Cirklen og morgenbåden

Ring of Brodgar ligger på en smal strimmel land mellem to søer. Stenene står i en cirkel på omkring hundrede og fire meter i diameter. Der blev hugget en grøft rundt om den ned i massiv klippe. Den blev bygget for mellem fire og fire et halvt tusind år siden. Den er en del af et verdensarvsområde.

The Ring of Brodgar sits on a narrow strip of land between two lochs. The stones stand in a circle about one hundred and four metres across. A ditch was cut around it into solid rock. It was built between four and four and a half thousand years ago. It is part of a world heritage site.

Der var omkring tres sten engang. Seksogtredive står der nu. Hullerne er lige så meget en del af formen som stenene. Polly gik rundt om ringen udenom, med lyng til knæene og lyset, der lagde sig fladt ud over vandet. Intet ved den var indrettet efter en gæst.

There were around sixty stones once. Thirty-six are standing now. The gaps are as much of the shape as the stones are. Polly walked around the outside of the ring, with heather to her knees and the light going flat across the water. Nothing about it was arranged for a visitor.

Så kom det almindelige ved at rejse. På havnekontoret sad der en skarv bag en disk. "Hvornår sejler færgen?" spurgte Polly. "Hvad koster det?" Hun kiggede på det trykte ark sammen med ham. "Jeg vil gerne købe en billet, tak."

Then came the ordinary business of leaving. At the harbour office there was a shag behind a counter. "What time does the ferry leave?" Polly asked. "How much does this cost?" She looked at the printed sheet with him. "I would like to buy a ticket, please."

"Hvor lang tid tager overfarten?" spurgte hun til sidst. Hun lagde billetten væk. Om morgenen sejlede båden ud forbi det samme lave næs, og øerne sank bag den, én efter én.

"How long does the crossing take?" she asked last. She put the ticket away. In the morning the boat went out past the same low headland, and the islands went down behind it one by one.