Nihče ne ve, koliko jih je

Niže na stopnišču je še nekdo. Lisica z rumeno zaščitno čelado prihaja od spodaj z zložljivim metrom in beležnico. Ustavi se pri vsaki stopnici, izmeri, kako visoka je, in zapiše številko. Polly se umakne in jo spusti mimo. To traja zelo dolgo.

Further down there is somebody else on the staircase. A fox in a yellow hard hat is coming up from below with a folding ruler and a notebook. She stops at every step, measures how high it is, and writes the number down. Polly moves aside and lets her pass. It takes a very long time.

Lisica tega ne dela brez razloga. Te stopnice so vsekali ročno in nobeni dve nista enaki. Nekatere so visoke kot debela knjiga. Nekatere so zelo nizke. Usek v skali je ponekod ozek, drugod širok. Tisti, ki so ga naredili, so sledili obliki skale.

The fox is not being silly. People cut these steps by hand, and no two steps are the same. Some are as high as a thick book. Some are very low. The cut in the rock is narrow in some places and wide in others. The people who made it followed the shape of the rock.

Tole je del, ki je Polly najljubši. Nihče ne ve točno, koliko stopnic je. Državni urad za kulturno dediščino pravi sto sedeminosemdeset. Mestni turistični urad pravi sto devetinosemdeset. Oba sta uradna. Oba sta natisnjena. Že leta se ne strinjata.

Here is the part Polly likes best. Nobody knows exactly how many steps there are. The national heritage office says one hundred and eighty seven. The town tourist office says one hundred and eighty nine. Both of them are official. Both of them are printed. They have disagreed for years.

Polly gleda, kako lisica pride na vrh in začne pisati. Pogleda navzdol po dolgi črti obrabljenega kamna. Odloči se, da bo verjela večji številki, ker se zdi, da jih je več, ko plezaš gor.

Polly watches the fox get to the top and start writing. She looks down the long line of worn stone. She decides to believe the bigger number, because it feels like more when you climb it.