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.
过去墙上曾经悬挂一幅他妻子的彩色照相，他看见了就觉得凄凉，因此他把它拿下来了，放在屋角架子上他的一件干衬衫下面。
"What do you have to eat?" the boy asked.
“你得吃点什么啊?”孩子问。
"A pot of yellow rice with fish. Do you want some?"
“一盆黄米饭拌鱼。你也吃点好吗?”
"No. I will eat at home. Do you want me to make the fire?"
“不。我回家吃去。你要我替你生火吗?”
“不。过一会儿我自个儿会生的。不然吃冷饭也可以。”
"May I take the cast net?"
“我去拿网好吗?”
"Of course."
“当然可以。”
There was no cast net and the boy remembered when they had sold it.
事实上并没有网，孩子记得，他们已经把网卖了。
But they went through this fiction every day.
可是他们每天都要编一套这样的假话。
There was no pot of yellow rice and fish and the boy knew this too.
没有一盆黄米饭拌鱼，孩子也是知道的。
"Eighty-five is a lucky number," the old man said.
“八十五是一个吉利数字，”老头儿说。
"How would you like to see me bring one in that dressed out over a thousand pounds?"
“你想看见我捉到一条净重有一千多磅的鱼吗?”
"I'll get the cast net and go for sardines. Will you sit in the sun in the doorway?"
“我拿网捞沙丁鱼去。你坐在门口晒太阳好不好?”
"Yes. I have yesterday's paper and I will read the baseball."
“好的。我有昨天的报纸，准备看一看棒球的消息。”
The boy did not know whether yesterday's paper was a fiction too.
孩子不晓得，老头儿所说的昨天的报纸会不会又是一句假话。
But the old man brought it out from under the bed.
可是老头儿从床底下拿出了那张报纸。
"Perico gave it to me at the bodega," he explained.
“帕利哥在酒店里给我的，”他解释说。
"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.
“我捞到了沙丁鱼就回来。我打算把你的鱼跟我的鱼一起放在冰上保藏着，到明天早上我俩把它们平分掉。
When I come back you can tell me about the baseball."
我回来的时候，你也可以把棒球赛的消息告诉我啦。”
"The Yankees cannot lose."
“洋基队不会输。”
"But I fear the Indians of Cleveland."
“但是我害怕克利夫兰印第安人队。”
"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."
“相信洋基队吧，孩子。想一想那个老迪马吉奥吧。”
"I fear both the Tigers of Detroit and the Indians of Cleveland."
“我害怕底特律老虎队，也害怕克利夫兰印第安人队。”
"Be careful or you will fear even the Reds of Cincinnati and the White Sax of Chicago."
“小心点，别连辛辛那提红人队和芝加哥白袜队都害怕起来了。”
"You study it and tell me when I come back."
“你把报纸看一看，我回来的时候告诉我。”
"Do you think we should buy a terminal of the lottery with an eighty-five? Tomorrow is the eighty-fifth day."
“你觉得我们买一张末尾是85的彩票好吗?明天就是，第八十五天了。”
"We can do that," the boy said. "But what about the eighty-seven of your great record?"
“可以的，”孩子说。“不过以前你那末尾是87的彩票怎么样了呢?”
"It could not happen twice. Do you think you can find an eighty-five?"
“倒霉的事儿不会碰到第二遭的。你觉得你能够弄来一张末尾85的彩票吗?”
"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?"
“一张就得两块半钱。我们从哪儿去借这笔钱呢?”
"That's easy. I can always borrow two dollars and a half."
“那倒不难。我想我可以借到两块半钱的。”
"I think perhaps I can too. But I try not to borrow. First you borrow. Then you beg."
“我想大概我也借得到。不过我尽量不去借钱。头一遭借钱，下一遭就要讨饭。”
"Keep warm, old man," the boy said. "Remember we are in September."
“别着凉啦，老大爷，”孩子说。“记住，这是九月的天气啊。”
"The month when the great fish come," the old man said. "Anyone can be a fisherman in May."
“这个月正是大鱼游来的时候，”老头儿说。“什么人都可以在五月里打鱼的。”
"I go now for the sardines," the boy said.
“我要捞沙丁鱼去啦，”孩子说。
