Lake Baikal

Polly woke on the fifth morning. The world had become water.

Polly våknet på den femte morgenen. Verden hadde blitt til vann.

The train was running along Lake Baikal. The lake filled the whole window. The water was a deep, perfect blue.

Toget kjørte langs Bajkalsjøen. Sjøen fylte hele vinduet. Vannet var en dyp, perfekt blåfarge.

Igor, the fisherman, was at the window with a notebook.

Igor, fiskeren, sto ved vinduet med en notatbok.

"Baikal," he said. "It is the deepest lake in the world. 1,642 metres deep. It is also the oldest lake. 25 million years old."

"Bajkal," sa han. "Det er den dypeste innsjøen i verden. 1 642 meter dyp. Det er også den eldste innsjøen. 25 millioner år gammel."

The water was so clear that Polly could see rocks on the lake floor in the shallow places.

Vannet var så klart at Polly kunne se steiner på innsjøbunnen på de grunne stedene.

"It holds 23 percent of all the fresh water on Earth that is not frozen," Igor said. "More than all the Great Lakes in North America together."

"Den inneholder 23 prosent av alt ferskvann på jorden som ikke er frosset," sa Igor. "Mer enn alle de store innsjøene i Nord-Amerika til sammen."

The train stopped at Slyudyanka station. Igor got off. He shook Polly's wing tip with two fingers. "Three days fishing. Then home." He waved and was gone.

Toget stoppet på Slyudyanka stasjon. Igor gikk av. Han ristet Pollys vingetupp med to fingre. "Tre dager med fiske. Så hjem." Han vinket og var borte.

The train ran along the lake for three more hours. A group of Baikal seals came up to the surface. They are the only freshwater seals in the world.

Toget kjørte langs sjøen i tre timer til. En gruppe Bajkalsel dukket opp til overflaten. De er de eneste ferskvannsselene i verden.

Polly thought about how much water was below her. A tiny pink shrimp lives in Baikal. It keeps the water clean. It has been doing this job for 20 million years.

Polly tenkte på hvor mye vann som var under henne. En liten rosa reke lever i Bajkal. Den holder vannet rent. Den har gjort denne jobben i 20 millioner år.