The Ninety-Day Grain

The bar in Kirkwall had five tables and a fire. The door opened onto a street of grey stone with the cathedral at the top. Polly took the table nearest the heat. "Can I see the menu?" she asked. The card had fewer things on it than she expected, and more of them local.

Birtija u Kirkwallu imala je pet stolova i vatru. Vrata su se otvarala na ulicu od sivog kamena s katedralom na vrhu. Polly je uzela stol najbliži toplini. „Mogu li vidjeti jelovnik?” pitala je. Na kartici je bilo manje stavki nego što je očekivala, a više domaćih među njima.

"Could you recommend a good dish?" The owner was a heron. She recommended the bannock at once. Bere is a barley they have grown here for centuries. People call it the ninety-day barley, because it ripens fast enough for a short northern summer. Ground into meal, it makes a flat, dark bannock.

„Možete li mi preporučiti dobro jelo?” Vlasnica je bila čaplja. Odmah je preporučila bannock. Bere je ječam koji ovdje uzgajaju stoljećima. Zovu ga devedesetodnevnim ječmom jer sazrijeva dovoljno brzo za kratko sjeverno ljeto. Samljeven u brašno daje plosnat, taman bannock.

"Do you have vegetarian options?" Polly asked. The heron pointed at the same line on the card. Bannock, butter and crowdie, the soft cheese the farms have always made. The same grain also goes to the distillery under the tower, working since seventeen ninety-eight.

„Imate li vegetarijanska jela?” pitala je Polly. Čaplja je pokazala na isti redak na kartici. Bannock, maslac i crowdie, meki sir kakav su farme oduvijek radile. Isto zrno ide i u destileriju ispod tornja, koja radi od tisuću sedamsto devedeset osme.

"Can we get the bill, please?" Polly said when the plate was empty. The heron took her time bringing it, which is a compliment. Outside, the wind had dropped to what the islands call still. Polly walked up the grey street toward the red cathedral.

„Možemo li dobiti račun, molim vas?” rekla je Polly kad je tanjur bio prazan. Čaplja se nije žurila donijeti ga, što je kompliment. Vani je vjetar pao na ono što otoci zovu mirnim. Polly je krenula uz sivu ulicu prema crvenoj katedrali.