Cerita Bahasa Inggris Si Tupai Pintar

The Clever Squirrel

One day a man was walking through a dense forest. In one hand he carried a kris, and in the other a long lance, in case he met any tigers and snakes along the way.

He had reached the edge of the forest and was congratulating himself that he had not had to use either his kris or his lance, when all at once he heard, just above his head, a most frightful noise. He looked up into the branches from where it seemed to come, and he saw an enormous snake that had caught its tail in a split of one branch.

The snake was doing everything it could to free its tail. Suddenly it saw the man and called out to him, "Oh, help me, help me! Make the split in the branch a little wider with your lance, so that I can get my tail out and be on my way/'

"Til gladly do that/' said the man, "if you'll first promise me that you will do me no harm after I have freed you/'

"Well now, why should I do you harm?" asked the snake.

"You have nothing to fear from me

So the man made the split in the branch a little wider with his lance and the snake pulled its tail out,

"Reach your lance up to me/ the snake said then, "so that I can crawl along it down to the ground/ This the man did. The snake curled itself around the lance but, instead of creeping along it to the ground, it stopped at the man's shoulder and twined itself fast around his neck.

"Ho, what are you doing?" the man cried out in terror. "Why are you twining yourself around my neck? Why don't you crawl down to the ground?"

"Because I want to slay you/' hissed the snake.

"But you promised that you would do me no harm/ the man said.

"Well, so I did," the snake replied "But when I promised that, I was still in the tree. Now, I am on earth, and on earth good is always repaid with evil."

The man thought frantically of a way to escape. "Very well/' he said, "you may kill me. But first I want to hear the opinion of three others, whom we may meet here in the woods, as to the truth of what you say."

"Good; said the snake. "Let us go."

The first thing they came to was a palm tree. "Ask the palm tree ordered the snake.

"Palm tree," the man explained, "just a little while ago I saved the life of this snake, and now it wants to kill me because, it says, here on earth good is always rewarded with evil. Is that true?"

"Certainly it is true," the palm tree said. "Look at me. With my waving fronds I refresh the wanderers who creep to me, tired and worn out; I let them sleep in my shade. And after they are refreshed, they hack me into little pieces with their sharp axes and throw me into the fire."

"Do you hear what the palm tree says?" asked the snake, twisting itself still tighter about the man's throat.

They went a little farther, until they came to a brook. The man told the brook how he had saved the life of the snake and how it wanted to kill him because on earth good is always repaid with evil.

"The snake is right," chattered the brook. "Just look at me. With my water, I revive all who come to me tired and thirsty. And after they have quenched their thirst, they repay me by throwing into my crystal-clear water all kinds of unclean things. You will have to let yourself be throttled by the snake, because here on earth good is always rewarded with evil."

And to the snake, "Go ahead, snake, and throttle the man who saved your life!"

The snake twined itself still tighter around the man's neck, until he almost suffocated. Gasping for breath, he cried, "Don't kill me yet, O snake! Ask a third opinion. Then you may kill me."

"Very well/' said the snake, looking at a little squirrel that sat on one of the branches of a tree.

The man also saw the squirrel. "Let us ask him what he thinks/' he said to the snake.

"Ask him, then/' the snake said, "because I'm in a hurry to throttle you before I take the squirrel as my prey."

"Little squirrel/' the man said, "I saved the life of this snake, and now it wants to kill me because, as it says, here on earth good is always rewarded with evil. Is that true?"

The squirrel looked first at the snake and then at the man.

"Well, that is very difficult to decide. I ought to see first how the whole thing happened. For I really don't know just how you saved the life of the snake. You must show me that first.

Only then can I give you my decision."

"I'll certainly let you see how it went/' said the snake.

They all returned to the tree where the man had first seen the snake, and while it crept up the trunk toward the split branch the man took his lance and struck the snake dead!

Dongeng Bahasa Inggris Gadis Berkerudung Merah

Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time in the middle of a thick forest stood a small cottage, the home of a pretty little girl known to everyone as Little Red Riding Hood. One day, her Mummy waved her goodbye at the garden gate, saying: "Grandma is ill. Take her this basket of cakes, but be very careful. Keep to the path through the wood and don't ever stop. That way, you will come to no harm."

Little Red Riding Hood kissed her mother and ran off. "Don't worry," she said, "I'll run all the way to Grandma's without stopping."

Full of good intentions, the little girl made her way through the wood, but she was soon to forget her mother's wise words. "What lovely strawberries! And so red."

