“Take a good rest, small bird," he said. "Then go in and take your chance like any man or bird or fish.”

“Fish," the old man said. "Fish, you are going to have to die anyway. Do you have to kill me too?”

“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.”

“They would hit a man in the water, if they were hungry, even if the man had no smell of fish blood nor of fish slime on him.“Ay,” the old man said. “Galanos. Come on galanos.”

“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 it is only one man against him, nor that it is an old man. But what a great fish he is and what will he 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 plans or if he is just as desperate as I am?”

“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.”

“Damn my fish,' the boy said and he started to cry again.”