Scandinavian Fable, the Bear Says North

English

THE BEAR SAYS NORTH

One day, while Osmo the Bear was prowling about the forest, he caught a grouse. “Pretty good,” he thought to himself. ”Won’t the other animals be surprised when they hear old Osmo has caught a grouse?”

He was very proud of his feat and he wanted all the world to know of it. So, holding the grouse carefully in his teeth without hurting it, he began parading it up and down the forest paths.

“They’ll certainly envy me this nice plump grouse,” he thought. “They won’t be so ready to call me awkward and lumbering after this!”

Presently Mikko the Fox sauntered by. He at once saw that Osmo was showing off, and he made up his mind the Bear should not get the admiration he wanted. So he pretended not to see the grouse at all. Instead he pointed his nose upward and sniffed.

“Um! Um!” grunted Osmo, trying to attract attention to himself.

“Ah,” said Mikko in an offhand way, “Is that you, Osmo? Which way is the wind blowing today? Can you tell me?”

Osmo could not, of course, answer without opening his mouth, so he grunted, hoping Mikko would see the grouse, and understand why he couldn’t speak. But the Fox didn’t glance at him at all. With his nose still pointing upward, he kept sniffing the air.

“It seems to be from the south,” he said. “It is from the south, isn’t it Osmo?”

“Um! Um!” repeated Osmo, growing more impatient every moment.

“Not from the south, you say? Then which way is it blowing?”

By this time the Bear was so cross with Mikko, he forgot all about his grouse, he just opened his mouth, and roared out, “North!”

Of course the moment he opened his mouth the grouse flew away.

“Now, see what you’ve done!” he stormed angrily. “You’ve made me lose my nice plump grouse!”

“I?” said Mikko. “What had I to do with it?”

“You kept asking me about the wind until I opened my mouth, that’s what you did!”

The Fox shrugged his shoulders. “Why did you open your mouth then?”

“Well, you can’t say ‘North’ without opening your mouth, can you?” the Bear demanded.

The Fox laughed and laughed. “See here, Osmo, don’t blame me. Blame yourself. If I’d had the grouse in my mouth and you’d asked me about the wind, I’d never have said ’North’!”

“What would you have said?” asked the Bear.

Mikko the rascal, laughed harder than ever. Then he clenched his teeth together and said “EAST”!

  

Indonesia

BERUANG YANG BERKATA UTARA

Suatu hari, saat Osmo si Beruang sedang mencari mangsa di hutan, ia menangkap seekor belibis. "Lumayan," pikirnya. "Hewan lainnya pasti akan terkejut ketika mereka melihat Osmo yang sudah tua berhasil menangkap seekor belibis?"

Dia sangat bangga dengan dirinya dan ia ingin seluruh dunia mengetahui hal itu. Jadi, dengan menahan belibis di giginya hati-hati, ia mulai memamerkannya keliling hutan.

"Mereka pasti akan iri padaku yang menangkap belibis gemuk ini," pikirnya. "Mereka tidak akan mengatakanku lemah dan lamban lagi setelah ini!"

Saat Mikko si Rubah sedang berjalan-jalan. Dia melihat Osmo sedang pamer, dan ia langsung berencana untuk menjahili Osmo si Beruang. Jadi Mikko pura-pura tidak melihat belibis yang digigit Osmo sama sekali. Sebaliknya Mikko memoncongkan hidungnya sendiri dan mengendus.

"Um! Um!" gerutu Osmo, mencoba menarik perhatian.

"Ah," kata Mikko dengan berpura-pura, "Kaukah itu, Osmo? Ke arah mana ya angin bertiup hari ini? Apa kau tahu? "

Tentu saja Osmo tidak bisa menjawab tanpa membuka mulutnya, jadi ia mendengus, berharap agar Mikko melihat belibis di mulutnya, dan memahami mengapa ia tidak mau menjawab. Tapi si Rubah tidak melirik belibis itu sama sekali. Dengan hidungnya yang masih memoncong ke atas, ia terus mengendus arah angin.

“Tampaknya dari selatan,” kata Mikko. "Anginnya dari selatan, bukan begitu Osmo?"

"Um! Um!" dengus Osmo lagi, yang semakin tidak sabar.

"Bukan dari selatan ya? Lalu dari mana angin berhembus? "

Saat itu si Beruang sangat jengkel dengan Mikko, dia lupa tentang belibis di mulutnya, ia lalu membuka mulutnya, dan berteriak, "Utara!"

 Tentu saja tindakkan itu membuat belibis lepas dari mulutnya dan terbang menjauh.

"Sekarang, lihat apa yang telah kau lakukan!" Ia mengomel marah. "Kau membuatku kehilangan belibis gemuk itu!"

"Aku?" Kata Mikko. "Apa salahku?"

"Kau terus menanyakanku tentang arah angin sampai aku membuka mulutku, itulah salahmu!"

Si Rubah mengangkat bahunya. "Lalu mengapa kau mau membuka mulutmu?"

"Tentu karena aku tidak bisa bilang 'Utara' tanpa membuka mulut, bukan?" oceh si Beruang.

Si Rubah tertawa makin keras. "Sudahlah, Osmo, jangan salahkan aku. Salahkan saja dirimu. Jika aku punya belibis di mulutku dan kau menanyaiku tentang arah angin, aku tidak akan mengatakan 'Utara'!"

"Apa yang akan kau katakan?" Tanya si Beruang.

Mikko si jahil, tertawa lebih keras lagi. Kemudian ia mengertakkan gigi-giginya dan berkata "TIMUR"!