gulf weed with the gaff as they passed and shook it so that the small shrimps that were in it fell onto the planking of the skiff. There were more than a dozen of them and they jumped and kicked like sand fleas. The old man pinched their heads off with his thumb and forefinger and ate them chewing up the shells and the tails. They were very tiny but he knew they were nourishing and they tasted good.

他不需要指南针就能知道，西南方在哪儿。他只需感觉一下信风和帆鼓起的方向，就能作出判断。我最好还是把系着匙形假饵的细钓线放下水去，设法钓点东西吃，也可以补充点水分。但是他找不到匙形假饵，他的沙丁鱼也腐烂了。于是，趁船经过黄色的马尾藻时，他用手钩钩起了一团，抖了抖，里面的小虾就掉在了小船的船板上。这些虾足有十几个，它们活蹦乱跳，还蹬着脚，就像沙蚤一样。老人用拇指和食指掐掉它们的头，连同壳和尾巴一起嚼了下去。它们虽然小，但他知道它们很有营养，而且味道也不错。

The old man still had two drinks of water in the bottle and he used half of one after he had eaten the shrimps. The skiff was sailing well considering the handicaps and he steered with the tiller under his arm. He could see the fish and he had only to look at his hands and feel his back against the stern to know that this had truly happened and was not a dream. At one time when he was feeling so badly toward the end, he had thought perhaps it was a dream. Then when he had seen the fish come out of the water and hang motionless in the sky before he fell, he was sure there was some great strangeness and he could not believe it.

老人瓶子里还有两口水，吃完虾后，他喝了半口。考虑到小船的不利条件，它算行驶得不错了。他掌着舵，把舵柄挟在胳膊下。他能看见那条大鱼，他只要看看自己的双手，感觉到自己的后背正靠着船尾，就知道这是真正发生了的事，而不是一场梦。曾经有一段时间，眼看事情就要搞砸了，他感觉很糟糕，那时他曾想，也许这是一场梦。后来，他看见那鱼从水中跳出，在落下之前一动不动地悬在空中，那时，他确信其中定有什么莫大的奥秘，让他无法相信。

Then he could not see well, although now he saw as well as ever. Now he knew there was the fish and his hands and back were no dream. The hands cure quickly, he thought. I bled them clean and the salt water will heal them. The dark water of the true gulf is the greatest healer that there is. All I must do is keep the head clear. The hands have done their work and we sail well. With his mouth shut and his tail straight up and down we sail like brothers. Then his head started to become a little unclear and he thought, is he bringing me in or am I bringing him in? If I were towing him behind there would be no question. Nor if the fish were in the skiff, with all dignity gone, there would be no question either. But they were sailing together lashed side by side and the old man thought, let him bring me in if it pleases him. I am only better than him through trickery and he meant me no harm.

那时，他眼睛看不清东西，尽管现在他又像往常一样看得很清楚了。此时他明白那条鱼的确存在，他手上和背上的伤痕，不是一场梦。这双手会很快康复的，他想。我让它们流了太多的血，这咸咸的海水会医好它们的。这真正海湾中的深色海水是世上最有效的药。我只要保持头脑清醒就行。这双手已经完成了它们的任务，我们行驶得很好。鱼儿闭着嘴，竖直的尾巴上下晃动。我俩一起航行，就像兄弟一样。之后，他的脑袋又开始有点犯糊涂了，他想，是它带我回去还是我带它回去？如果我把它拖在后面，那就没有疑问了。或者，如果这鱼呆在小船里，颜面尽失，那也不会有什么疑问。然而，他们被拴在一起，并排航行，于是老人想，它要是乐意，就把我带回去吧。我只是靠奸计才强于它的，而它对我可没有恶意。

They sailed well and the old man soaked his hands in the salt water and tried to keep his head clear. There were high cumulus clouds and enough cirrus above them so that the old man knew the breeze would last all night. The old man looked at the fish constantly to make sure it was true. It was an hour before the first shark hit him.

他们航行得很好，老人把双手泡在咸海水里，努力保持大脑清醒。高空中堆着团团的积云，积云上还有不少卷云，老人由此得知，这风将会刮上一整晚。老人时不时地朝鱼看看，以确定这是真的。一小时过后，第一条鲨鱼来袭击它了。

The shark was not an accident. He had come up from deep down in the water as the dark cloud of blood had settled and dispersed in the mile deep sea. He had come up so fast and absolutely without caution that he broke the surface of the blue water and was in the sun. Then he fell back into the sea and picked up the scent and started swimming on the course the skiff and the fish had taken.

这鲨鱼的出现并非偶然。当那片深色的血沉入这一英里深的海洋并扩散开来的时候，它就从深深的海底游了上来。它游得如此之快，而且毫无顾忌，竟然冲破了蓝色的水面，出现在阳光里。接着它又落回到海水中，闻到了血腥味，便开始循着小船和那鱼走过的路线游了过来。

Sometimes he lost the scent. But he would pick it up again, or have just a trace of it, and he swam fast and hard on the course. He was a very big mako shark built to swim as fast as the fastest fish in the sea and everything about him was beautiful except his jaws. His back was as blue as a sword fish's and his belly was silver and his hide was smooth and handsome. He was built as a sword fish except for his huge jaws which were tight shut now as he swam fast, just under the surface with his high dorsal fin knifing through the water without wavering. Inside the closed double lip of his jaws all of his eight rows of teeth were slanted inwards. They were not the ordinary pyramid-shaped teeth of most sharks. They were shaped like a man's fingers when they are crisped like claw. They were nearly as long as the fingers of the old man and they had razor-sharp cutting edges on both sides. This was a fish built to feed on all the fishes in the sea, that were fast and strong and well armed that they had no other enemy. Now he speeded up as smelled the fresher scent and his blue dorsal fin cut the water.

有时候它会找不到那气味。但最后它总能重新找到，或者嗅到那么一丝气味，然后就飞快地沿着路线拼命地游。它是一条非常大的灰鲭鲨，生来就是游泳健将，能和海里速度最快的鱼游得一样快，除了上下颚，它身上的一切都很美。它的背是和剑鱼背一样的蓝色，肚子是银色的，鱼皮光滑而美丽。它生得很像剑鱼，除了那巨大的上下颚。游得快时，它的两颚是紧闭的，就像现在这样，它正在水下飞速地游着，高高的背鳍像刀子一样把水面划开，一点也不晃动。在它紧闭的双唇里，八排牙齿全部都是朝里倾斜的。和多数鲨鱼不同，这些牙齿不是那种常见的角锥形。它们长得像人的手指——如爪子般蜷着的手指。它们差不多和老人的手指一样长，两边都有剃刀般锋利的刃。这种鱼天生就以捕食海里所有的鱼类为生，它们速度飞快，身体强壮，装备精良，没有任何敌手。此时它嗅到了新鲜的血腥味，便加快速度游起来，蓝色的背鳍划开了水面。

When the old man saw him coming he knew that this was a shark that had no fear at all and would do exactly what he wished. He prepared the harpoon and made the rope fast while he watched the shark come on. The rope was short as it lacked what he had cut away to lash the fish.

老人看见它正游过来，就知道这是条肆无忌惮、不达目的决不罢休的鲨鱼。他一面注视着鲨鱼游来，一面备好鱼叉，系好绳索。钓线短了，因为他刚才割下了一截来捆鱼。

The old man's head was clear and good now and he was full of resolution but he had little hope. It was too good to last, he thought. He took one look at the great fish as watched the shark close in. It might as well have been a dream, he thought. I cannot keep him from hitting me but maybe I can get him. Dentuso, he thought. Bad luck to your mother.

