Riding With Ranger Tomas

Polly woke up on the bus at sunrise. A ranger in brown was opening his office. His name was Tomas. He smiled at her. "Come ride with me."

Polly se probudila u autobusu u zoru. Rendžer u smeđem otvarao je svoj ured. Zvao se Tomas. Nasmiješio joj se. "Dođi, vozi se sa mnom."

Polly rode in his truck. Tomas had been a ranger for fourteen years. He drove slowly. He stopped often.

Polly se vozila u njegovom kamionetu. Tomas je bio rendžer već četrnaest godina. Vozio je polako. Često je stajao.

The first stop was a wet meadow. Tomas looked for bear signs. "In June, corn lilies grow here. Bears eat them."

Prva stanica bila je mokra livada. Tomas je tražio znakove medvjeda. "U lipnju ovdje rastu kukuruzne ljiljane. Medvjedi ih jedu."

Polly hopped to the window. The corn lilies were small green spears.

Polly je skočila do prozora. Kukuruzni ljiljani bili su mali zeleni šiljci.

The truck climbed. The air got cooler. At a turn in the road, Tomas pointed. A peregrine falcon sat on a rock. Polly looked at it. The falcon dropped off the rock and was gone.

Kamionet se penjao. Zrak je postajao hladniji. Na zavoju ceste, Tomas je pokazao. Sivi sokol sjedio je na stijeni. Polly ga je promatrala. Sokol je skočio sa stijene i nestao.

"Falcons nest on the cliffs," Tomas said. "We have six pairs this year."

"Sokoli gnijezde na liticama," rekao je Tomas. "Ove godine imamo šest parova."

Polly watched how the falcon folded its wings to dive. She wanted to try it.

Polly je gledala kako sokol sklapa krila za zaron. Poželjela je to pokušati.

Later, Tomas walked into the woods. He came back with a metal can. "Someone tried to bury this bear-proof box."

Kasnije, Tomas je otišao u šumu. Vratio se s metalnom kantom. "Netko je pokušao zakopati ovu kutiju otpornu na medvjede."

At noon they reached Olmsted Point. Polly saw a big view. Tenaya Lake far below. Half Dome from behind. Grey mountains in the distance.

U podne su stigli do Olmsted Pointa. Polly je vidjela veliki pogled. Jezero Tenaya daleko dolje. Half Dome s leđa. Sive planine u daljini.

"Most people drive past this," Tomas said. He poured a little coffee in his cup. He set the cup on the dashboard. "Stay a while."

"Većina ljudi samo prođe ovuda," rekao je Tomas. Ulio je malo kave u svoju šalicu. Postavio je šalicu na kontrolnu ploču. "Ostani malo."