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.
中文翻譯
他是個獨自在灣流中一條小船上釣魚的老人，至今已去了八十四天，一條魚也沒逮住。頭四十天裏，有個男孩子跟他在一起。可是，過了四十天還沒捉到一條魚，孩子的父母對他說，老人如今准是十足地“倒了血黴”，這就是說，倒黴到了極點，于是孩子聽從了他們的吩咐，上了另外一條船，頭一個禮拜就捕到了三條好魚。孩子看見老人每天回來時船總是空的，感到很難受，他總是走下岸去，幫老人拿卷起的釣索，或者魚鈎和魚叉，還有繞在桅杆上的帆。帆上用麵粉袋片打了些補丁，收攏後看來像是一面標志著永遠失敗的旗子。
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.
中文翻譯
老人消瘦而憔悴，脖頸上有些很深的皺紋。腮幫上有些褐斑，那是太陽在熱帶海面上反射的光綫所引起的良性皮膚癌變。褐斑從他臉的兩側一直蔓延下去，他的雙手常用繩索拉大魚，留下了刻得很深的傷疤。但是這些傷疤中沒有一塊是新的。它們象無魚可打的沙漠中被侵蝕的地方一般古老。
Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.
中文翻譯
他身上的一切都顯得古老，除了那雙眼睛，它們象海水一般藍，是愉快而不肯認輸的。
“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.“
The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him.
“No,“ the old man said. “You’re with a lucky boat. Stay with them.“
“But remember how you went eighty-seven days without fish and then we caught big ones every day for three weeks.“
“I remember,“ the old man said. “I know you did not leave me because you doubted.“
“It was papa made me leave. I am a boy and I must obey him.“
“I know,“ the old man said. “It is quite normal.“
“He hasn’t much faith.“
“No,“ the old man said. “But we have. Haven’t we?“
“Yes,“ the boy said. “Can I offer you a beer on the Terrace and then we’ll take the stuff home.“
“Why not?“ the old man said. “Between fishermen.“
中文翻譯
“聖地亞哥，”他們倆從小船停泊的地方爬上岸時，孩子對他說。“我又能陪你出海了。我家掙到了一點兒錢。”
老人教會了這孩子捕魚，孩子愛他。
“不，”老人說。“你遇上了一條交好運的船。跟他們待下去吧。”
“不過你該記得，你有一回八十七天釣不到一條魚，跟著有三個禮拜，我們每天都逮住了大魚。”
“我記得，”老人說。“我知道你不是因爲沒把握才離開我的。”
“是爸爸叫我走的。我是孩子，不能不聽從他。”
“我明白，”老人說。“這是理該如此的。”
“他沒多大的信心。”
“是啊，”老人說。“可是我們有。可不是嗎？”
“對，”孩子說。“我請你到露臺飯店去喝杯啤酒，然後一起把打魚的家什帶回去。”
“那敢情好，”老人說。“都是打魚人嘛。”
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.
中文翻譯
他們坐在飯店的露臺上，不少漁夫拿老人開玩笑，老人幷不生氣。另外一些上了些年紀的漁夫望著他，感到難受。不過他們幷不流露出來，只是斯文地談起海流，談起他們把釣索送到海面下有多深，天氣一貫多麽好，談起他們的見聞。當天打魚得手的漁夫都已回來，把大馬林魚剖開，整片兒排在兩塊木板上，每塊木板的一端由兩個人抬著，搖搖晃晃地送到收魚站，在那裏等冷藏車來把它們運往哈瓦那的市場。逮到鯊魚的人們已把它們送到海灣另一邊的鯊魚加工廠去，吊在複合滑車上，除去肝臟，割掉魚鰭，剝去外皮，把魚肉切成一條條，以備腌制。
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.
