The Gathering on the Skerries

The boat out to the skerries takes less time than deciding to go. The rocks barely clear the water. Grey seals lay all over them in the shapes heavy animals make when they have finished swimming. They were not doing anything. That is what a haul-out is. In a week or two the first pups would arrive.

Vožnja brodom do hridi traje kraće nego odluka da se krene. Stijene jedva vire iz vode. Sivi tuljani ležali su po njima u oblicima kakve teške životinje poprime kad završe s plivanjem. Nisu radili ništa. Upravo to i jest izlazak na stijene. Za tjedan ili dva stigli bi prvi mladunci.

Polly chose a bull near the edge. "How many are there in your family?" she asked. It is a question that means something in a guesthouse and nothing out here. He thought about it slowly. Everyone on this rock, he said at last, and everyone on the next one.

Polly je odabrala mužjaka bliže rubu. „Koliko vas je u obitelji?” pitala je. To pitanje nešto znači u pansionu, a ovdje ništa. Polako je razmišljao. Svi na ovoj stijeni, rekao je naposljetku, i svi na sljedećoj.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Almost certainly, he said. He had no way of knowing which ones. Orkney produces about twenty-two thousand grey seal pups a year. That is more than one in ten of every grey seal alive.

„Imate li braće ili sestara?” Gotovo sigurno, rekao je. Nije imao načina znati koje. Orkneyski otoci daju oko dvadeset dvije tisuće mladunaca sivog tuljana godišnje. To je više od svakog desetog sivog tuljana koji je živ.

Polly tested a phrase. "I want to spend time with my family today." It sounded strange here. So she tried another. "Even though we live far apart, we always keep in touch with each other." That is nearer, the bull said, if keeping in touch can mean coming back and saying nothing.

Polly je isprobala jednu rečenicu. „Danas želim provesti vrijeme sa svojom obitelji.” Ovdje je zvučalo čudno. Zato je pokušala drugu. „Iako živimo daleko jedni od drugih, uvijek ostajemo u kontaktu.” To je bliže, rekao je mužjak, ako ostati u kontaktu može značiti vratiti se i ne reći ništa.