Leaving the Valley

Tomas the ranger came to the visitor centre at sunrise. He had a Thermos of coffee. He sat on a bench next to Polly.

Strážca Tomas prišiel do návštevníckeho centra pri východe slnka. Mal so sebou termosku kávy. Posadil sa na lavičku vedľa Polly.

They did not say much. Polly preened her feathers. The morning smelled of the river.

Veľa toho nepovedali. Polly si čistila perie. Ráno voňalo po rieke.

"You are leaving," Tomas said.

"Odchádzaš," povedal Tomas.

Polly tilted her head.

Polly naklonila hlavu.

He told her about the rest of the park. The high country with its lakes. Another valley to the north. A grove of tall trees.

Povedal jej o zvyšku parku. O horskej oblasti s jazerami. O ďalšom údolí na severe. O háji vysokých stromov.

"This place is too big to see in three days," he said. "You only see pieces."

"Toto miesto je príliš veľké na to, aby si ho videla za tri dni," povedal. "Vidíš len kúsky."

Polly thought about her dives off the cliff. None of them were good. But each one was a little better. She could keep getting better for a lifetime.

Polly premýšľala o svojich skokoch z útesu. Žiadny z nich nebol dobrý. Ale každý bol o niečo lepší. Mohla by sa zlepšovať celý život.

The green shuttle bus came back. The same driver. Tomas stood up. "Off you go," he said.

Zelený autobus sa vrátil. Ten istý vodič. Tomas vstal. "Tak poď," povedal.

Polly stretched her wings. She lifted off the bench. She circled the visitor centre. She climbed.

Polly roztiahla krídla. Vzlietla z lavičky. Krúžila okolo návštevníckeho centra. Stúpala.

The valley dropped away. El Capitan was on her left. Half Dome was on her right.

Údolie sa vzďaľovalo. El Capitan bol na jej ľavej strane. Half Dome na pravej.

At the rim, she banked west. Below her, a peregrine hunted small swifts along the cliff. Polly watched. Then she found the wind and let it carry her out of the park.

Na okraji sa otočila na západ. Pod ňou sokol sťahovavý lovil malé rýchliky pozdĺž útesu. Polly sledovala. Potom našla vietor a nechala sa ním unášať z parku.