Halvkuppelen

Polly bestemte seg for å fly opp til Halvkuppelen. Hun klatret ikke på steinene. Hun fløy i luften.

Polly decided to climb Half Dome. She did not climb on the rocks. She climbed in the air.

Halvkuppelen er 1 500 meter av glatt granitt. En isbre gjorde den glatt for 15 000 år siden.

Half Dome is 1,500 metres of smooth granite. A glacier made it smooth 15,000 years ago.

Hun startet ved daggry. Hun fløy opp i langsomme sirkler.

She started at first light. She flew up in slow circles.

Tre hundre meter oppe, slo hun seg sammen med en gruppe små, raske fugler kalt tårnseilere. De beveget seg raskt. De skrek til hverandre. Polly var den tregeste fuglen der.

At three hundred metres up, she joined a group of small fast birds called swifts. They moved fast. They screamed at each other. Polly was the slowest bird there.

Vinden ble sterkere. Den varme steinen varmet opp luften. Den varme luften steg opp. Den bar Polly oppover.

The wind got stronger. The warm rock heated the air. The warm air went up. It carried Polly up.

Halvveis oppe hvilte hun på en liten avsats. Hun kunne se kabelruten. Folk klatrer opp på kabler på baksiden av kuppelen. Den var stengt for våren.

Halfway up, she rested on a small ledge. She could see the cable route. People climb on cables up the back of the dome. It was closed for spring.

På toppen var granitten flat. Det var små steinhauger. Folk hadde lagt dem der.

At the top, the granite was flat. There were small piles of stones. People had left them.

Hun gikk til kanten. Hun så ned. Dalen var langt nedenfor. Trærne så ut som grønt dun.

She walked to the edge. She looked down. The valley was far below. The trees looked like green fuzz.

Hun dykket forsiktig fra kanten. Så åpnet hun vingene og svevde ned.

She pushed off the edge in a small dive. Then she opened her wings and glided down.