The School Garden Carrots

Dagny's class planted carrots in March. Every morning, they watered the plants and counted the green leaves. Then, one Monday, half of the carrots were gone.

Kelas Dagny menanam wortel pada bulan Maret. Setiap pagi, mereka menyiram tanaman dan menghitung daun-daun hijaunya. Lalu, pada suatu hari Senin, separuh wortelnya hilang.

"Who did this?" their teacher asked.

"Siapa yang melakukan ini?" tanya guru mereka.

Dagny loved mysteries, so she asked her friend Pascal to help. They looked at the ground next to the garden beds.

Dagny suka misteri, jadi ia meminta temannya, Pascal, untuk membantu. Mereka memeriksa tanah di samping bedeng-bedeng kebun.

"Look," said Dagny. "There are small holes next to every plant."

"Lihat," kata Dagny. "Ada lubang-lubang kecil di samping setiap tanaman."

"And here are footprints," Pascal said. "They are tiny. Not a person's."

"Dan ini jejak kaki," kata Pascal. "Kecil sekali. Bukan milik manusia."

"Not a dog's, either. Too small." Dagny thought for a minute. "A cat does not eat carrots."

"Bukan milik anjing juga. Terlalu kecil." Dagny berpikir sebentar. "Kucing tidak makan wortel."

Pascal had an old phone. That night, he put it in a plastic box. He tied the box to a post by the garden. He set it to take a photo when something moved.

Pascal punya ponsel tua. Malam itu, ia memasukkannya ke dalam kotak plastik. Ia mengikat kotak itu pada sebuah tiang di dekat kebun. Ia mengaturnya agar memotret saat ada sesuatu yang bergerak.

The next morning, they looked at the photos. Most were dark and empty. But one photo, from three in the morning, showed two rabbits. Each had a carrot in its mouth.

Keesokan paginya, mereka melihat foto-fotonya. Sebagian besar gelap dan kosong. Tetapi satu foto, pukul tiga pagi, memperlihatkan dua ekor kelinci. Masing-masing menggigit sebatang wortel.

"Our thieves have long ears," Pascal said. They laughed so hard that the teacher came over.

"Pencuri kita bertelinga panjang," kata Pascal. Mereka tertawa begitu keras sampai guru datang menghampiri.

The class talked about it. They did not want to hurt the rabbits. So they made a plan. They built a low fence of wood and wire around the beds. Then they planted extra carrots outside it, just for the rabbits.

Kelas membicarakannya. Mereka tidak ingin menyakiti kelinci-kelinci itu. Jadi mereka membuat rencana. Mereka membangun pagar rendah dari kayu dan kawat di sekeliling bedeng. Lalu mereka menanam wortel tambahan di luar pagar, khusus untuk para kelinci.

On Friday, two rabbits sat outside the fence. They ate their own carrots. Dagny waved at them.

Pada hari Jumat, dua ekor kelinci duduk di luar pagar. Mereka memakan wortel mereka sendiri. Dagny melambai kepada mereka.