Momotaro, si Anak Persik

Buah Persik di Sungai

The Peach in the River

Dahulu kala, seorang kakek dan seorang nenek tinggal di Jepang. Mereka miskin, dan mereka tidak punya anak.

Long, long ago, an old man and an old woman lived in Japan. They were poor, and they had no children.

Pada suatu pagi, sang kakek pergi ke perbukitan untuk memotong rumput. Sang nenek membawa pakaian ke sungai.

One morning the old man went to the hills to cut grass. The old woman took the clothes to the river.

Tiba-tiba dia melihat sesuatu yang besar di dalam air. Itu adalah buah persik, buah persik terbesar di dunia! Buah itu hanyut menyusuri sungai perlahan-lahan, deg, deg, deg.

Suddenly she saw something big in the water. It was a peach, the biggest peach in the world! It came down the river slowly, bump, bump, bump.

“Betapa indahnya buah persik ini!” kata sang nenek. “Aku akan membawanya pulang untuk suamiku.”

“What a wonderful peach!” said the old woman. “I’m going to take it home for my husband.”

Dia mencoba meraihnya, tetapi letaknya terlalu jauh. Jadi dia bertepuk tangan dan menyanyikan sebuah lagu kecil.

She tried to reach it, but it was too far away. So she clapped her hands and sang a little song.

“Air yang jauh terasa pahit, air yang dekat terasa manis. Datanglah ke air yang manis, persik kecil!”

“Far water is bitter, near water is sweet. Come to the sweet water, little peach!”

Dan buah persik itu datang semakin dekat dan semakin dekat. Akhirnya buah itu berhenti di depannya. Dia mengambilnya dan bergegas pulang.

And the peach came closer and closer. At last it stopped in front of her. She picked it up and hurried home.

Pada malam hari, sang kakek pulang ke rumah.

In the evening the old man came home.

“Suamiku, cepatlah kemari!” kata sang nenek. “Aku punya hadiah untukmu.”

“Husband, come quickly!” said the old woman. “I have a present for you.”

Dia menunjukkan buah persik itu kepadanya, dan matanya terbelalak lebar. “Aku belum pernah melihat buah persik seperti ini!” katanya. “Di mana kamu membelinya?”

She showed him the peach, and his eyes grew wide. “I have never seen a peach like this!” he said. “Where did you buy it?”

“Aku tidak membelinya. Aku menemukannya di sungai.”

“I didn’t buy it. I found it in the river.”

“Kalau begitu ayo kita makan sekarang. Aku sangat lapar.”

“Then let’s eat it now. I’m very hungry.”

Sang kakek mengambil sebilah pisau. Namun sebelum dia sempat memotongnya, buah persik itu terbuka dengan sendirinya.

The old man took a knife. But before he could cut it, the peach opened by itself.