The Steadfast Tin-Soldier

There were once upon a time five-and twenty tin-soldiers—all brothers, as they were made out of the same old tin spoon. Their uniform was red and blue, and they shouldered their guns and looked straight in front of them. The first words that they heard in this world, when the lid of the box in which they lay was taken off, were: ‘Hurrah, tin-soldiers!’ This was exclaimed by a little boy, clapping his hands; they had been given to him because it was his birthday, and now he began setting them out on the table.

Dahulu kala ada dua puluh lima prajurit timah—semuanya bersaudara, sebab mereka dibuat dari sendok timah tua yang sama. Seragam mereka berwarna merah dan biru, dan mereka memanggul senapan serta memandang lurus ke depan mereka. Kata-kata pertama yang mereka dengar di dunia ini, ketika tutup kotak tempat mereka berbaring dibuka, adalah: ‘Hore, prajurit timah!’ Ini diserukan oleh seorang anak laki-laki kecil, bertepuk tangan; mereka telah diberikan kepadanya karena hari itu ulang tahunnya, dan sekarang ia mulai menata mereka di atas meja.

Each soldier was exactly like the other in shape, except just one, who had been made last when the tin had run short; but there he stood as firmly on his one leg as the others did on two, and he is the one that became famous.

Setiap prajurit persis sama bentuknya dengan yang lain, kecuali satu, yang dibuat paling terakhir ketika timahnya sudah hampir habis; tetapi ia berdiri setegak yang lain berdiri dengan dua kaki, meskipun hanya dengan satu kaki, dan dialah yang kelak menjadi terkenal.

There were many other playthings on the table on which they were being set out, but the nicest of all was a pretty little castle made of cardboard, with windows through which you could see into the rooms. In front of the castle stood some little trees surrounding a tiny mirror which looked like a lake. Wax swans were floating about and reflecting themselves in it. That was all very pretty; but the most beautiful thing was a little lady, who stood in the open doorway.

Ada banyak mainan lain di atas meja tempat mereka ditata, tetapi yang paling indah dari semuanya adalah sebuah kastil kecil yang cantik terbuat dari karton, dengan jendela-jendela yang memperlihatkan ruangan-ruangan di dalamnya. Di depan kastil itu berdiri beberapa pohon kecil yang mengelilingi sebuah cermin mungil yang tampak seperti sebuah danau. Angsa-angsa lilin mengapung ke sana kemari dan memantulkan diri mereka di dalamnya. Semua itu sangat indah; tetapi hal yang paling indah adalah seorang nona kecil, yang berdiri di ambang pintu yang terbuka.

She was cut out of paper, but she had on a dress of the finest muslin, with a scarf of narrow blue ribbon round her shoulders, fastened in the middle with a glittering rose made of gold paper, which was as large as her head. The little lady was stretching out both her arms, for she was a Dancer, and was lifting up one leg so high in the air that the Tin-soldier couldn’t find it anywhere, and thought that she, too, had only one leg.

Ia terpotong dari kertas, tetapi ia mengenakan gaun dari muslin terhalus, dengan selendang pita biru yang tipis melingkari bahunya, disematkan di tengah dengan sebuah mawar berkilau dari kertas emas, yang besarnya sebesar kepalanya. Sang nona kecil merentangkan kedua lengannya, sebab ia adalah seorang penari, dan mengangkat satu kakinya begitu tinggi di udara sehingga prajurit timah itu tak bisa menemukannya di mana pun, dan mengira bahwa ia, juga, hanya memiliki satu kaki.

‘That’s the wife for me!’ he thought; ‘but she is so grand, and lives in a castle, whilst I have only a box with four-and-twenty others. This is no place for her! But I must make her acquaintance.’ Then he stretched himself out behind a snuff-box that lay on the table; from thence he could watch the dainty little lady, who continued to stand on one leg without losing her balance.

‘Dialah istri yang cocok untukku!’ pikirnya; ‘tetapi ia begitu agung, dan tinggal di sebuah kastil, sementara aku hanya punya sebuah kotak bersama dua puluh empat yang lain. Ini bukan tempat untuknya! Tetapi aku harus berkenalan dengannya.’ Lalu ia merebahkan dirinya di belakang sebuah kotak tembakau yang tergeletak di atas meja; dari sana ia bisa mengawasi nona kecil yang anggun itu, yang terus berdiri dengan satu kaki tanpa kehilangan keseimbangannya.

