The Shrunken Sweater

Ryan did his own laundry for the first time. His mother was away for the weekend. He wanted to do a good job.

Ryan mencuci pakaiannya sendiri untuk pertama kalinya. Ibunya pergi selama akhir pekan. Ia ingin melakukannya dengan baik.

He put all his clothes in one load. His favorite blue sweater went in too. He never checked any of the labels.

Ia memasukkan semua pakaiannya dalam satu cucian. Sweter biru kesayangannya ikut masuk. Ia tidak memeriksa satu pun label.

He set the machine to hot water. He wanted his clothes very clean. Hot water seemed like the best choice.

Ia mengatur mesin pada air panas. Ia ingin pakaiannya sangat bersih. Air panas tampaknya pilihan terbaik.

An hour later, Ryan opened the dryer. He pulled out his favorite sweater. It looked much smaller than before.

Satu jam kemudian, Ryan membuka mesin pengering. Ia menarik keluar sweter kesayangannya. Sweter itu tampak jauh lebih kecil daripada sebelumnya.

"Oh no," Ryan said quietly. He tried to put it on. His arms barely fit in the sleeves.

"Aduh," kata Ryan pelan. Ia mencoba memakainya. Lengannya nyaris tidak muat di lengan sweter.

Ryan called his older sister for help. He told her what happened. She laughed a little and came over.

Ryan menelepon kakak perempuannya untuk minta bantuan. Ia menceritakan apa yang terjadi. Kakaknya tertawa kecil dan datang.

"Wool shrinks in hot water," his sister said. "Next time, use cold water," she added. "And check the label first."

"Wol menyusut di air panas," kata kakaknya. "Lain kali, pakai air dingin," tambahnya. "Dan periksa labelnya dulu."

Ryan looked at the tiny sweater sadly. He held it up in the light. Then he had a good idea.

Ryan memandangi sweter mungil itu dengan sedih. Ia mengangkatnya ke arah cahaya. Lalu ia mendapat ide bagus.

He gave the sweater to his little cousin. His cousin loved the small blue sweater. It fit her perfectly.

Ia memberikan sweter itu kepada sepupunya yang masih kecil. Sepupunya suka sekali sweter biru kecil itu. Sweter itu pas sekali di badannya.

Ryan washed the rest of his clothes again. This time, he read every single label. He felt a little wiser about laundry.

Ryan mencuci lagi sisa pakaiannya. Kali ini, ia membaca setiap label. Ia merasa sedikit lebih bijak soal mencuci.