The Cherry Chair Mix-Up

Mika was a runner at the big Sunday market. She carried boxes and took messages. Her boss was Lorna. Lorna spoke a different language.

Mika adalah pesuruh di pasar besar hari Minggu. Dia membawa kotak-kotak dan menyampaikan pesan. Atasannya bernama Lorna. Lorna berbicara dalam bahasa yang berbeda.

That morning, Lorna held up a tiny earpiece. She smiled and pointed at Mika's ear. Mika put it in. It was warm and very small.

Pagi itu, Lorna mengangkat sebuah earpiece kecil. Dia tersenyum dan menunjuk telinga Mika. Mika memasangnya. Alat itu hangat dan sangat kecil.

Lorna spoke fast. The earpiece spoke in Mika's ear.

Lorna berbicara dengan cepat. Earpiece itu berbicara di telinga Mika.

"Bring five cherries to the music stage," it said.

"Bawa lima ceri ke panggung musik," katanya.

Mika did not understand, but she wanted to help. She found a fruit stall. She bought five boxes of cherries. Then she carried them to the stage.

Mika tidak mengerti, tapi dia ingin membantu. Dia menemukan sebuah kios buah. Dia membeli lima kotak ceri. Lalu dia membawanya ke panggung.

Osei, the music man, stood there with his guitar. He looked at the boxes.

Osei, si orang musik, berdiri di sana dengan gitarnya. Dia melihat kotak-kotak itu.

"Where are my chairs?" he asked. "I see only cherries."

"Mana kursi-kursiku?" tanyanya. "Aku cuma lihat ceri."

"Lorna said cherries," said Mika.

"Lorna bilang ceri," kata Mika.

"My band needs to sit. Cherries are not good chairs."

"Bandku perlu duduk. Ceri bukan kursi yang bagus."

Mika put the boxes down. She felt silly. Then she ran back to Lorna. Lorna talked and pointed at the gate of the market.

Mika menaruh kotak-kotak itu. Dia merasa konyol. Lalu dia berlari kembali ke Lorna. Lorna berbicara dan menunjuk gerbang pasar.

"Hang the new sign on the goat," said the earpiece.

"Gantung papan baru di kambing," kata earpiece itu.

Mika looked around. A white goat stood near the cheese stall. A man held it on a rope.

Mika melihat sekeliling. Seekor kambing putih berdiri dekat kios keju. Seorang pria memegangnya dengan tali.

"Please, can I put this sign on your goat?" Mika asked.

"Permisi, boleh saya menaruh papan ini di kambing Anda?" tanya Mika.

The man laughed. "Why not?" he said.

Pria itu tertawa. "Kenapa tidak?" katanya.

They tied the paper sign to the goat's back. It looked funny. People stopped and took pictures. Then the goat turned and ate half of the sign.

Mereka mengikat papan kertas itu di punggung si kambing. Kelihatannya lucu. Orang-orang berhenti dan memotret. Lalu si kambing berbalik dan memakan separuh papan itu.

Lorna ran over. She put her hands on her head. She talked very fast.

Lorna berlari menghampiri. Dia memegang kepalanya dengan kedua tangan. Dia berbicara sangat cepat.

"Tell Osei the show stops at six," said the earpiece.

"Beri tahu Osei pertunjukannya berhenti jam enam," kata earpiece itu.

Mika ran to the stage again. Her legs hurt.

Mika berlari ke panggung lagi. Kakinya sakit.

"Lorna says the show stops at six," she told Osei.

"Lorna bilang pertunjukannya berhenti jam enam," katanya kepada Osei.

Osei looked at her. "Stops?" he said. "It starts at six. The people come at six. Why does it stop?"

Osei menatapnya. "Berhenti?" katanya. "Mulainya jam enam. Orang-orang datang jam enam. Kenapa harus berhenti?"

"I do not know," said Mika.

"Saya tidak tahu," kata Mika.

She stood very still. She thought about the morning. Chairs and cherries. Gate and goat. Starts and stops. Every time, one word was close, but wrong.

Dia berdiri diam sekali. Dia memikirkan pagi tadi. Kursi dan ceri. Gerbang dan kambing. Mulai dan berhenti. Setiap kali, satu kata mirip, tapi salah.

Mika took the earpiece out of her ear. She looked at it for a long time. Then she put it in her pocket.

Mika melepas earpiece dari telinganya. Dia menatapnya lama. Lalu dia memasukkannya ke saku.

She found Lorna by the gate. She did not say a word. She held out a pen and a piece of paper.

Dia menemukan Lorna di dekat gerbang. Dia tidak berkata sepatah kata pun. Dia menyodorkan sebuah pulpen dan selembar kertas.

Lorna looked at the paper. Then she looked at the earpiece in Mika's hand. Her mouth opened. She began to laugh.

Lorna melihat kertas itu. Lalu dia melihat earpiece di tangan Mika. Mulutnya terbuka. Dia mulai tertawa.

Lorna took the pen and drew a small chair. She drew a gate with a new sign. She drew a clock with the hands at six. Next to it, she drew a face and a guitar.

Lorna mengambil pulpen dan menggambar sebuah kursi kecil. Dia menggambar gerbang dengan papan baru. Dia menggambar jam dengan jarum di angka enam. Di sebelahnya, dia menggambar wajah dan sebuah gitar.

Mika nodded. Now she understood every picture.

Mika mengangguk. Sekarang dia mengerti setiap gambar.

It was four o'clock. There was time. She ran to the café by the fountain. The owner gave her five chairs. Mika carried them to Osei. He put them in a circle and sat down.

Saat itu pukul empat. Masih ada waktu. Dia berlari ke kafe di dekat air mancur. Pemiliknya memberinya lima kursi. Mika membawanya ke Osei. Osei menyusunnya melingkar dan duduk.

"Good chairs," he said. "Now the band can sit."

"Kursi yang bagus," katanya. "Sekarang band bisa duduk."

Lorna painted a new sign. She hung it on the gate. The goat stood far away. It looked sorry, and its mouth was still full.

Lorna melukis papan baru. Dia menggantungnya di gerbang. Si kambing berdiri jauh-jauh. Dia tampak menyesal, dan mulutnya masih penuh.

At six, the music started. The market was full of people. Osei sang, and the band played. The people ate cherries and clapped.

Pukul enam, musik dimulai. Pasar penuh dengan orang. Osei bernyanyi, dan band bermain. Orang-orang makan ceri dan bertepuk tangan.

Mika stood at the side. Lorna came and said something with a big smile. Mika did not understand one word. She only gave Lorna a cherry.

Mika berdiri di pinggir. Lorna datang dan mengatakan sesuatu dengan senyum lebar. Mika tidak mengerti satu kata pun. Dia hanya memberi Lorna sebuah ceri.