The Gathering on the Skerries

The boat to the rocks is short. The rocks are low and wet. Grey seals lay all over them. They were not doing anything.

Vožnja s čolnom do skal je kratka. Skale so nizke in mokre. Po njih so ležali sivi tjulnji. Niso počeli ničesar.

Polly chose a big seal. "How many are there in your family?" she asked. He thought for a long time. Everyone on this rock, he said. And everyone on the next one.

Polly si je izbrala velikega tjulnja."Koliko vas je v družini?"ga je vprašala. Dolgo je premišljeval. Vsi na tej skali, je rekel. In vsi na naslednji.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Almost certainly, he said. He did not know which ones. Orkney has about twenty-two thousand seal pups every year.

"Imate brate ali sestre?"Skoraj zagotovo, je rekel. Ni vedel, kateri. Na Orkneyskih otokih se rodi približno dvaindvajset tisoč mladičev tjulnja na leto.

Polly tried a phrase. "I want to spend time with my family today." It sounded strange here. Then she tried, "Even though we live far apart, we always keep in touch with each other." That is closer, the seal said.

Polly je poskusila stavek."Danes želim preživeti čas z družino."Tukaj je zvenel čudno. Potem je poskusila:"Čeprav živimo daleč narazen, vedno ostajamo v stiku."To je bliže, je rekel tjulenj.