So he did that with the tiller under his arm and the sheet of the sail under his foot

"Now," he said. "I am still an old man. But I am not unarmed."

The breeze was fresh now and he sailed on well. He watched only the forward part of the fish and some of his hope returned.

It is silly not to hope, he thought. Besides I believe it is a sin. Do not think about sin, he thought. There are enough problems now without sin. Also I have no understanding of it.

I have no understanding of it and I am not sure that I believe in it. Perhaps it was a sin to kill the fish. I suppose it was even though I did it to keep me alive and feed many people. But then everything is a sin. Do not think about sin. It is much too late for that and there are people who are paid to do it. Let them think about it. You were born to be a fisherman as the fish was born to be a fish. San Pedro was a fisherman as was the father of the great DiMaggio.

But he liked to think about all things that he was involved in (но он любил подумать обо всем, что его окружало: «во что он был вовлечен»; to involve — вовлекать; затрагивать) and since there was nothing to read (и так как читать было нечего) and he did not have a radio (и у него не было радио), he thought much (он много думал) and he kept on thinking about sin (и продолжал размышлять о грехе). You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food (ты убил рыбу не только для того, чтобы остаться в живых и продать ее на еду), he thought. You killed him for pride (ты убил ее из гордости) and because you are a fisherman (и потому, что ты — рыбак). You loved him when he was alive (ты любил ее, когда она была жива) and you loved him after (и ты любил ее после). If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him (если ты любишь ее, то убить ее — не грех). Or is it more (или может даже более /грешно/)?

"You think too much, old man (ты слишком много думаешь, старик)," he said aloud.

But you enjoyed killing the dentuso (но тебе нравилось убивать dentuso = ты с удовольствием убил dentuso), he thought. He lives on the live fish as you do (она живет, питаясь живой рыбой, как и ты). He is not a scavenger (он не пожиратель падали; scavenger — животное, питающееся падалью) nor just a moving appetite as some sharks are (и не просто ненасытная утроба, как большинство акул). He is beautiful and noble (она прекрасна и благородна) and knows no fear of anything (и не знает страха ни перед чем).

"I killed him in self-defense (я убил ее, защищая свою жизнь: «в самообороне»)," the old man said aloud. "And I killed him well (и я убил ее хорошо = мастерски)."

Besides (кроме того), he thought, everything kills everything else in some way (все убивают друг друга: «всё убивает всё» так или иначе: «каким-либо образом»). Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive (рыбная ловля убивает меня в той же мере, что и поддерживает во мне жизнь). The boy keeps me alive (мальчик не дает мне умереть: «поддерживает меня живым»), he thought. I must not deceive myself too much (мне нельзя обманывать себя слишком сильно; to deceive — обманывать, вводить в заблуждение).

But he liked to think about all things that he was involved in and since there was nothing to read and he did not have a radio, he thought much and he kept on thinking about sin. You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?

"You think too much, old man," he said aloud.

But you enjoyed killing the dentuso, he thought. He lives on the live fish as you do. He is not a scavenger nor just a moving appetite as some sharks are. He is beautiful and noble and knows no fear of anything.

"I killed him in self-defense," the old man said aloud. "And I killed him well."

Besides, he thought, everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I must not deceive myself too much.

He leaned over the side (он перегнулся через борт) and pulled loose a piece of the meat of the fish (и оторвал от рыбы кусок мяса) where the shark had cut him (/в том месте/, где ее укусила акула). He chewed it (он съел его) and noted its quality and its good taste (и отметил его качество и хороший вкус). It was firm and juicy (оно было твердым и сочным; firm — крепкий, твердый), like meat, but it was not red (как мясо /говядина/, но оно не было красным). There was no stringiness in it (в нем не было волокон; stringiness — волокнистость; string — веревка; stringy — волокнистый) and he knew that it would bring the highest price in the market (и он знал, что за него дадут высшую цену на рынке). But there was no way to keep its scent out of the water (но не было никакого способа, чтобы удержать/предотвратить его запах в воде) and the old man knew that a very bad time was coming (и старик знал, что грядет очень тяжелое время = понимал, что ему придется нелегко).