Laying her basket on the ground, Little Red Riding Hood bent over the strawberry plants. "They're nice and ripe, and so big! Yummy! Delicious! Just another one. And one more. This is the last. Well, this one Mmmm."

The red fruit peeped invitingly through the leaves in the grassy glade, and Little Red Riding Hood ran back and forth popping strawberries into her mouth. Suddenly she remembered her mother, her promise, Grandma and the basket and hurried back towards the path. The basket was still in the grass and, humming to herself, Little Red Riding Hood walked on.

The wood became thicker and thicker. Suddenly a yellow butterfly fluttered down through the trees. Little Red Riding Hood started to chase the butterfly.

"I'll catch you! I'll catch you!" she called. Suddenly she saw some large daisies in the grass.

"Oh, how sweet!" she exclaimed and, thinking of Grandma, she picked a large bunch of flowers.

In the meantime, two wicked eyes were spying on her from behind a tree a strange rustling in the woods made Little Red Riding Hood's heart thump.

Now quite afraid she said to herself. "I must find the path and run away from here!"

At last she reached the path again but her heart leapt into her mouth at the sound of a gruff voice which said: "Where are you going, my pretty girl, all alone in the woods?"

"I'm taking Grandma some cakes. She lives at the end of the path," said Little Riding Hood in a faint voice.

When he heard this, the wolf (for it was the big bad wolf himself) politely asked: "Does Grandma live by herself?"

"Oh, yes," replied Little Red Riding Hood, "and she never opens the door to strangers!"

"Goodbye. Perhaps we'll meet again," replied the wolf. Then he loped away thinking to himself "I'll gobble the grandmother first, then lie in wait for the grandchild!" At last, the cottage came in sight. Knock! Knock! The wolf rapped on the door.

"Who's there?" cried Grandma from her bed.

"It's me, Little Red Riding Hood. I've brought you some cakes because you're ill," replied the wolf, trying hard to hide his gruff voice.

"Lift the latch and come in," said Grandma, unaware of anything amiss, till a horrible shadow appeared on the wall. Poor Grandma! For in one bound, the wolf leapt across the room and, in a single mouthful, swallowed the old lady. Soon after, Little Red Riding Hood tapped on the door.

"Grandma, can I come in?" she called.

Now, the wolf had put on the old lady's shawl and cap and slipped into the bed. Trying to imitate Grandma's quavering little voice, he replied: "Open the latch and come in!

"What a deep voice you have," said the little girl in surprise.

"The better to greet you with," said the wolf.

"Goodness, what big eyes you have."

"The better to see you with."

"And what big hands you have!" exclaimed Little Red Riding Hood, stepping over to the bed.

"The better to hug you with," said the wolf.

"What a big mouth you have," the little girl murmured in a weak voice.

"The better to eat you with!" growled the wolf, and jumping out of bed, he swallowed her up too. Then, with a fat full tummy, he fell fast asleep.

In the meantime, a hunter had emerged from the wood, and on noticing the cottage, he decided to stop and ask for a drink. He had spent a lot of time trying to catch a large wolf that had been terrorizing the neighborhood, but had lost its tracks. The hunter could hear a strange whistling sound; it seemed to be coming from inside the cottage. He peered through the window and saw the large wolf himself, with a fat full tummy, snoring away in Grandma's bed.

"The wolf! He won't get away this time!"

Without making a sound, the hunter carefully loaded his gun and gently opened the window. He pointed the barrel straight at the wolf's head and BANG! The wolf was dead.

"Got you at last!" shouted the hunter in glee. "You'll never frighten anyone again.

He cut open the wolf's stomach and to his amazement, out popped Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood, safe and unharmed.

"You arrived just in time," murmured the old lady, quite overcome by all the excitement.

"It's safe to go home now," the hunter told Little Red Riding Hood. "The big bad wolf is dead and gone, and there is no danger on the path.

Still scared, the little girl hugged her grandmother. Oh, what a dreadful fright!"

Much later, as dusk was falling, Little Red Riding Hood's mother arrived, all out of breath, worried because her little girl had not come home. And when she saw Little Red Riding Hood, safe and sound, she burst into tears of joy.

After thanking the hunter again, Little Red Riding Hood and her mother set off towards the wood. As they walked quickly through the trees, the little girl told her mother: "We must always keep to the path and never stop. That way, we come to no harm!"