中文翻譯
刮東風的時候，鯊魚加工廠隔著海灣送來一股氣味；但今天只有淡淡的一絲，因爲風轉向了北方，後來逐漸平息了，飯店露臺上可人心意、陽光明媚。
“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?“
中文翻譯
“五歲，那天我把一條鮮龍活跳的魚拖上船去，它差一點把船撞得粉碎，你也差一點給送了命。還記得嗎？”
“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 sweat blood smell all over me.“
中文翻譯
“我記得魚尾巴砰砰地拍打著，船上的座板給打斷了，還有棍子打魚的聲音。我記得你把我朝船頭猛推，那兒擱著濕漉漉的釣索卷兒，我感到整條船在顫抖，聽到你啪啪地用棍子打魚的聲音，象有砍一棵樹，還記得我渾身上下都是甜絲絲的血腥味兒。”
“Can you really remember that or did I just tell it to you?“
“I remember everything from when we first went together.“
The old man looked at him with his sun-burned, confident loving eyes.
中文翻譯
“你當真記得那回事兒，還是我不久前剛跟你說過？”
“打從我們頭一回一起出海時起，什麽事兒我都記得清清楚楚。”
老人用他那雙常遭日曬而目光堅定的眼睛愛憐地望著他。
“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.“
“May I get the sardines? I know where I can get four baits too.“
“I have mine left from today. I put them in salt in the box.“
“Let me get four fresh ones.“
“One,“ the old man said. His hope and his confidence had never gone. But now they were freshening as when the breeze rises.
“Two,“ the boy said.
“Two,“ the old man agreed. “You didn’t steal them?“
“I would,“ the boy said. “But I bought these.“
中文翻譯
“如果你是我自己的小子，我准會帶你出去闖一下，”他說。“可你是你爸爸和你媽媽的小子，你搭的又是一條交上了好運的船。”
“我去弄沙丁魚來好嗎？我還知道上哪兒去弄四條魚餌來。”
“我今天還有自個兒剩下的。我把它們放在匣子裏腌了。”
“讓我給你弄四條新鮮的來吧。”
“一條，”老人說。他的希望和信心從沒消失過。現在可又象微風初起時那麽清新了。
“兩條，”孩子說。
“就兩條吧，”老人同意了。“你不是去偷的吧？”
“我願意去偷，”孩子說。“不過這些是買來的。”
“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.
“Tomorrow is going to be a good day with this current,“ he said.
“Where are you going?“ the boy asked.
“Far out to come in when the wind shifts. I want to be out before it is light.“
“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.“
“He does not like to work too far out.“
“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.“
中文翻譯
“謝謝你了，”老人說。他心地單純，不去捉摸自己什麽時候達到這樣謙卑的地步。可是他知道這時正達到了這地步，知道這幷不丟臉，所以也無損于真正的自尊心。
“看這海流，明兒會是個好日子，”他說。
“你打算上哪兒？”孩子問。
“駛到遠方，等轉了風才回來。我想天亮前就出發。”
“我要想法叫船主人也駛到遠方，”孩子說。“這樣，如果你確實釣到了大魚，我們可以趕去幫你的忙。”
“他可不會願意駛到很遠的地方。”
“是啊，”孩子說。“不過我會看見一些他看不見的東西，比如說有只鳥兒在空中盤旋，我就會叫他趕去追海豚的。”
“Are his eyes that bad?“
“He is almost blind.“
“It is strange,“ the old man said. “He never went turtle-ing. That is what kills the eyes.“
“But you went turtle-ing for years off the Mosquito Coast and your eyes are good.“
“I am a strange old man.“
“But are you strong enough now for a truly big fish?“
“I think so. And there are many tricks.“
“Let us take the stuff home,“ the boy said. “So I can get the cast net and go after the sardines.“
中文翻譯
“他眼睛這麽不行嗎？”
“簡直是個瞎子。”
“這可怪了，”老人說。“他從沒捕過海龜。這玩藝才傷眼睛哪。”
“你可在莫斯基托海岸外捕了好多年海龜，你的眼力還是挺好的嘛。”
“我是個不同尋常的老頭兒。”
“不過你現在還有力氣對付一條真正大的魚嗎？”
“我想還有。再說有不少竅門可用呢。”
“我們把家什拿回家去吧，”孩子說。“這樣我可以拿了魚網去逮沙丁魚。”
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.
