The First Light in the Village

Late at night, the village is dark and quiet. Every house is asleep. The streets are empty, and the windows are black. But on one small street there is a single light. It comes from the window of the bakery, the only place awake in the whole sleeping town.

Sent om natten er landsbyen mørk og stille. Hvert hus sover. Gaderne er tomme, og vinduerne er sorte. Men på en lille gade er der et enkelt lys. Det kommer fra bageriets vindue, det eneste sted, der er vågent i hele den sovende by.

It is three in the morning, and the baker is already at work. He lights the big oven and feeds it wood until it glows. Flour floats in the air, and steam rises as the first loaves go in. The warm smell of fresh bread begins to fill the shop. Slowly, it drifts out the door and down the empty street, where no one is awake yet to notice it.

Klokken er tre om natten, og bageren er allerede i gang. Han tænder den store ovn og fodrer den med træ, indtil den gløder. Mel svæver i luften, og damp stiger, mens de første brød kommer ind. Den varme duft af friskt brød begynder at fylde butikken. Langsomt driver den ud af døren og ned ad den tomme gade, hvor ingen endnu er vågne til at lægge mærke til den.

By six in the morning, the village starts to wake. People open their eyes to the smell of warm bread. They walk to the bakery, where the light has been on all night, and they find the shelves full of fresh loaves. The baker hands them their bread with tired, happy eyes. His long night becomes the warm, soft start of everyone else's day.

Ved sekstiden om morgenen begynder landsbyen at vågne. Folk åbner øjnene til duften af varmt brød. De går hen til bageriet, hvor lyset har været tændt hele natten, og de finder hylderne fulde af friske brød. Bageren rækker dem deres brød med trætte, glade øjne. Hans lange nat bliver til den varme, bløde start på alle andres dag.