When the night came all the other tin-soldiers went into their box, and the people of the house went to bed. Then the toys began to play at visiting, dancing, and fighting. The tin-soldiers rattled in their box, for they wanted to be out too, but they could not raise the lid. The nut-crackers played at leap-frog, and the slate-pencil ran about the slate; there was such a noise that the canary woke up and began to talk to them, in poetry too!

Ketika malam tiba semua prajurit timah lainnya masuk ke dalam kotak mereka, dan orang-orang di rumah itu pergi tidur. Kemudian mainan-mainan itu mulai bermain berkunjung, menari, dan berkelahi. Prajurit-prajurit timah itu bergemerincing dalam kotak mereka, sebab mereka juga ingin keluar, tetapi mereka tidak bisa mengangkat tutupnya. Pemecah kacang bermain lompat katak, dan pensil batu tulis berlarian di atas batu tulis; ribut sekali suaranya hingga burung kenari terbangun dan mulai berbicara kepada mereka, bahkan dengan puisi pula!

The only two who did not stir from their places were the Tin-soldier and the little Dancer. She remained on tip-toe, with both arms outstretched; he stood steadfastly on his one leg, never moving his eyes from her face.

Hanya dua yang tidak bergerak dari tempat mereka yaitu prajurit timah itu dan penari kecil itu. Ia tetap berdiri berjinjit, dengan kedua lengan terentang; ia berdiri teguh dengan satu kakinya, tak pernah mengalihkan pandangannya dari wajahnya.

The clock struck twelve, and crack! off flew the lid of the snuff-box; but there was no snuff inside, only a little black imp—that was the beauty of it.

Jam berdentang dua belas kali, dan krak! terlontarlah tutup kotak tembakau itu; tetapi tak ada tembakau di dalamnya, hanya seorang setan kecil berwarna hitam—itulah keindahannya.

‘Hullo, Tin-soldier!’ said the imp. ‘Don’t look at things that aren’t intended for the likes of you!’

‘Halo, prajurit timah!’ kata setan kecil itu. ‘Jangan melihat hal-hal yang bukan untukmu!’

But the Tin-soldier took no notice, and seemed not to hear.

Tetapi prajurit timah itu tidak menghiraukan, dan tampak tidak mendengar.

‘Very well, wait till to-morrow!’ said the imp.

‘Baiklah, tunggu sampai besok!’ kata setan kecil itu.

When it was morning, and the children had got up, the Tin-soldier was put in the window; and whether it was the wind or the little black imp, I don’t know, but all at once the window flew open and out fell the little Tin-soldier, head over heels, from the third-storey window! That was a terrible fall, I can tell you! He landed on his head with his leg in the air, his gun being wedged between two paving-stones.

Ketika pagi tiba, dan anak-anak sudah bangun, prajurit timah itu diletakkan di jendela; dan entah itu karena angin atau setan kecil hitam itu, aku tidak tahu, tetapi tiba-tiba jendela itu terbuka lebar dan jatuhlah prajurit timah kecil itu, terjungkir balik, dari jendela lantai tiga! Itu adalah jatuh yang mengerikan, sungguh! Ia mendarat di atas kepalanya dengan kaki terangkat ke udara, senapannya terjepit di antara dua batu jalan.

The nursery-maid and the little boy came down at once to look for him, but, though they were so near him that they almost trod on him, they did not notice him. If the Tin-soldier had only called out ‘Here I am!’ they must have found him; but he did not think it fitting for him to cry out, because he had on his uniform.

Pengasuh anak dan anak laki-laki kecil itu segera turun untuk mencarinya, tetapi, meskipun mereka begitu dekat dengannya sehingga hampir menginjaknya, mereka tidak menyadarinya. Andai saja prajurit timah itu berseru ‘Aku di sini!’ mereka pasti sudah menemukannya; tetapi ia tidak menganggapnya pantas untuk berseru, karena ia mengenakan seragamnya.

Soon it began to drizzle; then the drops came faster, and there was a regular down-pour. When it was over, two little street boys came along.

Tak lama kemudian mulai gerimis; lalu tetesan air datang lebih deras, dan turunlah hujan lebat. Ketika hujan reda, dua anak laki-laki jalanan kecil datang lewat.

