The old man and the sea audiobook Learn English Through Story with subtitles

he was an old man who fished alone in a

skiff in the gulf stream and he had gone

84 days now without taking a fish

in the first 40 days a boy had been with

him but after 40 days without a fish the

boy’s parents had told him that the old

man was now definitely and finally salaw

which is the worst form of unlucky

and the boy had gone at their orders in

another boat which caught three good

fish the first week

it made the boys sad to see the old man

come in each day with his skiff empty

and he always went down to help him

carry either the coiled lines or the

gaff and harpoon and the sail that was

furled around the mast

the sail was patched with flower sacks

and furled it looked like the flag of

permanent defeat

the old man was thin

and got with deep wrinkles in the back

of his neck

the brown blotches of the benevolent

skin cancer the sun brings from its

reflection on the tropic sea were on his

cheeks

the blotches ran well down the sides of

his face and his hands had the deep

creased scars from handling heavy fish

on the cords

but none of these scars were fresh

they were as old as erosions in a

fishless desert

everything about him was old

except his eyes

and they were the same color as the sea

and were cheerful and undefeated

santiago

[Music]

i would like to go with you again

we’ve had some good catches

santiago the boy said to him as they

climbed the bank from where the skiff

was hauled up i could go with you again

we’ve made some money

the old man had taught the boy to fish

and the boy loved him

no

the old man said

you’re with a lucky boat stay with them

but remember how you went 87 days

without fish and then we caught big ones

every day for three weeks

i remember

the old man said

i know you did not leave me because you

doubted

it was papa made me leave

i’m a boy and i must obey him

i know the old man said it is quite

normal

he hasn’t much faith

no

the old man said

but we have

haven’t we

yes

the boy said

can i offer you a beer on the terrace

and then we’ll take the stuff home

why not

the old man said

between fishermen

they sat on the terrace

and many of the fishermen made fun of

the old man

and he was not angry

others of the older fishermen looked at

him and were sad

but they did not show it

and they spoke politely about the

current and the depths they had drifted

their lines at and the steady good

weather and of what they had seen

the successful fishermen of that day

were already in and had butchered their

marlin out and carried them laid full

length across two planks with two men

staggering at the end of each plank to

the fish house

where they waited for the ice truck to

carry them to the market in havana

those who had caught sharks had taken

them to the shark factory on the other

side of the cove where they were hoisted

on a block and tackle

their livers removed their fins cut off

and their hides skinned out and their

flesh cut into strips for salting

when the wind was in the east a smell

came across the harbor from the shark

factory

but today there was only the faint edge

of the odor because the wind had backed

into the north and then dropped off

and it was pleasant and sunny on the

terrace

santiago

the boy said

yes

the old man said

he was holding his glass and thinking of

many years ago

can i go out to get sardines for you

tomorrow

no

go and play baseball

i can still roll and rogerio will throw

the net

i would like to go

if i cannot fish with you i’d like to

serve in some way

you bought me a beer

the old man said

you are already a man

how old was i when you first took me in

a boat

five

and you nearly were killed when i

brought the fish into green and he

nearly tore the boat to pieces

can you remember i can remember the

tails slapping and banging and the

thwart breaking and the noise of the

clubbing

i can remember you throwing me into the

bow where the wet coiled lines were and

feeling the whole boat shiver and the

noise of you clubbing him like chopping

a tree down and the sweet blood smell

all over me

can you really remember that

or did i just tell it to you

i remember everything from when we first

went together

the old man looked at him with his

sunburned confident loving eyes

if you were my boy i’d take you out and

gamble

he said

but you are your fathers and your

mothers and you are in a lucky boat

may i get the sardines

i know where i can get four baits too

i have mine left from today i put them

in salt in the box

let me get four fresh ones

one

the old man said

his hope and his confidence had never

gone

but now they were freshening as when the

breeze rises

two

the boy said

two

the old man agreed you didn’t steal them

i would the boy said

but i bought these

thank you

the old man said

he was too simple to wonder when he had

attained humility

but he knew he had attained it and he

knew it was not disgraceful

and it carried no loss of true pride

tomorrow is going to be a good day with

this current

he said

where are you going

the boy asked

far out to come in when the wind shifts

i want to be out before it is light

i’ll try to get him to work far out the

boy said

then if you hook something truly big we

can come to your aid

he does not like to work too far out

no

the boy said

but i will see something that he cannot

see such as a bird working and get him

to come out after dolphin

are his eyes that bad

he is almost blind

it is strange

the old man said

he never went turtling

that is what kills the eyes

but you went turtling for years off the

mosquito coast and your eyes are good

i am a strange old man

but are you strong enough now for a

truly big fish

i think so

and there are many tricks

let us take the stuff home

the boy said so i can get the cast net

and go after the sardines

they picked up the gear from the boat

the old man carried the mast on his

shoulder and the boy carried the wooden

box with the coiled hard braided brown

lines the gaff and the harpoon with its

shaft

the box with the baits was under the

stern of the skiff along with the club

that was used to subdue the big fish

when they were brought alongside

one would steal from the old man

but it was better to take the sail and

the heavy lines home as the dew was bad

for them

and though he was quite sure no local

people would steal from him the old man

thought that a gaff and a harpoon were

needless temptations to leave in a boat

they walked up the road together to the

old man’s shack and went in through its

open door

the old man leaned the mast with its

wrapped sail against the wall and the

boy put the box and the other gear

beside it

the mast was nearly as long as the one

room of the shack

the shack was made of the tough bud

shields of the royal palm which are

called guano

and in it there was a bed a table one

chair

and a place on the dirt floor to cook

with charcoal

on the brown walls of the flattened

overlapping leaves of the sturdy fibered

guano there was a picture in color of

the sacred heart of jesus

and another of the virgin of cobrae

these were relics of his wife

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

what do you have to eat

the boy asked

a pot of yellow rice with fish do you

want some

no i will eat at home do you want me to

make the fire

no i will make it later on

or i may eat the rice cold

may i take the cast net

of course

there was no cast net and the boy

remembered when they had sold it

but they went through this fiction every

day

there was no pot of yellow rice and fish

and the boy knew this too

85 is a lucky number

the old man said

how would you like to see me bring one

in that dressed out over a thousand

pounds

i’ll get the cast net and go for

sardines

will you sit in the sun in the doorway

yes i have yesterday’s paper and i will

read the baseball

the boy did not know whether yesterday’s

paper was a fiction too

but the old man brought it out from

under the bed

petticoat gave it to me at the bodega

he explained

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

when i come back you can tell me about

the baseball

the yankees cannot lose

but i fear the indians of cleveland have

faith in the yankees my son think of the

great dimaggio

i fear both the tigers of detroit and

the indians of cleveland

be careful or you will fear even the

reds of cincinnati and the white sox of

chicago

you study it and tell me when i come

back

do you think we should buy a terminal of

the lottery with an 85

tomorrow is the 85th day

we can do that the boy said

but what about the 87 of your great

record

it could not happen twice

do you think you can find an 85

i can order one

one sheet that’s two dollars and a half

who can we borrow that from

that’s easy i can always borrow two

dollars and a half

or i think perhaps i can too

but i try not to borrow

first you borrow then you beg

keep warm old man

the boy said remember we’re in september

the month when the great fish come

the old man said

anyone can be a fisherman in may

i go now for the sardines

the boy said

when the boy came back the old man was

asleep in the chair and the sun was down

the boy took the old army blanket off

the bed and spread it over the back of

the chair and over the old man’s

shoulders

they were strange shoulders

still powerful although very old and the

neck was still strong too and the

creases did not show so much when the

old man was asleep in his head fallen

forward

his shirt had been patched so many times

that it was like the sail and the

patches were faded to many different

shades by the sun

the old man’s head was very old though

and with his eyes closed there was no

life in his face

the newspaper lay across his knees

and the weight of his arm held it there

in the evening breeze

he was barefooted

the boy left him there and when he came

back the old man was still asleep

wake up old man the boy said and put his

hand on one of the old man’s knees

the old man opened his eyes and for a

moment he was coming back from a long

way away

then he

smiled what have you got

he asked

supper said the boy we’re gonna have

supper

i’m not very hungry

come on and eat you can’t fish and not

eat

i have

the old man said getting up and taking

the newspaper and folding it

then he started to fold the blanket

keep the blanket around you the boy said

you’ll not fish without eating while i’m

alive

then live a long time and take care of

yourself

the old man said what are we eating

black beans and rice fried bananas and

some stew

the boy had brought them in a two-decker

metal container from the terrace

the two sets of knives and forks and

spoons were in his pocket with a paper

napkin wrapped around each set

who gave this to you

martin the owner i must thank him i

thanked him already the boy said you

don’t need to thank him i’ll give him

the belly meat of a big fish

the old man said has he done this for us

more than once

i think so

i must give him something more than the

belly meat then he is very thoughtful

for us

he sent two beers

i like the beer in cans best

i know

but this is in bottles a tui beer and i

take back the bottles

that’s very kind of you the old man said

should we eat

i’ve been asking you to

the boy told him gently

i have not wished to open the container

until you were ready

i’m ready now

the old man said

i only needed time to wash

where did you wash the boy thought

the village water supply was two streets

down the road

i must have water here for him the boy

thought and soap and a good towel

why am i so thoughtless

i must get him another shirt and a

jacket for the winter and some sort of

shoes in another blanket

your stew is excellent the old man said

tell me about the baseball

the boy asked him

in the american league it is the yankees

as i said the old man said happily

they lost today the boy told him

bad means nothing the great dimaggio is

himself again

they have other men on the team

naturally but he makes the difference

in the other league between brooklyn and

philadelphia i must take brooklyn but

then i think of dick sisler and those

great drives in the old park

there was nothing ever like them

it’s the longest ball i’ve ever seen

do you remember when he used to come to

the terrace

i wanted to take him fishing but i was

too timid to ask him and i asked you to

ask him and you were too timid

i know

it was a great mistake

you might have gone with us

then we would have that for all of our

lives

i would like to take the great dimaggio

fishing

the old man

said they say his father was a fisherman

maybe he was as poor as we are and would

understand

the great sizzlers father was never poor

and he the father was playing in the big

leagues when he was my age

when i was your age i was before the

mast on a square rigged ship that ran to

africa and i have seen lions on the

beaches in the evening

i know you told me

should we talk about africa or about

baseball

baseball i think the boy said

tell me about the great john j mcgraw he

said hoetha for jay

he used to come to the terrace sometimes

too in the older days but he was rough

harsh spoken and difficult when he was

drinking

his mind was on horses as well as

baseball

at least he carried lists of horses at

all times in his pocket and frequently

spoke the names of horses on the

telephone

he was a great manager the boy said

my father thinks he was the greatest

because he came here the most times the

old man said if deroser had continued to

come here each year your father would

think him the greatest manager

who is the greatest manager really lucky

or mike gonzalez

i think they are equal

and the best fisherman is you

no

i know others better

keva

the boy said

there are many good fishermen and some

great ones

but there is only you

thank you you make me happy

i hope no fish will come along so great

that he will prove us wrong

there is no such fish

if you are still strong as you say

i may not be as strong as i think

the old man said

but i know many tricks

and i have resolution

you ought to go to bed now so that you

will be fresh in the morning i will take

the things back to the terrace

good night then

i will wake you in the morning

you’re my alarm clock the boy said

age is my alarm clock

the old man said why do old men wake so

early is it to have one longer day

i don’t know

the boy said

all i know is that young boys sleep late

and hard

i can remember it the old man said

i’ll waken you in time

i do not like for him to wake it is as

though i were inferior i know

sleep well old man

the boy went out they had eaten with no

light on the table and the old man took

off his trousers and went to bed in the

dark

he rolled his trousers up to make a

pillow putting the newspaper inside them

he rolled himself in the blanket and

slept on the other old newspapers that

covered the springs of the bed

he was asleep in a short time

and he dreamed of africa when he was a

boy and the long golden beaches and the

white beaches so white they hurt your

eyes and the high capes and the great

brown mountains

he lived along that coast now every

