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.

Krčma v Kirkwalle mala päť stolov a oheň. Dvere sa otvárali do ulice zo sivého kameňa a na jej hornom konci stála katedrála. Polly si sadla k stolu najbližšie k teplu. "Môžem vidieť jedálny lístok?" spýtala sa. Na karte bolo menej položiek, než čakala, a viac domácich.

"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.

"Mohli by ste mi odporučiť dobré jedlo?" Majiteľkou bola volavka. Bannock odporučila hneď. Bere je jačmeň, ktorý tu pestujú celé stáročia. Ľudia mu hovoria deväťdesiatdňový jačmeň, lebo dozrieva dosť rýchlo na krátke severské leto. Zomletý na múku dáva plochý tmavý 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.

"Máte vegetariánske jedlá?" spýtala sa Polly. Volavka ukázala na ten istý riadok na karte. Bannock, maslo a crowdie, mäkký syr, ktorý tunajšie farmy robili odjakživa. To isté zrno ide aj do liehovaru pod vežou, ktorý pracuje od roku tisícsedemstodeväťdesiatosem.

"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.

"Môžeme dostať účet, prosím?" povedala Polly, keď mala prázdny tanier. Volavka si s ním dala načas, čo je kompliment. Vonku vietor klesol na to, čomu ostrovy hovoria bezvetrie. Polly kráčala hore sivou ulicou k červenej katedrále.