Nine Islands, Three Plates

Polly flew low over black rock and green fields by the sea. Mist moved over the hills inland. This was São Miguel, the biggest Azores island.

Polly terbang rendah di atas batu hitam dan ladang hijau di tepi laut. Kabut bergerak di atas bukit. Ini São Miguel, pulau terbesar di Azores.

The island was made under the sea. Three huge pieces of the earth push together there. Heat rises through cracks in the rock. Every island here came from fire and cooled rock.

Pulau ini terbentuk di bawah laut. Tiga bagian besar bumi saling mendorong di sana. Panas naik lewat celah batu. Semua pulau di sini berasal dari api dan batu yang mendingin.

Most fields here have a hedge of hydrangea flowers: blue, purple, and sometimes pink. Farmers brought the plants from Asia long ago to mark field borders. The rich soil makes the flowers deep blue.

Hampir semua ladang di sini punya pagar bunga hortensia: biru, ungu, kadang merah muda. Petani membawa tanaman itu dari Asia dulu sekali untuk menandai batas ladang. Tanah yang subur membuat bunga itu biru tua.

Further inland, green hills rose around quiet valleys. Thin white steam rose from somewhere among them. Polly flew toward the high ground to look.

Lebih jauh ke pedalaman, bukit hijau mengelilingi lembah yang sunyi. Uap putih tipis naik dari sana. Polly terbang ke tempat tinggi untuk melihat.