night and in his dreams he heard the

surf roar and saw the native boats come

riding through it

he smelled the tar and oakum of the deck

as he slept and he smelled the smell of

africa

that the land breeze brought it mourning

usually when he smelled the land breeze

he woke up and dressed to go and wake

the boy but tonight the smell of the

land breeze came very early and he knew

it was too early in his dream and went

on dreaming to see the white peaks of

the islands rising from the sea and then

he dreamed of the different harbors and

roadsteads of the canary islands

he no longer dreamed of storms nor of

women

nor of great occurrences nor of great

fish nor fights nor contests of strength

nor of his wife

he only dreamed of places now

and of the lions on the beach

they played like young cats in the dusk

and he loved them as he loved the boy

he never dreamed about the boy

he simply woke

looked out the open door at the moon and

unrolled his trousers and put them on

he urinated outside the shack and then

went up the road to wake the boy

he was shivering with the morning cold

but he knew he would shiver himself warm

and that soon he would be rowing

the door of the house where the boy

lived was unlocked and he opened it and

walked in quietly with his bare feet

the boy was asleep on a cot in the first

room and the old man could see him

clearly with the light that came in from

the dying moon

he took hold of one foot gently and held

it until the boy woke and turned and

looked at him

the old man nodded and the boy took his

trousers from the chair by the bed and

sitting on the bed pulled them on

the old man went out the door

and the boy came after him

he was sleepy and the old man put his

arm across his shoulders and said

i am

sorry keva

the boy said

it is what a man must do

they walked down the road to the old

man’s shack

and all along the road and the dark

barefoot men were moving carrying the

masts of their boats

when they reached the old man’s shack

the boy took the rolls of line in the

basket and the harpoon and gaff and the

old man carried the mast with the furled

sail on his shoulder

do you want coffee

the boy asked

we’ll put the gear in the boat and then

get some

they had coffee from condensed milk cans

at an early morning place that served

fishermen

how did you sleep old man the boy asked

he was waking up now although it was

still hard for him to leave his sleep

very well manolin

the old man said

i feel confident today

so do i

the boy said

now i must get your sardines and mine

and your fresh baits

he brings our gear himself

he never wants anyone to carry anything

we’re different

the old man said i let you carry things

when you were five years old

i know it the boy said

i’ll be right back

have another coffee we have credit here

he walked off barefooted on the coral

rocks to the ice house where the baits

were stored

the old man drank his coffee slowly

it was all he would have all day and he

knew that he should take it

for a long time now eating had bored him

and he never carried a lunch

he had a bottle of water in the bow of

the skiff and that was all he needed for

the day

the boy was back now with the sardines

and the two baits wrapped in a newspaper

and they went down the trail to the

skiff feeling the pebbled sand under

their feet and lifted the skiff and slid

her into the water

good luck old man

good luck the old man said

he fitted the rope lashings of the oars

onto the thole pins and leaning forward

against the thrust of the blades in the

water he began to row out of the harbor

in the dark

there were other boats from the other

beaches going out to sea and the old man

heard the dip and push of their oars

even though he could not see them now

the moon was below the hills

sometimes someone would speak in a boat

but most of the boats were silent except

for the dip of the ore they spread apart

after they were out of the mouth of the

harbor and each one headed for the part

of the ocean where he hoped to find fish

the old man knew he was going far out

and he left the smell of the land behind

and rode out into the clean early

morning smell of the ocean

he saw the phosphorescence of the gulf

weed in the water as he rode over the

part of the ocean that the fishermen

called the great well because there was

a sudden deep of 700 fathoms where all

sorts of fish congregated because of the

swirl the current made against the steep

walls of the floor of the ocean

here there were concentrations of shrimp

and bait fish and sometimes schools of

squid in the deepest holes and these

rose close to the surface at night where

all the wandering fish fed on them

in the dark the old man could feel the

morning coming

and as he rode he heard the trembling

sound as flying fish left the water and

the hissing that their stiff set wings

made as they soared away in the darkness

he was very fond of flying fish as they

were his principal friends on the ocean

he was sorry for the birds especially

the small delicate dark turns that were

always flying and looking and almost

never finding and he thought the birds

have a harder life than we do

except for the robber birds and the

heavy strong ones

why did they make birds so delicate and

fine as those sea swallows when the

ocean can be so cruel

she is kind and very beautiful but she

can be so cruel

and it comes so suddenly and such birds

that fly dipping and hunting with their

small sad voices are made too delicately

for the sea

he always thought of the sea as lamar

which is what people call her in spanish

when they love her

sometimes those who love her say bad

things of her but they always said as

though she were a woman

some of the younger fishermen those who

used buoys as floats for their lines and

had motor boats bought when the shark

livers had brought much money spoke of

her as elmar which is masculine

they spoke of her as a contestant or a

place or even an enemy

but the old man always thought of her as

feminine

and as something that gave or withheld

great favors

and if she did wild or wicked things it

was because she could not help them the

moon affects her as it does a woman

he thought

he was rowing steadily and it was no

effort for him since he kept well within

his speed and the surface of the ocean

was flat except for the occasional

swirls of the current

he was letting the current do a third of

the work

and as it started to be light he saw he

was already further out than he had

hoped to be at this hour

i worked the deep wells for a week and

did nothing he thought

today i’ll work out where the schools of

benito and albacore are and maybe there

will be a big one with them

before it was really light he had his

baits out and was drifting with the

current

one bait was down 40 fathoms the second

was at 75 and the third and fourth were

down in the blue water at 100 and 125

fathoms

each bait hung head down with the shank

of the hook inside the bait fish tied

and sewed solid and all the projecting

part of the hook the curve and the point

was covered with fresh sardines

each sardine was hooked through both

eyes so that they made a half garland on

the projecting steel there was no part

of the hook that a great fish could feel

which was not sweet smelling and good

tasting

the boy had given him two fresh small

tunas or albacores which hung on the two

deepest lines like plummets and on the

others he had a big blue runner and a

yellow jack that had been used before

but they were in good condition still

and had the excellent sardines to give

them scent and attractiveness

each line as thick around as a big

pencil was looped onto a green sapped

stick so that any pull or touch on the

bait would make the stick dip

and each line had two 40 fathom coils

which could be made fast to the other

spare coils so that if it were necessary

a fish could take out over 300 fathoms

of line

now the man watched the dip of the three

sticks over the side of the skiff and

rode gently to keep the line straight up

and down and at their proper depths

it was quite light and any moment now

the sun would rise

the sun rose thinly from the sea and the

old man could see the other boats low on

the water and well in toward the shore

spread out across the current

then the sun was brighter and the glare

came on the water and then as it rose

clear the flat sea sent it back at his

eyes so that it hurt sharply and he rode

without looking into it

he looked down into the water

and watched the lines that went straight

down into the dark of the water he kept

them straighter than anyone did so that

at each level in the darkness of the

stream there would be a bait waiting

exactly where he wished it to be for any

fish that swam there

others let them drift with the current

and sometimes they were at sixty fathoms

when the fishermen thought they were at

a hundred

but

he thought i keep them with precision

only i have no luck anymore

but who knows maybe today every day is a

new day

it is better to be lucky

but i would rather be exact then when

luck comes you are ready

the sun was two hours higher now and it

did not hurt his eyes so much to look

into the east

there were only three boats in sight now

and they showed very low and far

all my life the early sun has hurt my

eyes he thought

yet they are still good

in the evening i can look straight into

it without getting the blackness

it has more force in the evening too

but in the morning it is painful

just then he saw a man of war bird with

his long black wings circling in the sky

ahead of him

he made a quick drop slanting down on

his back swept wings and then circled

again

he’s got something the old man said

aloud he’s not just looking

rode slowly and steadily toward where

the bird was circling he did not hurry

and he kept his lines straight up and

down

but he crowded the current a little so

that he was still fishing correctly

though faster than he would have fished

if he was not trying to use the bird

the bird went higher in the air and

circled again his wings motionless

then he dove suddenly and the old man

saw a flying fish spurt out of the water

and sailed desperately over the surface

dolphin

the old man said aloud

big dolphin

he shipped his oars and brought a small

line from under the bow

it had a wire leader and a medium-sized

hook and he baited it with one of the

sardines

he let it go over the side and then made

it fast to a ring bolt in the stern then

he baited another line and left it

coiled in the shade of the bow

he went back to rowing into watching the

long winged black bird who was working

now low over the water

as he watched the bird dipped again

slanting his wings for the dive and then

swinging them wildly and ineffectually

as he followed the flying fish

the old man could see the slight bulge

in the water that the big dolphin raised

as they followed the escaping fish

the dolphin were cutting through the

water below the flight of the fish and

would be in the water driving at speed

when the fish dropped

it is a big school of dolphin he thought

they are widespread and the flying fish

have little chance

the bird has no chance the flying fish

are too big for him and they go too fast

he watched the flying fish burst out

again and again and the ineffectual

movements of the bird

that school has gotten away from me he

thought they are moving out too fast and

too far

but perhaps i will pick up a stray

and perhaps my big fish is around them

my big fish must be somewhere

the clouds over the land now rose like

mountains and the coast was only a long

green line with the gray blue hills

behind it

the water was a dark blue now so dark

that it was almost purple

as he looked down into it he saw the red

sifting of the plankton in the dark

water and the strange light the sun made

now

he watched his lines to see them go

straight down out of sight into the

water and he was happy to see so much

plankton because it meant fish

the strange light the sun made in the

water now that the sun was higher meant

good weather and so did the shape of the

clouds over the land

but the bird was almost out of sight now

and nothing showed on the surface of the

water but some patches of yellow

sun-bleached sargasso weed and the

purple formalized iridescent gelatinous

bladder of a portuguese man-o-war

floating close beside the boat it turned

on its side and then righted itself

it floated cheerfully as a bubble with

its long deadly purple filaments

trailing a yard behind it in the

water agua mala

the man said you

from where he swung lightly against his

oars he looked down into the water and

saw the tiny fish that were colored like

the trailing filaments and swam between

them and under the small shade the

bubble made as it drifted

they were immune to its poison

but men were not

and when some of the filaments would

catch on a line and rest there slimy and

purple while the old man was working a

fish he would have welts and sores on

his arms and hands of the sort that

poison ivy or poison oak can give but

these poisonings from the aguamala came

quickly and struck like a whiplash

the iridescent bubbles were beautiful

but they were the falsest thing in the

sea and the old man loved to see the big

sea turtles eating them

the turtles saw them approach them from

the front then shut their eyes so they

were completely carapaced and ate them

filaments and all

the old man loved to see the turtles eat

them and he loved to walk on them on the

beach after a storm and hear them pop

when he stepped on them with the horny

soles of his feet

he loved green turtles and hawk bills

with their elegance and speed and their

great value and he had a friendly

contempt for the huge stupid loggerheads

yellow in their armor plating strange in

their love making and happily eating the

portuguese manna war with their eyes

shut

he had no mysticism about turtles

although he had gone in turtle boats for

many years

he was sorry for them all

even the great trunk backs that were as

long as the skiff and weighed it ton

most people are heartless about turtles

because the turtle’s heart will beat for

hours after he has been cut up and

butchered

but the old man thought i have such a

heart too

and my feet and hands are like theirs

he ate the white eggs to give himself

strength

he ate them all through may to be strong

in september and october for the truly

big fish

he also drank a cup of shark liver oil

each day from the big drum and the shack

where many of the fishermen kept their

gear

it was there for all fishermen who

wanted it most fishermen hated the taste

but it was no worse than getting up at

the hours that they rose and it was very

good against all colds and grips and it

was good for the eyes

now the old man looked up and saw that

the bird was circling again

he’s found fish

he said aloud

no flying fish broke the surface and

there was no scattering of bait fish

but as the old man watched a small tuna

rose in the air turned and dropped

headfirst into the water

the tuna shone silver in the sun and

after he had dropped back into the water

another and another rose and they were

