The Bird Twice Given Up For Lost

In the east of the island, Polly flew into an old forest. Moss covered the trees. Little sunlight reached the ground. A small grey and pink bird lives only here. Its name is the priolo.

Na východe ostrova vletela Polly do starého lesa. Stromy pokrýval mach. Na zem prenikalo málo slnka. Malý sivo-ružový vták žije len tu. Volá sa priolo.

The bird almost disappeared. People saw none after nineteen thirty-two. Then in nineteen sixty-seven, people found some again. But farms kept taking its home. Soon fewer than one hundred pairs were left. It is one of Europe's rarest birds.

Vták takmer zmizol. Po roku tisícdeväťstotridsaťdva ho nikto nevidel. Potom v roku tisícdeväťstošesťdesiatsedem ho ľudia zase našli. Ale farmy mu brali domov. Čoskoro zostalo menej ako sto párov. Je to jeden z najvzácnejších vtákov v Európe.

People worked hard to help it. They planted the right trees again. Polly saw two priolos fly by. Their breasts flashed soft pink.

Ľudia tvrdo pracovali, aby mu pomohli. Znovu vysadili správne stromy. Polly videla preletieť dva prioly. Ich hrude sa zaleskli jemnou ružovou.

Polly stayed still. The forest grew still again. It felt like a good trade: quiet, for a bird that still lives.

Polly zostala ticho. Aj les zase stíchol. Pripadalo jej to ako dobrá výmena: ticho za vtáka, ktorý stále žije.