Majira ya Saa

Asubuhi ya nne, treni ilikuwa magharibi mwa Novosibirsk. Polly aliangalia saa. Ilionyesha 06:30. Saa haikubadilika tangu Moscow.

On the fourth morning, the train was west of Novosibirsk. Polly looked at the clock. It said 06:30. The clock had not changed since Moscow.

Treni nzima inaendeshwa kwa saa za Moscow. Haibadiliki kwa siku saba. Huwezi kuendesha treni ndefu na saa tofauti kila kituo.

The whole train runs on Moscow time. It does not change for seven days. You cannot run a long train with different times at each station.

Lakini saa za eneo la nje zilikuwa 10:30. Jua lilikuwa limechomoza kwa saa sita.

But local time outside was 10:30. The sun had been up for six hours.

Polly alikwenda kutafuta gari la chakula. Lilikuwa mabehewa matatu mbali. Alirukaruka kwenye korido.

Polly went to find the dining car. It was three carriages away. She hopped along the corridor.

Wahudumu waliovaa sare za kijani walikuwa wakisoma magazeti kati ya vituo. Hawakuonekana kushangaa kumwona kasuku.

The conductors in green uniforms read newspapers between stations. They did not seem surprised to see a parrot.

Gari la chakula lilikuwa na kuta za rangi ya samawati na mapazia ya lace. Polly alikaa kwenye kibanda karibu na dirisha.

The dining car had pale blue walls and lace curtains. Polly perched at a booth by the window.

Mhudumu alimletea menyu. Aliinamisha kichwa chake. Mhudumu alichukua menyu na kurudi na sahani ndogo. Mkate, siagi, na samaki wa heringi wenye giza.

A waiter brought her a menu. She tilted her head. He took the menu back. Then he brought her a small plate. Bread, butter, and dark herring.

"Zawadi kutoka jikoni," alisema.

"Compliments of the kitchen," he said.

Samaki wa heringi ulikuwa na chumvi. Mkate ulikuwa na uchachu. Warusi wamekuwa wakila hivi kwenye treni kwa miaka mia na ishirini.

The herring was salty. The bread was sour. Russians have been eating this on trains for a hundred and twenty years.

Nje, msitu ulikuwa umebadilika kuwa uwanda wa majani. Ng'ombe walikuwa wakila karibu na nyumba ndogo. Mwanaume kwenye baiskeli alikuwa akisubiri kwenye kivuko cha reli.

Outside, the forest had become open grassland. Cows grazed near a small house. A man on a bicycle waited at a railway crossing.