jumping in all directions churning the

water and leaping in long jumps after

the bait

they were circling it and driving it

if they don’t travel too fast i will get

into them the old man thought and he

watched the school working the water

white and the bird now dropping and

dipping into the bait fish that were

forced to the surface in their panic

the bird is a great help

the old man said

just then the stern line came taut under

his foot where he had kept a loop of the

line and he dropped his oars and felt

the weight of the small tuna shivering

pull as he held the line firm and

commenced to haul it in

the shivering increased as he pulled in

and he could see the blue back of the

fish in the water and the gold of his

sides before he swung him over the side

and into the boat

he lay in the stern in the sun compact

and bullet-shaped his big unintelligent

eyes staring as he thumped his life out

against the planking of the boat with

the quick shivering strokes of his neat

fast-moving tail

the old man hit him on the head for

kindness and kicked him his body still

shuddering under the shade of the stern

albacore

he said aloud

you’ll make a beautiful bait

you’ll weigh 10 pounds

he did not remember when he had first

started to talk aloud when he was by

himself

he had sung when he was by himself in

the old days and he had sung at night

sometimes when he was alone steering on

his watch in the smacks or in the turtle

boats

he had probably started to talk aloud

when alone when the boy had left

but he did not remember

when he and the boy fished together they

usually spoke only when it was necessary

they talked at night or when they were

storm bound by bad weather

it was considered a virtue not to talk

unnecessarily at sea and the old man had

always considered it so and respected it

but now he said his thoughts aloud many

times since there was no one that they

could annoy

if the others heard me talking out loud

they would think that i am crazy

he said aloud

but since i am not crazy i do not care

and the rich have radios to talk to them

in their boats and to bring them the

baseball

now is no time to think of baseball he

thought

now is the time to think of only one

thing

that which i was born for

there might be a big one around that

school he thought

i picked up only a straggler from the

albacore that we’re feeding but they are

working far out and fast

everything that shows on the surface

today travels very fast and to the

northeast

can that be the time of day

or is it some sign of weather that i do

not know

he could not see the green of the shore

now but only the tops of the blue hills

that showed white as though they were

snow capped and the clouds that looked

like high snow mountains above them

the sea was very dark and the light made

prisms in the water

the myriad flecks of the plankton were

annulled now by the high sun and it was

only the great deep prisms in the blue

water that the old man saw now

with his lines going straight down into

the water that was a mild deep

the tuna the fishermen called all the

fish of that species tuna and only

distinguished among them by their proper

names when they came to sell them or to

trade them for baits

were down again

the sun was hot now

and the old man felt it on the back of

his neck and felt the sweat trickle down

his back as he rode

i could just drift he thought and sleep

and put a bite of line around my toe to

wake me

but today is 85 days and i should fish

the day well

just then watching his lines he saw one

of the projecting green sticks dip

sharply

yes

he said yes

and shipped his oars without bumping the

boat he reached out for the line and

held it softly between the thumb and

forefinger of his right hand

he felt no strain nor weight and he held

the line lightly

then it came again

this time it was a tentative pull not

solid nor heavy and he knew exactly what

it was

one hundred fathoms down a marlin was

eating the sardines that covered the

point and the shank of the hook where

the hand-forged hook projected from the

head of the small tuna

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

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

600 feet in that cold water in the dark

make another turn in the dark and come

back and eat them

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

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

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

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

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

then he felt the gentle touch on the

line and he was happy

it was only his turn he said he’ll take

it

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 could still

feel the great weight though the

pressure of his thumb and finger were

almost imperceptible

what a fish

he said he has it sideways in his mouth

now and he’s moving off with it

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

he’s taken it

he said

now i’ll let him eat it well

he let the line slip through his fingers

while he reached down with his left hand

and made fast the free end of the two

reserve coils to the loop of the two

reserve coils of the next line

now he was ready

he had three forty fathom coils of line

in reserve now as well as the coil he

was using

eat it a little more

he said

eat it well

eat it so that the point of the hook

goes into your heart and kills you he

thought come up easy and let me put the

harpoon into you

all right

are you ready

have you been long enough at table

now he said aloud

and struck hard with both hands gained a

yard of line and then struck again and

again

swinging with each arm alternately on

the cord with all the strength of his

arms and a pivoted weight of his body

nothing happened

the fish just moved away slowly

and the old man could not raise him an

inch his line was strong and made for

heavy fish and he held it against his

back until it was so taut that beads of

water were jumping from it

then it began to make a slow hissing

sound in the water and he still held it

bracing himself against the thwart and

leaning back against the pole

the boat began to move slowly off toward

the northwest

the fish moved steadily and they

traveled slowly on the calm water

the other baits were still in the water

but there was nothing to be done

i wish i had the boy

the old man said aloud i’m being towed

by a fish and i’m the towing bit

i could make the line fast but then he

could break it

i must hold him all i can and give him

line when he must have it thank god he

is traveling and not going down

what i will do if he decides to go down

i don’t know

what i’ll do if he sounds and dies i

don’t know

but i’ll do something

there are plenty of things i can do

he held the line against his back and

watched it slant in the water and the

skiff moving steadily to the northwest

this will kill him

the old man thought

he can’t do this forever

but four hours later the fish was still

swimming steadily out to sea towing the

skiff and the old man was still braced

solidly with a line across his back

it was noon when i hooked him he said

and i have never seen him

he had pushed his straw hat hard down on

his head before he hooked the fish and

it was cutting his forehead

he was thirsty too

and he got down on his knees and being

careful not to jerk on the line moved as

far into the bow as he could get and

reach the water bottle with one hand

he opened it and drank a little

then he rested against the bow

he rested sitting on the unstepped mast

and sail and tried not to think but only

to endure

then he looked behind him

and saw that no land was visible

that makes no difference he thought

i can always come in on the glow from

havana

there are two more hours before the sun

sets and maybe he will come up before

that

if he doesn’t maybe he will come up with

the moon

if he does not do that maybe he will

come up with the sunrise

i have no cramps and i feel strong

it is he that has the hook in his mouth

but what a fish to pull like that

he must have his mouth shut tight on the

wire

i wish i could see him

i wish i could see him only once to know

what i have against me

the fish never changed his course nor

his direction all that night as far as

the man could tell from watching the

stars

it was cold after the sun went down and

the old man’s sweat dried cold on his

back and his arms and his old legs

during the day he had taken the sack

that covered the bait box and spread it

in the sun to dry after the sun went

down he tied it around his neck so that

it hung down over his back and he

cautiously worked it down under the line

that was across his shoulders now

the sack cushioned the line and he had

found a way of leaning forward against

the bow so that he was almost

comfortable

the position actually was only somewhat

less intolerable but he thought of it as

almost comfortable

i can do nothing with him

and he can do nothing with me

he thought

not as long as he keeps this up

once he stood up and urinated over the

side of the skiff and looked at the

stars and checked his course

the line showed like a phosphorescent

streak in the water straight out from

his shoulders

they were moving more slowly now and the

glow of havana was not so strong so that

he knew the current must be carrying

them to the eastward

if i lose the glare of havana we must be

going more to the eastward he thought

for if the fish’s course held true i

must see it for many more hours

i wonder how the baseball came out in

the grand leagues today he thought

it would be wonderful to do this with a

radio

then he thought

think of it always

think of what you are doing

you must do nothing stupid

and he said aloud

i wish i had the boy

to help me

and to see this

no one should be alone in their old age

he thought

but it is unavoidable

i must remember to eat the tuna before

he spoils in order to keep strong

remember no matter how little you want

to that you must eat him in the morning

remember

he said to himself

during the night two porpoises came

around the boat and he could hear them

rolling and blowing

he could tell the difference between the

blowing noise the male made and the

sighing blow of the female

they are good

he said

they play and make jokes and love one

another they are our brothers like the

flying fish

then he began to pity the great fish

that he had hooked

he is wonderful

and strange and who knows how old he is

he thought

never have i had such a strong fish nor

one who acted so strangely

perhaps he is too wise to jump

he could ruin me by jumping or by a wild

rush

but perhaps he has been hooked many

times before and he knows that this is

how he should make his fight

he cannot know that it is only one man

against him nor that it is an old man

what a great fish he is

and what he will bring in the market if

the flesh is good

he took the bait like a male and he

pulls like a male and his fight has no

panic in it

i wonder if he has any plans

or if he is just as desperate as i am

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

color turned to a color almost like the

backing of mirrors and then with the

boy’s aide hoisted her aboard the male

fish had stayed by the side of the boat

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

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

i wish the boy was here he said aloud

and settled himself against the rounded

planks of the bow and felt the strength

of the great fish through the line he

held across his shoulders moving

steadily toward whatever he had chosen

when once through my treachery it had

been necessary to him to make a choice

the old man thought

his choice had been to stay in the deep

dark water far out beyond all snares and

traps and treacheries

my choice was to go there to find him

beyond all people

beyond all people in the world

now we are joined together

and have been since noon

and no one to help either one of us

perhaps i should not have been a

fisherman

he thought

but that was the thing that i was born

for

i must surely remember to eat the tuna

after it gets light

sometime before daylight something took

one of the baits that were behind him

he heard the stick break and the line

begin to rush out over the gunnel of the

skiff

in the darkness he loosened his sheath

knife and taking all the strain of the

fish on his left shoulder he leaned back

and cut the line against the wood of the

gunnel

then he cut the other line closest to

him and in the dark made the loose ends

of the reserve coils fast

he worked skillfully with the one hand

and put his foot on the coils to hold

them as he drew his knots tight

now he had six reserve coils of line

there were two from each bait he had

severed and the two from the bait the

fish had taken and they were all

connected

after it is light he thought i will work

back to the 40 fathom bait and cut it

away too and link up the reserve coils

i will have lost 200 fathoms of good

catalan cardinal and the hooks and

leaders

that can be replaced but who replaces

this fish if i hook some fish and it

cuts him off

i don’t know what that fish was that

took the bait just now it could have

been a marlin or a broad bill or a shark

i never felt him i had to get rid of him

too fast

aloud he said

i wish i had the boy

but you haven’t got the boy he thought

you have only yourself and you had

better work back to the last line now in

the dark or not in the dark and cut it

away and hook up the two reserve coils

so he did it

it was difficult in the dark

and once the fish made a surge that

pulled him down on his face and made a

cut below his eye

the blood ran down his cheek a little

way

but it coagulated and dried before it

reached his chin and he worked his way

back to the bow and rested against the

wood

he adjusted the sack and carefully

worked the line so that it came across a

new part of his shoulders and holding it

anchored with his shoulders he carefully

felt the pull of the fish and then felt

with his hand the progress of the skiff

through the water

i wonder what he made that lurch for

he thought

the wire must have slipped on the great

hill of his back

certainly his back cannot feel as badly

as mine does

but he cannot pull this skiff forever no

matter how great he is

now everything is cleared away that

might make trouble and i have a big

reserve of line

all that man can ask

fish

he said softly aloud

i’ll stay with you until i am dead

he’ll stay with me too i suppose the old

man thought

and he waited for it to be light

it was cold now and the time before

daylight and he pushed against the wood

to be warm

i can do it as long as he can he thought

and in the first light the lion extended

out and down into the water

the boat moved steadily and when the

first edge of the sun rose it was on the

old man’s right shoulder

he’s headed north

the old man said

the current will has set as far to the

eastward he thought

i wish he would turn with the current

that would show that he was tiring

when the sun had risen further the old

man realized that the fish was not

