The Boat Comes In

The morning boat tied up at Stromness. The houses stand with their backs to the water. Polly stepped onto wet flagstones and understood the wind. It was not a gust. It was a condition. A collie sat at the end of the pier. Polly went over to him. "Can you show me the way?"

Morgenbåden lagde til i Stromness. Husene står med ryggen til vandet. Polly trådte ud på våde fliser og forstod vinden. Det var ikke et vindstød. Det var en tilstand. En collie sad yderst på molen. Polly gik hen til ham. "Kan du vise mig vej?"

He asked where she wanted to go. She did not know yet. There are close to seventy islands, and about twenty have people on them. There is no forest and nothing tall for miles. "Could you tell me where I can catch a bus?" she asked. He tipped his head toward a shelter up the slope.

Han spurgte, hvor hun ville hen. Det vidste hun ikke endnu. Der er næsten halvfjerds øer, og omkring tyve af dem er beboede. Der er ingen skov og intet højt så langt øjet rækker. "Kunne du fortælle mig, hvor jeg kan tage bussen?" spurgte hun. Han nikkede op mod et læskur på skråningen.

Then she asked a city question. "How long does it take to walk to the city center?" The collie looked along the one street that runs the length of the town. Eleven minutes, he said, if you stop at the windows.

Så stillede hun et byspørgsmål. "Hvor lang tid tager det at gå ind til centrum?" Collien kiggede ned ad den ene gade, der løber gennem hele byen. Elleve minutter, sagde han, hvis du stopper ved vinduerne.

"Can you tell me if there are any interesting events today?" The ferry timetable is the local news, he said. There was a boat to the seal rocks. There was a chapel built by prisoners. There was a village that lay under sand for four thousand years.

"Kan du fortælle mig, om der sker noget interessant i dag?" Færgeplanen er de lokale nyheder, sagde han. Der gik en båd ud til sælklipperne. Der var et kapel bygget af krigsfanger. Der var en landsby, der lå under sand i fire tusind år.