Sang Kancil dan Buaya

Harimau Tua

The Old Tiger

Dahulu kala, di sebuah hutan hijau dekat sungai cokelat yang lebar, hiduplah seekor kancil kecil. Namanya Sang Kancil. Tubuhnya tidak lebih besar dari seekor kucing, tetapi dia adalah hewan paling cerdik di seluruh hutan.

Long ago, in a green forest near a wide brown river, there lived a small mouse-deer. His name was Sang Kancil. He was no bigger than a cat, but he was the cleverest animal in the whole forest.

Di tengah hutan ada tempat jilatan garam. Setiap hari hewan-hewan datang ke sana untuk menjilat tanah yang asin. Namun, seekor harimau tua juga datang ke sana, dan setiap hari dia menangkap salah satu dari mereka.

In the middle of the forest there was a salt-lick. Every day the animals came there to lick the salty earth. But an old tiger came there too, and every day he caught one of them.

Hewan-hewan sangat takut. “Apa yang bisa kita lakukan?” tanya rusa. “Tidak ada yang lebih kuat dari harimau,” jawab babi hutan dengan sedih.

The animals were very afraid. “What can we do?” asked the deer. “Nobody is stronger than the tiger,” answered the wild pig sadly.

Sang Kancil berpikir lama. Lalu dia berjalan menghampiri harimau dan membungkuk.

Sang Kancil thought for a long time. Then he walked to the tiger and bowed.

“Harimau yang Hebat,” katanya, “mengapa Anda bekerja begitu keras untuk mencari makan? Saya bisa membawakan Anda satu hewan setiap hari. Lalu Anda bisa beristirahat di tempat yang teduh.” Harimau menyukai ide ini, dan dia setuju.

“Great Tiger,” he said, “why do you work so hard for your food? I can bring you one animal every day. Then you can rest in the shade.” The tiger liked this idea, and he said yes.

Tetapi tentu saja tidak ada hewan yang mau pergi ke harimau. Setelah tiga hari, Sang Kancil kembali ke tempat jilatan garam. Hanya seekor tupai terbang kecil yang ikut bersamanya.

But of course no animal wanted to go to the tiger. After three days, Sang Kancil went back to the salt-lick. Only a tiny flying squirrel came with him.

“Di mana makan malamku?” teriak harimau. “Saya sangat minta maaf,” kata Sang Kancil. “Harimau lain menghentikan kami di jalan. Dia gemuk dan tua, dan seekor tupai terbang duduk di hidungnya.”

“Where is my dinner?” the tiger shouted. “I’m very sorry,” said Sang Kancil. “Another tiger stopped us on the way. He is fat and old, and a flying squirrel sits on his nose.”

Harimau sangat marah. “Harimau lain di hutanku? Tunjukkan dia padaku!” Maka mereka pergi mencarinya. Tupai terbang duduk di hidung harimau, dan Sang Kancil naik di punggungnya.

The tiger was very angry. “Another tiger in my forest? Show him to me!” So they went to look for him. The flying squirrel sat on the tiger’s nose, and Sang Kancil rode on his back.

Di sungai, Sang Kancil menunjuk ke air. “Lihat! Itu dia!” teriaknya. “Itu harimau tua yang gemuk, dengan tupai terbang di hidungnya!”

At the river, Sang Kancil pointed at the water. “Look! There he is!” he shouted. “There is the fat old tiger, with a flying squirrel on his nose!”

Harimau melihat ke bawah dan melihat seekor harimau yang marah di dalam air. Dia mengaum dan melompat ke arahnya. Byur! Pada saat yang sama, Sang Kancil dan tupai melompat cepat ke tepi sungai.

The tiger looked down and saw an angry tiger in the water. He roared and jumped at it. Splash! At the same moment, Sang Kancil and the squirrel jumped quickly onto the bank.

Air yang deras membawa harimau jauh ke hilir sungai. Dia tidak pernah kembali ke tempat jilatan garam. Hewan-hewan selamat, dan mereka menyanyikan lagu-lagu tentang Sang Kancil selama berhari-hari.

The fast water carried the tiger far away down the river. He never came back to the salt-lick. The animals were safe, and they sang songs about Sang Kancil for many days.

Tetapi sungai itu memiliki hewan lapar lainnya di dalamnya, dan mereka jauh lebih buruk daripada harimau mana pun.

But the river had other hungry animals in it, and they were much worse than any tiger.