The Monster Mosquitoe
A free B2-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Long ago, a mosquito the size of a monster terrorized a village, until a sky spirit came down to hunt it across the lakes of what is now New York.
They have some pretty big mosquitoes in New Jersey and on Long Island, but, if report of their ancestry is true, they have degenerated in size and voracity; for the grandfather of all mosquitoes used to live in the neighborhood of Fort Onondaga, New York, and sallying out whenever he was hungry, would eat an Indian or two and pick his teeth with their ribs.
Mereka punya beberapa nyamuk yang cukup besar di New Jersey dan di Long Island, tetapi, jika kabar tentang leluhur mereka benar, mereka sudah menyusut ukuran dan keganasannya; sebab kakek moyang dari segala nyamuk dahulu tinggal di dekat Fort Onondaga, New York, dan setiap kali lapar ia akan keluar menyerbu, memakan satu atau dua orang Indian dan mengorek giginya dengan tulang rusuk mereka.
The red men had no arms that could prevail against it, but at last the Holder of the Heavens, hearing their cry for aid, came down and attacked the insect. Finding that it had met its match, the mosquito flew away so rapidly that its assailant could hardly keep it in sight. It flew around the great lake, then turned eastward again. It sought help vainly of the witches that brooded in the sink-holes, or Green Lakes (near Janesville, New York), and had reached the salt lake of Onondaga when its pursuer came up and killed it, the creature piling the sand into hills in its dying struggles.
Para lelaki merah tidak memiliki senjata yang mampu mengalahkannya, tetapi akhirnya Sang Penguasa Langit, mendengar jeritan mereka meminta pertolongan, turun dan menyerang serangga itu. Menyadari bahwa ia telah bertemu lawan yang setara, sang nyamuk terbang menjauh begitu cepat sehingga penyerangnya nyaris tak bisa mengejar pandangannya. Ia terbang mengitari danau besar itu, lalu berbalik lagi ke timur. Ia mencari bantuan sia-sia dari para penyihir yang bersarang di lubang-lubang tenggelam, atau Green Lakes (dekat Janesville, New York), dan telah mencapai danau garam Onondaga ketika pengejarnya tiba dan membunuhnya, makhluk itu menumpuk pasir menjadi bukit-bukit dalam pergulatan sekaratnya.
As its blood poured upon the earth it became small mosquitoes, that gathered about the Holder of the Heavens and stung him so sorely that he half repented the service that he had done to men.
Ketika darahnya tertumpah ke bumi, darah itu berubah menjadi nyamuk-nyamuk kecil, yang berkumpul di sekitar Sang Penguasa Langit dan menyengatnya begitu perih sehingga ia setengah menyesali pertolongan yang telah ia berikan kepada manusia.
The Tuscaroras say that this was one of two monsters that stood on opposite banks of the Seneca River and slew all men that passed. Hiawatha killed the other one. On their reservation is a stone, marked by the form of the Sky Holder, that shows where he rested during the chase, while his tracks were until lately seen south of Syracuse, alternating with footprints of the mosquito, which were shaped like those of a bird, and twenty inches long. At Brighton, New York, where these marks appeared, they were reverentially renewed by the Indians for many years.
Suku Tuscarora mengatakan bahwa ini adalah salah satu dari dua raksasa yang berdiri di kedua tepi berlawanan Sungai Seneca dan membunuh semua orang yang lewat. Hiawatha membunuh yang satunya lagi. Di wilayah reservasi mereka ada sebuah batu, bertanda bentuk Sang Penguasa Langit, yang menunjukkan tempat ia beristirahat selama pengejaran itu, sementara jejak-jejak kakinya masih terlihat hingga baru-baru ini di sebelah selatan Syracuse, berselang-seling dengan jejak kaki nyamuk itu, yang berbentuk seperti jejak burung, dan panjangnya dua puluh inci. Di Brighton, New York, tempat jejak-jejak ini muncul, jejak itu diperbarui dengan penuh penghormatan oleh orang-orang Indian selama bertahun-tahun.