此时，老人的头脑清醒而灵敏，他下定了决心，却也觉得希望不大。好景不常啊，他想。他望着那鲨鱼慢慢逼近，偶尔朝大鱼瞟上一眼。倒不如就是一场梦，他想。它要袭击我，这我阻止不了，但或许我能干掉它。灰鲭鲨，他想。这回你可倒大霉啦。

The shark closed fast astern and when he hit the fish the old man saw his mouth open and his strange eyes and the clicking chop of the teeth as he drove forward in the meat just above the tail. The shark's head was out of water and his back was coming out and the old man could hear the noise of skin and flesh ripping on the big fish when he rammed the harpoon down onto the shark's head at a spot where the line between his eyes intersected with the line that ran straight back from his nose. There were no such lines. There was only the heavy sharp blue head and the big eyes and the clicking, thrusting all-swallowing jaws. But that was the location of the brain and the old man hit it. He hit it with his blood-mushed hands driving a good harpoon with all his strength. He hit it without hope but with resolution and complete malignancy.

鲨鱼飞快地向船尾逼近，当它去咬那鱼的时候，老人看见它张开了嘴巴，眼睛看上去很奇怪。它咬住鱼尾巴上面一点的肉，咬得牙齿咯咯作响。鲨鱼的头伸出了水面，脊背也就要出来了，老人能听见那大鱼被咬得皮开肉绽的声音，这时，他拿着鱼叉向下猛地刺去，刺进了鲨鱼的脑袋。鲨鱼两眼之间有一条线，另外还有一条线从它的鼻子直伸到脑后，鱼叉就刺在这两条线的交汇处。事实上这两条线并不存在。存在的只是那又重又尖的蓝色脑袋，一双大眼，还有那咬得咯咯作响、仿佛能吞噬一切的突出的两颚。但是那里正是大脑的位置，老人刺中了。他使尽了全身力气，用沾着鲜血的双手，将一支好鱼叉刺进了鲨鱼的脑袋。刺下去的时候，他没抱什么希望，但却带着决心，想置它于死地。

The shark swung over and the old man saw his eye was not alive and then he swung over once again, wrapping himself in two loops of the rope. The old man knew that he was dead but the shark would not accept it. Then, on his back, with his tail lashing and his jaws clicking, the shark plowed over the water as a speedboat does. The water was white where his tail beat it and three-quarters of his body was clear above the water when the rope came taut, shivered, and then snapped. The shark lay quietly for a little while on the surface and the old man watched him. Then he went down very slowly.

鲨鱼翻了个身，老人看见它的眼里已没了生气，接着它又翻腾了一下，于是自己给自己缠上了两道钓线。老人知道它就要死了，可鲨鱼却不肯承认。这时，它肚皮朝上，尾巴拍打着海水，两颚咬得咯咯作响，它像一只快艇一样，在水中破浪前进。它的尾巴拍打着海水，水面上泛起了白浪，它四分之三的身体都露出了水面，这时，钓线紧绷着，颤动着，然后啪的一声断开了。鲨鱼在水面上静静地躺了一会儿，老人注视着它。然后它就缓慢地沉了下去。

"He took about forty pounds," the old man said aloud. He took my harpoon too and all the rope, he thought, and now my fish bleeds again and there will be others. He did not like to look at the fish anymore since he had been mutilated. When the fish had been hit it was as though he himself were hit. But I killed the shark that hit my fish, he thought. And he was the biggest dentuso that I have ever seen. And God knows that I have seen big ones. It was too good to last, he thought. I wish it had been a dream now and that I had never hooked the fish and was alone in bed on the newspapers.

“它咬掉了大约四十磅肉。”老人说出声来。它还带走了我的鱼叉，还有所有的钓线，他想，现在我的鱼又流血了，还会有其他鲨鱼过来的。他不愿再看那鱼了，因为它已经给咬得残缺不全了。当那鱼遭到袭击时，他感同身受。但是我干掉了这条鲨鱼，它袭击了我的鱼，他想。它是我所见过的最大的灰鲭鲨。老天作证，大个的鲨鱼我还是见过一些的。好景不常啊，他想。此刻我多希望这是一场梦啊，我没有钓到这条鱼，正独自躺在铺着报纸的床上。

"But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." I am sorry that I killed the fish though, he thought. Now the bad time is coming and I do not even have the harpoon. The dentuso is cruel and able and strong and intelligent. But I was more intelligent than he was. Perhaps not, he thought. Perhaps I was only better armed.

“然而，人不是为了失败而生。”他说，“一个人可以被毁灭，但不能被打败。”但我很过意不去，杀了这条鱼，他想。现在就要倒霉了，可我连鱼叉也没有。这条灰鲭鲨既残忍又能干，既强壮又机智。不过，我比它更机智。也许也不是，他想。也许只是我的武器更好罢了。

"Don't think, old man," he said aloud. "Sail on this course and take it when it comes."

“别想了，老头，”他说出声来，“就沿着这路线航行，到时候再想办法吧。”

But I must think, he thought. Because it is all I have left. That and baseball. I wonder how the great DiMaggio would have liked the way I hit him in the brain. It was no great thing, he thought. Any man could do it. But do you think my hands were as great a handicap as the bone spurs? I cannot know. I never had anything wrong with my heel except the time the stingray stung it when I stepped on him when swimming and paralyzed the lower leg and made the unbearable pain.

可我一定得想，他想。因为我只剩下它了。它，还有棒球。我那样刺中了鲨鱼的头，不知道那伟大的迪马乔会怎么看呢？这没什么了不起的，他想。谁都能做到。不过，你觉得，我这双受伤的手也像骨刺一样是个极大的障碍吗？我无从知晓。我的脚后跟一直都好好的，只不过有一次游泳时踩到一条刺魟，给刺了一下，小腿麻痹了，疼得受不了。

"Think about something cheerful, old man," he said. "Every minute now you are closer to home. You sail lighter for the loss of forty pounds."

“想点高兴的事吧，老头。”他说，“现在每过一分钟，你就离家近了一些。少了四十磅肉，你的船行驶起来更轻快了。”

He knew quite well the pattern of what could happen when he reached the inner part of the current. But there was nothing to be done now.

他清楚地知道，等船驶到海流中部，会发生什么样的事。但现在一点办法也没有。

"Yes there is," he said aloud. "I can lash my knife to the butt of one of the oars." So he did that with the tiller under his arm and the sheet of the sail under his foot.

“不，有办法。”他说出声来，“我可以把我的刀子捆在其中一个桨把上。”他把舵柄夹在胳膊下，用一只脚踩住帆脚索，把刀子捆到了其中一个桨把上。

"Now," he said. "I am still an old man. But I am not unarmed."

“现在，”他说，“我仍然还是个老头。可我有了武器了。”

The breeze was fresh now and he sailed on well. He watched only the forward part of the fish and some of his hope returned.

此时，风大了些了，他继续向前航行着，船驶得很好。他只看着鱼的前半部分，这让他又燃起点希望。

It is silly not to hope, he thought. Besides I believe it is a sin. Do not think about sin, he thought. There are enough problems now without sin. Also I have no understanding of it.

