登陆注册
724800000013

第13章 英文版 (3)

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 and 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.

“That 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. He hit the longest ball I have 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. Then I asked you to ask him and you were too timid.”

“I know. It was a great mistake. He 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 Sisler’s 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 Jota for J.

“He used to come to the Terrace sometimes too in the older days. But he was rough and 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 Durocher had continued to come here each year your father would think him the greatest manager.”

“Who is the greatest manager, really, Luque or Mike Gonzalez?”

“I think they are equal.”

“And the best fisherman is you.”

“No. I know others better.”

“Que Va,” 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 wake you in time.”

“I do not like for him to wake me. 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 his 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 at morning.

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 harbours 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.”

“Qua Va,” 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, in the dark, barefoot men were moving, carrying the masts of their boats.

同类推荐
  • 缺钙

    缺钙

    尹守国,2006年开始小说创作,发表中短篇小说70多万字,作品多次被《新华文摘》、《小说选刊》、《北京文学中篇小说月报》等选载,中国作家协会会员,辽宁省作协签约作家。
  • 危楼记事

    危楼记事

    在S市Y大街J巷,有过一幢危险房屋。市政当局好像计划拆除,但也只是计划而已。亏得大家能够将就凑合,楼房里的二十家住户(自然也包括我),竟然在危楼里生活了许多年。谢天谢地,现在,谁也找不到这幢整天让人提心吊胆的楼房,它那破陋衰败的形象,已经从地平线上消失了。危楼原址正在破土动工,大兴土木。据说不会很久,S市的最高层建筑物将在这里拔地而起。危楼不存在了,但危楼的居民还在。下面所讲的,也许正生活在你周围的,而原来却是我邻居的一些故事。
  • 黑白

    黑白

    故事围绕着陶羊子与围棋息息相关的生活展开,通过围棋写人生,通过个人写历史,题材独特。深深发掘了传统文化中蕴含的独特魅力。,小说的背景放在民国时期,讲述一代棋王陶羊子在棋道上的修行。这部被文学评论界称为“中国首部表现棋文化的长篇杰作”的作品,描写了棋手陶羊子跌宕的一生。本书讲述江南多雨的小镇,是陶羊子人生的出发点。如水的灵气和如雨的晦蒙养成了他童年孤独、敏感的性格,也形成了他水般柔弱、水般坚韧的棋路
  • 诺贝尔文学奖文集:诸神渴了

    诺贝尔文学奖文集:诸神渴了

    诺贝尔文学奖,以其人类理想主义的伟大精神,为世界文学提供了永恒的标准。其中所包含的诗、小说、散文、戏剧、哲学、史学等不同体裁。不同风格的杰作,流光溢彩,各具特色,全面展现了20世纪世界文学的总体各局。这些路数迥异的作家,虽语种不同、观念不同、背景不同,但他们那高擎思想主义旗帜的雄姿是相同的,他们那奋勇求索的自由精神是相同的。而他们的雄姿,无不闪现于他们的作品之中;他们的精神,无不渗透于这些作品的字里行间。这套丛书所承载的,正是他们那令万世崇敬的全部精华。一套丛书,为我们竖起了一座20世纪的文学丰碑。
  • 橡树路

    橡树路

    “行走”,始终是作者心中一个永远排遣不掉、充满了诱惑和诗意的童话。橡树路,这条已有200多年历史的“租界”,是一座充满了传奇和神秘色彩的古堡,主人公的这次行走是从进入古堡开始的,跨越久远又如此斑驳,但最终他还是立足在20世纪50年代出生的一批人的故事中,因为作者始终认为:这一代人经历的是一段极为特殊的生命历程。本书充分书写了令人揪心的一段现实苦难,但却将最不可思议的一曲童话榫卯契合地嵌入其中,将现实中的“王子”和“仙女”与童话中的一一对应,并将二者的历史渊源神奇地探求追溯,做到了历史与现实、童话与真实的一次无缝衔接。
热门推荐
  • 他亦有爱

    他亦有爱

    当年,简莫璃十八岁的时候,为父还债,她成了礼物。作为礼物,她成了恶魔的猎物,只有任他宰割。他既邪恶又冷血无情,明明不喜欢她,却又……可就是这样一个魔鬼,却忽然有一天对她说:他爱她?简莫璃听后却止不住的笑了,只是轻轻的问:“所以呢?”“所以呢?”男人习惯的挑眉,俊美的脸上却荡起了霸道的笑:“所以你简莫璃唯一的男人必须只能是我,而你也只能是我的女人!”
  • 空窗