中文翻譯
他們從船上拿起打魚的家什。老人把桅杆扛上肩頭，孩子拿著內放編得很緊密的褐色釣索卷兒的木箱、魚鈎和帶杆子的魚叉。盛魚餌的匣子給藏在小船的船梢下面，那兒還有那根在大魚被拖到船邊時用來收服它們的棍子，誰也不會來偷老人的東西，不過還是把桅杆和那些粗釣索帶回家去的好，因爲露水對這些東西不利，再說，儘管老人深信當地不會有人來偷他的東西，但他認爲，把一把魚鈎和一支魚叉留在船上實在是不必要的引誘。
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 budshields 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.
中文翻譯
他們順著大路一起走到老人的窩棚，從敞開的門走進去。老人把繞著帆的桅杆靠在墻上，孩子把木箱和其他家什擱在它的旁邊。桅杆跟這窩棚內的單間屋子差不多一般長。窩棚用大椰子樹的叫做“海鳥糞”的堅韌的苞殼做成，裏面有一張床、一張桌子、一把椅子和泥地上一處用木炭燒飯的地方。在用纖維結實的“海鳥糞”展平了叠蓋而成的褐色墻壁上，有一幅彩色的耶穌聖心圖和另一幅科布萊聖母圖。這是他妻子的遺物。墻上一度挂著幅他妻子的著色照，但他把它取下了，因爲看了覺得自己太孤單了，它如今在屋角擱板上，在他的一件乾淨襯衫下面。
“What do you have to eat?“ the boy asked.
“A pot of yellow rice with fish. Do you want some?“
“No. I will eat at home. Do you want me to make the fire?“
“No. I will make it later on. Or I may eat the rice cold.“
“May I take the cast net?“
“Of course.“
There was no cast net and the boy remembered when they had sold it. But they went through this fiction every day. There was no pot of yellow rice and fish and the boy knew this too.
“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?“
中文翻譯
“有什麽吃的東西？”
“有鍋魚煮黃米飯。要吃點嗎？”
“不。我回家去吃。要我給你生火嗎？”
“不用。過一會兒我自己來生。也許就吃冷飯算了。”
“我把魚網拿去好嗎？”
“當然好。”
實在幷沒有魚網，孩子還記得他們是什麽時候把它賣掉的。然而他們每天要扯一套這種謊話。也沒有什麽魚煮黃米飯，這一點孩子也知道。
“八十五是個吉利的數目，”老人說。“你可想看到我逮住一條去掉了下脚有一千多磅重的魚？”
“I’ll get the cast net and go for sardines. Will you sit in the sun in the doorway?“
“Yes. I have yesterday’s paper and I will read the baseball.“
The boy did not know whether yesterday’s paper was fiction too. But the old man brought it out from under the bed.
“Perico gave it to me at the bodega,“ he explained.
“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.“
中文翻譯
“我拿魚網撈沙丁魚去。你坐在門口曬曬太陽可好？”
“好吧。我有張昨天的報紙，我來看看棒球消息。”
孩子不知道昨天的報紙是不是也是烏有的。但是老人把它從床下取出來了。
“佩裏科在雜貨鋪裏給我的，”他解釋說。
“我弄到了沙丁魚就回來。我要把你的魚跟我的一起用冰鎮著，明兒早上就可以分著用了。等我回來了，你告訴我棒球白的消息。”
“The Yankees cannot lose.“
“But I fear the Indians of Cleveland.“
“Have faith in the Yankees my son. Think of the great DiMaggio.“
“I fear both the Tigers of Detroit and the Indians of Cleveland.“
Be careful or you will fear even the Reds of Cincinnati and the White Sox of Chicago.
“You study it and tell me when I come back.“
“Do you think we should buy a terminal of the lottery with an eighty-five? Tomorrow is the eighty-fifth day.“
“We can do that,“ the boy said. “But what about the eighty-seven of your great record?“
“It could not happen twice. Do you think you can find an eighty-five?“
中文翻譯
“揚基隊不會輸。”
“可是我怕克利夫蘭印第安人隊會贏。”
“相信揚基隊吧，好孩子。別忘了那了不起的迪馬吉奧。”
“我擔心底特律老虎隊，也擔心克利夫蘭印第安人隊。”
“當心點，要不然連辛辛那提紅隊和芝加哥白短襪隊，你都要擔心啦。”
“你好好兒看報，等我回來了給我講講。”
“你看我們該去買張末尾是八五的彩票嗎？明兒是第八十五天。”
“這樣做行啊，”孩子說。“不過你上次創紀錄的是八十七天，這怎麽說？”
“這種事兒不會再發生。你看能弄到一張末尾是八五的嗎？”
“I can order one.“
“One sheet. That’s two dollars and a half. Who can we borrow that from?“
“That’s easy. I can always borrow two dollars and a half.“
“I think perhaps I can too. But I try not to borrow. First you borrow. Then you beg.“
“Keep warm old man,“ the boy said. “Remember we are in September.“
“The month when the great fish come,“ the old man said. “Anyone can be a fisherman in May.“
“I go now for the sardines,“ the boy said.
