Amur-floden

På den sjette morgen var toget i det russiske Fjernøsten. Skoven havde ændret sig. Der var nu koreansk fyr, manchurisk ask og mongolsk eg. Skoven føltes tættere. Dette er en af de vådeste skove i verden uden for troperne.

On the sixth morning, the train was in the Russian Far East. The forest had changed. There were now Korean pine, Manchurian ash, and Mongolian oak. The forest felt closer. This is one of the wettest forests in the world outside the tropics.

Polly var alene i kupeen. Pavel var gået. Soldaten var flyttet.

Polly was alone in the compartment. Pavel had left. The soldier had moved.

Et godstog passerede i den anden retning. Det var to kilometer langt. Det transporterede tømmer. Polly talte otteogtredive fladvogne.

A freight train passed in the other direction. It was two kilometres long. It carried timber. Polly counted thirty-eight flatbeds.

Toget ankom til Khabarovsk. Byen ligger ved Amur-floden. Amur er den ottendelængste flod i verden. Den er grænsen mellem Rusland og Kina. Polly kunne se Kina på den anden side af floden gennem disen.

The train arrived at Khabarovsk. The city is on the Amur River. The Amur is the eighth-longest river in the world. It is the border between Russia and China. Polly could see China across the river through the haze.

Hun steg af toget for at strække benene.

She got off the train to stretch her legs.

En trane stod ved kanten af en sump. Den var sort og hvid med rødt omkring øjet. Den var næsten to meter høj. Dette er trane fra det russiske Fjernøsten. Det er en af de sjældneste traner i verden. Der er kun omkring tre tusinde tilbage.

A crane was standing at the edge of a marsh. It was black and white with red around the eye. It was nearly two metres tall. This is the Russian Far East crane. It is one of the rarest cranes in the world. Only about three thousand are left.

Polly vippede hovedet. Tranen vippede hovedet tilbage. De betragtede hinanden.

Polly tilted her head. The crane tilted its head back. They watched each other.

En konduktør blæste i fløjten. Polly sprang tilbage til toget. Hun vendte sig om og kiggede. Tranen løftede langsomt sin hals. Den gik væk ind i sumpen.

A conductor blew a whistle. Polly hopped back to the train. She turned and looked. The crane lifted its neck slowly. It walked away into the marsh.

Toget drejede mod syd. Stillehavet var nu mindre end 700 kilometer væk.

The train turned south. The Pacific was now less than 700 kilometres away.