Edgar went fishing with his grandfather on Saturday. They got up before the sun and walked to the lake. They sat on a wooden bridge. They had two long rods and a bucket.
星期六，埃德加和爷爷去钓鱼。他们赶在太阳升起之前起了床，走到湖边。他们坐在一座木桥上。他们带了两根长鱼竿和一个水桶。
The water was flat and gray. The hours went by. At noon, they ate bread and cheese. Edgar looked in the bucket. It was empty.
水面平静，灰蒙蒙的。时间一小时一小时地过去。中午，他们吃了面包和奶酪。埃德加朝桶里看了看。桶是空的。
"Maybe the fish are on holiday," he said.
“也许鱼都去度假了，”他说。
His grandfather laughed. "Maybe. Do you want to hear a story?"
爷爷笑了。“也许吧。你想听个故事吗？”
"Yes," Edgar said.
“想，”埃德加说。
"When I was your age, I fished all summer," his grandfather said. "For one month, I caught nothing. Then one evening, I caught a fish. It was very small. I was so proud that I ran home with it."
“我像你这么大的时候，整个夏天都在钓鱼，”爷爷说，“有一个月，我什么也没钓到。后来有一天傍晚，我钓到了一条鱼。它很小很小。我得意极了，拿着它一路跑回家。”
"What did your father say?" Edgar asked.
“你爸爸说什么了？”埃德加问。
"He said, 'It is a good fish. Let it grow.' So I put it back in the water. I was sad for one minute. After that, I understood."
“他说：‘这是条好鱼。让它长大吧。’于是我把它放回了水里。我难过了一分钟。后来，我就明白了。”
Edgar listened and watched the water. The afternoon was long and quiet. Then the sun went low, and the lake turned orange.
埃德加一边听，一边看着水面。下午漫长而安静。后来太阳落得很低，湖面变成了橘红色。
Suddenly his rod moved. Edgar pulled it up. A small silver fish jumped at the end of the line. It was no bigger than his hand.
突然，他的鱼竿动了。埃德加把它拉起来。一条银色的小鱼在鱼线的末端跳动。它还没有他的手大。
"You caught one," his grandfather said.
“你钓到了一条，”爷爷说。
Edgar held the fish for a moment. Then he put it back in the lake. It went down into the dark water. The two of them picked up the bucket and walked home.
埃德加把鱼捧在手里片刻。然后他把它放回了湖里。小鱼游进了幽暗的水中。祖孙俩提起水桶，走路回家了。
