The Magpie's Nest

Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme And monkeys chewed tobacco, And hens took snuff to make them tough, And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O!

Dahulu kala, saat babi bisa berpantun Dan monyet mengunyah tembakau, Dan ayam betina mengisap tembakau agar kuat, Dan bebek berkata kwek, kwek, kwek, O!

All the birds of the air came to the magpie and asked her to teach them how to build nests. For the magpie is the cleverest bird of all at building nests. So she put all the birds round her and began to show them how to do it. First of all she took some mud and made a sort of round cake with it.

Semua burung di udara datang kepada burung murai dan memintanya mengajari mereka cara membuat sarang. Sebab burung murai adalah burung paling pandai dalam membuat sarang. Maka ia mengumpulkan semua burung di sekelilingnya dan mulai menunjukkan caranya. Pertama-tama ia mengambil sedikit lumpur dan membuatnya menjadi semacam kue bundar.

“Oh, that's how it's done,” said the thrush; and away it flew, and so that's how thrushes build their nests.

"Oh, begitu caranya," kata burung anis; lalu ia pun terbang pergi, dan begitulah cara burung anis membuat sarangnya.

Then the magpie took some twigs and arranged them round in the mud.

Kemudian burung murai mengambil beberapa ranting dan menyusunnya melingkar di dalam lumpur itu.

“Now I know all about it,” says the blackbird, and off he flew; and that's how the blackbirds make their nests to this very day.

"Sekarang aku sudah tahu semuanya," kata burung jalak hitam, lalu ia pun terbang pergi; dan begitulah cara burung jalak hitam membuat sarangnya hingga hari ini.

Then the magpie put another layer of mud over the twigs.

Kemudian burung murai menambahkan satu lapis lumpur lagi di atas ranting-ranting itu.

“Oh that's quite obvious,” said the wise owl, and away it flew; and owls have never made better nests since.

"Oh, itu sudah sangat jelas," kata burung hantu yang bijak, lalu ia terbang pergi; dan burung hantu tak pernah lagi membuat sarang yang lebih baik sejak itu.

After this the magpie took some twigs and twined them round the outside.

Setelah itu burung murai mengambil beberapa ranting lagi dan melilitkannya di bagian luar.

“The very thing!” said the sparrow, and off he went; so sparrows make rather slovenly nests to this day.

"Nah, itu dia!" kata burung pipit, lalu ia pun pergi; sehingga burung pipit membuat sarang yang agak berantakan hingga hari ini.

Well, then Madge Magpie took some feathers and stuff and lined the nest very comfortably with it.

Nah, kemudian Madge Murai mengambil bulu-bulu dan bahan-bahan lain dan melapisi bagian dalam sarang itu dengan sangat nyaman.

“That suits me,” cried the starling, and off it flew; and very comfortable nests have starlings.

"Itu cocok untukku," seru burung jalak biasa, lalu ia terbang pergi; dan burung jalak biasa pun memiliki sarang yang sangat nyaman.

So it went on, every bird taking away some knowledge of how to build nests, but, none of them waiting to the end. Meanwhile Madge Magpie went on working and working without, looking up till the only bird that remained was the turtle-dove, and that hadn't paid any attention all along, but only kept on saying its silly cry “Take two, Taffy, take two-o-o-o.”

Begitulah seterusnya, setiap burung membawa pergi sedikit pengetahuan tentang cara membuat sarang, tetapi tak satu pun menunggu sampai selesai. Sementara itu Madge Murai terus bekerja dan bekerja tanpa menoleh ke atas, sampai satu-satunya burung yang tersisa adalah burung tekukur, yang sejak awal tidak memperhatikan sama sekali, dan hanya terus mengulang seruan bodohnya "Ambil dua, Taffy, ambil dua-o-o-o."

At last the magpie heard this just as she was putting a twig across. So she said: “One's enough.”

Akhirnya burung murai mendengar ini tepat ketika ia sedang memasang sebatang ranting melintang. Maka ia berkata: "Satu sudah cukup."

But the turtle-dove kept on saying: “Take two, Taffy, take two-o-o-o.”

Tetapi burung tekukur terus berkata: "Ambil dua, Taffy, ambil dua-o-o-o."

Then the magpie got angry and said: “One's enough I tell you.”

Kemudian burung murai menjadi marah dan berkata: "Satu sudah cukup, kubilang."

Still the turtle-dove cried: “Take two, Taffy, take two-o-o-o.”

Burung tekukur tetap saja berseru: "Ambil dua, Taffy, ambil dua-o-o-o."

At last, and at last, the magpie looked up and saw nobody near her but the silly turtle-dove, and then she got rare angry and flew away and refused to tell the birds how to build nests again. And that is why different birds build their nests differently.

Akhirnya, akhirnya, burung murai menoleh ke atas dan tak melihat siapa pun di dekatnya selain burung tekukur yang bodoh itu, lalu ia menjadi sangat marah dan terbang pergi serta menolak untuk mengajari burung-burung lain cara membuat sarang lagi. Dan itulah sebabnya burung-burung yang berbeda membuat sarangnya dengan cara yang berbeda-beda.