tiring

there was only one favorable sign

the slant of the line showed he was

swimming at a lesser depth

that did not necessarily mean that he

would jump

but he might

god let him jump

the old man said

i have enough line to handle him

maybe if i can increase the tension just

a little it will hurt him and he will

jump he thought

now that it is daylight let him jump so

that he’ll fill the sacks along his

backbone with air and then he cannot go

deep to die

he tried to increase the tension

but the line had been taught up to the

very edge of the breaking point since he

had hooked the fish and he felt the

harshness as he leaned back to pull and

knew he could put no more strain on it

i must not jerk it ever

he thought

each jerk widens the cut the hook makes

and then when he does jump he might

throw it

anyway i feel better with the sun

and for once i do not have to look into

it

there was yellow weed on the line but

the old man knew that only made an added

drag and he was pleased

it was the yellow golf weed that had

made so much phosphorescence in the

night

fish

he said

i love you and respect you very much

but i will kill you dead before this day

ends

let us hope so we thought

a small bird came toward the skiff from

the north

he was a warbler and flying very low

over the water

the old man could see that he was very

tired

the bird made the stern of the boat and

rested there

then he flew around the old man’s head

and rested on the line where he was more

comfortable

how old are you

the old man asked the bird

is this your first trip

the bird looked at him when he spoke

he was too tired even to examine the

line and he teetered on it as his

delicate feet gripped it fast

it’s steady the old man told him

it’s too steady

you shouldn’t be that tired after a

windless night

what are birds coming to

the hawks he thought that come out to

sea to meet them

but he said nothing of this to the bird

who could not understand him anyway and

who would learn about the hawks soon

enough

take a good rest small bird he said

then go in and take your chance like any

man or bird or fish

it encouraged him to talk because his

back had stiffened in the night and it

hurt truly now

stay in my house if you like bird he

said

i am sorry i cannot hoist the sail and

take you in with the small breeze that

is rising but i am with a friend

just then the fish gave a sudden lurch

that pulled the old man down onto the

bow and would have pulled him overboard

if he had not braced himself and given

some line

the bird had flown up when the line

jerked and the old man had not even seen

him go

he felt the line carefully with his

right hand and noticed his hand was

bleeding

something hurt him then

he said aloud and pulled back on the

line to see if he could turn the fish

but when he was touching the breaking

point he held steady and settled back

against the strain of the line

you’re feeling it now fish

he said

and so god knows am i

he looked around for the bird now

because he would have liked him for

company

the bird was gone

you did not stay long

the man thought

but it is rougher where you are going

until you make the shore

how did i let the fish cut me with that

one quick pull he made i must be getting

very stupid

or perhaps i was looking at the small

bird and thinking of him

now i will pay attention to my work

and then i must eat the tuna so that i

will not have a failure of strength

i wish the boy were here and that i had

some salt

he said aloud

shifting the weight of the line to his

left shoulder and kneeling carefully he

washed his hand in the ocean

and held it there submerged for more

than a minute watching the blood trail

away and the steady movement of the

water against his hand as the boat moved

he has slowed much

he said

the old man would have liked to keep his

hand in the salt water longer but he was

afraid of another sudden lurch by the

fish and he stood up and braced himself

and held his hand up against the sun

it was only a line burn that had cut his

flesh

but it was in the working part of his

hand

he knew he would need his hands before

this was over and he did not like to be

cut before it started

now

he said when his hand had dried i must

eat the small tuna

i can reach him with the gaff and eat

him here in

comfort

he knelt down and found the tuna under

the stern with the gaff and drew it

toward him keeping it clear of the

coiled lines

holding the line with his left shoulder

again and bracing on his left hand and

arm he took the tuna off the gaff hook

and put the gaff back in place

he put one knee on the fish and cut

strips of dark red meat longitudinally

from the back of the head to the tail

they were wedge-shaped strips and he cut

them from next to the backbone down to

the edge of the belly

when he had cut six strips he spread

them out on the wood of the bow wiped

his knife on his trousers and lifted the

carcass of the bonito by the tail and

dropped it overboard

i don’t think i can eat an entire one he

said and drew his knife across one of

the strips

he could feel the steady hard pull of

the line and his left hand was cramped

it drew up tight on the heavy cord and

he looked at it in disgust

what kind of a hand is that he said

cramp then if you want make yourself

into a clod will do you no good

come on

he thought and looked down into the dark

water at the slant of the line

eat it now and it will strengthen the

hand

it is not the hand’s fault and you have

been many hours with the fish

but you can stay with him forever

eat the benito now

he picked up a piece and put it in his

mouth and chewed it slowly

it was not unpleasant

chew it well he thought and get all the

juices

it would not be bad to eat with a little

lime or with lemon or with salt

how do you feel hand he asked the

cramped hand that was almost as stiff as

rigor mortis

i’ll eat some more for you

he ate the other part of the piece that

he had cut into

he chewed it carefully and then spat out

the skin

how does it go and

or is it too early to know

we took another full piece and chewed it

it is a strong full-blooded fish

he thought

i was lucky to get him instead of

dolphin dolphin is too sweet

this is hardly sweet at all and all the

strength is still in it

there is no sense in being anything but

practical though he thought

i wish i had some salt and i do not know

whether the sun will rot or dry what is

left so i had better eat it all although

i am not hungry

the fish is calm and steady

i will eat it all

and then i will be ready

be patient hand

he said

i do this for you

i wish i could feed the fish he thought

he is my brother

but i must kill him

and keep strong to do it

slowly and conscientiously he ate all of

the wedge-shaped strips of fish

he straightened up wiping his hand on

his trousers

now

he said

you can let the cord go hand

and i will handle him with the right arm

alone until you stop that nonsense

he put his left foot on the heavy line

that the left hand had held and laid

back against the pole against his back

god help me to have the cramp go

he said

because i do not know what the fish is

going to do

but he seems calm

he thought

and following his plan

but what is his plan

he thought

and what is mine

mine i must improvise to his because of

his great size if he will jump i can

kill him

but he stays down forever

then i will stay down with him forever

he rubbed the cramped hand against his

trousers and tried to gentle the fingers

but it would not open

maybe it will open with the sun

he thought

maybe it will open when the strong raw

tuna is digested

if i have to have it i will open it cost

whatever it costs

but i do not want to open it now by

force

let it open by itself

and come back of its own accord

after all i abused it much in the night

when it was necessary to free and untie

the various lines

he looked across the sea and knew how

alone he was now but he could see the

prisms in the deep dark water and the

lines stretching ahead and the strange

undulation of the calm

the clouds were building up now for the

trade wind and he looked ahead and saw a

flight of wild ducks etching themselves

against the sky over the water then

blurring then etching again

and he knew no man was ever alone on the

sea

he thought of how some men feared being

out of sight of land in a small boat and

knew they were right in the months of

sudden bad weather

but now they were in hurricane

months

and when there are no hurricanes the

weather of hurricane month is the best

of all the year

if there is a hurricane you always see

the signs of it in the sky for days

ahead if you are at sea

they do not see it ashore because they

do not know what to look for he thought

the land must make a difference too in

the shape of the clouds

but we have no hurricane coming now

he looked at the sky and saw the white

cumulus built like friendly piles of ice

cream and high above were the thin

feathers of the cirrus against the high

september sky

light brisa

he said

better weather for me than for you fish

his left hand was still cramped but he

was on nodding it slowly

i hate a cramp

he thought

it is a treachery of one’s own body

it is humiliating before others to have

a diarrhea from domain poisoning or to

vomit from it

but a cramp

we thought of it as a columbi

humiliates one’s self especially when

one is alone

if the boy were here he could rub it for

me and loosen it down from the forearm

he thought

but it will loosen up

then

with his right hand he felt the

difference in the pull of the line

before he saw the slant change in the

water

then as he leaned against the line and

slapped his left hand hard and fast

against his thigh he saw the line

slanting slowly upward

he’s coming up

he said come on hand please come on

the line rose slowly and steadily and

then the surface of the ocean bulged

ahead of the boat and the fish came out

he came out

unendingly

and water poured from his sides

he was bright in the sun and his head

and back were dark purple and in the sun

the stripes on his side showed wide and

a light lavender

his sword was as long as a baseball bat

and tapered like a rapier

and he rose his full length from the

water and then re-entered it smoothly

like a diver and the old man saw the

great scythe blade of his tail go under

and the line commenced to race out

he is two feet longer than this gif

the old man said

the line was going out fast but steadily

and the fish was not panicked

the old man was trying with both hands

to keep the line just inside of breaking

strength

he knew that if he could not slow the

fish with a steady pressure the fish

could take out all the line and break it

he is a great fish

and i must convince him he thought i

must never let him learn his strength

nor what he could do if he made his run

if i were him i would put in everything

now and go until something broke

but thank god they are not as

intelligent as we who kill them although

they are more noble and more able

the old man had seen many great fish

he had seen many that weighed more than

a thousand pounds and he had caught two

of that size in his life but never alone

now alone and out of sight of land he

was fast to the biggest fish that he had

ever seen and bigger than he had ever

heard of

and his left hand was still as tight as

the gripped claws of an eagle

it will uncramp though he thought

surely it will uncramp to help my right

hand

there are three things that are brothers

the fish

and my two hands

it must uncrap

it is unworthy of it to be cramped

the fish had slowed again and was going

at his usual pace

i wonder why he jumped the old man

thought

he jumped almost as though to show me

how big he was

i know now anyway

he thought

i wish i could show him what sort of man

i am but then he would see the cramped

hand

let him think i am more man than i am

and i will be so

i wish i was the fish

he thought with everything he has

against only my will and my intelligence

he settled comfortably against the wood

and took his suffering as it came and

the fish swam steadily and the boat

moved slowly through the dark water

there was a small sea rising with the

wind coming up from the east and at noon

the old man’s left hand was uncramped

bad news for you fish he said and

shifted the line over the sacks that

covered his shoulders

he was comfortable but suffering

although he did not admit the suffering

at all

i am not religious he said but i will

say ten our fathers and ten hail marys

that i should catch this fish and i

promise to make a pilgrimage to the

virgin of cobra if i catch him that is a

promise

he commenced to say his prayers

mechanically

sometimes he would be so tired that he

could not remember the prayer and then

he would say them fast so that they

would come automatically

hail marys are easier to say than our

fathers he thought

hail mary full of grace the lord is with

thee blessed art thou among women and

blessed is the fruit of thy womb jesus

holy mary mother of god pray for us

sinners now and at the hour of our death

amen

then he added blessed virgin pray for

the death of this fish

wonderful though he is

with his prayers said and feeling much

better but suffering exactly as much and

perhaps a little more he leaned against

the wood of the bow and began

mechanically to work the fingers of his

left hand

the sun was hot now

although the breeze was rising gently

i had better re-bait that little line

out over the stern he said

if the fish decides to stay another

night i will need to eat again and the

water is low in the bottle

i don’t think i can get anything but a

dolphin here

but if i eat him fresh enough he won’t

be bad

i wish a flying fish would come on board

tonight

but i have no light to attract them

a flying fish is excellent to eat raw

and i would not have to cut him up

i must save all my strength now

christ i did not know he was so big

i’ll kill him though

he said in all his greatness and his

glory

although it is unjust

he thought

but i will show him what a man can do

and what a man endures

i told the boy i was a strange old man

he said

now is when i must prove it

the thousand times that he had proved it

meant nothing now he was proving it

again

each time was a new time and he never

thought about the past when he was doing

it

i wish he’d sleep

and i could sleep and dream about the

lions he thought

why are the lions the main thing that is

left

don’t think old man

he said to himself

rest gently now against the wood and

think of nothing he is working

work as little as you can

was getting into the afternoon and the

boat still moved slowly and steadily

but there was an added drag now from the

easterly breeze and the old man rode

gently with the small sea and the hurt

of the cord across his back came to him

easily and smoothly

once in the afternoon the lines started

to rise again

but the fish only continued to swim at a

slightly higher level

the sun was on the old man’s left arm

and shoulder and on his back

so he knew the fish had turned east of

north

now that he had seen him once he could