The breeze was steady (ветер не ослабевал: «был устойчивым»). It had backed a little further into the north-east (он слегка отклонился дальше на северо-восток) and he knew that meant that it would not fall off (и он знал, что это означало, что он не прекратится). The old man looked ahead of him (старик посмотрел вперед) but he could see no sails (но он не увидел ни парусов) nor could he see the hull (ни корпуса /корабля/; hull — корпус /корабля/) nor the smoke of any ship (ни дыма от какого-нибудь корабля). There were only the flying fish (были только летучие рыбы) that went up from his bow (которые вылетали из моря от носа лодки) sailing away to either side (и разлетались в обе стороны) and the yellow patches of Gulf weed (и желтые островки саргассовых водорослей; gulfweed — саргассова водоросль; gulf — залив; weed — сорная трава, сорняк; водоросль). He could not even see a bird (он не увидел даже птиц).

He had sailed for two hours (он плыл два часа), resting in the stern (отдыхая на корме) and sometimes chewing a bit of the meat from the marlin (и иногда съедая кусочек мяса марлиня), trying to rest and to be strong (пытаясь отдохнуть и набраться сил), when he saw the first of the two sharks (когда он увидел первую из двух акул).

He leaned over the side and pulled loose a piece of the meat of the fish where the shark had cut him. He chewed it and noted its quality and its good taste. It was firm and juicy, like meat, but it was not red. There was no stringiness in it and he knew that it would bring the highest price in the market. But there was no way to keep its scent out of the water and the old man knew that a very bad time was coming.

The breeze was steady. It had backed a little further into the north-east and he knew that meant that it would not fall off. The old man looked ahead of him but he could see no sails nor could he see the hull nor the smoke of any ship. There were only the flying fish that went up from his bow sailing away to either side and the yellow patches of Gulf weed. He could not even see a bird.

He had sailed for two hours, resting in the stern and sometimes chewing a bit of the meat from the marlin, trying to rest and to be strong, when he saw the first of the two sharks.

"Ay," he said aloud. There is no translation for this word (для этого слова нет перевода) and perhaps it is just a noise (и, возможно, это просто звук) such as a man might make, involuntarily (который может сделать человек непроизвольно; voluntarily — добровольно, естественно), feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood (чувствуя, как гвоздь проходит через руку и в дерево).

"Galanos (/исп./ акула /особый вид акулы/)," he said aloud. He had seen the second fin now coming up behind the first (он увидел теперь и второй плавник, идущий позади первого) and had identified them as shovel-nosed sharks (он узнал в них широконосых акул; to identify — опознавать, идентифицировать; shovel — лопата; совок) by the brown, triangular fin (по коричневым треугольным плавникам) and the sweeping movements of the tail (и по размашистым движениям хвоста). They had the scent (они учуяли запах) and were excited (и были возбуждены) and in the stupidity of their great hunger they were losing and finding the scent in their excitement (и, совсем одурев от голода: «в глупости своего великого голода», они то теряли, то находили вновь запах в своем возбуждении). But they were closing all the time (но они неумолимо: «все это время» приближались).

The old man made the sheet fast and jammed the tiller (старик закрепил парус и заклинил румпель; to jam — блокировать). Then he took up the oar with the knife lashed to it (затем он взял весло с прикрепленным к нему ножом). He lifted it as lightly as he could because his hands rebelled at the pain (он поднял его совсем тихонько, потому что руки взбунтовались от боли; lightly — слегка, незначительно, чуть-чуть; to rebel — бунтовать, протестовать). Then he opened and closed them on it lightly to loosen them (затем он слегка разжимал и сжимал пальцы, чтобы размять их). He closed them firmly so they would take the pain now (он сжал их крепко так, чтобы они почувствовали полную боль сейчас) and would not flinch (и не подвели; to flinch — вздрагивать /от боли, испуга/; уклоняться, отступать) and watched the sharks come (и наблюдал, как приближаются акулы). He could see their wide, flattened, shovel-pointed heads now (теперь он видел их широкие, приплюснутые, похожие на лопаты: «оканчивающиеся как лопаты» головы) and their white tipped wide pectoral fins (и их большие спинные плавники с белым кончиком; tip — тонкий конец; кончик). They were hateful sharks (это были отвратительные акулы), bad smelling (плохо пахнущие = вонючие), scavengers as well as killers (пожиратели падали, равно как и убийцы), and when they were hungry they would bite at an oar or the rudder of a boat (и когда они были голодны, они могли укусить как весло, так и руль лодки; rudder — руль). It was these sharks that would cut the turtles' legs and flippers off (это были те акулы, которые откусывали ноги и ласты черепахам; flipper — плавник, ласты) when the turtles were asleep on the surface (когда черепахи спали на поверхности), and they would hit a man in the water (и они нападали на человека), if they were hungry (если были голодны), even if the man had no smell of fish blood (даже если человек не пахнул ни кровью рыбы) nor of fish slime on him (ни рыбьей слизью: «не имел на себе ни запаха…»; slime — слизь).

