A Basket for the Right Hero

Bela sorts metal at a junkyard after school. She wears thick gloves and a yellow helmet. She puts old pipes in one pile. She puts old wheels in another.

Bela memilah logam di tempat rongsokan sepulang sekolah. Ia memakai sarung tangan tebal dan helm kuning. Ia menaruh pipa-pipa tua di satu tumpukan. Roda-roda tua ia taruh di tumpukan lain.

The junkyard is full of broken cars, bikes, and fridges. A friendly brown dog lives there. It follows every worker around. It naps on every warm car roof.

Tempat rongsokan itu penuh dengan mobil, sepeda, dan kulkas rusak. Seekor anjing cokelat yang ramah tinggal di sana. Anjing itu mengikuti setiap pekerja ke mana-mana. Ia tidur siang di atap setiap mobil yang hangat.

Today, a basket sits on the front counter. It holds six hard green pears. A note hangs from the handle.

Hari ini, sebuah keranjang tergeletak di meja depan. Isinya enam buah pir hijau yang keras. Sehelai catatan tergantung di gagangnya.

Bela reads the note. "For the hero who found my key. Thank you! From the farmer on Hill Road."

Bela membaca catatan itu. "Untuk pahlawan yang menemukan kunciku. Terima kasih! Dari petani di Jalan Bukit."

"Hero?" Bela says to the dog. "Which hero?"

"Pahlawan?" kata Bela kepada si anjing. "Pahlawan yang mana?"

The dog wags its tail and says nothing.

Anjing itu mengibaskan ekor dan tidak berkata apa-apa.

Dilan walks in, pushing a wheel in front of him. He is Bela's best friend, and he works at the junkyard too. He reads the note too.

Dilan masuk sambil mendorong sebuah roda di depannya. Ia sahabat Bela, dan ia juga bekerja di tempat rongsokan itu. Ia ikut membaca catatan tersebut.

"The farmer lost his tractor key in the junkyard yesterday," Dilan says. "He looked for two hours. You gave him the key at the end."

"Kemarin petani itu kehilangan kunci traktornya di tempat rongsokan ini," kata Dilan. "Ia mencarinya selama dua jam. Kamu yang memberikan kunci itu padanya di akhir."

"I did?" Bela says. She thinks about it. "Yes, I did. I put it in his hand."

"Aku?" kata Bela. Ia berpikir sejenak. "Iya, benar. Aku menaruhnya di tangannya."

"Then the basket is yours," says Dilan. "Congratulations, hero."

"Kalau begitu keranjang ini milikmu," kata Dilan. "Selamat, Pahlawan."

Bela smiles and takes a pear. She bites it. The pear is as hard as a stone. She makes a face and puts it back.

Bela tersenyum dan mengambil sebuah pir. Ia menggigitnya. Pir itu sekeras batu. Ia meringis dan mengembalikannya.

"It is not ready," she says. "It needs one week."

"Belum matang," katanya. "Perlu waktu seminggu lagi."

"A hero must be patient," Dilan says.

"Seorang pahlawan harus sabar," kata Dilan.

Bela holds the basket close. Then she frowns. "But I only carried the key," she says. "I did not find it. You found it, Dilan."

Bela memeluk keranjang itu erat-erat. Lalu ia mengerutkan kening. "Tapi aku cuma membawa kuncinya," katanya. "Aku tidak menemukannya. Kamu yang menemukannya, Dilan."

"Me?" Dilan says. He drops the wheel with a loud bang. "I did not find it either."

"Aku?" kata Dilan. Ia menjatuhkan roda itu dengan bunyi keras. "Aku juga tidak menemukannya."

"You pulled it out of a pile of old pipes," Bela says.

"Kamu menariknya keluar dari tumpukan pipa tua," kata Bela.

"Yes, but I did not know where to look," says Dilan. "The owner told me to check the pipes at the back."

"Iya, tapi aku tidak tahu harus mencari di mana," kata Dilan. "Pemilik tempat ini yang menyuruhku memeriksa pipa-pipa di belakang."

Bela pushes the basket into his hands. "Then you are the hero."

Bela mendorong keranjang itu ke tangan Dilan. "Kalau begitu kamulah pahlawannya."

"No, no, no," says Dilan. He holds the basket as if it is hot. "We must ask the owner."

"Jangan, jangan, jangan," kata Dilan. Ia memegang keranjang itu seolah-olah benda itu panas. "Kita harus bertanya kepada si pemilik."

They walk through the junkyard together. Bela carries nothing. Dilan carries the basket. The dog walks behind them. Its tail swings from side to side.

Mereka berjalan bersama melewati tempat rongsokan itu. Bela tidak membawa apa-apa. Dilan membawa keranjang. Si anjing berjalan di belakang mereka. Ekornya bergoyang ke kiri dan ke kanan.

The owner sits in a small metal hut. He eats a sandwich and reads a magazine about tractors.

Si pemilik duduk di sebuah gubuk logam kecil. Ia sedang makan roti isi dan membaca majalah tentang traktor.

"A basket!" he says. "For me?"

"Keranjang!" katanya. "Untukku?"

"It is for the hero who found the key," Dilan says. "We think it is you. You told me where to look."

"Ini untuk pahlawan yang menemukan kunci itu," kata Dilan. "Kami kira itu Bapak. Bapak yang memberi tahu aku harus mencari di mana."

The owner puts down his sandwich. He looks at the basket for a long time. Then he shakes his head.

Si pemilik meletakkan roti isinya. Ia memandangi keranjang itu lama sekali. Lalu ia menggeleng.