中文翻譯
“我可以去訂一張。”
“訂一張。這要兩塊半。我們向誰去借這筆錢呢？”
“這個容易。我總能借到兩塊半的。”
“我看沒準兒我也借得到。不過我不想借錢。第一步是借錢。下一步就要討飯囉。”
“穿得暖和點，老大爺，”孩子說。“別忘了，我們這是在九月裏。”
“正是大魚露面的月份，”老人說。“在五月裏，人人都能當個好漁夫的。”
“我現在去撈沙丁魚，”孩子說。
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.
中文翻譯
等孩子回來的時候，老人在椅子上熟睡著，太陽已經下去了。孩子從床上撿起一條舊軍毯，鋪在椅背上，蓋住了老人的雙肩。這兩個肩膀挺怪，人非常老邁了，肩膀却依然很强健，脖子也依然很壯實，而且當老人睡著了，腦袋向前耷拉著的時候，皺紋也不大明顯了。他的襯衫上不知打了多少次補丁，弄得象他那張帆一樣，這些補丁被陽光曬得褪成了許多深淺不同的顔色。老人的頭非常蒼老，眼睛閉上了，臉上就一點生氣也沒有。報紙攤在他膝蓋上，在晚風中，靠他一條胳臂壓著才沒被吹走。他光著脚。
The boy left him there and when he came back the old man was still asleep.
“Wake up old man,“ the boy said and put his hand on one of the old man’s knees.
The old man opened his eyes and for a moment he was coming back from a long way away. Then he smiled.
“What have you got?“ he asked.
“Supper,“ said the boy. “We’re going to have supper.“
“I’m not very hungry.“
中文翻譯
孩子撇下老人走了，等他回來時，老人還是熟睡著。
“醒來吧，老大爺，”孩子說，一手搭上老人的膝蓋。
老人張開眼睛，他的神志一時仿佛正在從老遠的地方回來。隨後他微笑了。
“你拿來了什麽？”他問。
“晚飯，”孩子說。“我們就來吃吧。”
“我肚子不大餓。”
“Come on and eat. You can’t fish and not eat.“
“I have,“ the old man said getting up and taking the newspaper and folding it.
Then he started to fold the blanket.
“Keep the blanket around you,“ the boy said. “You’ll not fish without eating while I’m alive.“
“Then live a long time and take care of yourself,“ the old man said. “What are we eating?“
“Black beans and rice, fried bananas, and some stew.“
中文翻譯
“得了，吃吧。你不能只打魚，不吃飯。”
“我這樣幹過，”老人說著，站起身來，拿起報紙，把它折好。
跟著他動手折叠毯子。
“把毯子披在身上吧，”孩子說。“只要我活著，你就决不會不吃飯就去打魚。”
“這麽說，祝你長壽，多保重自己吧，”老人說。“我們吃什麽？”
“黑豆飯、油炸香蕉，還有些純菜。”
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.