"Ay," he said aloud. There is no translation for this word and perhaps it is just a noise such as a man might make, involuntarily, feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood.

"Galanos," he said aloud. He had seen the second fin now coming up behind the first and had identified them as shovel-nosed sharks by the brown, triangular fin and the sweeping movements of the tail. They had the scent and were excited and in the stupidity of their great hunger they were losing and finding the scent in their excitement. But they were closing all the time.

The old man made the sheet fast and jammed the tiller. Then he took up the oar with the knife lashed to it. He lifted it as lightly as he could because his hands rebelled at the pain. Then he opened and closed them on it lightly to loosen them. He closed them firmly so they would take the pain now and would not flinch and watched the sharks come. He could see their wide, flattened, shovel-pointed heads now and their white tipped wide pectoral fins. They were hateful sharks, bad smelling, scavengers as well as killers, and when they were hungry they would bite at an oar or the rudder of a boat. It was these sharks that would cut the turtles' legs and flippers off when the turtles were asleep on the surface, and they would hit a man in the water, if they were hungry, even if the man had no smell of fish blood nor of fish slime on him.

"Ay," the old man said. "Galanos. Come on galanos (плывите сюда, galanos)."

They came (и они приплыли). But they did not come as the Mako had come (но они приплыли не так, как приплыла мако). One turned and went out of sight under the skiff (одна перевернулась и ушла из поля зрения под лодку) and the old man could feel the skiff shake as he jerked and pulled on the fish (и старик мог чувствовать, как трясется лодка, когда она дергала и тянула рыбу). The other watched the old man with his slitted yellow eyes (другая смотрела на старика своими узкими желтыми глазами; slit — длинный узкий разрез, прорезь, щель; to slit — делать длинный узкий разрез) and then came in fast (и затем быстро приблизилась) with his half circle of jaws wide (с широко разинутым полукружием пасти) to hit the fish where he had already been bitten (чтобы напасть на рыбу в том месте, где та уже была укушена). The line showed clearly on the top of his brown head (линия ясно показалась на макушке ее коричневой головы) and back where the brain joined the spinal cord (и уходила назад, где мозг соединялся с хребтом) and the old man drove the knife on the oar into the juncture (и старик вонзил нож на весле в перекрестье; juncture — место соединения), withdrew it (вынул его), and drove it in again into the shark's yellow cat-like eyes (и снова вонзил в акулий желтый кошачий глаз). The shark let go of the fish and slid down (акула отпустила рыбу и заскользила вниз; to slide — скользить), swallowing what he had taken as he died (проглатывая то, что взяла, в то время как умирала).

The skiff was still shaking with the destruction the other shark was doing to the fish (лодка все еще тряслась от разрушения, которое другая акула причиняла рыбе) and the old man let go the sheet (и старик отпустил парус; sheet — полотно, холст) so that the skiff would swing broadside (так, чтобы лодка повернулась боком; broadside — борт /корабля/, бортом) and bring the shark out from under (и открыла акулу: «и вывела акулу из-под низу»). When he saw the shark he leaned over the side (когда он увидел акулу, он перегнулся через борт) and punched at him (и ударил ее; to punch — нанести удар /обычно кулаком/). He hit only meat (он ударил ее только в мякоть: «мясо») and the hide was set hard and he barely got the knife in (а кожа была настолько тверда, что ему с трудом удалось воткнуть нож). The blow hurt not only his hands but his shoulder too (от удара у старика заболели не только руки, но и плечо). But the shark came up fast with his head out (но акула быстро высунула голову) and the old man hit him squarely in the center of his flat-topped head (и старик ударил ее прямо в центр ее приплюснутой морды; top — верхушка, вершина; flat-topped — завершающийся плоским, плоский сверху) as his nose came out of water (когда ее нос вышел из воды) and lay against the fish (и находился: «лежал» вплотную к рыбе). The old man withdrew the blade (старик вынул лезвие; to withdraw — извлекать, вытаскивать) and punched the shark exactly in the same spot again (и ударил акулу снова точно в ту же точку). He still hung to the fish with his jaws hooked (она все еще висела на рыбе со сцепленными челюстями) and the old man stabbed him in his left eye (и старик ударил ее в левый глаз; to stab — наносить колющий удар, пырнуть). The shark still hung there (акула все еще висела = продолжала висеть).

