Tam dan Cam

Ikan Kecil

The Little Fish

Dahulu kala, seorang gadis tinggal di sebuah desa di Vietnam. Namanya Tam. Ibunya meninggal ketika Tam masih sangat kecil.

Long ago, a girl lived in a village in Vietnam. Her name was Tam. Her mother died when Tam was very small.

Ayahnya menikah lagi. Istri barunya memiliki seorang anak perempuan, dan namanya Cam. Beberapa tahun kemudian ayah Tam meninggal juga.

Her father married again. His new wife had a daughter, and her name was Cam. Some years later Tam’s father died too.

Ibu tiri menyayangi Cam dan memberinya segalanya. Tam melakukan semua pekerjaan berat. Dia memasak, membersihkan rumah, dan menjaga kerbau.

The stepmother loved Cam and gave her everything. Tam did all the hard work. She cooked, cleaned and looked after the buffalo.

Suatu hari ibu tiri memberi setiap gadis sebuah keranjang. “Pergi dan tangkap ikan serta udang,” katanya. “Gadis dengan keranjang yang lebih penuh mendapat baju baru berwarna merah.”

One day the stepmother gave each girl a basket. “Go and catch fish and shrimp,” she said. “The girl with the fuller basket gets a new red blouse.”

Tam bekerja sepanjang hari di sawah yang berlumpur, dan menjelang sore keranjangnya penuh. Cam bermain sepanjang hari, dan keranjangnya hampir kosong.

Tam worked all day in the muddy rice fields, and by evening her basket was full. Cam played all day, and her basket was almost empty.

“Kakak, rambutmu penuh lumpur,” kata Cam. “Pergi dan cucilah di air yang dalam.”

“Sister, your hair is full of mud,” said Cam. “Go and wash it in the deep water.”

Tam pergi mencuci rambutnya. Saat dia pergi, Cam memasukkan semua ikan dan udang milik Tam ke dalam keranjangnya sendiri. Lalu dia lari pulang.

Tam went to wash her hair. While she was away, Cam put all of Tam’s fish and shrimp into her own basket. Then she ran home.

Ketika Tam kembali, hanya satu ikan kecil terbaring di dasar keranjangnya.

When Tam came back, only one little fish lay at the bottom of her basket.

Tam duduk dan menangis. Tiba-tiba seorang lelaki tua yang baik hati dengan janggut putih panjang berdiri di sampingnya. Dia adalah Buddha.

Tam sat down and cried. Suddenly a kind old man with a long white beard stood beside her. It was the Buddha.

“Mengapa kamu menangis, anakku?” tanyanya. Tam menceritakan segalanya kepadanya.

“Why are you crying, my child?” he asked. Tam told him everything.

“Bawa pulang ikan kecil itu dan masukkan ke dalam sumur,” katanya. “Beri dia makan setiap hari dengan sebagian nasimu. Dan ketika kamu datang ke sumur, nyanyikan lagu ini.”

“Take the little fish home and put it in the well,” he said. “Feed it every day with some of your rice. And when you come to the well, sing this song.”

“Ikan kecil, ikan kecil, naiklah kepadaku. Makanlah nasiku yang berwarna emas, jangan nasi orang asing.”

“Little fish, little fish, come up to me. Eat my golden rice, not the rice of strangers.”

Tam melakukan semua yang dikatakan lelaki tua itu. Setiap hari dia menyanyikan lagu itu, dan ikan kecil itu naik untuk makan.

Tam did everything the old man said. Every day she sang the song, and the little fish came up to eat.