Polovičná kupola

Polly sa rozhodla vyliezť na Polovičnú kupolu. Neliezla po skalách. Lietala vo vzduchu.

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

Polovičná kupola je 1 500 metrov hladkého granitu. Ľadovec ju vyhladil pred 15 000 rokmi.

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

Začala za prvého svetla. Pomaly krúžila nahor.

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

Vo výške tristo metrov sa pridala k skupine malých rýchlych vtákov nazývaných rýchliky. Pohybovali sa rýchlo. Kričali na seba. Polly bola najpomalší vták tam.

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.

Vietor zosilnel. Teplá skala zohrievala vzduch. Teplý vzduch stúpal. Vynášal Polly nahor.

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

V polovici cesty si oddýchla na malej rímse. Mohla vidieť cestu s lanami. Ľudia lezú po lanách na zadnej strane kupoly. Na jar bola uzavretá.

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.

Na vrchole bol granit plochý. Boli tam malé kôpky kameňov. Ľudia ich tam nechali.

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

Prešla k okraju. Pozrela sa dole. Údolie bolo ďaleko pod ňou. Stromy vyzerali ako zelený mach.

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

Odskočila z okraja v malom ponore. Potom roztiahla krídla a kĺzala sa dolu.

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