Two Kilos of Patience

On Saturday morning, Ana walked to the market for the first time. She wanted to buy fruit and vegetables for the week. The market was full of people, voices, and bright colors.

V sobotu ráno šla Ana poprvé na trh. Chtěla koupit ovoce a zeleninu na týden. Trh byl plný lidí, hlasů a jasných barev.

She stopped at a small stand with tomatoes. "How much, please?" she asked. The old man behind the table looked at her. "For salad or for sauce?" he said. Ana did not know what to answer.

Zastavila se u malého stánku s rajčaty. "Kolik stojí, prosím?" zeptala se. Starý muž za stolem se na ni podíval. "Na salát nebo na omáčku?" řekl. Ana nevěděla, co odpovědět.

"For salad," she said finally. The man shook his head. He pointed at one box. "These for salad. Firm. Good color." He pointed at another box. "These for sauce. Soft, very red, sweet." He smiled. "Different tomato, different work."

"Na salát," řekla nakonec. Muž zavrtěl hlavou. Ukázal na jednu bednu. "Tato na salát. Pevná. Dobrá barva." Ukázal na druhou bednu. "Tato na omáčku. Měkká, velmi červená, sladká." Usmál se. "Jiné rajče, jiná práce."

Ana bought one kilo from each box. The man wrapped them carefully in paper. He gave her a small lemon as a gift. "For your salad," he said.

Ana koupila kilo z každé bedny. Muž je pečlivě zabalil do papíru. Dal jí malý citron jako dárek. "Na váš salát," řekl.

When she got home, she sat at the kitchen table and looked at her bag. She felt like she had bought more than tomatoes.

Když přišla domů, sedla si ke kuchyňskému stolu a podívala se na svou tašku. Měla pocit, že koupila víc než jen rajčata.