没有希望是愚蠢的，他想。此外，我觉得这样做是一种罪过。别想什么罪过了，他想。麻烦已经够多的了，还想什么罪过。再说我也不懂这个。

I have no understanding of it and I am not sure that I believe in it. Perhaps it was a sin to kill the fish. I suppose it was even though I did it to keep me alive and feed many people. But then everything is a sin. Do not think about sin. It is much too late for that and there are people who are paid to do it. Let them think about it. You were born to be a fisherman as the fish was born to be a fish. San Pedro was a fisherman as was the father of the great DiMaggio.

我不懂什么是罪过，也不敢说我相信有这么一回事。把这条鱼杀死也许是一桩罪过。我想是的，尽管我这么做是为了养活自己，为了给其他人提供食物。可这么说的话，任何事都是罪过了。别想罪过的事了。现在想这个也太迟了，而且有人是收了钱专门干这个的。让他们去想罪过的事吧。你生来就是个渔夫，就像那鱼生来就是条鱼一样。圣佩德罗是个渔夫，和伟大的迪马乔的父亲一样。

But he liked to think about all things that he was involved in and since there was nothing to read and he did not have a radio, he thought much and he kept on thinking about sin. You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?

可是他喜欢去想一切和他有关的事，而且由于没有书报看，也没有收音机，他就想得很多，他不停地想着关于罪过的事。你杀这鱼不仅是为了养活自己，为了卖了它去买吃的，他想。你杀它是为了维护自尊，因为你是个渔夫。它活着时你爱它，它死了你照样爱它。既然你爱它，那杀了它就不是罪过。或者说是更严重的罪过？

"You think too much, old man," he said aloud.

“你想得太多了，老头。”他说出声来。

But you enjoyed killing the dentuso, he thought. He lives on the live fish as you do. He is not a scavenger nor just a moving appetite as some sharks are. He is beautiful and noble and knows no fear of anything.

但杀死那条鲨鱼，你是乐意的，他想。它和你一样，靠吃活鱼生存。它不是吃腐肉的动物，也不像有的鲨鱼那样，只顾四处游走找吃的。它美丽而高贵，无所畏惧。

"I killed him in self-defense," the old man said aloud. "And I killed him well."

“我杀它是出于自卫，”老人出声地说，“而且干得很漂亮。”

Besides, he thought, everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I must not deceive myself too much.

况且，他想，任何东西都会杀死别的东西，只不过方式不同而已。打鱼养活了我，同时也快要把我折磨死了。是那个男孩让我活了下来，他想。我不能总是欺骗自己。

He leaned over the side and pulled loose a piece of the meat of the fish where the shark had cut him. He chewed it and noted its quality and its good taste. It was firm and juicy, like meat, but it was not red. There was no stringiness in it and he knew that it would bring the highest price in the market. But there was no way to keep its scent out of the water and the old man knew that a very bad time was coming.

他从船边探出身子，从鱼身上被鲨鱼咬了的地方扯下一块肉。他嚼了嚼，感觉肉质很好，味道也很不错。这肉很紧，而且多汁，像牲畜的肉，可就是颜色不红。肉里没有筋，他明白这在市场上能卖最好的价钱。但是这肉味慢慢扩散到了水里，老人没有办法，他知道万分倒霉的时刻就快到了。

The breeze was steady. It had backed a little further into the north-east and he knew that meant that it would not fall off. The old man looked ahead of him but he could see no sails nor could he see the hull nor the smoke of any ship. There were only the flying fish that went up from his bow sailing away to either side and the yellow patches of Gulf weed. He could not even see a bird.

风不停地刮着。它微微地向东北方向转了点，他知道这意味着风不会停了。老人眺望着前方，然而看不见帆，看不见任何一只船的船身或船上冒出的烟。只有飞鱼从船头边冒上来，又向两边游走，还可以看见一簇簇黄色的马尾藻。他甚至连一只鸟也看不见。

He had sailed for two hours, resting in the stern and sometimes chewing a bit of the meat from the marlin, trying to rest and to be strong, when he saw the first of the two sharks. "Ay," he said aloud. There is no translation for this word and perhaps it is just a noise such as a man might make, involuntarily, feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood.

他已经航行了两个钟头了，正在船尾歇着，有时从那条枪鱼身上撕点肉嚼嚼。他尽量好好休息，积攒体力，就在这时，他看见了两条鲨鱼中先露面的一条。“Ay。”他大声说。这个词没有对应的翻译，或许就只是一声喊叫，就像一个人感觉到钉子穿过他的双手钉进木头里时，会不由自主地发出这样的声音。

"Galanos," he said aloud. He had seen the second fin now coming up behind the first and had identified them as shovel-nosed sharks by the brown, triangular fin and the sweeping movements of the tail. They had the scent and were excited and in the stupidity of their great hunger they were losing and finding the scent in their excitement. But they were closing all the time.

“鲨鱼。”他出声地说。他看见第二条鲨鱼的鳍正从第一条鲨鱼的鳍背后冒上来，棕色的三角形鳍和摇摆的尾巴告诉他，这两条是六鳃鲨。它们嗅到了气味就兴奋起来，由于饿昏了头，它们在兴奋中，有时嗅不到大鱼的气味，有时又嗅到了。然而它们却一刻不停地向前逼近。

The old man made the sheet fast and jammed the tiller. Then he took up the oar with the knife lashed to it. He lifted it as lightly as he could because his hands rebelled at the pain. Then he opened and closed them on it lightly to loosen them. He closed them firmly so they would take the pain now and would not flinch and watched the sharks come. He could see their wide, flattened, shovel-pointed heads now and their white tipped wide pectoral fins. They were hateful sharks, bad smelling, scavengers as well as killers, and when they were hungry they would bite at an oar or the rudder of a boat. It was these sharks that would cut the turtles' legs and flippers off when the turtles were asleep on the surface, and they would hit a man in the water, if they were hungry, even if the man had no smell of fish blood nor of fish slime on him.

老人拴牢了帆脚索，夹紧了舵柄。接着他把绑着刀的那个桨拿了起来。他尽量轻轻地把它举起来，因为他的手疼得不得了，开始抗议了。于是他轻轻地张开手，又轻轻地握住桨，想让手放松一下。他的手紧紧地握了起来，这样它们就能承受住疼痛，不会退缩，然后他望着鲨鱼向前逼近。此时他可以看见它们宽阔、扁平、如铲尖一般的头，以及那顶端呈白色的宽大胸鳍。它们这种鲨鱼可恨极了，气味难闻，凶残嗜杀，又吃腐肉，而且饥饿的时候，还会去咬船上的桨或者舵。正是这种鲨鱼，会趁海龟在水面上睡觉的时候把它们的脚和鳍状肢统统咬掉，遇上饿的时候，还会在水里攻击人，即使这人身上没有鱼血的气味或鱼的黏液。

"Ay," the old man said. "Galanos. Come on galanos."

"Ay，"老人说，“六鳃鲨，来吧，六鳃鲨。”

They came. But they did not come as the mako had come. One turned and went out of sight under the skiff and the old man could feel the skiff shake as he jerked and pulled on the fish. The other watched the old man with his slitted yellow eyes and then came in fast with his half circle of jaws wide to hit the fish where he had already been bitten. The line showed clearly on the top of his brown head and back where the brain joined the spinal cord and the old man drove the knife on the oar into the juncture, withdrew it, and drove it in again into the shark's yellow cat-like eyes. The shark let go of the fish and slid down, swallowing what he had taken as he died.