picture the fish swimming in the water

with his purple pectoral fins set wide

his wings and the great direct tales

slicing through the dark

i wonder how much he sees at that depth

the old man thought

his eye is huge and a horse with much

less eye can see in the dark

once i could see quite well in the dark

not in the absolute dark but almost as a

cat sees

the sun and his steady movement of his

fingers had uncramped his left hand now

completely and he began to shift more of

the strain to it and he shrugged the

muscles of his back to shift the hurt of

the cord a little

if you’re not tired fish he said aloud

you must be very strange

he felt very tired now

and he knew the night would come soon

and he tried to think of other things

he thought of the big leagues

to him they were the grand ligas

and he knew that the yankees of new york

were playing the tigress of detroit

this is the second day now that i do not

know the result of the juegos he thought

but i must have confidence

and i must be worthy of the great

dimaggio who does all things perfectly

even with the pain of the bone spur in

his heel

what is a bone spur

he asked himself

unusual

we do not have them

can it be as painful as the spur of a

fighting in one’s heel

i do not think i could endure that

or the loss of the eye and of both eyes

and continue to fight as the fighting

do

man is not much beside the great birds

and beasts

still i would rather be that beast down

there in the darkness of the sea

unless sharks come

he said aloud

if sharks come god pity him and me

do you believe the great dimaggio would

stay with a fish as long as i will stay

with this one he thought

i am sure he would

and more since he is young and strong

also his father was a fisherman

but would the bone spur hurt him too

much

i do not know

he said aloud i never had a bone spur

as the sun set

he remembered to give himself more

confidence the time in the tavern at

casablanca when he had played the hand

game with the great negro from

cienfuegos who was the strongest man on

the docks

they had gone one day and one night with

their elbows on a chalk line on the

table and their forearms straight up and

their hands gripped tight

each one was trying to force the other’s

hand down onto the table

there was much betting and people went

in and out of the room under the

kerosene lights and he had looked at the

arm and hand of the negro and at the

negro’s face

they changed the referees every four

hours after the first eight so that the

referees could sleep

blood came out from under the

fingernails of both his and the negro’s

hands and they looked each other in the

eye and at their hands and forearms and

the betters went in and out of the room

and sat on high chairs against the wall

and watched

the walls were painted bright blue and

were of wood and the lamps threw their

shadows against them

the negro shadow was huge and it moved

on the wall as the breeze moved the

lamps

the odds would change back and forth all

night and they fed the negro rum and

lighted cigarettes for him

then the negro after the rum would try

for a tremendous effort

and once he had the old man who was not

an old man then but was santiago el

campeon nearly three inches off balance

but the old man had raised his hand up

to dead even again

he was sure then that he had the negro

who was a fine man and a great athlete

beaten

and at daylight when the bettors were

asking that it be called a draw and the

referee was shaking his head he had

unleashed his effort and forced the hand

of the negro down and down until it

rested on the wood

the match had started on a sunday

morning and ended on a monday morning

many of the bettors had asked for a draw

because they had to go to work on the

docks loading sacks of sugar or at the

havana coal company

otherwise everyone would have wanted it

to go to a finish but he had finished it

anyway and before anyone had to go to

work

for a long time after that everyone had

called him the champion

and there had been a return match in the

spring

but not much money was bad

and he had won it quite easily since he

had broken the confidence of the negro

from cienfuegos in the first match

after that he had a few matches and then

no more

he decided that he could beat anyone if

he wanted too badly enough and he

decided that it was bad for his right

hand for fishing

he’d tried a few practice matches with

his left hand but his left hand had

always been a traitor and would not do

what he called on it to do

and he did not trust it

the son will bake it out well now

he thought

it should not cramp on me again

unless it gets too cold in the night

i wonder what this night will bring

an airplane passed overhead on its

course to miami and he watched its

shadows scaring up the schools of flying

fish

with so much flying fish there should be

dolphin he said

and leaned back on the line to see if it

was possible to gain any on his fish

but he could not

and it stayed at the hardness and water

drop shivering that proceeded breaking

boat moved ahead slowly and he watched

the airplane until he could no longer

see it

it must be very strange in an airplane

he thought

i wonder what the sea looks like from

that height

they should be able to see the fish well

if they do not fly too high

i would like to fly very slowly at 200

fathoms high and see the fish from above

in the turtle boats i was in the cross

trees of the masthead and even at that

height i saw much

the dolphin looked greener from there

and you can see their stripes and their

purple spots and you can see all of the

school as they swim

why is it that all the fast-moving fish

of the dark current have purple backs

and usually purple stripes or spots

the dolphin looks green of course

because he is really golden but when he

comes to feed truly hungry purple

stripes show on his sides as on a marlin

can it be anger or the greater speed he

makes that brings them out

just before it was dark as they passed a

great island of sargasso weed that

heaved and swung in the light sea as

though the ocean were making love with

something under a yellow blanket his

small line was taken by a dolphin

he saw it first when it jumped in the

air true gold in the last of the sun and

bending and flapping wildly in the air

it jumped again and again in the

acrobatics of its fear and he worked his

way back to the stern and crouching and

holding the big line with his right hand

and arm he pulled the dolphin in with

his left hand stepping on the gained

line each time with his bare left foot

when the fish was at the stern plunging

and cutting from side to side in

desperation the old man leaned over the

stern and lifted the burnished gold fish

with its purple spots over the stern

its jaws were working convulsively in

quick bites against the hook and it

pounded the bottom of the skiff with its

long flat body its tail and its head

until he clubbed it across the shining

golden head until it shivered and was

still

the old man unhooked the fish

re-baited the line with another sardine

and tossed it over

then he worked his way slowly back to

the bow

he washed his left hand and wiped it on

his trousers

then he shifted the heavy line from his

right hand to his left and washed his

right hand in the sea

while he watched the sun go into the

ocean

and the slant of the big cord

he hasn’t changed at all

he said

but watching the movement of the water

against his hand he noted that it was

perceptibly slower

i’ll lash the two oars together across

the stern and that will slow him in the

night

he said

he’s good for the night

and so am i

it would be better to gut the dolphin a

little later to save the blood in the

meat he thought

i can do that a little later and lash

the oars to make a drag at the same time

i had better keep the fish quiet now and

not disturb him too much at sunset

the setting of the sun is a difficult

time for all fish

he let his hand dry in the air

then grasped the line with it and eased

himself as much as he could and allowed

himself to be pulled forward against the

wood so that the boat took the strain as

much or more than he did

i’m learning how to do it

he thought

this part of it anyway

then to remember he hasn’t eaten since

he took the bait

and he is huge and needs much food

i have eaten the whole bonito

tomorrow i will eat the dolphin he

called it dorado

perhaps i should eat some of it when i

clean it

it will be harder to eat than the bonito

but then

nothing is easy

how do you feel fish

he asked aloud

i feel good and my left hand is better

and i have food for a night and a day

pull the boat fish

he did not truly feel good because the

pain from the cord across his back had

almost passed pain and gone into a

dullness that he mistrusted

but i have had worse things than that he

thought

my hand is only cut a little and the

cramp is gone from the other

my legs are all right

also now i have gained on him in the

question of sustenance

it was dark now as it becomes dark

quickly after the sun sets in september

he lay against the worn wood of the bow

and rested all that he could

the first stars were out

he did not know the name of rigel but he

saw it and knew soon they would all be

out and he would have all his distant

friends

the fish is my friend too

he said aloud

i have never seen or heard of such a

fish

but i must kill him

i am glad we do not have to try to kill

the stars

imagine if each day a man must try to

kill the moon

he thought

the moon runs away

but imagine if a man each day should

have to try to kill the sun

we were born lucky he thought

then he was sorry for the great fish

that had nothing to eat and his

determination to kill him never relaxed

in his sorrow for him

how many people will he feed he thought

but are they worthy to eat him

no

of course not

there is no one worthy of eating him

from the manner of his behavior and his

great dignity

i do not understand these things

he thought

but it is good that we do not have to

try to kill the sun or the moon or the

stars

it is enough to live on the sea and kill

our true brothers

now he thought i must think about the

drag

it has its perils and its merits

i may lose so much line that i will lose

him if he makes his effort and the drag

made by the oars is in place and the

boat loses all her lightness

her lightness prolongs both are

suffering but it is my safety since he

has great speed that he has never yet

employed

no matter what passes i must gut the

dolphin so he does not spoil and eat

some of him to be strong

now i will rest an hour more and feel

that he is solid and steady before i

move back to the stern to do the work

and make the decision

in the meantime i can see how he acts

and if he shows any changes

the oars are a good trick

but it has reached the time to play for

safety

he is much fish still

and i saw that the hook was in the

corner of his mouth and he has kept his

mouth tight shut

the punishment of the hook is nothing

the punishment of hunger and that he is

against something that he does not

comprehend is everything

rest now old man

and let him work until your next duty

comes

he rested for what he believed to be two

hours

the moon did not rise now until late and

he had no way of judging the time

nor was he really resting except

comparatively he was still bearing the

pull of the fish across his shoulders

but he placed his left hand on the

gunnel of the bow and confided more and

more of the resistance to the fish to

the skiff itself

how simple it would be if i could make

the line fast he thought

but with one small lurch he could break

it

i must cushion the pull of the line with

my body and at all times be ready to

give line with both hands

but you have not slept yet old man

he said aloud

it is half a day and a night and now

another day

and you have not slept

you must devise a way so that you sleep

a little if he is quiet and steady

if you do not sleep you might become

unclear in the head

i’m clear enough in the head

he thought

too clear

i am as clear as the stars that are my

brothers

still i must sleep

they sleep and the moon and the sun

sleep and even the ocean sleeps

sometimes on certain days when there is

no current in a flat calm

but remember to sleep

he thought

make yourself do it and devise some

simple and sure way about the lines

now go back and prepare the dolphin it

is too dangerous to rig the oars as a

drag if you must sleep

i could go without sleeping

he told himself

but it would be too dangerous

he started to work his way back to the

stern on his hands and knees being

careful not to jerk against the fish

he may be half asleep himself he thought

but i do not want him to rest

he must pull until he dies

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

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 stern

he put one of his feet on the fish and

slid him quickly from the vent up to the

tip of his lower jaw

then he put his knife down and gutted

him with his right hand scooping him

clean and pulling the gills clear

he felt the maw heavy and slippery in

his hands and he slid it open

there were two flying fish inside

they were fresh and hard and he laid

them side by side and dropped the guts

and the gills over the stern

they sank leaving a trail of

phosphorescence in the water

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

then he turned him over and skinned the

other side and cut each side off from

the head down to the tail

he slid the carcass overboard and looked

to see if there was any swirl in the

water

but there was only the light of its slow

descent

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

his back was bent with the weight of the

line across it and he carried the fish

in his right hand

back in the bow he laid the two fillets

of fish out on the wood with the flying

fish beside them

after that he settled the line across

his shoulders in a new place and held it

again with his left hand resting on the

gunnel

then he leaned over the side and washed

the flying fish in the water

noting the speed of the water against

his hand

his hand was phosphorescent from

skinning the fish and he watched the

flow of water against it

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

he is tiring

he’s resting

the old man said

now let me get through the eating of

this dolphin and get some rest in a

little sleep

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

what an excellent fish dolphin is to eat

cooked he said

and what a miserable fish raw

i will never go in a boat again without

salt or limes

if i had brains i would have splashed

water on the bow all day and drying it

would have made salt he thought

but then i did not hook the dolphin

until almost sunset

still it was a lack of preparation

but i have chewed it all well and i am

not nauseated

the sky was clouding over to the east

and one after another the stars he knew

were gone

it looked now as though he were moving

into a great canyon of clouds and the

wind had dropped

there will be bad weather in three or

four days

he said

but not tonight and not tomorrow

