The Field of Boliauns

One fine day in harvest—it was indeed Lady-day in harvest, that everybody knows to be one of the greatest holidays in the year—Tom Fitzpatrick was taking a ramble through the ground, and went along the sunny side of a hedge; when all of a sudden he heard a clacking sort of noise a little before him in the hedge. "Dear me," said Tom, "but isn't it surprising to hear the stonechatters singing so late in the season?" So Tom stole on, going on the tops of his toes to try if he could get a sight of what was making the noise, to see if he was right in his guess.

Suatu hari yang cerah di musim panen—memang saat itu hari Lady-day di tengah musim panen, yang semua orang tahu sebagai salah satu hari raya terbesar dalam setahun—Tom Fitzpatrick sedang berjalan-jalan melintasi ladang, menyusuri sisi yang cerah dari sebuah pagar tanaman; ketika tiba-tiba ia mendengar semacam suara berdetak sedikit di depannya di pagar tanaman itu. "Astaga," kata Tom, "tapi bukankah mengejutkan mendengar burung batu bernyanyi begitu larut di musim ini?" Maka Tom mengendap-endap maju, berjinjit dengan ujung kakinya untuk mencoba melihat apa yang membuat suara itu, untuk melihat apakah tebakannya benar.

The noise stopped; but as Tom looked sharply through the bushes, what should he see in a nook of the hedge but a brown pitcher, that might hold about a gallon and a half of liquor.

Suara itu berhenti; tetapi ketika Tom menatap tajam melalui semak-semak, apa yang ia lihat di sudut pagar tanaman itu selain sebuah kendi tanah liat berwarna cokelat, yang mungkin bisa menampung sekitar satu setengah galon minuman.

And by-and-by a little wee teeny tiny bit of an old man, with a little motty of a cocked hat stuck upon the top of his head, a deeshy daushy leather apron hanging before him, pulled out a little wooden stool, and stood up upon it, and dipped a little piggin into the pitcher, and took out the full of it, and put it beside the stool, and then sat down under the pitcher, and began to work at putting a heel-piece on a bit of a brogue just fit for himself.

Dan tak lama kemudian, seorang kakek kecil yang sangat mungil, dengan sebuah topi kecil bersudut tiga tersemat di puncak kepalanya, sebuah celemek kulit kecil tergantung di depannya, mengeluarkan sebuah bangku kayu kecil, dan berdiri di atasnya, dan mencelupkan sebuah cangkir kecil ke dalam kendi, dan mengambil satu penuh, dan meletakkannya di samping bangku itu, dan kemudian duduk di bawah kendi itu, dan mulai bekerja memasang tumit pada sepotong sepatu kecil yang pas benar untuk dirinya sendiri.

"Well, by the powers," said Tom to himself, "I often heard tell of the Lepracauns, and, to tell God's truth, I never rightly believed in them—but here's one of them in real earnest. If I go knowingly to work, I'm a made man. They say a body must never take their eyes off them, or they'll escape."

"Wah, demi segala kuasa," kata Tom pada dirinya sendiri, "aku sering mendengar tentang para Lepracaun, dan, sejujurnya, aku tidak pernah benar-benar mempercayainya—tapi di sinilah ada satu, sungguhan. Kalau aku bertindak dengan cerdik, aku akan jadi orang kaya. Kata orang, seseorang tidak boleh mengalihkan pandangan dari mereka, atau mereka akan lolos."

Tom now stole on a little further, with his eye fixed on the little man just as a cat does with a mouse. So when he got up quite close to him, "God bless your work, neighbour," said Tom.

Tom kini mengendap-endap lebih dekat lagi, dengan matanya tertuju pada lelaki kecil itu, persis seperti seekor kucing melakukannya pada seekor tikus. Maka ketika ia sudah cukup dekat dengannya, "Tuhan memberkati pekerjaanmu, tetangga," kata Tom.

The little man raised up his head, and "Thank you kindly," said he.

Lelaki kecil itu mengangkat kepalanya, dan berkata, "Terima kasih banyak."

"I wonder you'd be working on the holiday!" said Tom.

