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第1章 The Old Mans Hard Life（第1页）

hewasanoldmanwhofishedaloneinaskiffinthegulfstreamandhehadgoneeighty-fourdaysnowwithouttakingafish.inthefirstfortydaysaboyhadbeenwithhibutafterfortydayswithoutafishtheboy'sparentshadtoldhimthattheoldmanwasnowdefinitelyandfinallysalao，whichistheworstformofunlucky，andtheboyhadgoneattheirordersinanotherboatwhichcaughtthreegoodfishthefirstweek.itmadetheboysadtoseetheoldmancomeineachdaywithhisskiffemptyandhealwayswentdowntohelphimcarryeitherthecoiledlinesorthegaffandharpoonandthesailthatwasfurledaroundthemast.thesailwaspatchedwithfloursacksand，furled，itlookedliketheflagofpermanentdefeat.

theoldmanwasthinandgauntwithdeepwrinklesinthebackofhisneck.thebrownblotchesofthebenevolentskincancerthesunbringsfromitsreflectiononthetropicseawereonhischeeks.theblotchesranwelldownthesidesofhisfaceandhishandshadthedeep-creasedscarsfromhandlingheavyfishonthecords.butnoneofthesescarswerefresh.theywereasoldaserosionsinafishlessdesert.

everythingabouthimwasoldexcepthiseyesandtheywerethesamecolorastheseaandwerecheerfulandundefeated.

“santiago，”theboysaidtohimastheyclimbedthebankfromwheretheskiffwashauledup.“icouldgowithyouagain.we'vemadesomemoney.”

theoldmanhadtaughttheboytofishandtheboylovedhi

“no，”theoldmansaid.“you'rewithaluckyboat.staywiththe”

“butrememberhowyouwenteighty-sevendayswithoutfishandthenwecaughtbigoneseverydayforthreeweeks.”“iremember，”theoldmansaid，“iknowyoudidnotleavemebecauseyoudoubted.”

“itwaspapamademeleave.iamaboyandimustobeyhi”

“iknow，”theoldmansaid.“itisquitenormal.”

“hehasn'tmuchfaith.”

“no，”theoldmansaid.“butwehave.haven'twe?”“yes，”theboysaid.“caniofferyouabeerontheterraceandthenwe'lltakethestuffhome.”

“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.

“ifyouweremyboyi'dtakeyououtandgamble，”hesaid.“butyouareyourfather'sandyourmother'sandyouareinaluckyboat.”

“mayigetthesardines?iknowwhereicangetfourbaitstoo.”

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