Tracks in the First Snow

Zara wakes up early. The room is very bright and very quiet. She runs to the window. Snow! The first snow of the year covers the garden.

Zara bangun pagi-pagi. Kamarnya sangat terang dan sangat sunyi. Ia berlari ke jendela. Salju! Salju pertama tahun ini menutupi kebun.

"Umar, wake up!" she calls. "It snowed!"

"Umar, bangun!" panggilnya. "Salju turun!"

Her brother comes to the window with sleepy eyes. Then he smiles. "Let's go out," he says.

Kakaknya datang ke jendela dengan mata mengantuk. Lalu ia tersenyum. "Ayo keluar," katanya.

They put on boots, hats and warm coats. Zara opens the back door. The air is cold and clean. The snow is deep and soft. Nobody walks on it yet.

Mereka memakai sepatu bot, topi, dan mantel tebal. Zara membuka pintu belakang. Udaranya dingin dan bersih. Saljunya tebal dan lembut. Belum ada yang berjalan di atasnya.

Then Zara sees something. Small marks cross the garden. They are tiny, round prints in a straight line.

Lalu Zara melihat sesuatu. Tanda-tanda kecil melintasi kebun. Itu jejak-jejak bulat yang mungil dalam satu garis lurus.

"Look," she says. "Someone came here in the night."

"Lihat," katanya. "Seseorang datang ke sini malam tadi."

Umar kneels down. "A small animal," he says. "It has four feet. It jumps."

Umar berlutut. "Hewan kecil," katanya. "Kakinya empat. Ia melompat."

"Where does it go?" asks Zara.

"Ia pergi ke mana?" tanya Zara.

"Let's find out," says Umar.

"Ayo kita cari tahu," kata Umar.

They follow the marks. The prints go under the garden gate. Zara and Umar go out the front door. They find the prints again in the street. The prints cross the road. They go along a wall. Zara walks slowly. She wants to keep the marks in front of her.

Mereka mengikuti jejak itu. Jejak-jejak itu masuk ke bawah gerbang kebun. Zara dan Umar keluar lewat pintu depan. Mereka menemukan jejak itu lagi di jalan. Jejak itu menyeberangi jalan. Jejak itu menyusuri sebuah tembok. Zara berjalan pelan-pelan. Ia ingin menjaga jejak itu tetap di depannya.

At the park, the snow is even deeper. A boy pulls a red sled up a hill. Two dogs run in circles. But the prints do not stop. They go past the pond and into the trees.

Di taman, saljunya lebih tebal lagi. Seorang anak laki-laki menarik kereta salju merah naik ke bukit. Dua ekor anjing berlari berputar-putar. Tetapi jejak itu tidak berhenti. Jejak itu melewati kolam dan masuk ke antara pepohonan.

"I am cold," says Umar.

"Aku kedinginan," kata Umar.

"Just a little more," says Zara. "Please."

"Sedikit lagi," kata Zara. "Kumohon."

Under the trees, the world is very quiet. Snow falls from a branch. It makes a soft sound. The prints turn left, then right. Then they stop under a big bush with white leaves.

Di bawah pepohonan, dunia sangat sunyi. Salju jatuh dari sebatang dahan. Bunyinya lembut. Jejak itu berbelok ke kiri, lalu ke kanan. Lalu jejak itu berhenti di bawah semak besar berdaun putih.

Zara and Umar stand very still. They look at the bush. For a long time, nothing moves.

Zara dan Umar berdiri diam sekali. Mereka menatap semak itu. Lama sekali, tidak ada yang bergerak.

Then two long ears come out. Then a small gray nose. A rabbit looks at them with big black eyes.

Lalu dua telinga panjang muncul. Lalu sebuah hidung kecil berwarna kelabu. Seekor kelinci menatap mereka dengan mata hitam yang besar.

Zara does not breathe. The rabbit looks at her. Then it hops out and sits in the snow. It starts to eat something orange. Zara looks closer. It is a carrot.

Zara menahan napas. Kelinci itu menatapnya. Lalu ia melompat keluar dan duduk di salju. Ia mulai memakan sesuatu yang berwarna oranye. Zara melihat lebih dekat. Itu sebuah wortel.

"Where did the carrot come from?" Umar whispers.

"Dari mana datangnya wortel itu?" bisik Umar.

Zara looks around. An old woman sits on a bench near the path. She has a bag on her knees. She sees the children. She puts one finger on her lips. Then she smiles. She takes another carrot from her bag. She holds it up.

Zara melihat ke sekeliling. Seorang perempuan tua duduk di bangku dekat jalan setapak. Ia memangku sebuah tas. Ia melihat anak-anak itu. Ia menaruh satu jari di bibirnya. Lalu ia tersenyum. Ia mengambil wortel lain dari tasnya. Ia mengangkatnya.

Zara walks to her softly. "Is this your rabbit?" she asks.

Zara berjalan pelan menghampirinya. "Apakah ini kelinci Nenek?" tanyanya.

"No," the old woman says. "It is a wild rabbit. But every first snow, I bring it a carrot. Rabbits cannot find much food in the snow."

"Bukan," kata perempuan tua itu. "Ini kelinci liar. Tapi setiap salju pertama, Nenek membawakannya wortel. Kelinci tidak bisa menemukan banyak makanan di dalam salju."

"That is a nice thing to do," Umar says.

"Itu perbuatan yang baik," kata Umar.

"Do you want to help?" asks the old woman. She gives Zara the carrot.

"Mau membantu?" tanya perempuan tua itu. Ia memberikan wortel itu kepada Zara.

Zara walks very slowly toward the bush. She puts the carrot in the snow. Then she steps back. The rabbit looks at the carrot. It looks at Zara. Then it takes the carrot in its mouth. It hops away.

Zara berjalan sangat pelan menuju semak itu. Ia menaruh wortel itu di salju. Lalu ia mundur selangkah. Kelinci itu menatap wortel. Ia menatap Zara. Lalu ia mengambil wortel itu dengan mulutnya. Ia melompat pergi.

"Come on," Umar says. "I want hot chocolate."

"Ayo," kata Umar. "Aku mau cokelat panas."

Zara looks one last time at the small prints. Then she follows her brother home.

Zara memandang jejak-jejak kecil itu untuk terakhir kalinya. Lalu ia mengikuti kakaknya pulang.