Bola Nasi untuk Ken

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Yuki berumur tujuh tahun. Dia tinggal bersama Mama, Papa, dan Nenek di Osaka. Osaka kota besar di Jepang.

Yuki is seven years old. She lives with Mum, Dad and Grandma in Osaka. Osaka is a big city in Japan.

Besok kelas Yuki pergi piknik ke taman. Semua anak membawa makanan. Mama selalu membuat makanan untuk Yuki. Tetapi besok Yuki mau membuat makanannya sendiri.

Tomorrow Yuki’s class goes on a trip to the park. All the children bring some food. Mum always makes the food for Yuki. But tomorrow Yuki wants to make her food herself.

“Aku membuat bola nasi,” kata Yuki. Mama tertawa. “Bagus. Aku membantu kamu.” “Jangan!” seru Yuki. “Aku membuat semuanya sendiri!”

“I’m making rice balls,” says Yuki. Mum laughs. “Good. I’ll help you.” “No!” shouts Yuki. “I do everything by myself!”

Yuki memasak nasi. Nasi itu panas dan lembut. Dia mengambil nasi ke tangan. Aduh! Nasi terlalu panas. Dia menunggu. Lalu dia menekan nasi menjadi bola.

Yuki cooks the rice. It is hot and soft. She takes the rice in her hands. Ouch! It is too hot. She waits. Then she presses it into a ball.

Bola itu hancur. Nasi menempel di tangan, di meja, dan di hidung. Yuki membuat satu bola lagi. Bola itu juga hancur. Dan satu lagi. Hancur!

The ball falls apart. The rice sticks to her hands, to the table and to her nose. Yuki makes another ball. It falls apart, too. And another one. Apart!

Yuki sedih. “Aku tidak bisa,” kata dia. Mama tidak berbicara. Dia hanya tersenyum dan berjalan keluar dari dapur.

Yuki is sad. “I can’t do this,” she says. Mum says nothing. She only smiles and goes out of the kitchen.

Nenek datang ke dapur. Nenek melihat nasi di mana-mana. “Hmm,” kata Nenek. Yuki melihat ke arah Nenek. “Nenek, tolong, beri tahu aku caranya. Tetapi aku membuatnya sendiri.” Nenek tertawa. “Itu bagus.”

Grandma comes into the kitchen. She sees rice everywhere. “Hmm,” she says. Yuki looks at Grandma. “Grandma, please show me the trick. But I do it myself.” Grandma laughs. “That is good.”

“Tangan basah,” kata Nenek. “Sedikit garam. Dan jangan menekan terlalu keras. Lembut! Nasi itu seperti bayi.” Yuki membasahi tangan. Dia mengambil sedikit garam. Dia menekan dengan lembut.

“Wet hands,” says Grandma. “A little salt. And don’t press too hard. Softly! The rice is like a baby.” Yuki wets her hands. She takes a little salt. She presses softly.

Bola itu tidak hancur! Yuki membuat tiga bola nasi. Di dalam setiap bola ada sepotong ikan. Bola-bola itu tidak indah. Satu bola kotak, satu bola rata, satu bola agak miring. Tetapi bola-bola itu tidak hancur.

The ball holds! Yuki makes three rice balls. In every ball there is a piece of fish. The balls are not pretty. One is square, one is flat, one is a little bent. But they hold.