He remembered the time he had hooked one of a pair of marlin. The male fish always let the female fish feed first and the hooked fish, the female, made a wild, panic-stricken, despairing fight that soon exhausted her, and all the time the male had stayed with her, crossing the line and circling with her on the surface. He had stayed so close that the old man was afraid he would cut the line with his tail which was sharp as a scythe and almost of that size and shape. When the old man had gaffed her and clubbed her, holding the rapier bill with its sandpaper edge and clubbing her across the top of her head until her colour turned to a colour almost like the backing of mirrors, and then, with the boy‘s aid, hoisted her aboard, the male fish had stayed by the side of the boat.
他想起有一回钓到了一对大马林鱼中的一条。雄鱼总是让雌的先吃，那条上了钩的正是雌鱼，它发了狂，惊慌失措而绝望地挣扎着，不久就筋疲力尽了，那条雄鱼始终待在它身边，在钓索下窜来窜去，陪着它在水面上一起打转。这雄鱼离钓索好近，老人生怕它会用它的尾巴把钓索割断，这尾巴象大镰刀般锋利，大小和形状都和大镰刀差不多。老人用鱼钩把雌鱼钩上来，用棍子揍它，握住了那边缘如沙纸似的轻剑般的长嘴，连连朝它头顶打去，直打得它的颜色变成和镜子背面的红色差不多，然后由孩子帮忙，把它拖上船去，这当儿，雄鱼一直待在船舷边。
Then, while the old man was clearing the lines and preparing the harpoon, the male fish jumped high into the air beside the boat to see where the female was and then went down deep, his lavender wings, that were his pectoral fins, spread wide and all his wide lavender stripes showing. He was beautiful, the old man remembered, and he had stayed.
跟着，当老人忙着解下钓索、拿起鱼叉的时候，雄鱼在船边高高地跳到空中，看看雌鱼在哪里，然后掉下去，钻进深水里，它那淡紫色的翅膀，实在正是它的胸鳍，大大地张开来，于是它身上所有的淡紫色的宽条纹都露出来了。它是美丽的，老人想起，而它始终待在那儿不走。
That was the saddest thing I ever saw with them, the old man thought. The boy was sad too and we begged her pardon and butchered her promptly.
它们这情景是我看到的最伤心的了，老人想。孩子也很伤心，因此我们请求这条雌鱼原谅，马上把它宰了。
His choice had been to stay in the deep dark water far out beyond all snares and traps and treacheries.
它选择的是待在黑暗的深水里，远远地避开一切圈套、罗网和诡计。
I can do it as long as he can.
它能熬多久，我也能熬多久。
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