"Aku heran kau mau bekerja di hari libur!" kata Tom.

"That's my own business, not yours," was the reply.

"Itu urusanku sendiri, bukan urusanmu," jawabnya.

"Well, may be you'd be civil enough to tell us what you've got in the pitcher there?" said Tom.

"Baiklah, mungkin kau cukup sopan untuk memberitahu kami apa yang kau punya di kendi itu?" kata Tom.

"That I will, with pleasure," said he; "it's good beer."

"Itu akan kuberitahu, dengan senang hati," katanya; "itu bir yang enak."

"Beer!" said Tom. "Thunder and fire! where did you get it?"

"Bir!" kata Tom. "Astaga! Dari mana kau mendapatkannya?"

"Where did I get it, is it? Why, I made it. And what do you think I made it of?"

"Dari mana aku mendapatkannya, katamu? Aku yang membuatnya. Dan menurutmu aku membuatnya dari apa?"

"Devil a one of me knows," said Tom; "but of malt, I suppose, what else?"

"Entahlah," kata Tom; "tapi dari malt, kurasa, apa lagi?"

"There you're out. I made it of heath."

"Di situ kau salah. Aku membuatnya dari semak heather."

"Of heath!" said Tom, bursting out laughing; "sure you don't think me to be such a fool as to believe that?"

"Dari semak heather!" kata Tom, tertawa terbahak-bahak; "kau pasti tidak mengira aku sebodoh itu untuk mempercayainya, kan?"

"Do as you please," said he, "but what I tell you is the truth. Did you never hear tell of the Danes?"

"Terserah kau saja," katanya, "tapi apa yang kukatakan padamu adalah kebenaran. Apa kau tidak pernah mendengar tentang orang Denmark?"

"Well, what about them?" said Tom.

"Baiklah, ada apa dengan mereka?" kata Tom.

"Why, all the about them there is, is that when they were here they taught us to make beer out of the heath, and the secret's in my family ever since."

"Nah, yang ada hanyalah bahwa ketika mereka ada di sini, mereka mengajari kami membuat bir dari semak heather, dan rahasianya sudah ada dalam keluargaku sejak itu."

"Will you give a body a taste of your beer?" said Tom.

"Maukah kau memberiku seteguk birmu?" kata Tom.

"I'll tell you what it is, young man, it would be fitter for you to be looking after your father's property than to be bothering decent quiet people with your foolish questions. There now, while you're idling away your time here, there's the cows have broke into the oats, and are knocking the corn all about."

"Akan kukatakan padamu, anak muda, akan lebih baik bagimu untuk mengurus harta ayahmu daripada mengganggu orang-orang yang baik dan tenang dengan pertanyaan-pertanyaan bodohmu. Nah, sementara kau membuang-buang waktumu di sini, sapi-sapi telah menerobos masuk ke ladang gandum, dan sedang menginjak-injak semua jagungnya."

Tom was taken so by surprise with this that he was just on the very point of turning round when he recollected himself; so, afraid that the like might happen again, he made a grab at the Lepracaun, and caught him up in his hand; but in his hurry he overset the pitcher, and spilt all the beer, so that he could not get a taste of it to tell what sort it was. He then swore that he would kill him if he did not show him where his money was.

Tom begitu terkejut mendengar ini sehingga ia hampir saja berbalik pergi, ketika ia sadar kembali; maka, khawatir hal serupa bisa terjadi lagi, ia menyambar Lepracaun itu dan menangkapnya dalam genggamannya; tetapi dalam kegesaannya ia menjatuhkan kendi itu, dan menumpahkan semua birnya, sehingga ia tidak bisa mencicipinya untuk mengetahui rasanya seperti apa. Ia kemudian bersumpah akan membunuhnya jika ia tidak menunjukkan di mana uangnya berada.

Tom looked so wicked and so bloody-minded that the little man was quite frightened; so says he, "Come along with me a couple of fields off, and I'll show you a crock of gold."

