Then, a short, little old body like me, should never undertake to wade out into deep waters with tall, heron-built captains; 那么，象我这样一个又矮又小的老头儿，决不应该跟那些个苍鹭一般身材高大的船长一起蹚到深水的地方去；

　　the water chucks you under the chin pretty quick, and there's a great cry for life-boats. 海水很快就会卡住你的头颈，那就得大叫救命啦。

　　And here's the heron's leg! long and slim, sure enough! 嗯，这就是一只苍鹭腿！又长又细，果真不错！

　　Now, for most folks one pair of legs lasts a lifetime, 大多数的人，一双腿可以用上一生一世，

　　and that must be because they use them mercifully, as a tender-hearted old lady uses her roly-poly old coach-horses. 那一定是因为用得仔仔细细的缘故，就象一个慈心善肠的老太太用着她那些圆胖胖的老马一般。

　　But Ahab; oh he's a hard driver. 可是，亚哈呀，他是个硬心肠的赶车人。

　　Look, driven one leg to death, and spavined the other for life, and now wears out bone legs by the cord. 你瞧，把一条腿也赶死了，还要不惜牺牲另一条腿去求生，现在却把两条骨腿的筋都蹩断了。

　　Halloa, there, you Smut! bear a hand there with those screws, and let's finish it before the resurrection fellow comes a-calling with his horn for all legs, true or false,  喂，喂，你老人家！帮帮忙。把那些螺丝递给我吧，让我们把它完工算啦！免得那个使人复活的家伙（指迦百列天使长。）又拿着号角来催唤了，是真是假，

　　as brewery men go round collecting old beer barrels, to fill 'em up again. 就象酿酒人走遍各地去收回旧酒桶，拿来再装酒那样。

　　What a leg this is! 这可是多漂亮的一条腿呀！

　　It looks like a real live leg, filed down to nothing but the core; he'll be standing on this to-morrow; he'll be taking altitudes on it. 样子很象条真的活腿，全是用榫头敲起的；他明天就要靠它来撑住啦；他就可以站在这上面量高度了。

　　Halloa! I almost forgot the little oval slate, smoothed ivory, where he figures up the latitude. 嗳哟！我简直把那小块卵石板给忘掉了，得把这块牙骨磨磨光，他要靠它来计算宽度呢。

　　So, so; chisel, file, and sand-paper, now! 唔，唔；凿子，锉子，砂纸，来吧！