Once upon a time, there was a little town called Hamelin right beside the river. It had been a fantastic harvest that year and boats unloaded the huge bags of corn grown by happy farmers from across the country.
Alkisah, ada sebuah kota kecil bernama Hamelin yang berada tepat di samping sungai. Tahun itu merupakan panen yang luar biasa dan kapal-kapal menurunkan karung-karung besar berisi jagung yang ditanam oleh para petani yang berbahagia dari seluruh penjuru negeri.
But where there’s corn there are rats.
Namun, di mana ada jagung, di situ ada tikus.
The people of Hamelin were very sad because the rats started to eat anything they could get their greedy, pointed little teeth into. They even nibbled furniture! One actually ate an old man’s smelly socks that he’d left on the floor.
Penduduk Hamelin sangat sedih karena tikus-tikus itu mulai memakan apa saja yang bisa mereka makan dengan gigi kecil mereka yang runcing dan rakus. Mereka bahkan menggigit perabotan! Salah satunya bahkan memakan kaus kaki bau seorang pria tua yang ditinggalkannya di lantai.
The rats weren’t frightened of people. They were in houses, under beds, inside cupboards, even in the schoolrooms.
Tikus-tikus itu tidak takut pada manusia. Mereka ada di dalam rumah, di bawah tempat tidur, di dalam lemari, bahkan di dalam ruang sekolah.
One old lady went to the mayor and said, “I was just drifting off to sleep last night when I felt there was something biting me. I shot up in bed and a great big stinking rat was chewing my ear!”
Seorang wanita tua mendatangi walikota dan berkata, “Saya baru saja tertidur tadi malam ketika saya merasa ada sesuatu yang menggigit saya. Saya terbangun dari tempat tidur dan seekor tikus besar yang sangat bau mengunyah telinga saya!”
“Have you thought about traps?” replied the mayor.
“Pernahkah Anda memikirkan tentang perangkap?” jawab walikota.
“With all those blasted rats around, I’d need ten traps in every room!” yelled the old lady.
“Dengan banyaknya tikus-tikus yang berkeliaran, saya butuh sepuluh perangkap di setiap kamar!” teriak wanita tua itu.
The mayor didn’t have a clue what to do.
Sang walikota tidak tahu apa yang harus dilakukan.
The mayor’s officer asked, “What about cats?”
Petugas walikota bertanya, “Bagaimana dengan kucing?”
“I’m glad I thought of that,” said the mayor.
“Saya senang saya memikirkan hal itu,” kata walikota.
The mayor ordered hundreds of cats from pet shops across the land. Boxes of purring, meowing, hissing, growling cats soon arrived and one was given to every household.
Sang walikota memesan ratusan kucing dari toko-toko hewan peliharaan di seluruh negeri. Kotak-kotak berisi kucing yang mendengkur, mengeong, mendesis, dan menggeram segera tiba dan seekor kucing diberikan kepada setiap rumah tangga.
“That will do the trick,” thought the mayor.
“Itu akan berhasil,” pikir sang walikota.
But by now the rats had grown so big that all the cats just took one look at them and ran off as fast as they could.
Namun, tikus-tikus itu telah tumbuh begitu besar sehingga semua kucing hanya melihat mereka sekali saja dan lari secepat mungkin.
The mayor and the townspeople had nearly given up hope when a weird-looking man arrived and marched straight into the mayor’s office. He wore the strangest clothes. His jacket and cloak were made of scraps of different coloured material all stitched together. And he had a big red floppy hat with a big feather sticking out of the top.
Walikota dan penduduk kota hampir putus asa ketika seorang pria berpenampilan aneh tiba dan langsung masuk ke kantor walikota. Dia mengenakan pakaian yang paling aneh. Jaket dan jubahnya terbuat dari potongan-potongan bahan berwarna berbeda yang dijahit menjadi satu. Dan dia mengenakan topi floppy merah besar dengan bulu besar yang mencuat dari bagian atasnya.
“They call me the Pied Piper,” he said and pulled out a flute from under his cloak, “I can get rid of the rats.”
“Mereka memanggil saya Pied Piper,” katanya dan mengeluarkan seruling dari balik jubahnya, ”Saya bisa membasmi tikus.”
“You can? I’d give big money for that!” answered the mayor.
“Benarkah? Saya akan memberikan banyak uang untuk itu!” jawab walikota.
“How much?” asked the Pied Piper.
“Berapa banyak?” tanya si Peniup Seruling.
“100 pieces of gold,” answered the mayor.
“100 keping emas,” jawab walikota.
“Make it two hundred and you’ve got a deal.”
“Buatlah menjadi dua ratus dan kita sepakat.”
They shook hands and the Pied Piper said, “Come to the town square down by the river at ten o’clock tonight and you will see what you will see.”
Mereka berjabat tangan dan Pied Piper berkata, “Datanglah ke alun-alun kota di tepi sungai pada pukul sepuluh malam ini dan Anda akan melihat apa yang akan Anda lihat.”
The mayor and his officer waited at the town square at five to ten.
Walikota dan petugasnya menunggu di alun-alun kota pada pukul sepuluh kurang lima menit.
Just then they heard a strange and beautiful tune that got nearer and nearer.
Saat itu mereka mendengar suara aneh dan indah yang semakin lama semakin dekat.
It was the Pied Piper playing his flute. The mayor and his officer were astonished to see that behind him were thousands of hypnotised-looking rats.
