The Sequoia

Polly went to Mariposa Grove. It is full of giant sequoias. They are the biggest trees in the world.

Polly dro til Mariposa Grove. Der er det fullt av gigantiske sequoiaer. De er de største trærne i verden.

Sequoia bark is not brown. It is deep orange. Polly landed on a branch. She pecked the bark with her beak. It was soft. The bark was very thick. The thick bark protects the tree from fire.

Sequoiabarken er ikke brun. Den er dyp oransje. Polly landet på en gren. Hun hakket på barken med nebbet sitt. Den var myk. Barken var veldig tykk. Den tykke barken beskytter treet mot brann.

A family walked past. A little girl said, "Look, a parrot!" Her father said, "It is a toy." Polly did not move.

En familie gikk forbi. En liten jente sa: "Se, en papegøye!" Faren hennes sa: "Det er en leke." Polly rørte seg ikke.

She flew up the tree. At thirty metres up, the branches started. They were thick. She perched on one. The top of the tree was still far above.

Hun fløy opp i treet. På tretti meters høyde begynte grenene. De var tykke. Hun satte seg på en av dem. Toppen av treet var fortsatt langt over.

The biggest tree was called the Grizzly Giant. It was about 3,000 years old. Its trunk was wider than a bus.

Det største treet het Grizzly Giganten. Det var omtrent 3000 år gammelt. Stammen var bredere enn en buss.

Polly perched on the trunk. She looked up.

Polly satte seg på stammen. Hun så opp.

Three thousand years. The tree was already old when Rome was a small village.

Tre tusen år. Treet var allerede gammelt da Roma var en liten landsby.

Polly stayed a long time. There was an old fire mark on the trunk. The tree had survived many fires.

Polly ble der lenge. Det var et gammelt brannmerke på stammen. Treet hadde overlevd mange branner.

A small seed fell past her. Sequoia seeds need fire to grow. The cones open only in heat. New trees grow after a burn.

Et lite frø falt forbi henne. Sequoiafrø trenger brann for å vokse. Konglene åpner seg bare i varme. Nye trær vokser etter en brann.