中文翻譯
孩子是把這些飯菜放在雙層飯匣裏從露臺飯店拿來的。他口袋裏有兩副刀叉和湯匙，每一副都用紙餐巾包著。
“Who gave this to you?“
“Martin. The owner.“
“I must thank him.“
“I thanked him already,“ the boy said. “You don’t need to thank him.“
“I’ll give him the belly meat of a big fish,“ the old man said. “Has he done this for us more than once?“
“I think so.“
中文翻譯
“這是誰給你的。”
“馬丁。那老闆。”
“我得去謝謝他。”
“我已經謝過啦，”孩子說。“你用不著去謝他了。”
“我要給他一塊大魚肚子上的肉，”老人說。“他這樣幫助我們不止一次了？”
“我想是這樣吧。”
“I must give him something more than the belly meat then. He is very thoughtful for us.“
“He sent two beers.“
“I like the beer in cans best.“
“I know. But this is in bottles, Hatuey beer, and I take back the bottles.“
“That’s very kind of you,“ the old man said. “Should we eat?“
“I’ve been asking you to,“ the boy told him gently. “I have not wished to open the container until you were ready.“
“I’m ready now,“ the old man said. “I only needed time to wash.“
中文翻譯
“這樣的話，我該在魚肚子肉以外，再送他一些東西。他對我們真關心。”
“他還送了兩瓶啤酒。”
“我喜歡罐裝的啤酒。”
“我知道。不過這是瓶裝的，阿圖埃牌啤酒，我還得把瓶子送回去。”
“你真周到，”老人說。“我們就吃好嗎？”
“我已經問過你啦，”孩子溫和地對他說。“不等你準備好，我是不願打開飯匣子的。”
“我準備好啦，”老人說。“我只消洗洗手臉就行。”
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.
中文翻譯
你上哪兒去洗呢？孩子想。村裏的水龍頭在大路上第二條橫路的轉角上。我該把水帶到這兒讓他用的，孩子想，還帶塊肥皂和一條乾淨毛巾來。我爲什麽這樣粗心大意？我該再弄件襯衫和一件茄克衫來讓他過冬，還要一雙什麽鞋子，幷且再給他弄條毯子來。
“Your stew is excellent,“ the old man said.
“Tell me about the baseball,“ the boy asked him.
“In the American League it is the Yankees as I said,“ the old man said happily.
“They lost today,“ the boy told him.
“That means nothing. The great DiMaggio is himself again.“
“They have other men on the team.“
中文翻譯
“這燉菜呱呱叫，”老人說。
“給我講講棒球賽吧，”孩子請求他說。
“在美國聯賽中，總是揚基隊的天下，我跟你說過啦，”老人興高采烈地說。
“他們今兒個輸了，”孩子告訴他。
“這算不上什麽，那了不起的迪馬吉奧恢復他的本色了。”
“他們隊裏還有別的好手哪。”
“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.“
中文翻譯
“這還用說。不過有了他就不同了。在另一個聯賽中，拿布魯克林隊和費拉德爾菲亞隊來說，我相信布魯克林隊。不過話得說回來，我沒有忘記迪克·西斯勒和他在那老公園裏打出的那些好球。”
“There was nothing ever like them. He hits the longest ball I have ever seen.“
“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.
“I know. It was a great mistake. He might have gone with us. Then we would have that for all of our lives.“
“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.“
“The great Sisler’s father was never poor and he, the father, was playing in the Big Leagues when he was my age.“
“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.“
中文翻譯
“這些好球從來沒有別人打過。我見過的擊球中，數他打得最遠。”
“你還記得他過去常來露臺飯店嗎？我想陪他出海釣魚，可是不敢對他開口。所以我要你去說，可你也不敢。”
“我記得。我們真大大地失算了。他滿可能跟我們一起出海的。這樣，我們可以一輩子回味這回事了。”
“我滿想陪那了不起的迪馬吉奧去釣魚，”老人說。“人家說他父親也是個打魚的。也許他當初也象我們這樣窮，會領會我們的心意的。”
“那了不起的西斯勒的爸爸可沒過過窮日子，他爸爸象我這樣年紀的時候就在聯賽裏打球了。”
“我象你這樣年紀的時候，就在一條去非洲的方帆船上當普通水手了，我還見過獅子在傍晚到海灘上來。”
“I know. You told me.“
“Should we talk about Africa or about baseball?“
“Baseball I think,“ the boy said. “Tell me about the great John J. McGraw.“ He said Jota for J.
