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.
其实根本没有什么鱼网，男孩记得，他们早就把网卖掉了，可是每天都要虚假地表演一番。小男孩也知道，根本没有一锅黄米饭和鱼。
"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?"
「八十五是一个吉利的数字。」这老人说：「你希不希望看到我拖回一条一千磅重的鱼回来呀？」
"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."
「我去拿网，然后把沙丁鱼带来，你坐在门口晒晒太阳好吗？」「好，这儿还有一张昨天的报纸，我来看看有什么棒球赛的消息。」
The boy did not know whether yesterday's paper was a fiction too. But the old man brought it out from under the bed.
这小男孩并不知道这份昨天的报纸是不是也是虚构的，但老人果然从床底下拿出一份报纸。
"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."
「勃瑞戈在酒窖里给我的，」老人解释着。「我弄到沙丁鱼之后就回来，我会把你的和我的那一份都冰起来，明天早上我们就可以分着用了。等我回来，你跟我讲棒球赛的消息。」
"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."
「洋基队不可能输的。」「可是我怕克利夫兰的印地安人队啊。」「孩子，要对洋基队有信心。想想他们里面有个伟大的狄玛基欧。」「我还担心底特律的老虎队和克利夫兰的印地安队会赢。」
"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?" "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."
「你再这样没信心下去，恐怕连辛辛那提的红队和芝加哥的白袜队你都会害怕了！」「你再仔细研究吧，等我回来时再告诉我结果。」「你看我们要不要买一张尾数是八十五号的彩券？明天就是第八十五天了。」「我们可以买啊！」男孩说：「但是你那伟大的八十七天记录，要怎么办？」「现在这种情形不可能再发生第二次了，你想你能买到八十五号的彩券吗？」「我可以订到一张。」「一张要花两块半，我们能跟谁借呢？」「这倒容易。我随时可以借到两块半钱。」
"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.
「我想我或许也可以借得到，但我尽量不去借。起先你借钱，再来就是乞讨了。」「别受了凉，老先生，」小孩说：「要知道现在已经是九月天了。」「这正是大鱼来临的月份，」老人说：「在五月里，每一个人都可以成为渔夫。」「我现在去拿沙丁鱼。」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.
男孩回来的时候，老人坐在椅子上睡着了，而太阳也已经下山。小孩把床上的旧军毯拿来铺在椅背上，并用部分盖着老人的肩膀。
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.
老人的肩膀虽然年老，但依旧健壮有力，他的脖子也还是那么坚挺，即使是睡着，头朝前垂下，颈上的皱纹仍不太明显。他的衬衫就像他的帆一样，补过好多次补钉，而随着长久以来阳光的照射，这些补钉早已褪成深浅不同的颜色。不过，老人的头部却显得相当衰老，只要他把眼睛闭上，脸上便看不出任何生命的迹象了。报纸摊在他的膝盖上，二只手臂的重量使它不被黄昏的微风吹走。老人的双脚赤裸着。