rigged now to get some sleep old man

while the fish is calm and steady

he held the line tight in his right hand

and then pushed his thigh against his

right hand as he leaned all his weight

against the wood of the bow

then he passed the line a little lower

on his shoulders and braced his left

hand on it

my right hand can hold it as long as it

is braced he thought if it relaxes in

sleep my left hand will wake me as the

line goes out

it is hard on the right hand

but he is used to punishment

even if i sleep 20 minutes or half an

hour it is good

he lay forward cramping himself against

the line with all of his body putting

all his weight onto his right hand

and he was asleep

he did not dream of the lions

but instead of a vast school of

porpoises

that stretched for eight or ten miles

and it was in the time of their mating

and they would leap high into the air

and return into the same hole they had

made in the water when they leaped

then he dreamed that he was in the

village on his bed and there was a

norther and he was very cold and his

right arm was asleep because his head

had rested on it instead of a pillow

after that he began to dream of the long

yellow beach and he saw the first of the

lions come down onto it in the early

dark and then the other lions came and

he rested his chin on the wood of the

boughs where the ship lay anchored with

the evening offshore breeze and he

waited to see if there would be more

lions

and he was happy

the moon had been up for a long time

but he slept on

and the fish pulled on steadily and the

boat moved into the tunnel of clouds

he woke with the jerk of his right fist

coming up against his face and the line

burning out through his right hand

he had no feeling of his left hand but

he breaked all he could with his right

and the line rushed out

finally his left hand found the line and

he leaned back against the line and now

it burned his back and his left hand and

his left hand was taking all the strain

and cutting badly

he looked back at the coils of line and

they were feeding smoothly

just then the fish jumped making a great

bursting of the ocean and then a heavy

fall

then he jumped again

and again

and the boat was going fast although the

line was still racing out and the old

man was raising the strain to breaking

point and raising it to breaking point

again and again he had been pulled down

tight onto the bow and his face was in

the cut slice of dolphin and he could

not move

this is what we waited for he thought so

now let us take it

make him pay for the line he thought

make him pay for it

he could not see the fish’s jumps but

only heard the breaking of the ocean and

the heavy splash as he fell

the speed of the line was cutting his

hands badly but he had always known this

would happen and he tried to keep the

cutting across the calloused parts and

not let the lines slip into the palm nor

cut the fingers

if the boy were here he could wet the

coils of line he thought yes if the boy

were here if the boy were here

the line went out and out and out but it

was slowing now

and he was making the fish earn each

inch of it

now he got his head up from the wood and

out of the slice of fish that his cheek

had crushed

then he was on his knees

and then he rose slowly to his feet

he was seeding lying but more slowly all

the time

he worked back to where he could feel

with his foot the coils of line that he

could not see there was plenty of lines

still and now the fish had to pull the

friction of all that new line through

the water

yes

he thought

and now he has jumped more than a dozen

times and filled the sacks along his

back with air and he cannot go down deep

to die where i cannot bring him up

he will start circling soon

and then i must work on him

i wonder what started him so suddenly

could it have been hunger that made him

desperate or was he frightened by

something in the night maybe he suddenly

felt fear

but he was such a calm strong fish and

he seemed so fearless and so confident

it is strange

you better be fearless and confident

yourself old man he said

you’re holding him again but you cannot

get line

but soon he has to circle

the old man held him with his left hand

in his shoulders now and stooped down

and scooped up water in his right hand

to get the crushed dolphin flesh off of

his face

he was afraid that it might nauseate him

and he would vomit and lose his strength

when his face was cleaned he washed his

right hand in the water over the side

and then let it stay in the salt water

while he watched the first light come

before the sunrise

he’s headed almost east

he thought

that means he is tired and going with

the current

soon he will have to circle

then our true work begins

after he judged that his right hand had

been in the water long enough he took it

out and looked at it

it is not bad

he said

and pain does not matter to a man

he took hold of the line carefully so

that it did not fit into any of the

fresh line cuts and shifted his weight

so that he could put his left hand into

the sea on the other side of the skiff

you did not do so badly for something

worthless

he said to his left hand

but there was a moment when i could not

find you

why was i not born with two good hands

he thought

perhaps it was my fault in not training

that one properly

but god knows he has had enough chances

to learn

he did not do so badly in the night

though and he is only cramped once

if he cramps again let the line cut him

off

when he thought that he knew that he was

not being clear-headed

and he thought he should choose some

more of the dolphin

but i can’t

he told himself

it is better to be light-headed than to

lose your strength from nausea

and i know i cannot keep it if i eat it

since my face was in it

i will keep it for an emergency until it

goes bad

but it is too late to try for strength

now through nourishment

you’re stupid he told himself eat the

other flying fish

it was there cleaned and ready and he

picked it up with his left hand and ate

it chewing the bones carefully and

eating all of it down to the tail

it has more nourishment than almost any

fish be thought

at least the kind of strength that i

need

now i have done what i can he thought

let him begin to circle

and let the fight come

the sun was rising for the third time

since he had put to sea

when the fish started to circle

he could not see by the slant of the

line that the fish was circling

it was too early for that

he just felt a faint slackening of the

pressure of the line and he commenced to

pull on it gently with his right hand

it tightened as always but just when he

reached the point where it would break

line began to come in

he slipped his shoulders and head from

under the line and began to pull in line

steadily and gently

he used both of his hands in a swinging

motion and tried to do the pulling as

much as he could with his body and his

legs

his old legs and shoulders pivoted with

the swinging of the pulling

it is a very big circle

he said

but he is circling

then the line would not come in anymore

and he held it until he saw the drops

jumping from it in the sun

then it started out

and the old man knelt down and let it go

grudgingly back into the dark water

he is making the far part of his circle

now

he said

i must hold all i can

he thought the strain will shorten his

circle each time

perhaps in an hour i will see him

now i must convince him

and then i must kill him

but the fish kept on circling slowly

and the old man was wet with sweat and

tired deep into his bones two hours

later

but the circles were much shorter now

and from the way the line slanted he

could tell the fish had risen steadily

while he swam

for an hour the old man had been seeing

black spots before his eyes and the

sweat salted his eyes and salted the cut

over his eye and on his forehead

he was not afraid of the black spots

they were normal at the tension that he

was pulling on the line

twice though he had felt faint and dizzy

and that had worried him

i could not fail myself and die on a

fish like this

he said

now that i have him coming so

beautifully god help me endure i’ll say

a hundred our fathers and a hundred hail

marys

but i cannot say them now

consider them said he thought

i’ll say them later

just then he felt a sudden banging and

jerking on the line he held with his two

hands it was sharp and hard feeling and

heavy

he is hitting the wire leader with his

spear

he thought

that was bound to come he had to do that

it may make him jump though

and i would rather he stayed circling

now

the jumps were necessary for him to take

air

but after that each one can widen the

opening of the hook wound and he can

throw the hook

don’t jump fish he said don’t jump

the fish hit the wire several times more

and each time he shook his head the old

man gave up a little line

i must hold his pain where it is he

thought

mine does not matter i can control mine

but his pain could drive him mad

after a while the fish stopped beating

at the wire and started circling slowly

again

the old man was gaining lines steadily

now

but he felt faint again

he lifted some sea water with his left

hand and put it on his head

then he put more on and rubbed the back

of his neck

i have no cramps

he said

he’ll be up soon and i can last

you have to last don’t even speak of it

he kneeled against the bow and for a

moment slipped the line over his back

again

i’ll rest now while he goes out on the

circle and then stand up and work on him

when he comes in he decided

it was a great temptation to rest in the

bow and let the fish make one circle by

himself without recovering any line

but when the strain showed the fish had

turned to come toward the boat the old

man rose to his feet and started the

pivoting and the weaving pulling that

brought in all the line he gained

i’m tireder than i have ever been

he thought and now the trade wind is

rising

but that will be good to take him in

with i need that badly

i’ll rest on the next turn as he goes

out he said

i feel much better

than in two or three turns more i will

have him

his straw hat was far on the back of his

head and he sank down into the bow with

a pull of the line as he felt the fish

turn

you work now fish he thought i’ll take

you at the turn.

the sea had risen considerably

but it was a fair weather breeze and he

had to have it to get home

i’ll just steer south and west he said

a man is never lost at sea

and it is a long island

it was on the third turn that he saw the

fish first

he saw him first as a dark shadow that

took so long to pass under the boat that

he could not believe its length

no

he said

he can’t be that big

but he was that big

and at the end of this circle he came to

the surface only 30 yards away and the

man saw his tail out of water

it was higher than a big scythe blade

and a very pale lavender above the dark

blue water

it raked back and as the fish swam just

below the surface the old man could see

his huge bulk and the purple stripes

that banded him

his dorsal fin was down and his huge

pectorals were spread wide

on this circle the old man could see the

fish’s eye and the two gray sucking fish

that swam around him

sometimes they attached themselves to

him sometimes they darted off

sometimes they would swim easily in his

shadow

they were each over three feet long and

when they swam fast they lashed their

whole bodies like eels

the old man was sweating now but from

something else besides the sun

on each calm placid turn the fish made

he was gaining line

and he was sure that in two turns more

he would have a chance to get the

harpoon in

but i must get him close close close he

thought i mustn’t try for the head i

must get the heart

be calm and strong old man

he said

on the next circle the fish’s back was

out but he was a little too far from the

boat

on the next circle he was still too far

away but he was higher out of water and

the old man was sure that by gaining

some more line he could have him

alongside

he had rigged his harpoon long before

and its coil of light rope was in a

round basket and the end was made fast

to the bit in the bow

the fish was coming in on his circle now

calm and beautiful looking and only his

great tale moving

the old man pulled on him all that he

could to bring him closer

for just a moment the fish turned a

little on his side

then he straightened himself and began

another circle

i moved him

the old man said i moved him then

he felt faint again now but he held on

the great fish all the strain that he

could

i moved him he thought

maybe this time i can get him over

pull hands he thought hold up legs last

for me head last for me you never went

this time i’ll pull him over

but when he put all of his effort on

starting it well out before the fish

came alongside and pulling with all his

strength the fish pulled part way over

and then righted himself and swam away

fish

the old man said fish you are going to

have to die anyway you have to kill me

too

that way nothing is accomplished he

thought

his mouth was too dry to speak but he

could not reach for the water now

i must get him alongside this time he

thought

i am not good for many more turns

yes you are

he told himself you’re good forever

on the next turn he nearly had him

but again the fish righted himself and

swam slowly away

you are killing me fish the old man

thought

but you have a right to

never have i seen a greater or more

beautiful or a calmer or a more noble

thing

than you brother

come on and kill me

i do not care who kills who

now you are getting confused in the head

he thought

you must keep your head clear

keep your head clear and know how to

suffer like a man

or a fish

he thought

clear up head

he said in a voice he could hardly hear

clear up

twice more

it was the same on the turns

i do not know

the old man thought

he had been on the point of feeling

himself go each time

i do not know

but i will try it once more

he tried it once more and he felt

himself going when he turned the fish

the fish righted himself and swam off

again slowly with the great tale weaving

in the air

i’ll try it again

the old man promised although his hands

were mushy now and he could only see

well in flashes

he tried it again

and it was the same

so he thought

and he felt himself going before he

started

i will try it once again

he took all his pain

and what was left of his strength

and his long gone pride and he put it

against the fish’s agony

and the fish came over onto his side

and swam gently on his side his bill

almost touching the planking of the

skiff and started to pass the boat

long

deep

wide silver and barred with purple and

interminable in the water

the old man dropped the line

and put his foot on it

and lifted the harpoon as high as he

could and drove it down with all his

strength and more strength he had just

summoned into the fish’s side just

behind the great chest fin that rose

high in the air to the altitude of the

man’s chest

he felt the iron go in and he leaned on

it and drove it further and then pushed

all his weight after it

[Music]