‘Just look!’ cried one. ‘Here is a Tin-soldier! He shall sail up and down in a boat!’

‘Coba lihat!’ seru salah satunya. ‘Ini ada prajurit timah! Ia akan berlayar naik dan turun di dalam sebuah perahu!’

So they made a little boat out of newspaper, put the Tin-soldier in it, and made him sail up and down the gutter; both the boys ran along beside him, clapping their hands. What great waves there were in the gutter, and what a swift current! The paper-boat tossed up and down, and in the middle of the stream it went so quick that the Tin-soldier trembled; but he remained steadfast, showed no emotion, looked straight in front of him, shouldering his gun. All at once the boat passed under a long tunnel that was as dark as his box had been.

Maka mereka membuat sebuah perahu kecil dari kertas koran, meletakkan prajurit timah itu di dalamnya, dan membuatnya berlayar naik turun di selokan; kedua anak itu berlari di sampingnya, bertepuk tangan. Betapa besarnya ombak di selokan itu, dan betapa derasnya arusnya! Perahu kertas itu terombang-ambing naik turun, dan di tengah arus itu ia melaju begitu cepat sehingga prajurit timah itu gemetar; tetapi ia tetap teguh, tidak menunjukkan emosi apa pun, memandang lurus ke depan dirinya, memanggul senapannya. Tiba-tiba perahu itu melintas di bawah sebuah terowongan panjang yang gelap seperti kotaknya dulu.

‘Where can I be coming now?’ he wondered. ‘Oh, dear! This is the black imp’s fault! Ah, if only the little lady were sitting beside me in the boat, it might be twice as dark for all I should care!’

‘Ke mana lagi aku akan pergi sekarang?’ pikirnya. ‘Oh, sayang! Ini pasti gara-gara setan kecil hitam itu! Ah, andai saja nona kecil itu duduk di sampingku di dalam perahu ini, biarpun gelapnya dua kali lipat aku tak akan peduli!’

Suddenly there came along a great water-rat that lived in the tunnel.

Tiba-tiba muncullah seekor tikus air besar yang tinggal di terowongan itu.

‘Have you a passport?’ asked the rat. ‘Out with your passport!’

‘Kau punya paspor?’ tanya tikus itu. ‘Keluarkan paspormu!’

But the Tin-soldier was silent, and grasped his gun more firmly.

Tetapi prajurit timah itu diam, dan menggenggam senapannya lebih erat.

The boat sped on, and the rat behind it. Ugh! how he showed his teeth, as he cried to the chips of wood and straw: ‘Hold him, hold him! he has not paid the toll! He has not shown his passport!’

Perahu itu melaju kencang, dan tikus itu mengejar di belakangnya. Hih! bagaimana ia menyeringai memperlihatkan giginya, sambil berseru kepada serpihan kayu dan jerami: ‘Tahan dia, tahan dia! ia belum membayar biaya tol! Ia belum menunjukkan paspornya!’

But the current became swifter and stronger. The Tin-soldier could already see daylight where the tunnel ended; but in his ears there sounded a roaring enough to frighten any brave man. Only think! at the end of the tunnel the gutter discharged itself into a great canal; that would be just as dangerous for him as it would be for us to go down a waterfall.

Tetapi arus itu menjadi semakin deras dan kuat. Prajurit timah itu sudah bisa melihat cahaya siang di ujung terowongan itu; tetapi di telinganya terdengar deru yang cukup untuk menakut-nakuti orang paling pemberani sekalipun. Bayangkan saja! di ujung terowongan itu selokan mengalir masuk ke sebuah kanal besar; itu akan sama bahayanya baginya seperti bahayanya bagi kita untuk terjun ke bawah air terjun.

