Hakuna Anayekubaliana juu ya Idadi

Chini zaidi kuna mgeni mwingine kwenye ngazi. Mbweha mwenye kofia ngumu ya njano anapanda kutoka chini akiwa na rula ya kukunja na daftari. Anasimama kila kidato, anapima kimo chake, na kuandika namba. Polly anasogea pembeni na kumpisha. Inachukua muda mrefu sana.

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.

Mbweha hafanyi jambo la kipuuzi. Vidato hivi vilichongwa kwa mkono, na hakuna viwili vinavyofanana. Vingine vina kimo cha kitabu kinene. Vingine ni vya chini sana. Mchongo katika mwamba ni mwembamba mahali pengine na mpana mahali pengine. Walioutengeneza walifuata umbo la mwamba.

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.

Hii ndiyo sehemu ambayo Polly anaipenda zaidi. Hakuna anayejua hasa kuna vidato vingapi. Ofisi ya urithi wa taifa inasema mia moja themanini na saba. Ofisi ya utalii ya mji inasema mia moja themanini na tisa. Zote mbili ni rasmi. Zote mbili zimechapishwa. Zimekuwa zikipingana kwa miaka mingi.

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 anamtazama mbweha akifika juu na kuanza kuandika. Anatazama chini mstari mrefu wa jiwe lililochakaa. Anaamua kuamini idadi kubwa zaidi, kwa sababu inahisi kuwa zaidi unapopanda.

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.