Polukupola

Polly je odlučila popeti se na Polukupolu. Nije se penjala po stijenama. Penjala se u zraku.

Polly decided to climb Half Dome. She did not climb on the rocks. She climbed in the air.

Polukupola je 1.500 metara glatkog granita. Lednjak ju je izgladio prije 15.000 godina.

Half Dome is 1,500 metres of smooth granite. A glacier made it smooth 15,000 years ago.

Krenula je u zoru. Letjela je u sporim krugovima prema gore.

She started at first light. She flew up in slow circles.

Na tristo metara visine, pridružila se grupi malih brzih ptica zvanih čiope. Kretale su se brzo. Vrištale su jedna na drugu. Polly je bila najsporija ptica tamo.

At three hundred metres up, she joined a group of small fast birds called swifts. They moved fast. They screamed at each other. Polly was the slowest bird there.

Vjetar je postajao jači. Topla stijena grijala je zrak. Topli zrak se dizao. Nosio je Polly prema gore.

The wind got stronger. The warm rock heated the air. The warm air went up. It carried Polly up.

Na pola puta, odmorila se na maloj izbočini. Mogla je vidjeti put s kablovima. Ljudi se penju po kablovima na stražnjoj strani kupole. Bio je zatvoren zbog proljeća.

Halfway up, she rested on a small ledge. She could see the cable route. People climb on cables up the back of the dome. It was closed for spring.

Na vrhu, granit je bio ravan. Bilo je malih hrpa kamenja. Ljudi su ih ostavili.

At the top, the granite was flat. There were small piles of stones. People had left them.

Otišla je do ruba. Pogledala je dolje. Dolina je bila daleko ispod. Drveće je izgledalo kao zelena maglica.

She walked to the edge. She looked down. The valley was far below. The trees looked like green fuzz.

Odgurnula se s ruba u mali zaron. Zatim je raširila krila i klizila prema dolje.

She pushed off the edge in a small dive. Then she opened her wings and glided down.