The Jar

On the second morning, Chiara brought a jar to Pasta's tank. The jar had a screw lid. Inside was a live crab.

På den andre morgenen tok Chiara med seg en glasskrukke til Pasta sitt akvarium. Krukken hadde et skrulokk. Inni var det en levende krabbe.

Chiara dropped the jar into the water. It sank slowly. Pasta did not lunge.

Chiara slapp krukken ned i vannet. Den sank sakte. Pasta gjorde ikke noe utfall.

Polly perched on the rim. The crab moved inside the jar. Pasta touched the jar with one arm. Her arms can taste what they touch.

Polly satt på kanten. Krabben beveget seg inne i krukken. Pasta berørte krukken med en arm. Armene hennes kan smake det de berører.

Pasta gathered the jar with two arms. She turned it slowly. A third arm worked at the lid.

Pasta samlet krukken med to armer. Hun snudde den sakte. En tredje arm jobbet med lokket.

Octopuses can open screw-top jars. They have done it in labs since the 1950s. They feel the threads with their suckers. Then they turn the lid.

Blekkspruter kan åpne skrulokk. De har gjort det i laboratorier siden 1950-tallet. De føler gjengene med sugekoppene sine. Så vrir de lokket.

Pasta turned the lid. It popped off. The crab tried to escape. But Pasta's fourth arm was waiting. The crab was gone.

Pasta vridde lokket. Det spratt av. Krabben prøvde å flykte. Men Pastas fjerde arm ventet. Krabben var borte.

Chiara wrote on her clipboard. "Three minutes. She is getting fast."

Chiara skrev på notatblokken sin. "Tre minutter. Hun blir raskere."

Octopuses are very strange. They have three hearts. Their blood is blue. They live only three to five years. Pasta was already two.

Blekkspruter er veldig merkelige. De har tre hjerter. Blodet deres er blått. De lever bare tre til fem år. Pasta var allerede to.

She would learn everything she would ever know in the time she had left.

Hun ville lære alt hun noen gang kom til å vite i tiden hun hadde igjen.