Tiga Tomat

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Neema berumur delapan tahun. Dia tinggal bersama Mama dan Papa di Kisumu. Kisumu kota di Kenya, di dekat danau besar.

Neema is eight years old. She lives with Mum and Dad in Kisumu. Kisumu is a town in Kenya, on a big lake.

Neema suka sepak bola. Setiap hari sepulang sekolah dia bermain bersama Juma dan Tito di jalan. Gawang dari dua batu. Bola dari kantong plastik bekas dan tali. Bola tidak bulat. Bola hanya bersuara Pok, Pok.

Neema loves football. Every day after school she plays with Juma and Tito in the street. The goal is two stones. The ball is made of old bags and string. It isn’t round. It only goes pock, pock.

Neema ingin bola asli. Bola asli sangat mahal. Sudah satu tahun dia membantu Mama di pasar setiap Sabtu. Uangnya masuk ke dalam kaleng.

Neema wants a real ball. A real ball costs a lot of money. For a year she has been helping Mum at the market every Saturday. Her money goes into a tin.

Hari ini hari Sabtu, dan kaleng sudah penuh. Neema pergi ke pasar dan membeli bola itu. Bola itu putih dan merah, dan bulat. Sangat bulat! Dia membawa bola itu pulang seperti bayi.

Today is Saturday, and the tin is full. Neema goes to the market and buys the ball. It is white and red, and it is round. Very round! She carries it home like a baby.

“Bola asli!” seru Juma. “Tendang!” seru Tito. Neema menaruh bola di jalan. Dia berlari. Dia menendang. Dia menendang sangat keras.

“A real ball!” shouts Juma. “Shoot!” shouts Tito. Neema puts the ball on the street. She runs. She shoots. She shoots very hard.

Bola terbang tinggi. Bola terbang melewati jalan. Bola terbang melewati tembok. Lalu mereka mendengar suara: Plak.

The ball flies high. It flies over the street. It flies over the wall. Then they hear it: splat.

Di balik tembok ada kebun Pak Otieno. Pak Otieno sudah tua dan punya tongkat. Dia tidak pernah berbicara dengan anak-anak. Semua anak agak takut kepadanya.

Behind the wall is Mr Otieno’s garden. Mr Otieno is old and has a walking stick. He never talks to the children. All the children are a little afraid of him.

Tembok itu tidak tinggi. Anak-anak melihat ke balik tembok. Pak Otieno berdiri di dekat tomatnya. Tiga tomat besar hancur. Dia mengambil bola itu dan masuk ke dalam rumah. Pintu tertutup.

The wall isn’t high. The children look over the wall. Mr Otieno is standing by his tomatoes. Three big tomatoes are squashed. He takes the ball and goes into the house. The door closes.

Neema duduk di jalan. Bolanya baru satu jam, dan sekarang bolanya hilang.

Neema sits in the street. Her ball is only one hour old, and now it is gone.

“Tidak apa-apa,” kata Juma. “Malam ini Pak Otieno tidur. Kita memanjat tembok dan mengambil bola itu. Tidak ada yang melihat kita.”

“No problem,” says Juma. “Tonight Mr Otieno is asleep. We climb over the wall and get the ball. Nobody sees us.”

Rencana itu bagus. Neema melihat ke tembok. Dia memikirkan tiga tomat itu. “Tidak,” katanya. “Aku pergi ke rumah Pak Otieno. Sekarang.”

The plan is good. Neema looks at the wall. She thinks about the three tomatoes. “No,” she says. “I’m going to Mr Otieno. Now.”

“Kamu gila?” tanya Tito.

“Are you crazy?” asks Tito.