    空窗

    这是一个青春飞扬的故事:一群优越而忧郁的宠儿,透过都市扑朔迷离的浊流,流露出心灵深处的真情。复杂多角的人物关系为故事营造悬念,奇特的人物设置给人留下很深的印象。章元的小说既具备新生代作家的多元视角和现代性,又不乏女性的敏感和细腻。
  • 电子政务应用趋势与实践创新

    电子政务应用趋势与实践创新

    本书是作者基于多年的电子政务工作实践凝练而成,主要涉及电子政务的基础理论和应用实践两个方面。帮助读者从概念层面、技术层面到实践层面全面把握电子政务的理论知识及应用技术。全书共分8章,第1章至第5章为基础篇,分别介绍了电子政务的基础理论、电子政务与政府管理创新、国内外电子政务的发展、电子政务的信息技术支撑和电子政务的安全保障;第6章至第8章为应用篇,分别介绍了电子政务办公自动化系统、电子政务门户网站和电子政务信息资源系统的规划、设计、建设和利用。为紧密结合十七届六中全会精神的要求,本书对当前网络文化建设、网络问政实施、网络新媒体应对及网络舆情引导等热点问题进行了深入地阐释。
  • 萝莉行不行

    萝莉行不行

    萝莉会法术谁也挡不住!云芷这小丫头自从利用禁术到了另外的时空之后,居然来到了尚武不尚术的世界。她这种走路都会摔跤,只会用法术的萝莉,生存都面临威胁,怎么还能撑起一片天空啊!反正不是死就是活,本小姐还就不信了!欺负我的人都要死,让你们见识见识真正的术到底有多厉害!
  • 重生终结者

    重生终结者

    陶晴的工作内容:搞穿越,灭绝重生!陶晴的工作原则:人开挂,我开大挂!陶晴的工作理念:谁重生,我整死谁!陶晴的工作目标:附身好,天地不知!陶晴的工作现状:综以上,噩梦一场……重生终结者,陶晴喜欢这个职业,因为可以享受斗来斗去斗死人的过程,更因为可以碾转在不同的时空,然后身临其境却又冷眼旁观他们的喜怒痴怨嗔……直到有一天,她自己沦陷在别人的故事里……
  • 我们三个都是穿越来的

    我们三个都是穿越来的

    我是因为看了很多的穿越小说,也很想穿越。谁想我想想就能穿越,穿越就穿越吧,居然穿成怀孕九月的待产产妇,开玩笑嘛!人家在二十一世纪还是黄花一枚呢。这也可以接受,可是明明是丞相之女,堂堂四皇子的正牌王妃怎么会居住在这么一个几十平米得破落小院子里,她怎么混的,亏她还一身绝世武功,再是医毒双绝。哎。没关系,既然让我继承了这么多优越条件,一个王爷算得了什么?生下一对龙凤胎,居然都是穿过来的,神啊,你对我太好了吧?且看我们母子三人在古代风生水起笑料百出的古代生活吧。片段一在我走出大门时,突然转身对着轩辕心安说道:“王爷,若是哪天不幸你爱上了我,我定会让你生不如死的。”然后魅惑地一笑,潇洒地走了出去。片段二当我对着铜镜里的美人自恋地哼出不着调地歌时。“别哼了,难听死了。”一个清脆的声音响起。~~~接着一声尖叫紧跟着另一声尖叫。我用上轻功躲进了被子里.~~~"我和你一样是二十一世纪来的。”“你好,娘亲,哥哥,以后要多多指教。”来自两个婴儿的嘴里,我摸摸额头,没高烧啊。片段三“小鱼儿,我可是你孩子的爹,况且我没有写休书,你还是我的王妃。我会对你好的。”安王爷霸道地说道。“你们认识他吗?他说是你们的爹?”我问着脚边的两个孩子。“不认识,”女孩说道。“我们的爹不是埋在土里了吗?怎么他一点也不脏?”男孩问道。那个男人满头黑线。“对不起,我们不认识你。”说完拉着孩子转身就走。片段四“爹爹,这是我娘,你看漂亮吧?”南宫心乐拉着一个白衣帅哥进来问道。我无语中。“爹爹,你看我娘亲厉害吧?“南宫心馨拉着另外一个妖精似地男人走了进来。我想晕。“这才是我们的爹。”“才不是呢,这个才是”两人开始吵起来了。“我才是你们的爹。”安王爷气急地吼道。“滚一边去。”两个小孩同时说道。屋里顿时混乱之中。转头,回屋睡觉去了。推荐完结文《别哭黛玉》完结文《穿越之无泪潇湘》新文,《极品花痴》
  • 尸心不改

