One Fish Short

Yelena worked at the city zoo. She took care of the penguins. Every morning she gave them fish from a blue bucket. Every morning she counted the fish.

Yelena bekerja di kebun binatang kota. Dia merawat para penguin. Setiap pagi dia memberi mereka ikan dari ember biru. Setiap pagi dia menghitung ikannya.

She put forty fish in the bucket. Then she gave thirty-nine to the penguins. She kept the last fish in a box.

Dia memasukkan empat puluh ikan ke dalam ember. Lalu dia memberi tiga puluh sembilan ekor kepada para penguin. Ikan yang terakhir dia simpan di dalam sebuah kotak.

One Monday she opened the box. It was empty.

Pada suatu hari Senin dia membuka kotak itu. Kotaknya kosong.

"That is odd," Yelena said. "I put one fish here."

"Aneh," kata Yelena. "Aku menaruh satu ikan di sini."

She counted again. The bucket held thirty-nine fish. The box had none. One fish was gone.

Dia menghitung lagi. Ember itu berisi tiga puluh sembilan ikan. Kotaknya kosong. Satu ikan hilang.

On Tuesday the same thing happened. On Wednesday it happened again. Each day there was one fish less.

Pada hari Selasa hal yang sama terjadi. Pada hari Rabu terjadi lagi. Setiap hari ada satu ikan yang kurang.

Yelena looked at the penguins. There were twelve of them. They stood on the rocks in a line. They looked at her with round black eyes.

Yelena menatap para penguin. Ada dua belas ekor. Mereka berdiri di atas batu dalam satu barisan. Mereka menatapnya dengan mata hitam yang bulat.

"Did one of you take it?" she asked.

"Apakah salah satu dari kalian yang mengambilnya?" tanyanya.

The penguins said nothing. A small penguin named Pip made a loud noise. Yelena laughed.

Para penguin tidak berkata apa-apa. Seekor penguin kecil bernama Pip mengeluarkan suara keras. Yelena tertawa.

"You are too small to open the box," she said.

"Kamu terlalu kecil untuk membuka kotak itu," katanya.

She told her friend Dario about the problem. He worked with the monkeys next door.

Dia menceritakan masalah itu kepada temannya, Dario. Dario bekerja dengan para monyet di sebelah.

"Maybe a bird eats it," Dario said. "Or a cat from the street."

"Mungkin ada burung yang memakannya," kata Dario. "Atau kucing dari jalan."

"The box has a heavy lid," said Yelena. "A bird cannot lift it."

"Kotak itu punya tutup yang berat," kata Yelena. "Burung tidak bisa mengangkatnya."

"Then look at the box," said Dario. "Watch it all day."

"Kalau begitu, awasi saja kotaknya," kata Dario. "Perhatikan sepanjang hari."

On Thursday Yelena sat on a chair near the penguins. She watched the box. She ate a sandwich. She watched the penguins swim. Nothing happened for a long time.

Pada hari Kamis Yelena duduk di kursi dekat para penguin. Dia mengawasi kotak itu. Dia makan sandwich. Dia melihat para penguin berenang. Lama sekali tidak ada yang terjadi.

At noon, the zoo got very loud. A school group came to see the penguins. Thirty children ran to the glass wall. Yelena stood up to talk to them. For one minute she did not look at the box.

Pada tengah hari, kebun binatang menjadi sangat ramai. Satu rombongan sekolah datang untuk melihat para penguin. Tiga puluh anak berlari ke dinding kaca. Yelena berdiri untuk berbicara dengan mereka. Selama satu menit dia tidak melihat ke arah kotak.

The children asked many questions. "Do penguins get cold?" "Can they fly?" Yelena answered every one.

Anak-anak itu mengajukan banyak pertanyaan. "Apakah penguin bisa kedinginan?" "Apakah mereka bisa terbang?" Yelena menjawab semuanya.

When the children left, she looked down. The box was open.

Ketika anak-anak itu pergi, dia menunduk. Kotak itu terbuka.

She looked around. A small shape moved behind the rocks. It was brown and wet. It had a long tail.

Dia menengok ke sekeliling. Sebuah sosok kecil bergerak di balik bebatuan. Warnanya cokelat dan basah. Ekornya panjang.

An otter!

Berang-berang!

The otter lived in the next pool. A thin fence stood between the two homes. The fence had a small hole at the bottom. The otter held a fish in its paws. It looked at Yelena. Then it ate the fish.

Berang-berang itu tinggal di kolam sebelah. Sebuah pagar tipis berdiri di antara kedua tempat tinggal itu. Pagar itu punya lubang kecil di bagian bawah. Berang-berang itu memegang seekor ikan dengan kedua kaki depannya. Dia menatap Yelena. Lalu dia memakan ikan itu.

"You!" Yelena said. "You are the thief!"

"Kamu!" kata Yelena. "Kamu pencurinya!"

The otter made a happy sound. It cleaned its face with its paws.

Berang-berang itu mengeluarkan suara senang. Dia membersihkan wajahnya dengan kedua kaki depannya.

Yelena laughed so hard that she sat down. The children came back to see what was funny.

Yelena tertawa begitu keras sampai dia terduduk. Anak-anak kembali untuk melihat apa yang lucu.

That afternoon she told Dario. He laughed until he cried.

Sore itu dia menceritakannya kepada Dario. Dario tertawa sampai menangis.

"A thief with fur," he said. "I must tell the monkeys."

"Pencuri berbulu," katanya. "Aku harus memberi tahu para monyet."

Then she told the boss. A worker came with a net and a hammer. He fixed the small hole in the fence.

Lalu dia memberi tahu atasannya. Seorang pekerja datang dengan jaring dan palu. Dia memperbaiki lubang kecil di pagar itu.

On Friday Yelena put forty-one fish in the bucket. She gave thirty-nine to the penguins. She put one fish in the box. She left the last fish near the otter pool.

Pada hari Jumat Yelena memasukkan empat puluh satu ikan ke dalam ember. Dia memberi tiga puluh sembilan ekor kepada para penguin. Dia menaruh satu ikan di dalam kotak. Ikan yang terakhir dia taruh di dekat kolam berang-berang.

"This is for you," she said. "Please do not steal anymore."

"Ini untukmu," katanya. "Tolong jangan mencuri lagi."

The otter picked up the fish at once.

Berang-berang itu langsung mengambil ikannya.