Ladang Air Putih

Polly terbang ke selatan menyusuri pantai. Di dekat sebuah sungai kecil, tanahnya datar. Ada ratusan kolam dangkal di tepi laut. Setiap kolam berkilau seperti cermin. Inilah ladang garam Sečovlje. Orang sudah membuat garam di sini selama lebih dari tujuh ratus tahun.

Polly flew south along the coast. By a small river, the land was flat. There were hundreds of shallow pools by the sea. Each pool shone like a mirror. These are the salt pans of Sečovlje. People have made salt here for more than seven hundred years.

Air laut masuk ke kolam-kolam. Sepanjang musim panas, matahari mengambil airnya. Garamnya tetap tinggal. Polly berjalan masuk ke sebuah kolam. Airnya hangat dan asin.

Sea water comes into the pools. All summer the sun takes the water away. The salt stays. Polly walked into a pool. The water was warm and salty.

Para petani garam mendorong garu kayu yang panjang di dalam air. Garam putih menjadi bukit-bukit kecil. Mereka bekerja dengan tangan, seperti dulu.

The salt workers pushed long wooden rakes through the water. The white salt made small hills. They work by hand, like long ago.

Seorang petani garam menunjukkan dasar kolam kepadanya. Dasarnya gelap dan halus, seperti kulit. Dasar itu menahan lumpur di bawah, jadi garamnya tetap putih.

A worker showed her the floor of the pool. It was dark and smooth, like skin. It keeps the mud down, so the salt stays white.