Večera zakopana u zoru

Kraj malog jezera prekrivenog parom Polly je našla niz velikih lonaca pokraj dubokih rupa u crnoj zemlji. Kuhar u debeloj pregači spuštao je zatvoreni lonac u svaku rupu pomoću užeta. Polly je sletjela u blizinu i gledala, znatiželjna što bi moglo biti vrijedno kuhanja u rupi u zemlji.

Near a small lake covered in steam, Polly found a row of big pots next to deep holes in the black ground. A cook in a thick apron lowered a sealed pot into each hole using a rope. Polly landed nearby to watch, curious what could be worth cooking in a hole in the ground.

Svaki je lonac bio pun mesa, kobasica, kupusa i povrća. Rupe grije vulkan odozdo, otprilike jednako jako kao kipuća voda. Vatra se uopće ne koristi. Toplina dolazi samo iz dubine, kroz pukotine davno označene kamenim prstenovima.

Each pot was full of meat, sausage, cabbage, and vegetables. The holes are heated from below by the volcano, to about the same heat as boiling water. No fire is used at all. The heat comes only from deep underground, through cracks marked with stone rings long ago.

Kuhar je Polly pokazao, uglavnom rukama, da lonci ostaju zakopani šest ili sedam sati. Ljudi u međuvremenu odu vidjeti jezero ili gradić. Zatim se vrate iskopati svoju večeru.

The cook showed Polly, mostly with his hands, that the pots stay buried for six or seven hours. People go visit the lake or the town while they wait. Then they come back to dig up their dinner.

Kad je prvi lonac izašao, digla se gusta para, a miris kuhanog mesa ispunio je zrak. Polly nije ostala jesti, ali je gledala kako kuhar odnosi lonac, ponosan na obrok koji je skuhala planina.

When the first pot came out, thick steam rose up, and the smell of cooked meat filled the air. Polly did not stay to eat, but she watched the cook carry the pot away, proud of a meal the mountain had cooked.