“Be patient,hand,”he said“, I do this for you.”
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.
“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.”
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.
“Fish,”he said,“I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.”
“Light brisa,”he said.“Better weather for me than for you,fish.”
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.