The old man held the line delicately, and softly, with his left hand，unleashed it from the stick. Now he could let it run through his fingers without the fish feeling any tension.
老人轻巧地攥着钓索，用左手把它从竿子上轻轻地解下来。他现在可以让它穿过他手指间滑动，不会让鱼感到一点儿牵引力。
"This far out, he must be huge in this month，”he thought,"Eat them，fish. Eat them. Please eat them. How fresh they are and you down there six hundred feet in that cold water in the dark. Make another turn in the dark and come back and eat them."
“在离岸这么远的地方，它长到本月份，个头一定挺大了，”他想。“吃鱼饵吧，鱼啊。吃吧，请你吃吧。这些鱼饵多新鲜，而你啊，待在这六百英尺的深处，在这漆黑黑的冷水里。在黑暗里再绕个弯子，拐回来把它们吃了吧。”
He felt the light delicate pulling and then a harder pull when a sardine's head must have been more difficult to break from the hook. Then there was nothing.
他感到微弱而轻巧的一拉，跟着较猛烈的一拉，这时准是有条沙丁鱼的头很难从钓钩上扯下来，然后没有一丝动静了。
"Come on，”the old man said aloud, "Make another turn. Just smell them. Aren't they lovely? Eat them good now and then there is the tuna. Hard and cold and lovely. Don't be shy, fish. Eat them."
“来吧，”老人说出声来，“再绕个弯子吧。闻闻这些鱼饵。它们不是挺鲜美吗?趁它们还新鲜的时候吃了，回头还有那条金枪鱼。又结实，又凉快，又鲜美。别怕难为情，鱼儿，把它们吃了吧。”
He waited with the line between his thumb and his finger,watching it and the other lines at the same time for the fish might have swum up or down. Then came the same delicate pulling touch again.
他把钓索夹在大拇指和食指之间等待着。同时盯着它和其他那几根钓索，因为这鱼可能已游到了高一点的地方或低一点的地方。跟着又是那么轻巧的一拉。
"He'll take it,”the old man said aloud，"God help him to take it." He did not take it though. He was gone and the old man felt nothing.
“它会咬饵的，”老人说出声来，“求天主帮它咬饵吧。”然而它没有咬饵。它游走了，老人没感到有任何动静。
"He can't have gone,”he said，"Christ knows he can't have gone. He's making a turn. Maybe he has been hooked before and he remembers something of it.
“它不可能游走的，”他说，“天知道它是不可能游走的。它正在绕弯子呢。也许它以前上过钩，还有点儿记得。”
Then he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy.
跟着他感到钓索轻轻地动了一下，他高兴了。
"It was only his turn,”he said, "He'll take it."
“它刚才不过是在转身，”他说，“它会咬饵的。”
He was happy feeling the gentle pulling and then he felt something hard and unbelievably heavy. It was the weight of the fish and he let the line slip down, down，down，unrolling off the first of the two reserve coils. As it went down, slipping lightly through the old man's fingers, he still could feel the great weight, though the pressure of his thumb and finger were almost imperceptible.
感到这轻微的一拉，他很高兴，接着他感到有些猛拉的感觉，很有分量，叫人难以相信。这是鱼本身的重量造成的，他就松手让钓索朝下溜，一直朝下，朝下溜，从那两卷备用钓索中的一卷上放出钓索。它从老人的指间轻轻地滑下去的时候，他依旧感到很大的分量，尽管他的大拇指和食指施加的压力简直小得觉察不到。
"What a fish,”he said, "He has it sideways in his mouth now and he is moving off with it."
“多棒的鱼啊，”他说，“它正把鱼饵斜叼在嘴里，带着它在游走呢。”
"Then he will turn and swallow it"，he thought. He did not say that because he knew that if you said a good thing it might not happen. He knew what a huge fish this was and he thought of him moving away in the darkness with the tuna held crosswise in his mouth. At that moment he felt him stop moving but the weight was still there. Then the weight increased and he gave more line. He tightened the pressure of his thumb and finger for a moment and the weight increased and was going straight down.
“它就会掉过头来把饵吞下去的，”他想。他没有把这句话说出声来，因为他知道，一桩好事如果说破了，也许就不会发生了。他知道这条鱼有多大，他想象到它嘴里横衔着金枪鱼，在黑暗中游走。这时他觉得它停止不动了，可是分量还是没变。跟着分量越来越重了，他就再放出一点钓索。他一时加强了大拇指和食指上的压力，于是钓索上的分量增加了，一直传到水中深处。
