The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean

A bean and a hot coal met each other on the highroad, and as they were both rolling along in the same direction they soon struck up a friendship.

Sebutir kacang dan sepotong bara panas bertemu satu sama lain di jalan raya, dan karena keduanya sedang menggelinding ke arah yang sama, mereka pun segera menjalin persahabatan.

Presently they were joined by a straw, and the three began talking together. They were all going out in the world to seek their fortunes.

Tak lama kemudian mereka bergabung dengan sehelai jerami, dan ketiganya mulai bercakap-cakap. Mereka semua sedang pergi ke dunia luar untuk mencari peruntungan mereka.

“It is just a bit of luck that I can travel about in this way,” said the bean. “If I had not been a stout active fellow I would have been boiled into soup by now. The mistress was about to throw me into the pot with a lot of other beans, but I managed to slip through her fingers and rolled out through the doorway and down the steps without her even noticing I was gone.”

"Sungguh sebuah keberuntungan bahwa aku bisa bepergian dengan cara ini," kata si kacang. "Jika aku bukan seorang yang gagah dan lincah, aku pasti sudah direbus menjadi sup sekarang. Nyonya rumah hendak melemparkanku ke dalam panci bersama banyak kacang lainnya, tetapi aku berhasil meloloskan diri dari jari-jarinya dan menggelinding keluar lewat pintu dan menuruni tangga tanpa ia sadari aku telah pergi."

“That was a clever trick,” said the hot coal. “I, too, am a lively chap. I and my brothers were set to heat a kettle, but I jumped out of the fire, and I was so hot the cook did not dare to touch me. She pushed me out of doors with her foot, and now I am free to go about the world as I choose, and seek my fortune.”

"Itu tipu daya yang cerdik," kata si bara panas. "Aku juga seorang yang lincah. Aku dan saudara-saudaraku ditugaskan untuk memanaskan ketel, tetapi aku melompat keluar dari api, dan aku begitu panas sehingga juru masak tak berani menyentuhku. Ia mendorongku keluar pintu dengan kakinya, dan kini aku bebas untuk berkelana ke dunia sesuka hatiku, dan mencari peruntunganku."

The straw sighed. “I was never as active as that,” she said. “Always wherever the wind blew me I went. The farmer had picked up a whole armful of straws to make a bed for the cow; but the wind caught me up and carried me off—and here I am.”

Si jerami menghela napas. "Aku tidak pernah selincah itu," katanya. "Ke mana pun angin meniupku, ke situlah aku pergi. Petani telah mengumpulkan segenggam penuh jerami untuk membuat alas tidur bagi sapi; tetapi angin menyambarku dan membawaku pergi—dan di sinilah aku sekarang."

While they were talking in this way the comrades came to a brook, and this stopped their journey, for they did not know how to get across. The straw could easily have sailed over on the first puff of wind, but that way would not do for the other two.

Sambil bercakap-cakap seperti itu, ketiga sahabat itu tiba di sebuah anak sungai, dan ini menghentikan perjalanan mereka, sebab mereka tak tahu bagaimana caranya menyeberang. Si jerami bisa saja dengan mudah berlayar menyeberang dengan tiupan angin pertama, tetapi cara itu tak akan berhasil bagi kedua sahabatnya yang lain.

“Listen!” said the straw. “I am long enough to reach from one side of the stream to the other. I will lay myself across it like a bridge, and then you can both walk on over me without getting wet.”

"Dengar!" kata si jerami. "Aku cukup panjang untuk mencapai dari satu sisi sungai ke sisi lainnya. Aku akan membaringkan diriku melintangi sungai ini seperti jembatan, dan kalian berdua bisa berjalan melewatiku tanpa basah."

To this plan the other two were glad to agree, so the straw laid herself across the stream.

Rencana ini disambut baik oleh kedua sahabatnya yang lain, maka si jerami pun membaringkan dirinya melintangi sungai itu.

“You go first,” said the bean, for he was a cautious fellow, and wanted to see whether the bridge was safe before he tried it.

"Kau jalan duluan," kata si kacang, sebab ia adalah orang yang hati-hati, dan ingin melihat apakah jembatan itu aman sebelum ia mencobanya.

The coal, however, was quick and fiery. He ran out on the straw, but half-way over he grew dizzy and had to stop.

Si bara, bagaimanapun, adalah makhluk yang cepat dan berapi-api. Ia berlari di atas jerami itu, tetapi di tengah jalan ia merasa pusing dan harus berhenti.

“Quick! quick!” cried the straw. “I am burning”; for the coal was still very hot.

"Cepat! cepat!" seru si jerami. "Aku terbakar"; sebab si bara masih sangat panas.

“Wait,” said the coal, balancing himself. “Just a minute!”

"Tunggu," kata si bara, menjaga keseimbangannya. "Sebentar saja!"

But the straw could not wait even for a minute. The coal had burned through it, and down they both went into the water, the coal hissing as it fell.

Namun si jerami tak bisa menunggu bahkan sebentar pun. Si bara telah membakarnya hingga tembus, dan turunlah keduanya ke dalam air, si bara mendesis saat jatuh.

That seemed so comical to the bean that it began to laugh. It laughed and laughed; it laughed so hard that at last it split its skin, and that would have been the end of it if a tailor had not chanced to come by just then.

Hal itu tampak begitu lucu bagi si kacang sehingga ia mulai tertawa. Ia tertawa dan tertawa; ia tertawa begitu keras sehingga akhirnya kulitnya robek, dan itu akan menjadi akhir baginya seandainya seorang penjahit tidak kebetulan lewat saat itu.

“Help! help!” cried the bean.

"Tolong! tolong!" seru si kacang.

The tailor looked all about him, and then he saw the bean lying on the ground. He picked it up, and it did not take him long to see what was the matter with it. “This slit can be easily mended,” said he, and he whipped out his needle and thread and sewed up the bean in a trice. Unluckily he had only black thread, and the stitches made a line of black down the side of the bean. And ever since then, if you look, you will see that every bean of that kind has a black line down one side of it.

Penjahit itu memandang sekelilingnya, lalu ia melihat kacang itu tergeletak di tanah. Ia mengambilnya, dan tak butuh waktu lama baginya untuk melihat apa yang salah dengannya. "Robekan ini bisa dengan mudah diperbaiki," katanya, dan ia mengeluarkan jarum dan benangnya lalu menjahit si kacang dengan cepat. Sayangnya ia hanya punya benang hitam, dan jahitan itu membuat garis hitam di sepanjang sisi kacang itu. Dan sejak saat itu, jika kau perhatikan, kau akan melihat bahwa setiap kacang jenis itu memiliki garis hitam di salah satu sisinya.