它们游来了。不过它们不是像灰鲭鲨那样游过来。一条鲨鱼转了个身，就钻到了船底下看不见的地方，它拉扯着那条鱼，老人能感觉到船在摇摆。另一条用它那狭缝般的黄眼睛看了看老人，然后迅速游上前，张大它那半圆形的两颚，朝着鱼身上已被咬过的地方咬去。在它棕色的头顶上，以及脊背上大脑跟脊髓相连的地方，有一条清晰的纹路，老人拿着捆在桨上的刀朝连接处刺过去，然后把刀拔出来，又刺进了鲨鱼猫眼般的黄眼睛里。那鲨鱼放开了口中的鱼，滑落下去，死的时候还把它咬下来的肉吞了下去。

The skiff was still shaking with the destruction the other shark was doing to the fish and the old man let go the sheet so that the skiff would swing broadside and bring the shark out from under. When he saw the shark he leaned over the side and punched at him. He hit only meat and the hide was set hard and he barely got the knife in. The blow hurt not only his hands but his shoulder too. But the shark came up fast with his head out and the old man hit him squarely in the center of his flat-topped head as his nose came out of water and lay against the fish. The old man withdrew the blade and punched the shark exactly in the same spot again. He still hung to the fish with his jaws hooked and the old man stabbed him in his left eye. The shark still hung there.

小船还在晃动着，因为另一条鲨鱼还在撕咬着死鱼，老人松开了帆脚索，使小船摆向一侧，让鲨鱼从船底下露出来。一看见鲨鱼，他就从船边探出身去，猛地朝它刺去。他只是刺到了肉上，它的皮很硬，刀子很难扎进它身体里。这一击震得他手也痛，肩也痛。然而那鲨鱼又很快游上来，探出了头，当它的鼻子伸出水面靠在死鱼身上的时候，老人对准它那扁平的脑顶中央扎下去。老人把刀子拔出来，又朝同一个地方扎去。它的双颚还是死咬着那鱼不放，老人一刀刺进它的左眼。那鲨鱼仍然不肯放开。

"No?" the old man said and he drove the blade between the vertebrae and the brain. It was an easy shot now and he felt the cartilage sever. The old man reversed the oar and put the blade between the shark's jaws to open them. He twisted the blade and as the shark slid loose he said, "Go on, galano. Slide down a mile deep. Go see your friend, or maybe it's your mother."

“还不行？”老人说着又把刀扎进它的脊椎和大脑之间。这一次扎进去很容易，他觉得它的软骨断了。老人把桨翻过来，把刀放在鲨鱼的上下颚之间，来撬开它的嘴。他转了转刀刃，鲨鱼嘴一松滑了下去，他说：“去吧，六鳃鲨。滑到一英里深的海底去吧。去见你的朋友吧，又或许那是你的妈妈。”

The old man wiped the blade of his knife and laid down the oar. Then he found the sheet and the sail filled and he brought the skiff onto her course.

老人擦了擦刀刃，把桨放了下来。然后他找到帆脚索，扬起了帆，让小船沿着原来的航线驶去。

"They must have taken a quarter of him and of the best meat," he said aloud. "I wish it were a dream and that I had never hooked him. I'm sorry about it, fish. It makes everything wrong." He stopped and he did not want to look at the fish now. Drained of blood and awash he looked the colour of the silver backing of a minor and his stripes still showed.

“它们吃掉的肉准有四分之一，而且都是最好的肉。”他出声地说，“真希望这是一场梦，我根本没钓到这条鱼。对此我很是过意不去啊，鱼。这把一切都搞砸啦。”他不再说话了，此时也不愿朝鱼看了。它已经淌尽了血，还被海浪冲打着，呈现出镜子后面镀着的那种银色，但身上的条纹依旧清晰可见。

"I shouldn't have gone out so far, fish," he said. "Neither for you nor for me. I'm sorry, fish."

“鱼啊，我真不该出海这么远，”他说，“不管是为了你还是为了我，我都不该啊。对不起啊，鱼。”

Now, he said to himself. Look to the lashing on the knife and see if it has been cut. Then get your hand in order because there still is more to come.

行了，他跟自己说。去看看刀子上捆着的钓线吧，看看给弄断了没。然后让你的手好起来，因为还有更多的鲨鱼要来呢。

"I wish I had a stone for the knife," the old man said after he had checked the lashing on the oar butt. "I should have brought a stone." You should have brought many things, he thought. But you did not bring them, old man. Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.

“要有块石头能磨磨刀就好了，”老人检查了绑在桨把上的钓线后说道。“我当初真该带上一块磨刀石。”好多东西都是应该带来的，他想。可你都没有带，老头。这会儿可不是想你缺什么东西的时候。想一想用现有的东西可以做什么吧。

"You give me much good counsel," he said aloud. "I'm tired of it." He held the tiller under his arm and soaked both his hands in the water as the skiff drove forward. "God knows how much that last one took," he said. "But she's much lighter now." He did not want to think of the mutilated under-side of the fish. He knew that each of the jerking bumps of the shark had been meat torn away and that the fish now made a trail for all sharks as wide as a highway through the sea.

“你给了我不少好建议，”他说出声来，“我都听腻了。”小船向前行驶着，他把舵柄夹在胳膊下，把双手都泡在海水里。“天知道最后那条鲨鱼吃掉了多少肉。”他说，“不过这船现在可轻了不少。”他不愿去想那被咬得残缺不全的鱼肚子。他知道，鲨鱼每次猛烈地撞过来，都会有鱼肉被咬掉，而且如今这鱼给所有的鲨鱼留下了痕迹，这道痕迹宽得像海洋高速公路一样。

He was a fish to keep a man all winter, he thought. Don't think of that. Just rest and try to get your hands in shape to defend what is left of him. The blood smell from my hands means nothing now with all that scent in the water. Besides they do not bleed much. There is nothing cut that means anything. The bleeding may keep the left from cramping.

这条鱼大得能让一个人吃上整整一冬啊，他想。别想它了。还是歇一歇，想法把手养好，保护它剩下的部分吧。我手上的血腥味现在不算什么了，因为水里到处弥漫着这个味儿。而且，双手出血也不那么厉害了。是割破的就算不了什么。没准儿出出血我的左手就不抽筋了。

What can I think of now? he thought. Nothing. I must think of nothing and wait for the next ones. I wish it had really been a dream, he thought. But who knows? It might have turned out well.

眼下我能想点啥呢？他想。没啥可想的。我一定不能再想什么了，等着对付接下来的鲨鱼吧。这要真是一场梦就好了，他想。不过谁知道呢？说不定结果是好的。

The next shark that came was a single shovelnose. He came like a pig to the trough if a pig had a mouth so wide that you could put your head in it. The old man let him hit the fish and then drove the knife on the oar down into his brain. But the shark jerked backwards as he rolled and the knife blade snapped.

下一个来的是单独一条六鳃鲨。它冲了过来，活像一头奔向食槽的猪，只不过猪没有这么大的嘴，大得能让你把脑袋伸进去。老人等着它咬住了鱼，然后就把桨上捆着的刀向下刺入它的脑子里。但是那鲨鱼打起滚来，猛地向后一扭，刀刃咔嚓一声折断了。

The old man settled himself to steer. He did not even watch the big shark sinking slowly in the water, showing first life-size, then small, then tiny. That always fascinated the old man. But he did not even watch it now.