then the fish came alive

with his death in him

and rose high out of the water showing

all his great length and width and all

his power and his beauty

he seemed to hang in the air above the

old man in the skiff

then he fell into the water with a crash

that sent spray over the old man and

over all of the skiff

the old man felt faint

and sick and he could not see well

but he cleared the harpoon line and let

it run slowly through his raw hands and

when he could see he saw the fish was on

his back with his silver belly up

the shaft of the harpoon was projecting

at an angle from the fish’s shoulder and

the sea was discoloring with the red of

the blood from his heart

first it was dark as a shoal in the blue

water that was more than a mile deep

then it spread like a cloud

the fish was silvery

and still

and floated with the waves

the old man looked carefully in the

glimpse of vision that he had

then he took two turns of the harpoon

line around the bit in the bow

and laid his head on his hands

keep my head clear

he said against the wood of the bow

i am a tired old man

but i have killed this fish

which is my brother

and now i must do the slave work

now i must prepare the nooses and the

rope to lash him alongside he thought

even if we were two and swamped her to

load him and bailed her out this skiff

would never hold him

i must prepare everything

then bring him in and lash him well and

step the mast and set sail for home

he started to pull the fish in to have

him alongside so that he could pass a

line through his gills and out his mouth

and make his head fast alongside the bow

i want to see him

he thought and to touch and to feel him

he is my fortune

he thought

but that is not why i wish to feel him

i think i felt his heart

he thought

when i pushed on the harpoon shaft the

second time

bring him in now and make him fast and

get the noose around his tail and

another around his middle to bind him to

the skiff

get to work old man

he said

he took a very small drink of the water

there is very much slave work to be done

now that the fight is over

he looked up at the sky and then out to

his fish

he looked at the sun carefully

it is not much more than noon

he thought

and the trade wind is rising

the lines all mean nothing now the boy

and i will splice them when we are home

come on fish

he said

but the fish did not come

instead he lay there wallowing now in

the seas and the old man pulled the

skiff up onto him

when he was even with him and had the

fish’s head against the bow he could not

believe his size

but he untied the harpoon rope from the

bit passed it through the fish’s gills

and out his jaws made a turn around his

sword then passed the rope through the

other gill made another turn around the

bill and knotted the double rope and

made it fast to the bit in the bow

he cut the rope then and went astern to

noose the tail

the fish had turned silver from his

original purple and silver and the

stripes showed the same pale violet

color as his tail

they were wider than a man’s hand with

his fingers spread and the fish’s eye

looked as detached as the mirrors in a

periscope or as a saint in a procession

it was the only way to kill him

the old man said

he was feeling better since the water

and he knew he would not go away and his

head was clear

he’s over 1500 pounds the way he is he

thought

maybe much more

if he dresses out two-thirds of that at

30 cents a pound

i need a pencil for that

he said

my head is not that clear

but i think the great dimaggio would be

proud of me today

i had no bone spurs

but the hands on the back hurt truly

i wonder what a bone spur is

he thought

maybe we have them without knowing of it

he made the fish fast to bow and stern

and to the middle fort

he was so big it was like lashing a much

bigger skiff alongside

he cut a piece of line and tied the

fish’s lower jaw against his bill so his

mouth would not open and they would sail

as cleanly as possible

then he stepped the mast and with the

stick that was his gaff and with his

boom rigged the patched sail drew the

boat began to move

and half lying in the stern he sailed

southwest

he did not need a compass to tell him

where southwest was

he only needed the feel of the trade

wind and the drawing of the sail

better put a small line out with a spoon

on it and try and get something to eat

and drink for the moisture

but he could not find a spoon and his

sardines were rotten

so he hooked a patch of yellow golf weed

with the gaff as they passed and shook

it so that the small shrimps that were

in it fell onto the planking of the

skiff

there were more than a dozen of them and

they jumped and kicked like sand fleas

the old man pinched their heads off with

his thumb and forefinger and ate them

chewing up the shells and the tails

they were very tiny but he knew they

were nourishing and they tasted good

the old man still had two drinks of

water in the bottle and he used half of

one after he had eaten the shrimps

the skiff was sailing well considering

the handicaps and he steered with the

tiller under his arm

he could see the fish

and he had only to look at his hands and

feel his back against the stern to know

that this had truly happened and was not

a dream

at one time when he was feeling so badly

toward the end he had thought perhaps it

was a dream

then when he had seen the fish come out

of the water and hang motionless in the

sky before he fell he was sure there was

some great strangeness and he could not

believe it

then he could not see well

although now he saw as well as ever

now he knew there was the fish and his

hands and back were no dream

the hands cured quickly he thought

i bled them clean and the salt water

will heal them

the dark water of the true golf is the

greatest healer that there is

all i must do is keep the head clear

the hands have done their work and we

sail well

with his mouth shut and his tail

straight up and down we sail like

brothers

then his head started to become a little

unclear and he thought is he bringing me

in or am i bringing him in

if i were towing him behind

there would be no question

nor if the fish were in the skiff with

all dignity gone there would be no

question either

but they were sailing together lashed

side by side and the old man thought let

him bring me in if it pleases him

i am only better than him through

trickery

and he meant me no harm

they sailed well

and the old man soaked his hands in the

salt water and tried to keep his head

clear

there were high cumulus clouds and

enough cirrus above them so that the old

man knew the breeze would last all night

the old man looked at the fish

constantly to make sure it was true

it was an hour

before the first shark hid him

the shark was not an accident

he had come up from deep down in the

water as the dark cloud of blood had

settled and dispersed in the mild deep

sea

he had come up so fast and absolutely

without caution that he broke the

surface of the blue water and was in the

sun

then he fell back into the sea and

picked up the scent and started swimming

on the course the skiff and the fish had

taken

sometimes he lost the scent

but he would pick it up again or have

just a trace of it and he swam fast and

hard on the course

he was a very big mako shark built to

swim as fast as the fastest fish in the

sea and everything about him was

beautiful except his jaws

his back was as blue as a swordfish’s

and his belly was silver and his hide

was smooth and handsome

he was built as a swordfish except for

his huge jaws which were tight shut now

as he swam fast just under the surface

with his high dorsal fin knifing through

the water without wavering

inside the closed double lip of his jaws

all of his eight rows of teeth were

slanted inwards

they were not the ordinary

pyramid-shaped teeth of most sharks

they were shaped like a man’s fingers

when they are crisped like claws

they were nearly as long as the fingers

of the old man and they had razor sharp

cutting edges on both sides

this was a fish built to feed on all the

fishes in the sea that were so fast and

strong and well armed that they had no

other enemy

now he speeded up as he smelled the

fresher scent and his blue dorsal fin

cut the water

when the old man saw him coming he knew

that this was a shark that had no fear

at all and would do exactly what he

wished

he prepared the harpoon and made the

rope fast while he watched the shark

come on

the rope was short

as it lacked what he had cut away to

lash the fish

the old man’s head was clear and good

now and he was full of resolution

but he had little hope

it was too good to last

he thought

he took one look at the great fish as he

watched the shark close in

it might as well have been a dream

he thought

i cannot keep him from hitting me but

maybe i can get him

then too so

he thought

bad luck to your mother

the shark closed fast a stern and when

he hit the fish the old man saw his

mouth open and his strange eyes and the

clicking chop of the teeth as he drove

forward in the meat just above the tail

the shark’s head was out of water and

his back was coming out and the old man

could hear the noise of skin and flesh

ripping on the big fish when he rammed

the harpoon down onto the shark’s head

at a spot where the line between his

eyes intersected with the line that ran

straight back from his nose

there were no such lines there was only

the heavy sharp blue head and the big

eyes and the clicking thrusting all

swallowing jaws

but that was the location of the brain

and the old man hid it

he hit it with his blood mushed hands

driving a good harpoon with all his

strength

he hid it without hope but with

resolution

and

malignancy the shark swung over

and the old man saw his eye was not

alive

and then he swung over once again

wrapping himself in two loops of the

rope

the old man knew that he was dead but

the shark would not accept it

then on his back with his tail lashing

and his jaws clicking the shark plowed

over the water as a speedboat does

the water was white where his tail beat

it and three quarters of his body was

clear above the water when the rope came

taut shivered and then snapped

the shark lay quietly for a little while

on the surface

and the old man watched him

then he went down

very slowly

he took about 40 pounds

the old man said aloud

he took my harpoon too and all the rope

he thought and now my fish bleeds again

and there will be others

he did not like to look at the fish

anymore since he had been mutilated

when the fish had been hit it was as

though he himself were hit

but i killed the shark that hit my fish

he thought

and he was the biggest deducer i have

ever seen and god knows that i have seen

big ones

it was too good to last

he thought

i wish it had been a dream now and that

i had never hooked the fish and was

alone in bed on the newspapers

but man is not made for defeat

he said

a man can be destroyed but not defeated

i am sorry that i killed the fish though

he thought

now the bad time is coming and i do not

even have the harpoon

then do so as cruel and able and strong

and intelligent

but i was more intelligent than he was

perhaps not

he thought perhaps i was only better

armed

don’t think old man

he said aloud

sail on this course and take it when it

comes

but i must think

he thought

because it is all i have left

that and baseball

i wonder how the great dimaggia would

have liked the way i hid him on the

brain

it was no great thing

he thought

any man could do it

but do you think my hands were as great

a handicap as the bone spurs

i cannot know

i never had anything wrong with my heel

except the time the stingray stung it

when i stepped on him when swimming and

paralyzed the lower leg and made the

unbearable pain

think about something cheerful old man

he said

every minute now you are closer to home

you say a lighter for the loss of 40

pounds

he knew quite well the pattern of what

could happen when he reached the inner

part of the current

but there was nothing to be done now

yes there is

he said aloud

i can lash my knife to the butt of one

of the oars

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

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 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

made it backed a little further into the

northeast and he knew that meant 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

i

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 a 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

watch 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

i

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 hid 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

it was an easy shot now and he felt the

cartilage sever

the old man reversed the ore 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

