Putri dan Sebutir Kacang Polong

Pada zaman dahulu, ada seorang pangeran yang ingin menikahi seorang putri; tetapi perempuan itu haruslah seorang putri sejati. Dia melakukan perjalanan ke seluruh dunia untuk menemukannya, tetapi tidak ada tempat di mana dia bisa mendapatkan apa yang dia inginkan.

Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a real princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted.

Ada cukup banyak putri, tetapi sulit untuk mengetahui apakah mereka putri sejati. Selalu ada sesuatu pada diri mereka yang tidak sebagaimana mestinya.

There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something about them that was not as it should be.

Maka dia pulang kembali ke rumah dan merasa sedih, karena dia sangat ingin memiliki seorang putri sejati.

So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much to have a real princess.

Pada suatu malam badai yang dahsyat tiba; ada guntur dan kilat, dan hujan turun sangat lebat. Tiba-tiba terdengar ketukan di gerbang kota, dan sang raja tua pergi membukanya.

One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

Itu adalah seorang putri yang berdiri di luar sana di depan gerbang. Tapi, ya ampun! betapa buruk penampilannya akibat hujan dan angin. Air mengalir turun dari rambut dan pakaiannya; air itu mengalir ke ujung sepatu dan keluar lagi di bagian tumit.

It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels.

Meskipun begitu, dia mengatakan bahwa dia adalah seorang putri sejati.

And yet she said that she was a real princess.

“Nah, kita akan segera mengetahuinya,” pikir sang ratu tua.

“Well, we’ll soon find that out,” thought the old queen.

Tetapi dia tidak mengatakan apa-apa, masuk ke kamar tidur, melepaskan semua alas tidur dari rangka tempat tidur, dan meletakkan sebutir kacang polong di bagian paling bawah; lalu dia mengambil dua puluh kasur dan meletakkannya di atas kacang polong itu, dan kemudian dua puluh kasur bulu angsa di atas kasur-kasur tersebut.

But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.

Di atas inilah sang putri harus berbaring sepanjang malam. Di pagi hari dia ditanya bagaimana tidurnya.

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept.

“Oh, sangat buruk!” katanya. “Aku hampir tidak memejamkan mata sepanjang malam. Hanya Tuhan yang tahu apa yang ada di tempat tidur itu, tetapi aku berbaring di atas sesuatu yang keras, sehingga tubuhku lebam-lebam membiru di sekujur badan. Sungguh mengerikan!”

“Oh, very badly!” said she. “I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It’s horrible!”

Sekarang mereka tahu bahwa dia adalah seorang putri sejati karena dia telah merasakan kacang polong itu menembus dua puluh kasur dan dua puluh kasur bulu angsa.

Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds.

Tidak ada seorang pun selain seorang putri sejati yang bisa begitu peka.

Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that.

Maka sang pangeran menjadikannya sebagai istrinya, karena sekarang dia tahu bahwa dia telah mendapatkan seorang putri sejati; dan kacang polong itu ditaruh di museum, di mana ia mungkin masih bisa dilihat, jika belum ada yang mencurinya.

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess; and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.

Nah, itu adalah kisah yang nyata.

There, that is a true story.