Halvkuplen

Polly besluttede sig for at bestige Halvkuplen. Hun klatrede ikke på klipperne. Hun fløj i luften.

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

Halvkuplen er 1.500 meter af glat granit. En gletsjer gjorde den glat for 15.000 år siden.

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

Hun startede ved daggry. Hun fløj op i langsomme cirkler.

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

Tre hundrede meter oppe sluttede hun sig til en gruppe af små hurtige fugle kaldet mursejlere. De bevægede sig hurtigt. De skreg til hinanden. Polly var den langsomste fugl der.

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.

Vinden blev stærkere. Den varme klippe opvarmede luften. Den varme luft steg op. Den bar Polly opad.

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

Halvvejs oppe hvilede hun på en lille afsats. Hun kunne se kabelruten. Folk klatrer op ad kablerne på bagsiden af kuplen. Den var lukket for foråret.

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.

På toppen var granitten flad. Der var små stenhobe. Folk havde efterladt dem.

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

Hun gik hen til kanten. Hun kiggede ned. Dalen var langt nede. Træerne lignede grønne fnug.

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

Hun skubbede sig fra kanten i et lille dyk. Så åbnede hun sine vinger og svævede ned.

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