English Original
Two men walked slowly, one after the other, through the shallow water of a stream. All they could see were stones and earth. The stream ran cold over their feet. They had blanket packs on their backs. They had guns, but no bullets; matches, but no food.
Suddenly the man who followed fell over a stone. He hurt his foot badly and called: "Hey, Bill, I've hurt my foot." Bill continued straight on without looking back.
The man was alone in the empty land, but he was not lost. He knew the way to their camp, where he would find food and bullets. He struggled to his feet and limped on. Bill would be waiting for him there, and together they would go south to the Hudson Bay Company. He had not eaten for two days. Often he stopped to pick some small berries and put them into his mouth. The berries were tasteless, and did not satisfy, but he knew he must eat them.
In the evening he built a fire and slept like a dead man. When he woke up, the man took out a small sack. It weighed fifteen pounds. He wasn't sure if he could carry it any longer. But he couldn't leave it behind. He had to take it with him. He put it back into his pack, rose to his feet and staggered on.
His foot hurt, but it was nothing compared with his hunger, which made him go on until darkness fell. His blanket was wet, but he knew only that he was hungry. Through his restless sleep he dreamed of banquets and of food. The man woke up cold and sick, and found himself lost. But the small sack was still with him. As he dragged himself along, the sack became heavier and heavier. The man opened the sack, which was full of small pieces of gold. He left half the gold on a rock.
Eleven days passed, days of rain and cold. One day he found the bones of a deer. There was no meat on them. The man broke the bones and he sucked and chewed on them like an animal. Would he, too, be bones tomorrow? And why not? This was life. Only life hurt. There was no hurt in death. To die was to sleep. Then why was he not ready to die? He, as a man, no longer strove. It was the life in him, unwilling to die, that drove him on.
One morning he woke up beside a river. Slowly he followed it with his eyes and saw it emptying into a shining sea. When he saw a ship on the sea, he closed his eyes. He knew there could be no ship, no sea, in this land. A vision, he told himself. He heard a noise behind him, and turned around. A wolf, old and sick, was coming slowly toward him. This was real, he thought. The man turned back, but the sea and the ship were still there. He didn't understand. Had he been walking north, away from the camp, toward the sea? He stood up and started slowly toward the ship, knowing full well the sick wolf was following him. In the afternoon, he found some bones of a man. Beside the bones was a small sack of gold, like his own. So Bill had carried his gold to the end. He would carry Bill's gold to the ship. Ha—ha! He would have the last laugh on Bill. His laughing sounded like the low cry of an animal. The wolf cried back. The man stopped suddenly and turned away. How could he laugh about Bill's bones and take his gold?
The man was very sick, now. He crawled about, on hands and knees. He had lost everything—his blanket, his gun, and his gold. Only the wolf stayed with him hour after hour. At last he could go on no further. He fell. The wolf came close to him, but the man was ready. He got on top of the wolf and held its mouth closed. Then he bit it with his last strength. The wolf's blood streamed into his mouth. Only love of life gave him enough strength. He held the wolf with his teeth and killed it, then he fell on his back and slept.
The men on the ship saw a strange object lying on the beach. It was moving toward them—perhaps twenty feet an hour. The men went over to look and could hardly believe it was a man.
Three weeks later, when the man felt better, he told them his story. But there was one strange thing—he seemed to be afraid that there wasn't enough food on the ship. The men also noticed that he was getting fat. They gave him less food, but still he grew fatter with each day. Then one day they saw him put a lot of bread under his shirt. They examined his bed and found food under his blanket. The men understood. He would recover from it, they said.
中文翻译
两个男人一前一后，缓慢地涉过一条溪流的浅水。他们目之所及，只有石头和泥土。冰冷的溪水流过他们的脚面。他们背着毯子包裹。他们有枪，但没有子弹；有火柴，但没有食物。
突然，跟在后面的男人被一块石头绊倒了。他的脚伤得很重，喊道：“嘿，比尔，我的脚受伤了。”比尔头也不回，径直继续前行。
男人独自留在这片空旷的土地上，但他并没有迷路。他知道去营地的路，在那里他能找到食物和子弹。他挣扎着站起来，一瘸一拐地继续走。比尔会在那里等他，然后他们会一起南下前往哈德逊湾公司。他已经两天没吃东西了。他常常停下来摘一些小浆果放进嘴里。浆果索然无味，无法果腹，但他知道他必须吃下去。
傍晚，他生了一堆火，像死人一样睡着了。醒来时，他拿出一个小袋子。它有十五磅重。他不确定自己还能不能继续带着它。但他不能把它丢下。他必须带着它。他把袋子放回背包，站起身，摇摇晃晃地继续前行。
他的脚很痛，但与饥饿相比，这算不了什么。饥饿驱使他一直走到夜幕降临。他的毯子湿了，但他只知道饥饿。在不安的睡眠中，他梦见了宴会和食物。男人醒来时又冷又病，发现自己迷路了。但那个小袋子还在身边。当他拖着身子前行时，袋子变得越来越重。男人打开袋子，里面装满了小金块。他把一半金子留在一块岩石上。
十一天过去了，都是阴雨寒冷的日子。一天，他发现了一具鹿的骨头。上面已经没有肉了。男人砸开骨头，像动物一样吮吸咀嚼着。明天，他也会变成一堆白骨吗？为什么不呢？这就是生命。只有活着才会痛苦。死亡中没有痛苦。死去就是长眠。那么，他为什么还不准备去死呢？作为一个人，他不再挣扎。是他体内那不愿死去的生命，驱使他继续前进。
一天早晨，他在一条河边醒来。他慢慢地用目光追随河流，看到它汇入一片波光粼粼的大海。当他看到海上有艘船时，他闭上了眼睛。他知道这片土地上不可能有船，也不可能有海。是幻觉，他告诉自己。他听到身后有声响，转过身。一只又老又病的狼正慢慢向他走来。这是真的，他想。男人转回头，但大海和船还在那里。他不明白。难道他一直朝北走，远离营地，走向了大海？他站起来，开始慢慢向船的方向挪动，心里很清楚那只病狼正跟着他。下午，他发现了一些人的骨头。骨头旁边有一个小袋子，里面装着金子，和他的一样。原来比尔把他的金子带到了最后。他要带着比尔的金子上船。哈——哈！他要对比尔发出最后的嘲笑。他的笑声听起来像动物的低嚎。狼也嚎叫回应。男人突然停下，转过身去。他怎么能嘲笑比尔的尸骨并拿走他的金子呢？
男人现在病得很重。他用手和膝盖爬行。他失去了一切——他的毯子、他的枪和他的金子。只有那只狼时时刻刻陪伴着他。最后，他再也爬不动了。他倒下了。狼靠近了他，但男人准备好了。他爬到狼身上，紧紧闭住它的嘴。然后用尽最后的力量咬了下去。狼血流进了他的嘴里。只有对生命的热爱给了他足够的力量。他用牙齿咬住狼，杀死了它，然后仰面倒下睡着了。
船上的人看到一个奇怪的物体躺在海滩上。它正朝他们移动——大概每小时二十英尺。人们过去查看，几乎不敢相信那是一个人。
三周后，当男人感觉好些时，他向他们讲述了自己的故事。但有一件怪事——他似乎害怕船上的食物不够。人们也注意到他正在发胖。他们给他更少的食物，但他仍然一天比一天胖。后来有一天，他们看到他往衬衫里塞了很多面包。他们检查了他的床，在毯子下发现了食物。人们明白了。他们会帮助他恢复正常的，他们说。