Skala, ktorá odišla

Ešte nižšie Polly stretne suseda. Vo vode, celkom blízko, stojí vysoká veža z bledej skaly. Okolo jej spodku sa lámu biele vlny. Ľudia ju volajú Zrnko piesku. Je to žart, lebo je veľká asi ako malý kostol.

Further down still, Polly goes down and meets a neighbour. Out in the water, quite close, there is a tall tower of pale rock. White waves break around the bottom of it. People call it the Grain of Sand. That is a joke, because it is about as big as a small church.

Nebola tam vždy. Asi pred osemsto rokmi bola súčasťou tohto útesu. Potom vlny odniesli skalu pod ňou a veža ostala v mori sama. Polly sa na ňu pozerá. Dole je tenšia ako hore. More na nej stále pracuje.

It was not always out there. About eight hundred years ago it was part of this cliff. Then the waves took away the rock underneath, and the tower was left alone in the sea. Polly looks at it. It is thinner at the bottom than at the top. The sea is still working on it.

Popri nej preletí čajka. Táto je výnimočná. Nie je to jedna z tých hlučných čajok, ktoré sledujú lode a berú ľuďom jedlo. Je to čajka Audouinova. Nikdy neberie potravu iným zvieratám. Svoje ryby si chytá sama na mori.

A gull flies past her. This one is special. It is not one of the noisy gulls that follow boats and take food from people. This is an Audouin's gull. It never takes food from other animals. It catches its own fish out at sea.

Čajka odletí nad vodu, až kým ju Polly nestratí z dohľadu. Znova sa pozrie na vysokú skalu a na priestor medzi ňou a útesom. Ten priestor bol kedysi pevný kameň.

The gull flies away over the water until Polly cannot see it. She looks again at the tall rock, and at the space between it and the cliff. That space was once solid stone.