"I only pointed at the pipes," he says. "I did not choose them myself. A customer told me to look there. He wore a green cap."

"Aku cuma menunjuk ke arah pipa-pipa itu," katanya. "Aku sendiri tidak memilihnya. Seorang pelanggan menyuruhku mencari di sana. Ia memakai topi hijau."

"Which customer?" asks Bela.

"Pelanggan yang mana?" tanya Bela.

"The one who buys bike wheels every month," says the owner. "He is over by the fence. Go and ask him."

"Yang setiap bulan membeli roda sepeda," kata si pemilik. "Dia ada di dekat pagar. Pergilah, tanyakan padanya."

The three of them walk to the fence. The dog walks with them. A tall man in a green cap stands there. He holds a bike wheel up to the light. He turns it slowly.

Mereka bertiga berjalan ke pagar. Si anjing ikut bersama mereka. Seorang pria jangkung bertopi hijau berdiri di sana. Ia mengangkat sebuah roda sepeda ke arah cahaya. Ia memutarnya perlahan.

Bela explains the story. The man listens with his mouth open. Then he starts to laugh.

Bela menceritakan kejadiannya. Pria itu mendengarkan dengan mulut ternganga. Lalu ia mulai tertawa.

"Me? A hero?" he says. "I only stood there and watched. It was not my idea."

"Aku? Pahlawan?" katanya. "Aku cuma berdiri dan menonton. Itu bukan ideku."

"Whose idea was it?" asks Dilan.

"Idenya siapa?" tanya Dilan.

"I will tell you what I saw," the man says. "The farmer cried and walked in circles. Everybody looked at the big pile of engines. But the dog did not look at the engines. It went to a small pile of pipes at the back."

"Akan kuceritakan apa yang kulihat," kata pria itu. "Petani itu menangis dan berjalan berputar-putar. Semua orang melihat tumpukan mesin yang besar. Tapi anjing itu tidak melihat ke arah mesin. Ia pergi ke tumpukan pipa kecil di belakang."

The man points a finger at the dog. "It dug there for ten minutes. I told the owner, 'Look where the dog digs.' The owner told Dilan. Dilan found the key under the pipes."

Pria itu mengarahkan jarinya ke si anjing. "Ia menggali di sana selama sepuluh menit. Aku bilang kepada si pemilik, 'Lihat tempat anjing itu menggali.' Si pemilik memberi tahu Dilan. Dilan menemukan kunci itu di bawah pipa-pipa."

Nobody speaks. Everybody looks at the dog.

Tidak ada yang bicara. Semua orang menatap si anjing.

The dog sits down in the dust. It turns its head to the left. It looks at the basket, and then at Bela.

Anjing itu duduk di atas debu. Ia memiringkan kepalanya ke kiri. Ia memandang keranjang itu, lalu memandang Bela.

"The dog is the hero," Dilan says slowly.

"Anjing ini pahlawannya," kata Dilan pelan-pelan.

"The dog is the hero," says the owner. He picks up his sandwich again.

"Anjing ini pahlawannya," kata si pemilik. Ia mengambil roti isinya lagi.

"The dog is the hero," the man in the green cap says. He puts his hand on his heart.

"Anjing ini pahlawannya," kata pria bertopi hijau. Ia menaruh tangan di dadanya.

Bela laughs so hard that she has to sit on a tire. "I carried a basket for a dog," she says. "And I ate half a stone."

Bela tertawa terbahak-bahak sampai harus duduk di atas sebuah ban. "Aku membawa keranjang untuk seekor anjing," katanya. "Dan aku makan separuh batu."

Dilan puts the basket on the ground in front of the dog. He takes a pear and holds it out with a flat hand.

Dilan menaruh keranjang itu di tanah di depan si anjing. Ia mengambil sebuah pir dan mengulurkannya dengan telapak tangan terbuka.

The dog sniffs the pear. It sniffs again. Then it sneezes and turns its head away. It does not want the pear at all.

Anjing itu mengendus pir tersebut. Ia mengendus lagi. Lalu ia bersin dan memalingkan kepalanya. Ia sama sekali tidak mau pir itu.

"It does not like it," says Bela.

"Dia tidak suka," kata Bela.

"The dog is a smart hero," says Dilan. "It knows the pears are not ready."

"Anjing ini pahlawan yang pintar," kata Dilan. "Ia tahu pir-pir itu belum matang."

The owner finishes his sandwich and wipes his hands. "So what do we do with six pears that nobody can eat?" he asks.

Si pemilik menghabiskan roti isinya dan mengelap tangannya. "Jadi, apa yang harus kita lakukan dengan enam pir yang tidak bisa dimakan siapa pun?" tanyanya.

Bela thinks for a moment. Then she picks up the basket. She walks to the office window. The sun shines on a long shelf there. She puts the basket there, in the warmest spot.

Bela berpikir sebentar. Lalu ia mengangkat keranjang itu. Ia berjalan ke jendela kantor. Matahari menyinari sebuah rak panjang di sana. Ia menaruh keranjang itu di sana, di tempat yang paling hangat.

"We wait one week," she says. "Then the dog gets the first pear."

"Kita tunggu seminggu," katanya. "Lalu anjing ini mendapat pir pertama."

The dog follows her. It jumps on the chair under the shelf. It turns around three times and lies down. It puts its chin on the basket and closes its eyes.

Si anjing mengikutinya. Ia melompat ke kursi di bawah rak itu. Ia berputar tiga kali lalu berbaring. Ia menaruh dagunya di keranjang dan memejamkan mata.