第3章 The Old Man on the Sea[第1页/共12页]

He loved green turtles and hawks-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 men-of-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 a ton. Most people are heartless about turtles because a 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.

Now the man watched the dip of the three sticks over the side of the skiff and rowed gently to keep the lines straight up and down and at their proper depths.It was quite light and any moment now the sun would rise.

He also drank a cup of shark liver oil each day from the big drum in 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 grippes and it was good for the eyes.