The Weather Balloon

The science club at Constance's school made a plan. They wanted to send a weather balloon up with a small camera. They worked for a month.

Klub sains di sekolah Constance membuat sebuah rencana. Mereka ingin menerbangkan balon cuaca dengan sebuah kamera kecil. Mereka mengerjakannya selama sebulan.

They tied the camera to a white box. The teacher wrote the school's phone number on the box. Under it she wrote, "If you find this, please call."

Mereka mengikat kamera itu pada sebuah kotak putih. Guru mereka menuliskan nomor telepon sekolah di kotak itu. Di bawahnya ia menulis, "Jika Anda menemukan ini, mohon hubungi."

On Saturday, they let the balloon go behind the school. It went up fast. Soon it was a tiny white dot, and then it was gone.

Pada hari Sabtu, mereka melepaskan balon itu di belakang sekolah. Balon itu naik dengan cepat. Tak lama kemudian ia menjadi titik putih yang mungil, lalu menghilang.

The balloon came down far away. The battery in the tracker was dead. The last point on the map was far to the east. They drove there. They saw only forests and fields. They looked for three hours. They did not find the box.

Balon itu turun jauh dari sana. Baterai di pelacaknya habis. Titik terakhir di peta berada jauh di sebelah timur. Mereka pergi ke sana dengan mobil. Mereka hanya melihat hutan dan ladang. Mereka mencari selama tiga jam. Mereka tidak menemukan kotak itu.

"A month of work is gone," Constance said.

"Kerja keras sebulan hilang begitu saja," kata Constance.

"Wait," the teacher said. "Remember the phone number on the box?"

"Tunggu," kata sang guru. "Ingat nomor telepon di kotak itu?"

Two days later, the school phone rang. "I'm a farmer," a man said. "I found a white box in my field. Is it yours?"

Dua hari kemudian, telepon sekolah berdering. "Saya seorang petani," kata seorang pria. "Saya menemukan kotak putih di ladang saya. Apakah itu milik kalian?"

"Yes!" the teacher said.

"Ya!" kata sang guru.

The next day, the club drove to the farm. The box was in a barn, safe and dry. The camera still worked.

Keesokan harinya, klub itu berkendara ke peternakan tersebut. Kotak itu ada di sebuah lumbung, aman dan kering. Kameranya masih berfungsi.

In the computer room, they looked at the photos. The first one showed the school, small like a toy. Then the clouds came. From above, they looked like a white sea. At the top, the sky was dark blue.

Di ruang komputer, mereka melihat foto-fotonya. Foto pertama memperlihatkan sekolah, kecil seperti mainan. Lalu awan-awan datang. Dari atas, awan itu tampak seperti lautan putih. Di bagian paling atas, langitnya berwarna biru tua.

Constance chose her favorite photo. She printed it for the wall of the science room.

Constance memilih foto kesukaannya. Ia mencetaknya untuk dipasang di dinding ruang sains.