He started to work his way back to the stern on his hands and knees, being careful not to jerk against the fish.

他用双手双膝爬回船梢，小心避免猛地惊动那条鱼。

He may be half asleep himself, he thought.

它也许正半睡半醒的，他想。

But I do not want him to rest.

可是我不想让它休息。

He must pull until he dies.

必须要它拖曳着一直到死去。

Back in the stern he turned so that his left hand held the strain of the line across his shoulders and drew his knife from its sheath with his right hand.

回到了船梢，他转身让左手攥住紧勒在肩上的钓索，用右手从刀鞘中拔出刀子。

The stars were bright now and he saw the dolphin clearly and he pushed the blade of his knife into his head and drew him out from under the stem.

星星这时很明亮，他清楚地看见那条海豚，就把刀刃扎进它的头部，把它从船梢下拉出来。

He put one of his feet on the fish and slit him quickly from the vent up to the tip of his lower jaw.

他用一只脚踩在鱼身上，从肛门朝上，倏的一刀直剖到它下颌的尖端。

Then he put his knife down and gutted him with his right hand, scooping him clean and pulling the gills clear.

然后他放下刀子，用右手掏出内脏，掏干净了，把鳃也干脆拉下了。

He felt the maw heavy and slippery in his hands and he slit it open.

他觉得鱼胃在手里沉甸甸、滑溜溜的，就把它剖开来。

There were two flying fish inside.

里面有两条小飞鱼。

They were fresh and hard and he laid them side by side and dropped the guts and the gills over the stem.

它们还很新鲜、坚实，他把它们并排放下，把内脏和鱼鳃从船梢扔进水中。

They sank leaving a trail of phosphorescence in the water.

它们沉下去时，在水中拖着一道磷光。

The dolphin was cold and a leprous gray-white now in the starlight and the old man skinned one side of him while he held his right foot on the fish's head.

海豚是冰冷的，这时在星光里显得像麻风病患者般灰白，老人用右脚踩住鱼头，剥下鱼身上一边的皮。

Then he turned him over and skinned the other side and cut each side off from the head down to the tail.

他然后把鱼翻转过来，剥掉另一边的皮，把鱼身两边的肉从头到尾割下来。

He slid the carcass overboard and looked to see if there was any swirl in the water.

他把鱼骨悄悄地丢到舷外，注意看它是不是在水里打转。

But there was only the light of its slow descent.

但是只看到它慢慢沉下时的磷光。

He turned then and placed the two flying fish inside the two fillets of fish and putting his knife back in its sheath, he worked his way slowly back to the bow.

跟着他转过身来，把两条飞鱼夹在那两片鱼肉中间，把刀子插进刀鞘，慢慢儿挪动身子，回到船头。

His back was bent with the weight of the line across it and he carried the fish in his right hand.

他被钓索上的分量拉得弯了腰，右手拿着鱼肉。

Back in the bow he laid the two fillets of fish out on the wood with the flying fish beside them.

回到船头后，他把两片鱼肉摊在船板上，旁边搁着飞鱼。

After that he settled the line across his shoulders in a new place and held it again with his left hand resting on the gunwale.

然后他把勒在肩上的钓索换一个地方，又用左手攥住了钓索，手搁在船舷上。

Then he leaned over the side and washed the flying fish in the water, noting the speed of the water against his hand.

接着他靠在船舷上，把飞鱼在水里洗洗，留意着水冲击在他手上的速度。

His hand was phosphorescent from skinning the fish and he watched the flow of the water against it.

他的手因为剥了鱼皮而发出磷光，他仔细察看水流怎样冲击他的手。

The flow was less strong and as he rubbed the side of his hand against the planking of the skiff, particles of phosphorus floated off and drifted slowly astern.

水流并不那么有力了，当他把手的侧面在小船船板上擦着的时候，星星点点的磷质漂浮开去，慢慢朝船梢漂去。

"He is tiring or he is resting," the old man said.

“它越来越累了，要不就是在休息，”老人说。

"Now let me get through the eating of this dolphin and get some rest and a little sleep."

“现在我来把这海豚全吃了，休息一下，睡一会儿吧。”

Under the stars and with the night colder all the time he ate half of one of the dolphin fillets and one of the flying fish, gutted and with its head cut off.

在星光下，在越来越冷的夜色里，他把一片鱼肉吃了一半，还吃了一条已经挖去了内脏、切掉了脑袋的飞鱼。

"What an excellent fish dolphin is to eat cooked," he said.

"海豚煮熟了吃味道多鲜美啊，"他说。

"And what a miserable fish raw. I will never go in a boat again without salt or limes."

“生吃可难吃死了。以后不带盐或酸橙，我绝对不再乘船了。”

If I had brains I would have splashed water on the bow all day and drying, it would have made salt, he thought.

如果我有头脑，我会整天把海水瓶在船头上，等它干了就会有盐了，他想。

But then I did not hook the dolphin until almost sunset.

不过话得说回来，我是直到太阳快落山时才钓到这条海豚的。

Still it was a lack of preparation.

但毕竟是准备工作做得不足。

But I have chewed it all well and I am not nauseated.

然而我把它全细细咀嚼后吃下去了，没有恶心作呕。