011. The Story of Axes - Kisah Kapak

Once upon a time, there lived two brothers near a big forest. The elder brother was greedy while the younger brother was honest. They lived on cutting wood.

One day, the younger brother went to cut wood at the side of a river. His axe fell into the river carelessly. He was too poor to buy a new axe, so he cried. A fairy came and asked him why he cried. The man told the truth.  The fairy jumped into the river and came up with a gold axe. But the man said it was not his.

Then the fairy jumped into the river again and came up with a silver axe. The man said it was still not his.

The third time the fairy jumped into the river and came with an iron axe. The man said that it was him. The fairy praised him.

After the younger brother went back to his home, he told his brother the thing. The elder brother was very angry, and he scolded the younger brother for his foolishness.

So the elder brother also went to cut wood at the side of the river. He threw his axe into the river and pretend to cry. The fairy came and asked him why he cried. The man told her his axe had fallen into the river.

The fairy jumped into the river and came up with a gold axe. The man said it was him. The fairy became angry and threw the gold axe into the river. The elder brother dived into the water to get it, but the river was deep and he couldn’t swim. He was drowned.

 

Pada zaman dahulu kala, ada dua orang bersaudara yang tinggal di dekat hutan besar. Sang kakak mempunyai sifat rakus, sedangkan adiknya mempunyai sifat jujur. Mereka mencari nafkah dengan menebang kayu.

Suatu hari, ketika sang adik menebang kayu di tepi sungai, tak sengaja kapaknya terjatuh ke sungai. Karena ia terlalu miskin untuk membeli kapak baru, maka ia pun menangis. Seorang peri menghampiri dan bertanya mengapa ia menangis. Ia pun mengatakan kejadian yang sebenarnya.

Peri itu terjun ke dalam sungai dan muncul dengan membawa sebuah kapak dari emas, tapi lelaki itu berkata bahwa kapak itu bukan miliknya.

Lalu peri itu terjun ke sungai lagi dan kali ini membawa sebuah kapak dari perak, tetapi lagi-lagi lelaki itu berkata kapak itu juga bukan miliknya.

Ketiga kalinya peri itu terjun ke sungai dan muncul dengan membawa kapak besi. Kali ini lelaki itu berkata kapak itu adalah miliknya. Peri pun memuji kejujurannya.

Setelah kembali pulang, ia menceritakan kejadian tadi pada kakaknya. Sang kakak sangat marah dan menghardik adiknya karena kebodohannya itu.

Lalu sang kakak juga pergi menebang kayu di tepi sungai. Ia melempar kapaknya ke dalam sungai dan berpura-pura menangis. Peri datang dan bertanya mengapa ia menangis. Lelaki itu menceritakan kapaknya jatuh ke sungai.

Peri terjun ke sungai dan muncul membawa kapak dari emas. Lelaki itu berkata bahwa kapak itu adalah miliknya. Peri menjadi marah dan melemparkan kapak emas itu kesungai. Sang kakak terjun ke sungai untuk mengambilnya tapi sungai itu dalam dan ia tidak bisa berenang. Ia pun tenggelam.