老人让自己静下心来去掌舵。他连看都没看那大鲨鱼一眼。它慢慢沉入水中，一开始看着还是原来那么大，然后慢慢小下去，接着就只剩一丁点了。这情景一向是会令老人着迷的。然而这次他竟看都不看。

"I have the gaff now," he said. "But it will do no good. I have the two oars and the tiller and the short club."

“眼下我还有那根手钩。”他说。“可它帮不上什么忙。我有两把桨，那个舵柄，还有那根短棍。”

Now they have beaten me, he thought. I am too old to club sharks to death. But I will try it as long as I have the oars and the short club and the tiller.

这回它们可害惨我了，他想。我上了年纪，用棍子可打不死鲨鱼了。不过，只要我有桨、短棍和舵柄，我就要想法弄死它们。

He put his hands in the water again to soak them. It was getting late in the afternoon and he saw nothing but the sea and the sky. There was more wind in the sky than there had been, and soon he hoped that he would see land.

他又把双手放进水里浸泡着。天色渐晚，下午就要过去了，除了大海和天空，他什么都看不见。空中的风刮得比先前大了，他希望很快就能看到陆地。

"You're tired, old man," he said. "You're tired inside."

“你累了，老头，”他说，“你累到骨子里了。”

The sharks did not hit him again until just before sunset.

在太阳刚要落山的时候，又有鲨鱼来袭击那条鱼了。

The old man saw the brown fins coming along the wide trail the fish must make in the water.

那鱼准是在水里留下了很宽的痕迹，老人看见那棕色的鳍正沿着这痕迹游来。

They were not even quartering on the scent. They were headed straight for the skiff swimming side by side. He jammed the tiller, made the sheet fast and reached under the stem for the club. It was an oar handle from a broken oar sawed off to about two and a half feet in length. He could only use it effectively with one hand because of the grip of the handle and he took good hold of it with his right hand, flexing his hand on it, as he watched the sharks come. They were both galanos.

它们甚至不用紧跟着这气味。它们肩并肩地直冲小船游来。他刹住舵柄，把帆脚索系牢，然后把手伸到船尾下去够棍子。它是从一支断桨上锯下来的桨把，约有两英尺半长。他只能用一只手有效地使用这桨把，因为它上面有个手柄，于是他就牢牢地把它攥在右手里，手弯曲着握在上面，同时，他注视着鲨鱼向前逼近。它们是两条白鳍鲨。

I must let the first one get a good hold and hit him on the point of the nose or straight across the top of the head, he thought.

我得确保第一条鲨鱼咬住了，然后再朝它的鼻尖打去，或者朝它的头顶直劈过去，他想。

The two sharks closed together and as he saw the one nearest him open his jaws and sink them into the silver side of the fish, he raised the club high and brought it down heavy and slamming onto the top of the shark's broad head. He felt the rubbery solidity as the club came down. But he felt the rigidity of bone too and he struck the shark once more hard across the point of the nose as he slid down from the fish.

两条鲨鱼同时向前逼近，当他看见离他较近的那条张开两颚，咬住那鱼银色的侧腹时，就把棍子高高举起，用力劈下去，猛地打在鲨鱼宽宽的脑顶上。棍子落下时，他觉得像是打在坚硬的橡胶上似的。不过他也感觉到了那硬硬的骨头，他趁鲨鱼从那鱼身上滑下去的时候，又使劲地朝它的鼻尖抡了一棍。

The other shark had been in and out and now came in again with his jaws wide. The old man could see pieces of the meat of the fish spilling white from the corner of his jaws as he bumped the fish and closed his jaws. He swung at him and hit only the head and the shark looked at him and wrenched the meat loose. The old man swung the club down on him again as he slipped away to swallow and hit only the heavy solid rubberiness.

另一条鲨鱼一会儿游过来，一会儿又游开去，这时又大张着嘴游来了。当它咬住鱼，闭上两颚时，老人可以看到一块块白花花的鱼肉从它的嘴角漏出来。他挥起棍子对准它打了下去，但只是击中了头部，鲨鱼看了看他，然后撕下了它咬住的那块肉。当它正逃开去把肉吞下时，老人趁机又朝它一棍子打下去，但打中的只是如橡胶一般又厚又硬的地方。

"Come on, galano," the old man said. "Come in again."

“过来吧，白鳍鲨，”老人说着，“再上前来吧。”

The shark came in a rush and the old man hit him as he shut his jaws. He hit him solidly and from as high up as he could raise the club. This time he felt the bone at the base of the brain and he hit him again in the same place while the shark tore the meat loose sluggishly and slid down from the fish.

那鲨鱼猛冲上来，一闭住双颚就挨了老人一棍。他这一棍子给了它重重的一击，棍子是举到了高得不能再高的地方才抡下去的。这次他觉得打在了它脑子后部的骨头上，于是就对准同一个地方又打了一下，这时，鲨鱼慢吞吞地撕下咬着的鱼肉，从鱼身边滑落了下去。

The old man watched for him to come again but neither shark showed. Then he saw one on the surface swimming in circles. He did not see the fin of the other.

老人注视着，看它会不会再来，但两条鲨鱼都没有出现。之后，他看见其中一条在海面上打着转游着。另一条的鳍他没看见。

I could not expect to kill them, he thought. I could have in my time. But I have hurt them both badly and neither one can feel very good. If I could have used a bat with two hands I could have killed the first one surely. Even now, he thought.

我不能指望弄死它们了，他想。年轻力壮时我可以。但我已经让它们受了重伤，它们俩谁都不会好过的。如果我能用两只手握住一根棒球棒打的话，就肯定能把第一条弄死。就算现在也没问题，他想。

He did not want to look at the fish. He knew that half of him had been destroyed. The sun had gone down while he had been in the fight with the sharks.

他不想再看那鱼了。他清楚，它已经有半个身子都让咬烂了。在他与那些鲨鱼搏斗的时候，太阳已经落下去了。

"It will be dark soon," he said. "Then I should see the glow of Havana… If I am too far to the eastward I will see the lights of one of the new beaches.”

“天就要黑了，”他说，“一会儿我就能看见哈瓦那的灯火了……如果我向东走得太远了，就会看见新海滩上亮起的灯光。”

I cannot be too far out now, he thought. I hope no one has been too worried. There is only the boy to worry, of course. But I am sure he would have confidence. Many of the older fishermen will worry. Many others too, he thought. I live in a good town.

我此时离岸不会太远了，他想。我不希望有人太为我担心。当然，只有那男孩会担心。但我肯定他对我有信心。许多老渔夫会担心的。还有很多别的人，他想。我生活在一个好镇子里。

He could not talk to the fish anymore because the fish had been ruined too badly. Then something came into his head.

他没法再和那鱼说话了，因为它已被摧残得不成样子了。接着，他突然想起些什么。

"Half fish," he said. "Fish that you were. I am sorry that I went too far out. I ruined us both. But we have killed many sharks, you and I, and ruined many others. How many did you ever kill, old fish? You do not have that spear on your head for nothing."

“半条鱼，”他说，“你本是条完整的鱼。我很内疚，我走得太远了。我们俩都让我给毁了。但是我们打死了很多鲨鱼，你我并肩作战，还打伤了不少。老鱼啊，你弄死过多少条啊？你头上的长嘴可不是白长的啊。”

He liked to think of the fish and what he could do to a shark if he were swimming free. I should have chopped the bill off to fight them with, he thought. But there was no hatchet and then there was no knife.

