Kera dan Buaya

Pohon Jambu

The Rose-Apple Tree

Sebuah pohon jambu yang besar berdiri di tepi sungai yang lebar di India. Pohon itu berbuah manis sepanjang tahun. Seekor kera tinggal di dahan-dahannya.

A big rose-apple tree stood on the bank of a wide river in India. It had sweet fruit all year. A monkey lived in its branches.

Kera itu bertubuh kecil dan lincah. Setiap hari ia makan buah jambu dan memandangi sungai. Ia bahagia, tetapi kadang-kadang ia merasa sedikit kesepian.

The monkey was small and quick. Every day he ate rose-apples and watched the river. He was happy, but sometimes he felt a little lonely.

Pada suatu siang yang panas, seekor buaya besar keluar dari sungai. Ia berbaring di pasir yang lembut di bawah pohon. Ia tampak lelah dan lapar.

One hot afternoon, a big crocodile came out of the river. He lay down in the soft sand under the tree. He looked tired and hungry.

Kera itu memandangnya ke bawah. “Halo!” katanya. “Kamu adalah tamu di pohonku. Apakah kamu mau buah?”

The monkey looked down at him. “Hello!” he said. “You are a guest at my tree. Would you like some fruit?”

“Buah?” tanya buaya. “Aku biasanya tidak makan buah. Tetapi hari ini aku sangat lapar.”

“Fruit?” asked the crocodile. “I don’t usually eat fruit. But I’m very hungry today.”

Kera itu melemparkan beberapa buah jambu ke bawah. Buaya memakan satu buah, lalu satu lagi, lalu lima lagi.

The monkey threw down a few rose-apples. The crocodile ate one, then another, then five more.

“Buah-buah ini luar biasa!” katanya. “Rasanya manis seperti madu. Terima kasih, sahabatku.”

“These are wonderful!” he said. “They are as sweet as honey. Thank you, my friend.”

Setelah itu, buaya datang kembali setiap hari. Kera melemparkan buah untuknya, dan mereka berbicara selama berjam-jam. Mereka bercerita tentang sungai, hutan, hujan, dan bintang-bintang.

After that, the crocodile came back every day. The monkey threw him fruit, and they talked for hours. They talked about the river, the forest, the rain and the stars.

Segera mereka menjadi sahabat baik. “Kamu seperti saudara bagiku,” kata buaya suatu hari.

Soon they were best friends. “You are like a brother to me,” said the crocodile one day.

Setiap sore, buaya membawa pulang beberapa buah jambu untuk istrinya. Istrinya sangat menyukainya.

Every evening, the crocodile took some rose-apples home for his wife. She loved them very much.

Tetapi segera ia menginginkan sesuatu yang lebih dari buah.

But soon she wanted something more than fruit.