Day 95: Two Bars Before the Arrow
On the morning ward round in the thoracic surgery department of a Kraków hospital, Erwin (A), a firefighter who plays the Hejnał, the trumpet call sounded every hour from the tower of St Mary's Basilica, asks his surgeon, Dr Dobrosława Kędzior (B), when he can go back to work.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Polish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Polish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Pani doktor, tylko jedno: kiedy wracam na wieżę? Koledzy już trzeci dzień grają za mnie hejnał.
Doctor, just one thing: when do I go back up the tower? The lads have been playing the Hejnał for me for three days now.
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B
Dzień dobry, panie Erwinie, mnie też miło pana widzieć. Dren od wczoraj nie bąbelkuje, a płuco na zdjęciu ładnie się rozprężyło.
Good morning, Erwin, lovely to see you too. The drain hasn't bubbled since yesterday, and on the X-ray the lung has re-expanded nicely.
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A
Czyli wracam! W poniedziałek w południe, na żywo w Jedynce, coś mnie dźgnęło w piersi i urwałem w pół nuty.
So I'm going back! On Monday at noon, live on Polish Radio One, something stabbed me in the chest and I broke off mid-note.
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B
Zaiste, scena godna legendy, tylko zamiast tatarskiej strzały pękł pęcherzyk rozedmowy. A że hejnał zawsze się urywa, słuchacze pewnie nic nie zauważyli.
Verily, a scene worthy of legend, only instead of the Tatar arrow it was a burst bleb on your lung. And since the Hejnał always breaks off anyway, the listeners probably didn't notice a thing.
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A
Nikt oprócz mamy. Słucha hejnału od trzydziestu lat i zaraz zadzwoniła na komendę, że urwałem dwa takty za wcześnie.
Nobody did, except my mum. She's been listening to the Hejnał for thirty years, and she rang the fire station straight away to say I'd stopped two bars too early.
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B
Pańska mama ma lepszy słuch niż mój stetoskop. Dziś wyjmujemy dren, jutro kontrolne zdjęcie, a jeśli płuco się nie zapadnie, w piątek wypis.
Your mum has better hearing than my stethoscope. Today we take the drain out, tomorrow a check X-ray, and if the lung doesn't collapse again, you go home on Friday.
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A
To w sobotę gram! Chłopaki biorą za mnie dyżury i już ledwo zipią.
Then I'm playing on Saturday! The lads are covering my shifts and they're already out of puff.
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B
Przez miesiąc ani nuty. Dla świeżo zaleczonego płuca dęcie w trąbkę to jak pompowanie łatanej dętki.
Not a single note for a month. For a freshly healed lung, blowing a trumpet is like pumping up a patched inner tube.
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A
Miesiąc? Gram hejnał od siedmiu lat! Wtedy też byłbym dograł, gdyby chłopaki siłą nie odciągnęli mnie od okna.
A month? I've been playing the Hejnał for seven years! Even that day I'd have played it through, if the lads hadn't dragged me away from the window.
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B
Waćpan raczy żartować. Gdyby pan wtedy dograł, rozmawialibyśmy dziś na OIOM-ie, a nie na obchodzie.
Your lordship is pleased to jest. Had you played it through, we'd be having this conversation in intensive care today, not on a ward round.
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A
A gdybym grał cicho, na jedną stronę świata zamiast czterech? Nikt by nie zauważył.
And what if I played quietly, to just one side of the world instead of all four? No one would notice.
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B
Pańska mama wyłapała dwa brakujące takty, a trzech stron świata by nie zauważyła? Miesiąc, panie Erwinie, ani dnia krócej.
Your mum caught two missing bars, and she wouldn't notice three missing sides of the world? A month, Erwin, and not a day less.
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