Cerita Terjemahan - The Strange Porridge

Bubur yang Aneh

Pada zaman dahulu kala di pulau Roti hiduplah seorang wanita tua dan cucu laki-lakinya. Apa yang terjadi pada orangtua cucunya, wanita tua itu tidak mau bercerita tentangnya. Di belakang pondok, mereka menanam padi. Walaupun sawah mereka tak menghasilkan banyak padi, ada cukup makanan untuk mereka berdua. Namun untuk makanan lain, neneknya harus pergi ke laut untuk menangkap ikan.

Setiap neneknya pergi menangkap ikan, anak lelaki itu tidak diizinkan pergi dengannya. Namun suatu hari anak lelaki itu tak bisa menahan diri dan berkata pada wanita tua itu, “Tolonglah nek, biarlah aku pergi dengan nenek. Aku mau menangkap ikan juga.”

“Tidak, anakku, jangan pergi denganku. Itu terlalu berbahaya. Tinggallah di sini dan masaklah nasi buat kita. Ambil sebutir saja. Itu akan cukup.”

Wanita tua itu pun berangkat, meninggalkan anak lelaki yang sangat kecewa itu. Dia bermalas-malasan di rumah, memikirkan tentang alasan mengapa dia tidak diizinkan pergi. Tiba-tiba dia sadar bahwa itu sudah terlambat. Dia masuk ke dapur, heran pada diri sendiri, “Cuma sebutir? Lucu betul nenek berpikiran seperti itu. Bagaimana bisa? Tidak, tentu saja tidak.” Saat dia menaruh periuk nasi di atas api, dia mengambil beberapa genggam beras, sebagai keraguannya atas kebenaran yang dikatakan neneknya. Saat dia pikir itulah saatnya mengambil periuk dari api, dia mengangkat penutupnya.

“Ya Tuhan.” serunya. “Apa yang terjadi?” Sambil diangkatnya penutup itu aliran bubur panas mendadak keluar dari periuk. Bubur panas itu terus mengalir di atas lantai, keluar dapur dan kemudian melintasi halaman belakang.

Bercucuran air mata anak lelaki itu pergi mencari neneknya, dia tidak bisa mengerti apa yang sudah terjadi. Saat dia menemukan neneknya dan menceritakan apa yang telah dia lakukan, neneknya marah. Dia mengambil sebatang kayu dan memukul kepala anak lelaki itu dengan keras sampai dia meraung kesakitan dan lebam.

Tidak peduli apa yang anak lelaki itu katakan, memohon maaf, neneknya tidak berbelas kasih dan terus memukulinya untuk mengajarkan kepatuhan, katanya. Namun tiba-tiba anak lelaki itu menghilang. Neneknya mencari kemana-mana. Dia yakin masih memegang lengan bocah itu dengan erat, namun sekarang dia pergi. Kemudian, saat dia masih mencari bocah itu, didengarnya sebuah suara yang berkata, “Selamat tinggal, nenek! Nenek sendirian sekarang. Tidak ada yang akan membantu nenek sekarang.” Lalu suara itu pun lenyap. Sejak saat itu, orang pulau Roti tidak pernah memukul kepala anak-anaknya atau siapa pun.

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The Strange Porridge

Long ago there lived on the island of Roti an old woman and her grandson. What happened to her grandson’s parents, the old woman did not care to speak about. Behind their hut, they grew rice. Although their field did not yield much rice, there was enough food for both of them. But for other food, the grandmother had to go to the sea to catch fish.

Every time the grandmother went out fishing, the boy was not allowed to go with her. But one day he could not restrain himself and said to the old woman, “Please Granny, let me go with you. I’d like to catch fish too.”

“No, my child, don’t go with me. It’s too dangerous. Stay here and cook the rice for us. Take only one grain. That will do.”

The old woman went away, leaving the boy greatly disappointed. He sat around the house, brooding about the reason why he was not allowed to go. Suddenly he realized that it was getting late. He went to the kitchen, wondering to himself, “Only one grain? It’s so funny Granny thinks like that. How can it be? No, surely not.” So when he put the rice pot on the fire, he took several handfuls of rice, as he doubted the truth of what his grandmother said. When he thought that it was time to take the pot off the fire, he lifted the lid.

“Goodness!” he exclaimed. “What’s happening?” For just as he lifted the lid a stream of hot porridge flew out of the pot. It kept flowing over the floor, out of the kitchen and then across the backyard.

In tears the boy went looking for his grandmother, as he could not understand what had happened. When he found her and told her what he had done, she grew angry. She took hold of a piece of wood and beat him hard on his head till he was black and blue and howling in pain.

No matter what the boy said, begging for forgiveness, the grandmother did not relent and kept beating him to teach him obedience, she said. But quite suddenly the boy vanished. The grandmother looked for him everywhere. She was sure that she was holding him firmly by the arm, but now he was gone. Then, while she was still searching for him, she heard a voice saying, “Good bye, Granny! You are alone now. There will be nobody to help you from now on.” Then the voice died away. From that time on, the people of Roti have never beaten their children or any other people on the head.