Itu adalah Pied Piper yang sedang memainkan serulingnya. Walikota dan petugasnya tercengang melihat di belakangnya ada ribuan tikus yang tampak seperti terhipnotis.
The Pied Piper marched through the square to the river, and the rats all followed him. He kept walking, playing his flute, took a deep breath and sank right under the surface. The flute music turned to bubbles as it faded away.
Pied Piper berjalan melewati alun-alun menuju sungai, dan tikus-tikus itu mengikutinya. Dia terus berjalan, memainkan serulingnya, menarik napas dalam-dalam dan tenggelam tepat di bawah permukaan. Musik seruling berubah menjadi gelembung-gelembung saat ia menghilang.
The rats had all got so lazy that they couldn’t swim and every single one of them sank down, were swept away by the current and drowned.
Tikus-tikus itu menjadi sangat malas sehingga mereka tidak bisa berenang dan semuanya tenggelam, terbawa arus dan tenggelam.
Suddenly the Pied Piper burst to the surface and took a big gulp of air. He came out of the river, shook himself and marched up to the mayor with a big smile.
Tiba-tiba Pied Piper muncul ke permukaan dan menghirup udara. Dia keluar dari sungai, mengguncang tubuhnya dan berjalan ke arah walikota sambil tersenyum lebar.
“Two hundred pieces of gold please,” he said.
“Tolong dua ratus keping emas,” katanya.
“I’m not sure that what you did was worth such a large sum of money. It only took you a few minutes, after all.” said the mayor.
“Saya tidak yakin bahwa apa yang Anda lakukan itu bernilai sebesar itu. Lagipula, Anda hanya membutuhkan waktu beberapa menit saja,” kata walikota.
“A deal’s a deal”, said the Pied Piper, “come back, same time, same place, tomorrow night.”
“Kesepakatan tetaplah kesepakatan”, kata Pied Piper, ”kembalilah, pada waktu dan tempat yang sama, besok malam.”
The mayor thought he was very clever for having got rid of all the rats without having to spend any money.
Sang walikota merasa bahwa ia sangat pintar karena telah membasmi semua tikus tanpa harus mengeluarkan uang.
Next night, the mayor and his officer waited as they had done before. There was no sign of the Piper.
Malam berikutnya, walikota dan petugasnya menunggu seperti yang mereka lakukan sebelumnya. Tidak ada tanda-tanda dari si Peniup Seruling.
Then they heard the strange music again. The Pied Piper appeared and they were shocked to see that this time he led a big group of all the children in the town, all in their pyjamas, looking just as hypnotised as the rats had been.
Kemudian mereka mendengar musik aneh itu lagi. Pied Piper muncul dan mereka terkejut melihat bahwa kali ini dia memimpin sekelompok besar anak-anak di kota, semuanya mengenakan piyama, terlihat sama terhipnotisnya dengan tikus-tikus tadi.
The Pied Piper marched closer to the river still playing his magical music and soon some of the children were up to their knees in the water.
Pied Piper berjalan mendekati sungai sambil tetap memainkan musik ajaibnya dan tak lama kemudian beberapa anak berlutut di dalam air.
The mayor raced up and yelled, “Stop, stop, I was only joking, of course you shall have your two hundred pieces of gold!”
Sang walikota berlari dan berteriak, “Berhenti, berhenti, saya hanya bercanda, tentu saja kamu akan mendapatkan dua ratus keping emasmu!”
The Pied Piper suddenly stopped and the music came to an end. Immediately, the children woke up, and with lots of splashes and splooshes, cries and shouts, they raced back to their homes.
Peniup seruling tiba-tiba berhenti dan musik pun berhenti. Dengan segera, anak-anak terbangun, dan dengan banyak cipratan dan cipratan air, tangisan dan teriakan, mereka berlarian kembali ke rumah masing-masing.
“Oh, thank heavens for that,” gasped the mayor, “you'd better come with me.”
“Oh, syukurlah,” seru sang walikota, ”sebaiknya kamu ikut saya.”
In the mayor’s offices the officer unlocked a big metal box and opened the lid. Inside gleamed all the gold.
Di kantor walikota, petugas membuka kunci sebuah kotak logam besar dan membuka tutupnya. Di dalamnya berkilau semua emas.
“I broke my promise and I’m very sorry,” said the mayor, “how much do I owe you?”
“Saya telah melanggar janji saya dan saya sangat menyesal,” kata sang walikota, ”berapa banyak yang harus saya bayar?”
“Two hundred pieces of gold, please”.
“Dua ratus keping emas, tolong”.
“Give him three hundred,” said the mayor to the officer.
“Beri dia tiga ratus,” kata walikota kepada petugas itu.
The officer counted out the gold and handed it to the Pied Piper in a big bag.
Petugas itu menghitung emas dan menyerahkannya kepada Pied Piper dalam sebuah tas besar.
“Like a tune before I go?” asked the Pied Piper.
“Mau sebuah lagu sebelum saya pergi?” tanya Pied Piper.
“Er, no-no no thank you that-that won’t be necessary,” quickly answered the mayor.
“Eh, tidak, tidak, tidak, terima kasih, itu tidak perlu,” jawab walikota dengan cepat.
The Pied Piper strolled off with a big smile on his face.
Pied Piper berjalan pergi dengan senyum lebar di wajahnya.
“I’ve learnt my lesson,” said the mayor, “and now I know how important it is to always keep your promises.”
“Saya telah belajar,” kata sang walikota, ”dan sekarang saya tahu betapa pentingnya menepati janji.”