The Bird Twice Given Up For Lost

In the east of the island, Polly flew into an old forest. Moss covered the trees. Little sunlight reached the ground. A small grey and pink bird lives only here. Its name is the priolo.

Mashariki mwa kisiwa, Polly aliruka hadi kwenye msitu mkongwe. Kuvu ilifunika miti. Mwanga mdogo wa jua ulifika ardhini. Ndege mdogo wa kijivu na waridi anaishi hapa tu. Jina lake ni priolo.

The bird almost disappeared. People saw none after nineteen thirty-two. Then in nineteen sixty-seven, people found some again. But farms kept taking its home. Soon fewer than one hundred pairs were left. It is one of Europe's rarest birds.

Ndege huyu alikaribia kutoweka. Watu hawakumwona baada ya mwaka wa elfu moja mia tisa thelathini na mbili. Kisha mwaka wa elfu moja mia tisa sitini na saba, watu walimpata tena. Lakini mashamba yaliendelea kuchukua makazi yake. Punde jozi chini ya mia moja zilibaki. Ni mmoja wa ndege adimu zaidi Ulaya.

People worked hard to help it. They planted the right trees again. Polly saw two priolos fly by. Their breasts flashed soft pink.

Watu walifanya kazi kwa bidii kumsaidia. Walipanda miti sahihi tena. Polly aliona priolo wawili wakiruka. Vifua vyao vilimeta rangi ya waridi hafifu.

Polly stayed still. The forest grew still again. It felt like a good trade: quiet, for a bird that still lives.

Polly alikaa kimya. Msitu ulitulia tena. Ilihisi kama biashara nzuri: ukimya, badala ya ndege ambaye bado yu hai.