Tom terlihat begitu jahat dan haus darah sehingga lelaki kecil itu menjadi sangat ketakutan; maka katanya, "Ikutlah denganku beberapa ladang lagi, dan aku akan menunjukkan padamu sebuah kendi emas."

So they went, and Tom held the Lepracaun fast in his hand, and never took his eyes from off him, though they had to cross hedges and ditches, and a crooked bit of bog, till at last they came to a great field all full of boliauns, and the Lepracaun pointed to a big boliaun, and says he, "Dig under that boliaun, and you'll get the great crock all full of guineas."

Maka mereka pun pergi, dan Tom memegang Lepracaun itu erat-erat di tangannya, tak pernah mengalihkan pandangannya darinya, meskipun mereka harus melintasi pagar-pagar tanaman dan parit-parit, dan sepetak rawa yang berliku-liku, sampai akhirnya mereka tiba di sebuah ladang besar yang penuh dengan semak-semak liar, dan Lepracaun itu menunjuk ke sebuah semak liar yang besar, dan berkata, "Galilah di bawah semak liar itu, dan kau akan mendapatkan kendi besar yang penuh dengan koin emas."

Tom in his hurry had never thought of bringing a spade with him, so he made up his mind to run home and fetch one; and that he might know the place again he took off one of his red garters, and tied it round the boliaun.

Tom dalam kegesaannya tidak pernah berpikir untuk membawa sekop, maka ia memutuskan untuk berlari pulang mengambil satu; dan agar ia bisa mengenali tempat itu lagi, ia melepas salah satu tali kaus kakinya yang merah, dan mengikatkannya di sekeliling semak liar itu.

Then he said to the Lepracaun, "Swear ye'll not take that garter away from that boliaun." And the Lepracaun swore right away not to touch it.

Kemudian ia berkata kepada Lepracaun itu, "Bersumpahlah kau tidak akan mengambil tali kaus kaki itu dari semak liar itu." Dan Lepracaun itu langsung bersumpah untuk tidak menyentuhnya.

"I suppose," said the Lepracaun, very civilly, "you have no further occasion for me?"

"Kurasa," kata Lepracaun itu, dengan sangat sopan, "kau sudah tidak memerlukanku lagi?"

"No," says Tom; "you may go away now, if you please, and God speed you, and may good luck attend you wherever you go."

"Tidak," kata Tom; "kau boleh pergi sekarang, jika kau mau, dan semoga Tuhan menyertaimu, dan semoga keberuntungan menyertaimu ke mana pun kau pergi."

"Well, good-bye to you, Tom Fitzpatrick," said the Lepracaun; "and much good may it do you when you get it."

"Baiklah, selamat tinggal, Tom Fitzpatrick," kata Lepracaun itu; "dan semoga itu membawa banyak kebaikan bagimu ketika kau mendapatkannya."

So Tom ran for dear life, till he came home and got a spade, and then away with him, as hard as he could go, back to the field of boliauns; but when he got there, lo and behold! not a boliaun in the field but had a red garter, the very model of his own, tied about it; and as to digging up the whole field, that was all nonsense, for there were more than forty good Irish acres in it.

Maka Tom berlari sekencang-kencangnya, sampai ia tiba di rumah dan mengambil sekop, dan kemudian secepat yang ia bisa, kembali ke ladang semak-semak liar itu; tetapi ketika ia sampai di sana, astaga! Tidak ada satu pun semak liar di ladang itu yang tidak memiliki tali kaus kaki merah, persis seperti miliknya sendiri, terikat di sekelilingnya; dan mengenai menggali seluruh ladang itu, itu sama sekali tidak masuk akal, karena ada lebih dari empat puluh ekar tanah Irlandia yang baik di sana.

So Tom came home again with his spade on his shoulder, a little cooler than he went, and many's the hearty curse he gave the Lepracaun every time he thought of the neat turn he had served him.

Maka Tom pulang lagi dengan sekop di pundaknya, sedikit lebih tenang daripada saat ia pergi, dan banyak sumpah serapah tulus yang ia lontarkan pada Lepracaun itu setiap kali ia teringat tipu daya licik yang telah dimainkan Lepracaun itu padanya.