他很愿意想这条鱼，想如果它自由地游着会怎样对付鲨鱼。我当初该砍下这长嘴，好用它来和那些鲨鱼搏斗，他想。可是没有斧头，后来刀子也没了。

But if I had, and could have lashed it to an oar butt, what a weapon. Then we might have fought them together. What will you do now if they come in the night? What can you do?

但如果我当初砍下它了，就可以把它捆在桨把上，那该是多好的武器呀。那样一来，我们就能一起对付它们了。现在，要是它们夜里过来，你会怎么做呢？你能怎么做呢？

"Fight them," he said. "I'll fight them until I die."

“和它们斗，”他说，“我要和它们决战到死。”

But in the dark now and no glow showing and no lights and only the wind and the steady pull of the sail he felt that perhaps he was already dead. He put his two hands together and felt the palms. They were not dead and he could bring the pain of life by simply opening and closing them. He leaned his back against the stern and knew he was not dead. His shoulders told him.

然而，此时在这黑暗中，天边没有光，也看不见灯火，只有风和始终张着的帆，他觉得自己可能已经死了。他合上双手，摸了摸手心。它们没有死，他只要把手一张一合，就能感觉到它们还在活生生地痛。他把背靠在船尾上，知道自己没有死。是它的肩膀告诉他的。

I have all those prayers I promised if I caught the fish, he thought. But I am too tired to say them now. I better get the sack and put it over my shoulders.

我许诺过，如果捉到这条鱼，我要把所有那些祷文都好好念念，他想。可是现在我累得念不了了。我最好还是把麻袋拿来披到肩膀上。

He lay in the stern and steered and watched for the glow to come in the sky. I have half of him, he thought. Maybe I'll have the luck to bring the forward half in. I should have some luck. No, he said. You violated your luck when you went too far outside.

他在船尾躺着，掌着舵，望着天空，等待天边出现光亮。我还有半条鱼，他想。或许我运气好，能把前面半条鱼带回去吧。我应该有点运气的。不，他说，你出去得太远了，好运都让你给毁掉了。

"Don't be silly," he said aloud. "And keep awake and steer. You may have much luck yet."

“别胡说了，”他大声地说，“保持清醒，好好掌舵。可能还有很多好运等着你呢。”

"I'd like to buy some if there's any place they sell it," he said. What could I buy it with? he asked himself. Could I buy it with a lost harpoon and a broken knife and two bad hands? "You might," he said. "You tried to buy it with eighty-four days at sea. They nearly sold it to you too.”

“要是有地方卖好运，我倒乐意买上点儿。”他说。我用什么买呢？他问自己。用一支丢了的鱼叉、一把折断的刀和两只受伤的手能买到好运吗？“也许可以吧，”他说，“你曾设法拿在海上的八十四天来买它。他们也几乎把它卖给你了。”

I must not think nonsense, he thought. Luck is a thing that comes in many forms and who can recognize her? I would take some though in any form and pay what they asked. I wish I could see the glow from the lights, he thought. I wish too many things. But that is the thing I wish for now. He tried to settle more comfortably to steer and from his pain he knew he was not dead.

千万别胡思乱想了，他想。好运会以许多不同的形式出现，谁能认出来呢？但不管它以什么形式出现，我都想买上一些，要什么报酬我就给什么。希望我能看见灯火的光亮，他想。我希望发生的事太多了。但目前这是我唯一的愿望了。他想法儿让自己坐得更舒服点，以好好掌舵。他的疼痛告诉他，他没有死。

He saw the reflected glare of the lights of the city at what must have been around ten o'clock at night. They were only perceptible at first as the light is in the sky before the moon rises. Then they were steady to see across the ocean which was rough now with the increasing breeze. He steered inside of the glow and he thought that now, soon, he must hit the edge of the stream.

估计在晚上十点左右的时候，他看见了城里的灯火映在天上的光亮。刚开始，这些光只是依稀可见，如同月亮初升之前天空出现的微光一般。接着，在海的另一边，它们慢慢变得清晰可见了，此时风越来越大，海上泛起了大浪。他把船驶到这片光芒中，他想，现在，他就快到达湾流边缘了。

Now it is over, he thought. They will probably hit me again. But what can a man do against them in the dark without a weapon?

现在，战斗结束了，他想。它们大概还会再来袭击我的。可是，一个人在这黑夜里，一件武器也没有，能怎么对付它们呢？

He was stiff and sore now and his wounds and all of the strained parts of his body hurt with the cold of the night. I hope I do not have to fight again, he thought. I hope so much I do not have to fight again.

他此时身体又僵又痛，随着夜晚寒气袭来，他的伤口和身上所有出力的部位都在隐隐作痛。我希望我不用再斗了，他想。我多希望我不必再斗了呀。

But by midnight he fought and this time he knew the fight was useless. They came in a pack and he could only see the lines in the water that their fins made and their phosphorescence as they threw themselves on the fish. He clubbed at heads and heard the jaws chop and the shaking of the skiff as they took hold below. He clubbed desperately at what he could only feel and hear and he felt something seize the club and it was gone.

然而到了午夜，他还是斗了，这次他知道斗也没用了。它们成群地袭来，他只能看见它们的鳍在水面上划出的一条条线，还有它们扑向那条鱼时身上闪现出的磷光。他用棍子击打它们的头，听到它们用上下颚撕咬着鱼肉，还听见了它们在船下咬鱼时小船晃动的声音。他只是感觉到、听到它们在哪儿，然后就拼命地朝那儿打，接着他感到什么东西拽住了棍子，随后棍子就不见了。

He jerked the tiller free from the rudder and beat and chopped with it, holding it in both hands and driving it down again and again. But they were up to the bow now and driving in one after the other and together, tearing off the pieces of meat that showed glowing below the sea as they turned to come once more.

他从舵上猛地卸下舵柄，用它又打又劈，两手握着它一次又一次地朝下抡去。但它们这会儿都来到了船头跟前，一条接一条地袭来，成群地扑上前，当它们转身再次扑来时，把水下闪着亮光的鱼肉一块块地撕了下来。

One came, finally, against the head itself and he knew that it was over. He swung the tiller across the shark's head where the jaws were caught in the heaviness of the fish's head which would not tear. He swung it once and twice and again. He heard the tiller break and he lunged at the shark with the splintered butt. He felt it go in and knowing it was sharp he drove it in again. The shark let go and rolled away. That was the last shark of the pack that came. There was nothing more for them to eat.

最后，有条鲨鱼独自朝鱼头扑来，他知道这下完了。他抡起舵柄朝鲨鱼的脑袋劈下去，此时它的两颚卡在鱼头里，那儿的肉很厚实，撕不下来。他又抡了起来，一次，两次，又一次。他听见舵柄断了，就用剩下的把朝鲨鱼刺去。他觉得刺进去了，知道它很尖，于是又刺了一次。那鲨鱼放开了鱼头，翻滚着离开了。这是方才袭来的那群鲨鱼中的最后一条。再也没什么可让它们吃的了。

The old man could hardly breathe now and he felt a strange taste in his mouth. It was coppery and sweet and he was afraid of it for a moment. But there was not much of it.

老人现在简直喘不上气来了，他觉得嘴里有种奇怪的味儿。是铜的味道，还带着甜味，他一时有些担心。不过这味儿不怎么重。

He spat into the ocean and said, "eat that, galanos. And make a dream you've killed a man."

