Večera zakopaná na svitaní

Pri malom jazere zahalenom parou našla Polly rad veľkých hrncov pri hlbokých jamách v čiernej zemi. Kuchár v hrubej zástere spúšťal na lane do každej jamy zapečatený hrniec. Polly pristála neďaleko a sledovala ho, zvedavá, čo sa oplatí variť v diere v zemi.

Near a small lake covered in steam, Polly found a row of big pots next to deep holes in the black ground. A cook in a thick apron lowered a sealed pot into each hole using a rope. Polly landed nearby to watch, curious what could be worth cooking in a hole in the ground.

Každý hrniec bol plný mäsa, klobásy, kapusty a zeleniny. Jamy zohrieva zdola sopka, asi na takú teplotu, akú má vriaca voda. Nepoužíva sa vôbec žiadny oheň. Teplo prichádza len z hĺbky, cez pukliny označené kamennými kruhmi už veľmi dávno.

Each pot was full of meat, sausage, cabbage, and vegetables. The holes are heated from below by the volcano, to about the same heat as boiling water. No fire is used at all. The heat comes only from deep underground, through cracks marked with stone rings long ago.

Kuchár Polly ukázal, hlavne rukami, že hrnce zostanú zakopané šesť alebo sedem hodín. Ľudia si medzitým idú pozrieť jazero alebo mestečko. Potom sa vrátia a vykopú si večeru.

The cook showed Polly, mostly with his hands, that the pots stay buried for six or seven hours. People go visit the lake or the town while they wait. Then they come back to dig up their dinner.

Keď vytiahli prvý hrniec, stúpla z neho hustá para a vzduch naplnila vôňa uvareného mäsa. Polly nezostala na jedlo, ale sledovala, ako kuchár odnáša hrniec, hrdý na večeru, ktorú uvarila hora.

When the first pot came out, thick steam rose up, and the smell of cooked meat filled the air. Polly did not stay to eat, but she watched the cook carry the pot away, proud of a meal the mountain had cooked.