“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.“
中文翻譯
“我知道。你跟我談起過。”
“我們來談非洲還是談棒球？”
“我看談棒球吧，”孩子說。“給我談談那了不起的約翰·Ｊ·麥格勞的情况。”他把這個Ｊ念成了“何塔”。
“在過去的日子裏，他有時候也常到露臺飯店來。可是他一喝了酒，就態度粗暴，出口傷人，性子彆扭。他腦子裏想著棒球，也想著賽馬。至少他老是口袋裏揣著賽馬的名單，常常在電話裏提到一些馬兒的名字。”
“He was a great manager,“ the boy said. “My father thinks he was the greatest.“
“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.“
“Who is the greatest manager, really, Luque or Mike Gonzalez?“
“I think they are equal.“
中文翻譯
“他是個偉大的經理，”孩子說。“我爸爸認爲他是頂偉大的。”
“這是因爲他來這兒的次數最多，”老人說。“要是多羅徹繼續每年來這兒，你爸爸就會認爲他是頂偉大的經理了。”
“說真的，誰是頂偉大的經理，盧克還是邁克·岡薩雷斯？”
“我認爲他們不相上下。”
“And the best fisherman is you.“
“No. I know others better.“
“Que va,“ the boy said. “There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But there is only you.“
“Thank you. You make me happy. I hope no fish will come along so great that he will prove us wrong.“
“There is no such fish if you are as strong as you say.“
中文翻譯
“頂好的漁夫是你。”
“不。我知道有不少比我强的。”
“哪裏！”孩子說。“好漁夫很多，還有些很了不起的。不過頂呱呱的只有你。”
“謝謝你。你說得叫我高興。我希望不要來一條挺大的魚，叫我對付不了，那樣就說明我們講錯啦。”
“這種魚是沒有的，只要你還是象你說的那樣强壯。”
“I may not be as strong as I think,“ the old man said. “But I know many tricks and I have resolution.“
“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.“
“Good night then. I will wake you in the morning.“
“You’re my alarm clock,“ the boy said.
中文翻譯
“我也許不象我自以爲的那樣强壯了，”老人說。“可是我懂得不少竅門，而且有决心。”
“你該就去睡覺，這樣明兒早上才精神飽滿。我要把這些東西送回露臺飯店。”
“那麽祝你晚安。早上我去叫醒你。”
“你是我的鬧鐘，”孩子說。
“Age is my alarm clock,“ the old man said. “Why do old men wake so early? Is it to have one longer day?“
“I don’t know,“ the boy said. “All I know is that young boys sleep late and hard.
“I can remember it,“ the old man said. “I’ll waken you in time.“
“I do not like for him to waken me. It is as though I were inferior.“
“I know.“
“Sleep well old man.“
中文翻譯
“年紀是我的鬧鐘，”老人說。“爲什麽老頭兒醒得特別早？難道是要讓白天長些嗎？”
“我說不上來，”孩子說。“我只知道少年睡得沉，起得晚。”
“我記在心上，”老人說。“到時候會去叫醒你的。”
“我不願讓船主人來叫醒我。這樣似乎我比他差勁了。”
“我懂。”
“安睡吧，老大爺。”
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.
中文翻譯
孩子走出屋去。他們剛才吃飯的時候，桌子上沒點燈，老人就脫了長褲，摸黑上了床。他把長褲卷起來當枕頭，把那張報紙塞在裏頭。他用毯子裹住了身子，在彈簧墊上鋪著的其他舊報紙上睡下了。
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.
中文翻譯
他不多久就睡熟了，夢見小時候見到的非洲，長長的金色海灘和白色海灘，白得耀眼，還有高聳的海岬和褐色的大山。他如今每天夜裏都回到那道海岸邊，在夢中聽見拍岸海浪的隆隆聲，看見土人駕船穿浪而行。他睡著時聞到甲板上柏油和填絮的氣味，還聞到早晨陸地上刮來的風帶來的非洲氣息。
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.
中文翻譯
通常一聞到陸地上刮來的風，他就醒來，穿上衣裳去叫醒那孩子。然而今夜陸地上刮來的風的氣息來得很早，他在夢中知道時間尚早，就繼續把夢做下去，看見群島的白色頂峰從海面上升起，隨後夢見了加那利群島的各個港灣和錨泊地。
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 l oved 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 t he morning cold. But he knew he would shiver himself warm and that soon he would be rowing.