他向海里吐了一口，说：“吃了它吧，鲨鱼们。做个梦去吧，梦见你们杀了一个人。”

He knew he was beaten now finally and without remedy and he went back to the stern and found the jagged end of the tiller would fit in the slot of the rudder well enough for him to steer. He settled the sack around his shoulders and put the skiff on her course. He sailed lightly now and he had no thoughts nor any feelings of any kind. He was past everything now and he sailed the skiff to make his home port as well and as intelligently as he could. In the night sharks hit the carcass as someone might pick up crumbs from the table. The old man paid no attention to them and did not pay any attention to anything except steering. He only noticed how lightly and how well the skiff sailed now there was no great weight beside her.

他知道，这次他终于被打败了，而且没有补救的办法。他回到船尾，发现舵柄的一端断成了锯齿状，但还可以安进舵的狭槽里，足够他掌舵的时候用了。他把麻袋围在肩膀上，让小船沿着原来的路线驶去。如今他航行得很轻松，什么也不想了，也没有任何的感觉。他此时把一切都抛在了脑后，只想着尽可能把船好好地驶到他家乡的港口里去，还要尽量干得漂亮些。夜里有鲨鱼来咬这死鱼的残骸，就像有人会捡饭桌上的面包屑吃一样。老人不理它们，而且对其他任何事也都不予理睬，只是掌着舵。他只注意到，船边没有拖着巨大的重物，小船航行起来是多么轻快，多么顺利。

She's good, he thought. She is sound and not harmed in any way except for the tiller. That is easily replaced. He could feel he was inside the current now and he could see the lights of the beach colonies along the shore. He knew where he was now and it was nothing to get home.

船很好，他想。它还是完好的，没有任何损伤，只是舵柄坏了。那可以换一个，一点也不费事。他能感觉到他此时已进入到湾流之中了，还能看见沿岸那些海滨居住区的灯光。他知道自己现在到了哪儿了，回家已经不成问题了。

The wind is our friend, anyway, he thought. Then he added, sometimes. And the great sea with our friends and our enemies. And bed, he thought. Bed is my friend. Just bed, he thought. Bed will be a great thing. It is easy when you are beaten, he thought. I never knew how easy it was. And what beat you, he thought.

不管怎样，风是我们的朋友，他想。然后他又补了一句：有时候是。还有大海也是，里面有我们的朋友，也有我们的敌人。还有床，他想。床是我朋友。就只是床，他想。床会是个很好的东西。当你被打败时，躺在床上是很舒服的，他想。我以前竟不知道它有多舒服。那是什么把你打败了，他想。

"Nothing," he said aloud. "I went out too far."

“什么也没把我打败，”他大声地说，“是我出去得太远了。”

When he sailed into the little harbour the lights of the Terrace were out and he knew everyone was in bed. The breeze had risen steadily and was blowing strongly now. It was quiet in the harbour though and he sailed up onto the little patch of shingle below the rocks. There was no one to help him so he pulled the boat up as far as he could. Then he stepped out and made her fast to a rock.

当他驶进小港时，露台饭店的灯都熄了，他知道人们都睡了。风渐渐大起来，现在刮得很猛烈了。然而，港湾里一片寂静。他把船向前驶到岩石下的一小片鹅卵石跟前。没人来帮他，因此他尽可能把船停得靠岸近一点。然后他迈了出来，把它拴在一块岩石上。

He unstepped the mast and furled the sail and tied it. Then he shouldered the mast and started to climb. It was then he knew the depth of his tiredness. He stopped for a moment and looked back and saw in the reflection from the street light the great tail of the fish standing up well behind the skiff's stern. He saw the white naked line of his backbone and the dark mass of the head with the projecting bill and all the nakedness between.

他从桅座上取下桅杆，卷起帆，把它捆住。然后他把桅杆扛在肩上，开始往上爬。正是这个时候他才知道自已疲惫到了何种程度。他停下来片刻，回头望去，借着水面映出的街灯的亮光，他看见那大鱼的尾巴直直地立在船尾后面。他看见它露在外面的脊骨，就像一条白线，还看见它那黑黑的大脑袋，长着突出的长嘴，而在脑袋与脊骨之间却光溜溜的什么都没了。

He started to climb again and at the top he fell and lay for some time with the mast across his shoulder. He tried to get up. But it was too difficult and he sat there with the mast on his shoulder and looked at the road. A cat passed on the far side going about its business and the old man watched it. Then he just watched the road.

他继续向上爬，到了顶上，他摔倒了，就躺了一会儿，桅杆还在肩上横着。他努力着想站起来。但这太困难了，于是他就扛着桅杆坐在那里，眼望着马路。一只猫从马路对面走过，在忙它自己的事，老人盯着它看着。接着他就只看着马路。

Finally he put the mast down and stood up. He picked the mast up and put it on his shoulder and started up the road. He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.

最后，他把桅杆放下，站了起来。他举起桅杆，把它扛在肩上，动身沿着马路走去。他不得不坐下来休息了五次，才到了他的棚屋。

Inside the shack he leaned the mast against the wall. In the dark he found a water bottle and took a drink. Then he lay down on the bed. He pulled the blanket over his shoulders and then over his back and legs and he slept face down on the newspapers with his arms out straight and the palms of his hands up.

走进棚屋，他把桅杆立在墙上。摸着黑，他找到一个水瓶，喝了口水。然后，他上了床，躺了下来。他拿起毯子，搭在肩上，又盖住背和腿，接着就脸冲下在报纸上睡了，两只胳膊直直地伸在毯子外，掌心朝上。

He was asleep when the boy looked in the door in the morning. It was blowing so hard that the drifting-boats would not be going out and the boy had slept late and then come to the old man's shack as he had come each morning. The boy saw that the old man was breathing and then he saw the old man's hands and he started to cry. He went out very quietly to go to bring some coffee and all the way down the road he was crying.

当那男孩早晨在门口张望时，他正熟睡着。风正猛烈地刮着，流网渔船不会出海了，于是男孩就睡了个懒觉，然后就和每天早上一样，到老人的棚屋来了。男孩看见老人在喘息着，接着又看见老人的双手，他哭了起来。他悄悄地走出来，去拿些咖啡，一路上他都在哭。

Many fishermen were around the skiff looking at what was lashed beside it and one was in the water, his trousers rolled up, measuring the skeleton with a length of line.

许多渔夫围在小船旁，看着船边绑着的东西，有一个渔夫卷起裤子，下到水里，用一根长绳量着那鱼的骨架。

The boy did not go down. He had been there before and one of the fishermen was looking after the skiff for him. "How is he?" one of the fishermen shouted. "Sleeping," the boy called. He did not care that they saw him crying. "Let no one disturb him." "He was eighteen feet from nose to tail," the fisherman who was measuring him called.

那男孩没有下去。之前他已经去过了，其中有个渔夫正替他照管着这条小船。“他怎么样了？”一个渔夫喊道。“正睡着。”男孩喊着回答。他不在乎他们看见他哭。“任何人都别去打搅他。”“从鼻子到尾巴它有十八英尺长。”量它的那个渔夫叫道。

"I believe it," the boy said.

“我相信。”男孩说。

He went into the Terrace and asked for a can of coffee.

他走进露台饭店，点了一罐咖啡。

"Hot and with plenty of milk and sugar in it."

“要热的，里面多放点奶和糖。”

"Anything more?"

“还要别的吗？”

"No. Afterwards I will see what he can eat."

