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Cursed be that mortal inter-indebtedness which will not do away with ledgers. I would be free as air; and I'm down in the whole world's books. I am so rich, I could have given bid for bid with the wealthiest Praetorians at the auction of the Roman empire (which was the world's); and yet I owe for the flesh in the tongue I brag with. By heavens! I'll get a crucible, and into it, and dissolve myself down to one small, compendious vertebra. So.
這筆該死的勾銷不了的欠來欠去的人情賬！我真想象空氣一般的自由；但是我已經全身是債了。如果我很富有，那我可以到羅馬帝國（也就是世界的帝國）的拍賣場上去跟最有錢的將軍們討價還價了；但是，我卻少了一根可以大夸特夸的舌頭。真的！我要去找一只坩堝來，跳了進去，把我自己消溶成一小撮脊椎骨。就這樣行啦！
Carpenter ( resuming his work).
木匠（重新開始干活）
Well, well, well! Stubb knows him best of all, and Stubb always says he's queer; says nothing but that one sufficient little word queer; he's queer, says Stubb; he's queer—queer, queer; and keeps dinning it into Mr. Starbuck all the time—queer—sir—queer, queer, very queer. And here's his leg. Yes, now that I think of it, here's his bed-fellow! has a stick of whale's jaw-bone for a wife! And this is his leg; he'll stand on this. What was that now about one leg standing in three places, and all three places standing in one hell— how was that? Oh! I don't wonder he looked so scornful at me!
唔，唔，唔！斯塔布比誰都清楚他，斯塔布始終說他是個怪物；什么都不說，就只說怪物這兩個簡單字眼；他是怪物，斯塔布說；他是怪物——怪物，怪物；而且老是嘮嘮叨叨地把它說給斯達巴克先生聽——怪物，先生——怪物，怪物，真是怪物。喲，這是他的腿！嗯，我可想起來了，這就是他的睡伴！拿一根鯨嘴骨去做老婆！這就是他的腿；他就要靠這來支撐。這只腿這會兒怎么會經得起三種用場，而這三種用場又怎么經得起地獄——這究竟是怎么一回事？難怪他要那么傲慢地看著我！