中文翻譯
他不再夢見風暴，不再夢見婦女們，不再夢見偉大的事件，不再夢見大魚，不再夢見打架，不再夢見角力，不再夢見他的妻子。他如今只夢見一些地方和海灘上的獅子。它們在暮色中象小猫一般嬉耍著，他愛它們，如同愛這孩子一樣。他從沒夢見過這孩子。他就這麽醒過來，望望敞開的門外邊的月亮，攤開長褲穿上。他在窩棚外撒了尿，然後順著大路走去叫醒孩子。他被清晨的寒氣弄得直哆嗦。但他知道哆嗦了一陣後會感到暖和，要不了多久他就要去划船了。
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.
中文翻譯
孩子住的那所房子的門沒有上鋪，他推開了門，光著脚悄悄走進去。孩子在外間的一張帆布床上熟睡著，老人靠著外面射進來的殘月的光綫，清楚地看見他。他輕輕握住孩子的一隻脚，直到孩子給弄醒了，轉過臉來對他望著。老人點點頭，孩子從床邊椅子上拿起他的長褲，坐在床沿上穿褲子。
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.“
“Que va,“ the boy said. “It is what a man must do.“
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.
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.
中文翻譯
老人走出門去，孩子跟在他背後。他還是昏昏欲睡，老人伸出胳臂摟住他的肩膀說：“對不起。”
“哪裏！”孩子說。“男子漢就該這麽幹。”
他們順著大路朝老人的窩棚走去，一路上，黑暗中有些光著脚的男人在走動，扛著他們船上的桅杆。
他們走進老人的窩棚，孩子拿起裝在籃子裏的釣索卷兒，還有魚叉和魚鈎，老人把繞著帆的桅杆扛在肩上。
“Do you want coffee?“ the boy asked.
“We’ll put the gear in the boat and then get some.“
They had coffee from condensed milk cans at an early morning place that served fishermen.
“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.
中文翻譯
“想喝咖啡嗎？”孩子問。
“我們把家什放在船裏，然後喝一點吧。”
他們在一家供應漁夫的清早就營業的小吃館裏，喝著盛在煉乳聽裏的咖啡。
“你睡得怎麽樣，老大爺？”孩子問。他如今清醒過來了，儘管要他完全擺脫睡魔還不大容易。
“Very well, Manolin,“ the old man said. “I feel confident today.“
“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.“
“We’re different,“ the old man said. “I let you carry things when you were five years old.“
“I know it,“ the boy said. “I’ll be right back. Have another coffee. We have credit here.“
He walked off, bare-footed on the coral rocks, to the ice house where the baits were stored.
中文翻譯
“睡得很好，馬諾林，”老人說。“我感到今天挺有把握。”
“我也這樣，”孩子說。“現在我該去拿你我用的沙丁魚，還有給你的新鮮魚餌。那條船上的家什總是他自己拿的。他從來不要別人幫他拿東西。”
“我們可不同，”老人說。“你還只五歲時我就讓你幫忙拿東西來著。”
“我記得，”孩子說。“我馬上就回來。再喝杯咖啡吧。我們在這兒可以挂帳。”
他走了，光著脚在珊瑚石鋪的走道上向保藏魚鉺的冷藏庫走去。
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.
中文翻譯
老人慢騰騰地喝著咖啡。這是他今兒一整天的飲食，他知道應該把它喝了。好久以來，吃飯使他感到厭煩，因此他從來不帶吃食。他在小船的船頭上放著一瓶水，一整天只需要這個就够了。
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.
中文翻譯
孩子帶著沙丁魚和兩份包在報紙裏的魚餌回來了，他們順著小徑走向小船，感到脚下的沙地裏嵌著鵝卵石，他們抬起小船，讓它溜進水裏。
“Good luck old man.“
“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.
中文翻譯
“祝你好運，老大爺。”
“祝你好運，”老人說。他把槳上的繩圈套在槳座的釘子上，身子朝前沖，抵消槳片在水中所遇到的阻力，在黑暗中動手劃出港去。其他那些海灘上也有其他船隻在出海，老人聽到他們的槳落水和劃動的聲音，儘管此刻月亮已掉到了山背後，他還看不清他們。