“不了。“过些时候，我再看他能吃点什么。”

"What a fish it was," the proprietor said. "There has never been such a fish. Those were two fine fish you took yesterday too." "Damn my fish," the boy said and he started to cry again.

“那是多大的一条鱼啊，”饭店老板说，“从来没有过这么大的鱼。你昨天钓到的那两条也蛮好的。”“我那鱼，见鬼去吧。”男孩说着又哭了起来。

"Do you want a drink of any kind?" the proprietor asked.

“你要喝点什么吗？”老板问道。

"No," the boy said. "Tell them not to bother Santiago. I'll be back."

“不要了。”男孩说。“叫他们别去打搅圣地亚哥。我一会儿就回来。”

"Tell him how sorry I am."

“告诉他我很难过。”

"Thanks," the boy said.

“谢谢。”男孩说。

The boy carried the hot can of coffee up to the old man's shack and sat by him until he woke. Once it looked as though he were waking. But he had gone back into heavy sleep and the boy had gone across the road to borrow some wood to heat the coffee.

男孩拿着那罐热咖啡径直走到了老人的棚屋，然后坐在他旁边等着他醒来。有一次他看似就要醒过来了。可他又沉沉地睡去，男孩就到马路对面去借木柴来热咖啡。

Finally the old man woke.

终于，老人醒来了。

"Don't sit up," the boy said. "Drink this."

“不要坐起来，”男孩说，“喝了这个。”

He poured some of the coffee in a glass.

他往一只玻璃杯里倒了些咖啡。

The old man took it and drank it.

老人接过它来喝了下去。

"They beat me, Manolin," he said. "They truly beat me."

“它们打败我了，马诺林，”他说，“它们真的打败我了。”

"He didn't beat you. Not the fish."

“它没有打败你。起码那条鱼没有。”

"No. Truly. It was afterwards."

“是啊。真是这样。后来我才被打败的。”

"Pedrico is looking after the skiff and the gear. What do you want done with the head?"

“佩德里科在看着小船和渔具。您要怎么处置那个鱼头？”

"Let Pedrico chop it up to use in fish traps."

“让佩德里科把它剁碎了放到捕鱼机里用吧。”

"And the spear?"

“还有那长嘴呢？

"You keep it if you want it."

“你想要就拿去吧。”

"I want it," the boy said. "Now we must make our plans about the other things."

“我要。”男孩说，“现在我们必须考虑一下其他的事了。”

"Did they search for me?"

“他们找我了吗？”

"Of course. With coast guard and with planes."

“当然找了。派出了海岸警卫队和飞机。”

"The ocean is very big and a skiff is small and hard to see," the old man said. He noticed how pleasant it was to have someone to talk to instead of speaking only to himself and to the sea. "I missed you," he said. "What did you catch?"

“海洋很大，船却很小，很难看见。”老人说。他意识到，可以有个人说说话，而不用只是对着自己、对着大海说话，是多么快乐的事。“我很想你。”他说，“你们有什么收获？”

"One the first day. One the second and two the third."

“第一天一条。第二天一条，第三条两条。”

"Very good."

“真不错。”

"Now we fish together again."

“现在我们又能一起捕鱼了。”

"No. I am not lucky. I am not lucky anymore."

“不行。我运气不怎么样。我不会再交好运了。”

"The hell with luck," the boy said. "I'll bring the luck with me."

“什么好运，见鬼去吧。”男孩说，“我会带来好运的。”

"What will your family say?"

“你的家人会怎么说呢？”

"I do not care. I caught two yesterday. But we will fish together now for I still have much to learn."

“我不在乎。昨天我捉了两条。可现在我们要一起捕鱼了，因为我还有很多东西要学。”

"We must get a good killing lance and always have it on board. You can make the blade from a spring leaf from an old Ford. We can grind it in Guanabacoa. It should be sharp and not tempered so it will break. My knife broke."

“我们必须弄来一支能杀死鱼的好长矛，常带在船上。旧福特车上的钢板弹簧可以用来做矛头。我们可以拿到瓜纳瓦科阿去磨。这矛得锋利点儿，不能回火锻造，否则会断裂。我的刀子就断了。”

"I'll get another knife and have the spring ground. How many days of heavy brisa have we?"

“我会再弄把刀来的，还要磨磨钢板弹簧。这大风要刮多少天呀？”

"Maybe three. Maybe more."

“或许三天。或许还不止。”

"I will have everything in order," the boy said. "You get your hands well, old man."

“我会把一切都弄好的。”男孩说，“您要养好您的手，老爷爷。”

"I know how to care for them. In the night I spat something strange and felt something in my chest was broken."

“我知道怎么保养它们。夜里，我吐了些奇怪的东西，觉得胸口里有什么东西碎了似的。”

"Get that well too," the boy said. "Lie down, old man, and I will bring you your clean shirt. And something to eat."

“那个也要养好。”男孩说，“躺下来，老爷爷，我去把您的干净衬衫拿来。再带点儿吃的来。”

"Bring any of the papers of the time that I was gone," the old man said.

“我不在的时候的报纸，给我随便拿来一份吧。”老人说。

"You must get well fast for there is much that I can learn and you can teach me everything. How much did you suffer?"

“您一定要快点好起来，因为我要学的还多着呢，您可以把所有本事都教给我。您遭了多少罪啊？”

"Plenty," the old man said.

“真不少啊。”老人说。

"I'll bring the food and the papers," the boy said. "Rest well, old man. I will bring stuff from the drugstore for your hands."

“我去拿吃的和报纸。”男孩说，“好好休息，老人家。我要去药店拿点药，来治您的手。”

"Don't forget to tell Pedrico the head is his."

“别忘了告诉佩德里科，那鱼头是他的了。”

"No. I will remember."

“好的。我会记着的。”

As the boy went out the door and down the worn coral rock road he was crying again.

男孩出了门，沿着磨损了的珊瑚石路走着，这时，他又哭开了。

That afternoon there was a party of tourists at the Terrace and looking down in the water among the empty beer cans and dead barracudas a woman saw a great long white spine with a huge tail at the end that lifted and swung with the tide while the east wind blew a heavy steady sea outside the entrance to the harbour.

那天下午，有一群游客来到露台饭店。有位妇女向下望着大海，透过空啤酒罐和死梭子鱼之间的空隙，她看到一条巨大的、长长的白色脊骨，末端还拖着条巨大的尾巴。东风在港口外不断地掀起大浪，此时，尾巴随着潮水起伏摇摆着。

"What's that?" she asked a waiter and pointed to the long backbone of the great fish that was now just garbage waiting to go out with the tide.

“那是什么东西？”她问一名侍者，手指着那条大鱼的长长的脊骨，眼下它只是等着被潮水冲走的垃圾了。

"Tiburon," the waiter said. "Shark." He was meaning to explain what had happened.

"Tiburon，"侍者说，“鲨鱼。”他是想解释事情的经过。

"I didn't know sharks had such handsome, beautifully formed tails."

“我不知道鲨鱼竟有这么英俊的尾巴，形态竟如此美观。”

"I didn't either," her male companion said.

“我也不知道。”她的男伴说。

Up the road, in his shack, the old man was sleeping again. He was still sleeping on his face and the boy was sitting by him watching him. The old man was dreaming about the lions.

马路另一头，在他的棚屋里，老人又睡了。他仍然是脸朝下睡着，男孩在他身边坐着，看着他。老人正梦着狮子。