"Ay," the old man said. "Galanos. Come on galanos."

They came. But they did not come as the Mako had come. One turned and went out of sight under the skiff and the old man could feel the skiff shake as he jerked and pulled on the fish. The other watched the old man with his slitted yellow eyes and then came in fast with his half circle of jaws wide to hit the fish where he had already been bitten. The line showed clearly on the top of his brown head and back where the brain joined the spinal cord and the old man drove the knife on the oar into the juncture, withdrew it, and drove it in again into the shark's yellow cat-like eyes. The shark let go of the fish and slid down, swallowing what he had taken as he died.

The skiff was still shaking with the destruction the other shark was doing to the fish and the old man let go the sheet so that the skiff would swing broadside and bring the shark out from under. When he saw the shark he leaned over the side and punched at him. He hit only meat and the hide was set hard and he barely got the knife in. The blow hurt not only his hands but his shoulder too. But the shark came up fast with his head out and the old man hit him squarely in the center of his flat-topped head as his nose came out of water and lay against the fish. The old man withdrew the blade and punched the shark exactly in the same spot again. He still hung to the fish with his jaws hooked and the old man stabbed him in his left eye. The shark still hung there.

"No?" the old man said and he drove the blade between the vertebrae and the brain (и вонзил лезвие между позвоночником и мозгом; vertebrae = vertebra — позвонок, позвоночник). It was an easy shot now (попасть было нетрудно: «это был легкий выстрел теперь») and he felt the cartilage sever (и он почувствовал, как разорвался хрящ; cartilage — хрящ; to sever — разрезать, разрубать, разрывать). The old man reversed the oar (старик перевернул весло) and put the blade between the shark's jaws to open them (и воткнул лопасть /весла/ между челюстями акулы, чтобы открыть их). He twisted the blade (он покрутил лопасть) and as the shark slid loose he said (и когда акула соскользнула /с рыбы/, сказал), "Go on, galano (давай, galano; to go on — продолжать путь; go on! — давай; поспеши; убирайся). Slide down a mile deep (ступай: «скользи» вниз на целую милю). Go see your friend (проведай свою подругу), or maybe it's your mother (или, может, это твоя мать)."

The old man wiped the blade of his knife (старик вытер лезвие ножа) and laid down the oar (и положил весло в лодку: «вниз»). Then he found the sheet and the sail filled (затем он ухватился за холст: «нашел холст», и парус наполнился /ветром/) and he brought the skiff onto her course (и он повернул лодку на ее курс).

"They must have taken a quarter of him and of the best meat (они, должно быть, забрали четверть ее /рыбы/, и к тому же лучшее мясо)," he said aloud. "I wish it were a dream (хотел бы я, чтоб это был сон) and that I had never hooked him (и чтоб я вовсе не ловил этой рыбы). I'm sorry about it, fish (мне жаль, рыба: «прошу прощения за это»). It makes everything wrong (из-за этого все пошло не так: «это делает все неверным»)." He stopped and he did not want to look at the fish now (он замолчал: «остановился», и ему не хотелось теперь смотреть на рыбу). Drained of blood (обескровленная; to drain — осушать, отводить воду, осуществлять дренаж; выкачивать; дренировать рану, отводить кровь) and awash (и вымытая водой; awash — смытый водой) he looked the colour of the silver backing of a mirror (она была цвета амальгамы: «серебряной основы зеркала»; backing — обратная сторона; подкладка) and his stripes still showed (но ее полосы все еще были видны: «показывались»).

"I shouldn't have gone out so far (я не должен был заходить так далеко в море), fish," he said. "Neither for you nor for me (ни для тебя, ни для меня). I'm sorry, fish."

"No?" the old man said and he drove the blade between the vertebrae and the brain. It was an easy shot now and he felt the cartilage sever. The old man reversed the oar and put the blade between the shark's jaws to open them. He twisted the blade and as the shark slid loose he said, "Go on, galano. Slide down a mile deep. Go see your friend, or maybe it's your mother."