Mulan

Alat Tenun yang Sunyi

The Quiet Loom

Dahulu kala di Cina utara, ada seorang gadis muda. Namanya Mulan. Setiap hari dia duduk di depan alat tenunnya di dekat pintu. Sepanjang hari alat tenun itu mengeluarkan suara yang sibuk: klik, klak, klik, klak.

Long ago in northern China, there was a young girl. Her name was Mulan. Every day she sat at her loom near the door. All day the loom made its busy sound: click, clack, click, clack.

Namun suatu hari alat tenun itu sunyi. Tangan Mulan tidak bergerak. Keluarganya hanya mendengar satu suara dari arah pintu. Itu adalah helaan napas Mulan yang panjang dan sedih.

But one day the loom was quiet. Mulan’s hands did not move. Her family heard only one sound from the door. It was Mulan’s long, sad sighs.

Ibunya datang dan duduk di sampingnya. “Apa yang sedang kamu pikirkan, putriku?” tanyanya. “Apa yang ada di dalam hatimu?”

Her mother came and sat beside her. “What are you thinking about, my daughter?” she asked. “What is in your heart?”

“Bukan apa-apa, Ibu,” jawab Mulan pada awalnya. Lalu dia memandang wajah ibunya yang baik hati dan menceritakan semuanya.

“It’s nothing, Mother,” Mulan answered at first. Then she looked at her mother’s kind face and told her everything.

“Tadi malam aku melihat daftar tentara,” katanya. “Sang Khan memanggil banyak pria untuk pasukannya. Ada dua belas daftar, dan nama Ayah ada di setiap daftar.”

“Last night I saw the army lists,” she said. “The Khan is calling a lot of men to his army. There are twelve lists, and Father’s name is on every list.”

Wajah ibunya menjadi pucat. Ayah Mulan sudah tua dan lelah. Dia tidak cukup kuat untuk perang yang panjang di utara.

Her mother’s face went white. Mulan’s father was old and tired. He was not strong enough for a long war in the north.

“Ayah tidak punya anak laki-laki dewasa,” kata Mulan perlahan. “Dan aku tidak punya kakak laki-laki. Jadi seseorang harus pergi menggantikannya.”

“Father has no grown-up son,” Mulan said quietly. “And I have no older brother. So someone must go in his place.”

“Tetapi siapa?” tanya ibunya. Mulan berdiri dari alat tenun.

“But who?” asked her mother. Mulan stood up from the loom.

“Aku,” katanya. “Aku akan membeli seekor kuda dan pelana. Lalu aku akan pergi berperang menggantikan Ayah.”

“Me,” she said. “I’m going to buy a horse and a saddle. And then I’m going to go to war for Father.”