the old man wiped the blade of his knife

and laid down the ore

then he found the sheet and the sail

filled

and he brought the skiff onto her course

they must have taken a quarter of him

and of the best meat

he said aloud

i wish it were a dream

and that i had never hooked him

i’m sorry about it fish

it makes everything wrong

he stopped

and he did not want to look at the fish

now

drained of blood and a wash he looked

the color of the silver backing of a

mirror and his stripes still showed

i shouldn’t have gone so far out fish

he said neither for you nor for me

i’m sorry fish

now

he said to himself

look to the lashing on the knife and see

if it has been cut

then get your hand in order because

there still is more to come

i wish i had a stone for the knife

the old man said after he had checked

the lashing on the orb

i should have brought a stone

you should have brought many things he

thought but you did not bring them old

man now is no time to think of what you

do not have think of what you can do

with what there is

you give me much good counsel

he said aloud

i’m tired of it

he held the tiller under his arm and

soaked both his hands in the water as

the skiff drove forward

god knows how much that last one took

he said

but she’s much lighter now

he did not want to think of the

mutilated underside of the fish

he knew that each of the jerking bumps

of the shark had been meat torn away and

that the fish now made a trail for all

sharks as wide as a highway through the

sea

he was a fish to keep a man all winter

he thought

don’t think of that

just rest and try to get your hands in

shape to defend what is left of him

the blood smell from my hands means

nothing now with all that scent in the

water besides they do not bleed much

there is nothing cut that means anything

the bleeding may keep the left from

cramping

what can i think of now

he

thought

nothing

i must think of nothing

and wait for the next ones

i wish it had really been a dream

he thought

but who knows

it might have turned out well

the next shark that came was a single

shovel nose

he came like a pig to the trough if a

pig had a mouth so wide that you could

put your head in it

the old man let him hit the fish and

then drove the knife on the oar down

into his brain

but the shark jerked backwards as he

rolled

and the knife blade snapped

the old man settled himself to steer

he did not even watch the big shark

sinking slowly in the water showing

first life-size then small

then tiny

that always fascinated the old man

but he did not even watch it now

i have the gaffe now

he said but it will do no good

i have the two oars and the tiller and

the short club

now they have beaten me

he thought

i am too old to club sharks to death

but i will try it

as long as i have the oars and the short

club and the tiller

he put his hands in the water again to

soak them

it was getting late in the afternoon and

he saw nothing but the sea and the sky

there was more wind in the sky than

there had been and soon he hoped that he

would see land

you’re tired old man

he said you’re tired inside

the sharks did not hit him again until

just before sunset

the old man saw the brown fins coming

along the wide trail the fish must make

in the water

they were not even quartering on the

scent they were headed straight for the

skiff swimming side by side

he jammed the tiller made the sheet fast

and reached under the stern for the club

it was an ore handle from a broken ore

sawed off to about two and a half feet

in length

he could only use it effectively with

one hand because of the grip of the

handle and he took good hold of it with

his right hand flexing his hand on it as

he watched the sharks come

they were both galanos

i must let the first one get a good hold

and hit him on the point of the nose or

straight across the top of the head he

thought

the two sharks closed together

and as he saw the one nearest him open

his jaws and sink them into the silver

side of the fish he raised the club high

and brought it down heavy and slamming

onto the top of the shark’s broad head

he felt the rubbery solidity as the club

came down

but he felt the rigidity of bone too and

he struck the shark once more hard

across the point of the nose as he slid

down from the fish

the other shark had been in and out and

now came in again with his jaws wide

the old man could see pieces of the meat

of the fish spilling white from the

corner of his jaws as he bumped the fish

and closed his jaws

he swung at him and hid only the head

and the shark looked at him and wrenched

the meat loose

the old man swung the club down on him

again as he slipped away to swallow and

hid only the heavy solid rubberiness

come on galano the old man said come in

again

the shark came in a rush and the old man

hit him as he shut his jaws

he hit him solidly and from as high up

as he could raise the club

this time he felt the bone at the base

of the brain and he hit him again in the

same place while the shark tore the meat

loose sluggishly and slid down from the

fish

the old man watched for him to come

again but neither shark showed

then he saw one on the surface swimming

in circles

he did not see the fin of the other

i could not expect to kill them

you thought

i could have in my time

but i have hurt them both badly

and neither one can feel very

good if i could have used a bat with two

hands i could have killed the first one

surely

even now

he thought

he did not want to look at the fish

he knew that half of him had been

destroyed

the sun had gone down while he had been

in the fight with the sharks

it will be dark soon

he said

then i should see the glow of havana

if i am too far to the eastward i will

see the lights of one of the new beaches

i cannot be too far out now

he thought

i hope no one has been too worried

there is only the boy to worry of course

but i am sure he would have confidence

many of the older fishermen will worry

many others too

he thought

i live in a good town

he could not talk to the fish anymore

because the fish had been ruined too

badly

then something came into his head

half fish

he said

fish that you were

i am sorry that i went too far out

i ruined us both

but we have killed many sharks

you and i

and ruined many others

how many did you ever kill old fish

you do not have that spear on your head

for nothing

he liked to think of the fish and what

he could do to a shark if he was

swimming free

i should have chopped the bill off to

fight them with he thought but there was

no hatchet and then there was no knife

but if i had and could have lashed it to

an orb what a weapon

then we might have fought them together

what will you do now if they come in the

night

what can you do

fight them

he said i’ll fight them until i die

but in the dark now

and no glow showing and no lights and

only the wind and the steady pull of the

sail he felt that perhaps he was already

dead

he put his two hands together and felt

the palms

they were not dead

and he could bring the pain of life by

simply opening and closing them

he leaned his back against the stern and

knew he was not dead his shoulders told

him

i have all those prayers i promised if i

caught the fish

he thought

but i am too tired to say them now

i better get the sack and put it over my

shoulders

he lay in the stern and steered

and watched for the glow to come in the

sky

i have half of him he thought

maybe i’ll have the luck to bring the

forward half in

i should have some luck

no

he said

you violated your luck when you went too

far outside

don’t be silly

he said aloud

and keep awake and steer you may have

much luck yet

i’d like to buy some if there’s any

place they sell it he said

what can i buy it with

he asked himself could i buy it with a

lost harpoon and a broken knife and two

bad hands

you might

he said you tried to buy it with 84 days

at sea they nearly sold it to you too

i must not think nonsense he thought

luck is a thing that comes in many forms

and who can recognize her

i would take some though in any form and

pay what they asked

i wish i could see the glow from the

lights

he thought

i wish too many things but that is the

thing i wish for

[Music]

now he tried to settle more comfortably

to steer and from his pain he knew he

was not dead

he saw the reflected glare of the lights

of the city yet what must have been

around 10 o’clock at night

they were only perceptible at first as

the light is in the sky before the moon

rises

then they were steady to see across the

ocean which was rough now with the

increasing breeze

he steered inside of the glow and he

thought that now soon he must hit the

edge of the stream

now it is over

he thought

they will probably hit me again

but what can a man do against them in

the dark without a weapon

he was stiff and sore now and his wounds

and all of the strained parts of his

body hurt with the cold of the night

i hope i do not have to fight again

he thought

i hope so much i do not have to fight

again

but by midnight he fought

and this time he knew the fight was

useless

they came in a pack

and he could only see the lines and the

water that their fins made and their

phosphorescence as they threw themselves

on the fish

he clubbed at heads and heard the jaws

chop and the shaking of the skiff as

they took hold below

he clubbed desperately at what he could

only feel and hear and he felt something

seized the club and it was gone

he jerked the tiller free from the

rudder and beat and chopped with it

holding it in both hands and driving it

down again and again

but they were up to the bow now and

driving in one after the other and

together tearing off the pieces of meat

that showed glowing below the sea as

they turned to come once more

one came finally against the head itself

and he knew that it was over

he swung the tiller across the shark’s

head where the jaws were caught in the

heaviness of the fish’s head which would

not tear he swung it once and twice

and again

he heard the tiller break and he lunged

at the shark with the splintered butt

he felt it go in and knowing it was

sharp he drove it in again

the shark let go and rolled away

that was the last shark of the pack that

came

there was nothing more for them to eat

the old man could hardly breathe now

and he felt a strange taste in his mouth

it was coppery and sweet and he was

afraid of it for a moment

but there was not much of it

he spat into the ocean and said eat that

galanos

and make a dream you’ve killed a man

he knew he was beaten now finally and

without remedy and he went back to the

stern and found the jagged end of the

tiller would fit in the slot of the

rudder well enough for him to steer

he settled the sack around his shoulders

and put the skiff on her course

he sailed lightly now and he had no

thoughts or any feelings of any kind

he was past everything now

and he sailed the skiff to make his home

port as well and as intelligently as he

could

in the night

sharks hit the carcass as someone might

pick up crumbs from the table

the old man paid no attention to them

and did not pay any attention to

anything except steering

he only noticed how lightly and how well

the skiff sailed now there was no great

weight beside her

she’s good

he thought

she is sound and not harmed in any way

except for the tiller that is easily

replaced

he could feel he was inside the current

now and he could see the lights of the

beach colonies along the shore

he knew where he was now and it was

nothing to get home

the wind is our friend anyway

he thought

then he added

sometimes

and the great sea with our friends and

our enemies

and bed

he thought bed is my friend

just bed

he thought bed will be a great thing

it is easy when you are beaten he

thought i never knew how easy it was

and what beat you

he thought

nothing

he said aloud

i went out too far

when he sailed into the little harbor

the lights of the terrorists were out

and he knew everyone was in bed

the breeze had risen steadily and was

blowing strongly now

it was quiet in the harbor though and he

sailed up onto the little patch of

shingle below the rocks

there was no one to help him so he

pulled the boat up as far as he could

then he stepped out and made her fast a

rock

he unstepped the mast and furled the

sail and tied it

then he shouldered the mast and started

to climb

it was then he knew the depth of his

tiredness

he stopped for a moment

and looked back

and saw in the reflection from the

streetlight the great tale of the fish

standing up well behind the skiff’s

stern

he saw the white naked line of his

backbone and the dark mass of the head

with the projecting bill and all the

nakedness between

he started to climb again

and at the top he fell

and lay for some time with the mast

across his shoulder

he tried to get up

but it was too difficult

and he sat there with the mast on his

shoulder and looked at the road

a cat passed on the far side going about

its business and the old man watched it

then he just watched the road

finally he put the mask down and stood

up

he picked the mast up and put it on his

shoulder and started up the road

he had to sit down five times before he

reached his shack

inside the shack he leaned the mast

against the wall

in the dark he found a water bottle and

took a drink

then he lay down on the bed

he pulled the blanket over his shoulders

and then over his back and legs

and he slept face down on the newspapers

with his arms out straight and the palms

of his hands up

he was asleep

when the boy looked in the door in the

morning

it was blowing so hard that the drifting

boats would not be going out and the boy

had slept late and then come to the old

man’s shack as he had come each morning

the boys saw that the old man was

breathing and then he saw the old man’s

hands

and he started to cry

he went out very quietly to go to bring

some coffee

and all the way down the road he was

crying

many fishermen were around the skiff

looking at what was lashed beside it and

one was in the water his trousers rolled

up measuring the skeleton with a length

of line

the boy did not go down

he had been there before and one of the

fishermen was looking after the skiff

for him

how is he

one of the fishermen shouted

sleeping the boy called

he did not care that they saw him crying

let no one disturb him

he was 18 feet from nose to tail

the fisherman who was measuring him

called

i believe it

the boy said

he went into the terrace and asked for a

can of coffee

hot and with plenty of milk and sugar in

it

anything more

no afterwards i will see what he can eat

what a fish it was the proprietor said

there has never been such a fish

those were two fine fish you took

yesterday too

damn my fish

the boy said and he started to cry again

do you want a drink of any kind the

proprietor asked

no

the boy said

tell them not to bother santiago i’ll be

back

tell him how sorry i am thanks the boy

said

the boy carried the hot can of coffee up

to the old man’s shack and sat by him

until he woke

once it looked as though he were waking

but he had gone back into heavy sleep

and the boy had gone across the road to

borrow some wood to heat the coffee

finally the old man woke

don’t sit up the boy said drink this

he poured some of the coffee in a glass

the old man took it and drank it

they beat me manolin

he said they truly beat me

he didn’t beat you

not the fish

no

truly

it was afterwards

pedrico is looking after the skiff and

the gear

what do you want done with the head

let pedrico chop it up to using fish

traps

and the

spear you keep it if you want it

i want it the boy said

now we must make our plans about the

other things

did they search for me

of course

with coast guard and with planes

the ocean is very big

and a skiff is small and hard to see

the old man said

he noticed how pleasant it was to have

someone to talk to instead of speaking

only to himself and to the sea

i missed you

he said

what did you catch

one the first day

on the second and to the third

very good

now we fish together again

oh

i am not lucky

i am not lucky anymore

the hell with luck the boy said i’ll

bring the luck with me

what will your family say

i do not care

i caught two yesterday but we will fish

together now for i still have much to

learn

we must get a good killing lance and

always have it on board

you can make the blade from a spring

leaf from an old ford

we can grind it in guanabaqua

it should be sharp and not tempered so

it will break

my knife broke

i’ll get another knife and have the

spring ground

how many days of heavy breesa have we

maybe three

maybe more

i will have everything in order the boys

said

you get your hands well old man

i know how to care for them in the night

i spat something strange and felt

something in my chest was broken

get that well too

the boy said

lie down old man and i will bring you

your clean shirt

and something to eat

bring any of the papers of the time that

i was gone

the old man said

you must get well fast

for there is much that i can learn and

you can teach me everything

how much did you suffer

plenty

the old man said

i’ll bring the food and the papers the

boys said

rest well old man

i will bring stuff from the drugstore

for your hands

don’t forget to tell pedrico the head is

his

no

i will remember

as the boy went out the door and down

the worn coral rock road he was crying

again

that afternoon there was a party of

tourists at the terrace

and looking down in the water among the

empty beer cans and dead barracudas a

woman saw a great long white spine with

a huge tail at the end that lifted and

swung with the tide while the east wind

blew a heavy steady sea outside the

entrance to the harbour

what’s that

she asked a waiter and pointed to the

long backbone of the great fish that was

now just garbage waiting to go out with

the tide

the waiter said

ishaq

he was meaning to explain what had

happened

i didn’t know sharks had such handsome

beautifully formed tails

i didn’t either

her male companion said

up the road

in his shack the old man was sleeping

again

he was still sleeping on his face

and the boy was sitting by him watching

him

the old man was dreaming

about the lions

the end

[Music]

you