苗疆小说网>老人与海的感悟和启示 > 第1章 The Old Mans Hard Life（第1页）
第1章 The Old Mans Hard Life（第1页）
HewasanoldmanwhofishedaloneinaskiffintheGulfStreamandhehadgoneeighty-fourdaysnowwithouttakingafish。Inthefirstfortydaysaboyhadbeenwithhim。Butafterfortydayswithoutafishtheboysparentshadtoldhimthattheoldmanwasnowdefinitelyandfinallysalao，whichistheworstformofunlucky，andtheboyhadgoneattheirordersinanotherboatwhichcaughtthreegoodfishthefirstweek。Itmadetheboysadtoseetheoldmancomeineachdaywithhisskiffemptyandhealwayswentdowntohelphimcarryeitherthecoiledlinesorthegaffandharpoonandthesailthatwasfurledaroundthemast。Thesailwaspatchedwithfloursacksand，furled，itlookedliketheflagofpermanentdefeat。
Theoldmanwasthinandgauntwithdeepwrinklesinthebackofhisneck。Thebrownblotchesofthebenevolentskincancerthesunbringsfromitsreflectiononthetropicseawereonhischeeks。Theblotchesranwelldownthesidesofhisfaceandhishandshadthedeep-creasedscarsfromhandlingheavyfishonthecords。Butnoneofthesescarswerefresh。Theywereasoldaserosionsinafishlessdesert。
Everythingabouthimwasoldexcepthiseyesandtheywerethesamecolorastheseaandwerecheerfulandundefeated。
“Santiago，”theboysaidtohimastheyclimbedthebankfromwheretheskiffwashauledup。“Icouldgowithyouagain。Wevemadesomemoney。”
Theoldmanhadtaughttheboytofishandtheboylovedhim。
“No，”theoldmansaid。“Yourewithaluckyboat。Staywiththem。”
“Butrememberhowyouwenteighty-sevendayswithoutfishandthenwecaughtbigoneseverydayforthreeweeks。”“Iremember，”theoldmansaid，“Iknowyoudidnotleavemebecauseyoudoubted。”
“Itwaspapamademeleave。IamaboyandImustobeyhim。”
“Iknow，”theoldmansaid。“Itisquitenormal。”
“Hehasntmuchfaith。”
“No，”theoldmansaid。“Butwehave。Haventwe?”“Yes，”theboysaid。“CanIofferyouabeerontheTerraceandthenwelltakethestuffhome。”
“Whynot?”theoldmansaid。“Betweenfishermen。”
TheysatontheTerraceandmanyofthefishermenmadefunoftheoldmanandhewasnotangry。Others，oftheolderfishermen，lookedathimandweresad。Buttheydidnotshowitandtheyspokepolitelyaboutthecurrentandthedepthstheyhaddriftedtheirlinesatandthesteadygoodweatherandofwhattheyhadseen。Thesuccessfulfishermenofthatdaywerealreadyinandhadbutcheredtheirmarlinoutandcarriedthemlaidfullacrosstwoplanks，withtwomenstaggeringattheendofeachplank，tothefishhousewheretheywaitedfortheicetrucktocarrythemtothemarketinHavana。Thosewhohadcaughtsharkshadtakenthemtothesharkfactoryontheothersideofthecovewheretheywerehoistedonablockandtackle，theirliversremoved，theirfinscutoffandtheirhidesskinnedoutandtheirfleshcutintostripsforsalting。
Whenthewindwasintheeastasmellcameacrosstheharborfromthesharkfactory;buttodaytherewasonlythefaintedgeoftheodorbecausethewindhadbackedintothenorthandthendroppedoffanditwaspleasantandsunnyontheTerrace。
“Santiago，”theboysaid。
“Yes，”theoldmansaid。Hewasholdinghisglassandthinkingofmanyyearsago。
“CanIgoouttogetsardinesforyoufortomorrow?”“No。Goandplaybaseball。IcanstillrowandRogeliowillthrowthenet。”
“Iwouldliketogo。IfIcannotfishwithyou，Iwouldliketoserveinsomeway。”
“Youboughtmeabeer，”theoldmansaid。“Youarealreadyaman。”
“HowoldwasIwhenyoufirsttookmeinaboat?”
“FiveandyounearlywerekilledwhenIbroughtthefishintoogreenandhenearlytoretheboattopieces。Canyouremember?”
“Icanrememberthetailslappingandbangingandthethwartbreakingandthenoiseoftheclubbing。Icanrememberyouthrowingmeintothebowwherethewetcoiledlineswereandfeelingthewholeboatshiverandthenoiseofyouclubbinghimlikechoppingatreedownandthesweetbloodsmellalloverme。”
“CanyoureallyrememberthatordidIjusttellittoyou?”
“Iremembereverythingfromwhenwefirstwenttogether。”
Theoldmanlookedathimwithhissunburned，confidentlovingeyes。
“IfyouweremyboyIdtakeyououtandgamble，”hesaid。“Butyouareyourfathersandyourmothersandyouareinaluckyboat。”
“MayIgetthesardines?IknowwhereIcangetfourbaitstoo。”