    尸心不改

    控尸门的欢乐二缺弟子江篱炼了一具美得人神共愤引得天雷阵阵的男尸,以为好日子开始了,结果没想到门派惨遭灭门。--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 傻子王爷无情妃

    傻子王爷无情妃

    一只毒蝎子,彻底断送了她年轻的生命!别人只知道,那个软弱没主见的女人被迫嫁给一个痴傻呆闷的七皇子。殊不知,她早已不再是“她”!面对痴傻只会憨笑的美男,她气愤难填!你傻,本美女就医好你,谁知医好后,遭到嫌弃,却换来一纸休书,气愤之下,她恨不得与他同归于尽……
  • 仙夫仙妻

    仙夫仙妻

    始终横下了一个她,他深深的爱着童年的玩伴少女乌鸦,命运的漩涡总是一次又一次地将他们撞开、挤拢……在那黑暗的空间里,一生都在与她纠缠不清,他那个人称“烂货”的婶娘,然而,在他们的生命中,婚前婚后总是想方设法来诱惑他,渴望双宿双飞,让他背负了太多的说不清道不明……,一生都在渴望拥有她
  • 无敌大小姐

    无敌大小姐

    当现代阴狠毒辣,手段极多的火家大小姐火无情,穿越到一个好色如命,花痴草包大小姐身上,会发生怎样的化学反应?火无情一醒过来就发现,自己竟然在众目睽睽之下上演脱衣秀。周围还有一群围观者。这一发现,让她极为不爽。刚刚穿好衣服,便看到一个声称是自家老头的老不死气势汹汹的跑来问罪。刚上来,就要打她。这还得了?她火无情从生自死,都是王者。敢动她的人,都在和阎王喝茶。于是,她一怒之下,打了老爹。众人皆道:火家小姐阴狠毒辣,竟然连老爹都不放在眼里。就这样,她的罪名又多了一条。蛇蝎美人。穿越后,火无情的麻烦不断。第一天,打了爹。第二天,毁了姐姐的容。第三天,骂了二娘。第四天,当众轻薄了天下第一公子。第五天,火家贴出招亲启事:但凡愿意娶火家大小姐者,皆可去火府报名。来者不限。不怕死,不想活的,欢迎前来。警示:但凡来此,生死皆与火家无关。若有残病者火家一律不负法律责任。本以为无人敢到,岂料是桃花朵朵。美男个个很妖娆一号美人:火无炎。火家大少爷。为人不清楚,手段不清楚。容貌不清楚。唯一清楚的是,他有钱。有多多的钱。火无情语录:钱是好东西。娶了。(此美男,由美瞳掩饰不了你眼神的空洞领养。)火老爷一气之下,昏了过去。家门不幸,家门不幸啊。二号美人:竹清月。江湖人称天上神仙,地上无月。大国师一枚。美得惊天动地。火无情语录:美人好,尤其是自带嫁妆又会预测未来的美人,娶了。(此美男,由东de琳琳领养)三号美人:轩辕子玉。当朝七皇子,游历四国。一张可爱无敌的脸。单纯至极。火无情语录:可爱的孩子好,可爱又乖巧的孩子更好。可爱乖巧又不用给钱的孩子,娶了。(此美男,由刘千绮领养)皇帝听闻,两眼一抹黑。他的儿啊。怎么就这么不争气呢。四号美人:天下第一美男。性格不详,籍贯不详。火无情语录:谜一样的美人,她喜欢。每天都有新鲜感。娶了。(此美男,由告别的爱情li领养。)五号美人:天下第一名伶。火无情语录:解风情的美男,如果没钱花把他卖了都不用调教。娶了。(此美男由伊眸领养。)六号美男:解忧楼楼主。相貌不详,身世不详。爱好杀人。火无情语录:凶恶的美人,她喜欢。娶了。(此美男由陈铭铭领养)七号美男:琴圣。貌如谪仙,琴音杀人。冷清眸子中,百转千回,说尽风流。(此美男由伊眸领养)夜杀:天下第一杀手。(此美男由静寂之夜领养)