The Last Fish of the Day

Edgar went fishing with his grandfather on Saturday. They got up before the sun and walked to the lake. They sat on a wooden bridge. They had two long rods and a bucket.

Edgar pergi memancing bersama kakeknya pada hari Sabtu. Mereka bangun sebelum matahari terbit dan berjalan ke danau. Mereka duduk di jembatan kayu. Mereka membawa dua joran panjang dan sebuah ember.

The water was flat and gray. The hours went by. At noon, they ate bread and cheese. Edgar looked in the bucket. It was empty.

Air danau tenang dan kelabu. Jam demi jam berlalu. Pada tengah hari, mereka makan roti dan keju. Edgar melihat ke dalam ember. Ember itu kosong.

"Maybe the fish are on holiday," he said.

"Mungkin ikan-ikannya sedang liburan," katanya.

His grandfather laughed. "Maybe. Do you want to hear a story?"

Kakeknya tertawa. "Mungkin. Mau dengar sebuah cerita?"

"Yes," Edgar said.

"Mau," kata Edgar.

"When I was your age, I fished all summer," his grandfather said. "For one month, I caught nothing. Then one evening, I caught a fish. It was very small. I was so proud that I ran home with it."

"Waktu Kakek seusiamu, Kakek memancing sepanjang musim panas," kata kakeknya. "Selama sebulan, Kakek tidak menangkap apa-apa. Lalu pada suatu sore, Kakek menangkap seekor ikan. Ikannya kecil sekali. Kakek begitu bangga sampai berlari pulang membawanya."

"What did your father say?" Edgar asked.

"Apa kata ayah Kakek?" tanya Edgar.

"He said, 'It is a good fish. Let it grow.' So I put it back in the water. I was sad for one minute. After that, I understood."

"Katanya, 'Ini ikan yang bagus. Biarkan ia tumbuh.' Maka Kakek melepaskannya kembali ke air. Kakek sedih selama semenit. Sesudah itu, Kakek mengerti."

Edgar listened and watched the water. The afternoon was long and quiet. Then the sun went low, and the lake turned orange.

Edgar mendengarkan dan memandangi air. Sore itu panjang dan sunyi. Lalu matahari mulai merendah, dan danau berubah menjadi jingga.

Suddenly his rod moved. Edgar pulled it up. A small silver fish jumped at the end of the line. It was no bigger than his hand.

Tiba-tiba jorannya bergerak. Edgar menariknya ke atas. Seekor ikan perak kecil melompat di ujung tali. Ukurannya tidak lebih besar dari tangannya.

"You caught one," his grandfather said.

"Kamu dapat satu," kata kakeknya.

Edgar held the fish for a moment. Then he put it back in the lake. It went down into the dark water. The two of them picked up the bucket and walked home.

Edgar memegang ikan itu sejenak. Lalu ia melepaskannya kembali ke danau. Ikan itu menyelam ke dalam air yang gelap. Mereka berdua mengambil ember dan berjalan pulang.