Now he was so near to it that he could not hold on any longer. On went the boat, the poor Tin-soldier keeping himself as stiff as he could: no one should say of him afterwards that he had flinched. The boat whirled three, four times round, and became filled to the brim with water: it began to sink! The Tin-soldier was standing up to his neck in water, and deeper and deeper sank the boat, and softer and softer grew the paper; now the water was over his head. He was thinking of the pretty little Dancer, whose face he should never see again, and there sounded in his ears, over and over again:

Kini ia sudah begitu dekat dengannya sehingga ia tak bisa bertahan lebih lama lagi. Perahu itu terus melaju, prajurit timah malang itu berusaha tetap tegak sebisa mungkin: tak seorang pun boleh berkata kelak bahwa ia telah gentar. Perahu itu berputar tiga, empat kali, dan menjadi penuh terisi air hingga ke bibirnya: perahu itu mulai tenggelam! Prajurit timah itu berdiri terendam air hingga ke lehernya, dan semakin dalam dan semakin dalam tenggelamlah perahu itu, dan semakin lembek dan semakin lembeklah kertasnya; kini air sudah menutupi kepalanya. Ia sedang memikirkan penari kecil yang cantik itu, yang wajahnya tak akan pernah ia lihat lagi, dan terdengar di telinganya, berulang-ulang kali:

‘Forward, forward, soldier bold! Death’s before thee, grim and cold!’

‘Majulah, majulah, prajurit yang berani! Kematian ada di depanmu, suram dan dingin!’

The paper came in two, and the soldier fell—but at that moment he was swallowed by a great fish.

Kertas itu terbelah menjadi dua, dan prajurit itu terjatuh—tetapi pada saat itu juga ia tertelan oleh seekor ikan besar.

Oh! how dark it was inside, even darker than in the tunnel, and it was really very close quarters! But there the steadfast little Tin-soldier lay full length, shouldering his gun.

Oh! betapa gelapnya di dalam sana, bahkan lebih gelap daripada di dalam terowongan itu, dan sungguh sangat sempit ruangnya! Tetapi di sana prajurit timah kecil yang teguh itu berbaring memanjang, memanggul senapannya.

Up and down swam the fish, then he made the most dreadful contortions, and became suddenly quite still. Then it was as if a flash of lightning had passed through him; the daylight streamed in, and a voice exclaimed, ‘Why, here is the little Tin-soldier!’ The fish had been caught, taken to market, sold, and brought into the kitchen, where the cook had cut it open with a great knife. She took up the soldier between her finger and thumb, and carried him into the room, where everyone wanted to see the hero who had been found inside a fish; but the Tin-soldier was not at all proud.

Naik turun berenanglah ikan itu, lalu ia melakukan gerakan-gerakan yang paling mengerikan, dan tiba-tiba menjadi diam sama sekali. Lalu seolah-olah kilatan petir telah menembusnya; cahaya siang mengalir masuk, dan sebuah suara berseru, ‘Wah, ini ada prajurit timah kecil!’ Ikan itu telah tertangkap, dibawa ke pasar, dijual, dan dibawa masuk ke dapur, tempat sang juru masak memotongnya terbuka dengan sebuah pisau besar. Ia mengambil prajurit itu di antara jari dan ibu jarinya, dan membawanya ke dalam ruangan, tempat semua orang ingin melihat sang pahlawan yang ditemukan di dalam seekor ikan; tetapi prajurit timah itu sama sekali tidak bangga.

They put him on the table, and—no, but what strange things do happen in this world!—the Tin-soldier was in the same room in which he had been before! He saw the same children, and the same toys on the table; and there was the same grand castle with the pretty little Dancer.

Mereka meletakkannya di atas meja, dan—tidak, tetapi hal-hal aneh apa yang terjadi di dunia ini!—prajurit timah itu berada di ruangan yang sama tempat ia berada sebelumnya! Ia melihat anak-anak yang sama, dan mainan-mainan yang sama di atas meja; dan di sana ada kastil megah yang sama dengan penari kecil yang cantik itu.

She was still standing on one leg with the other high in the air; she too was steadfast. That touched the Tin-soldier, he was nearly going to shed tin-tears; but that would not have been fitting for a soldier. He looked at her, but she said nothing.

Ia masih berdiri dengan satu kaki dengan kaki yang lain terangkat tinggi di udara; ia juga teguh. Itu menyentuh hati prajurit timah itu, hampir saja ia meneteskan air mata timah; tetapi itu tidak akan pantas bagi seorang prajurit. Ia memandangnya, tetapi ia tidak berkata apa-apa.

All at once one of the little boys took up the Tin-soldier, and threw him into the stove, giving no reasons; but doubtless the little black imp in the snuff-box was at the bottom of this too.

Tiba-tiba salah satu anak laki-laki kecil itu mengambil prajurit timah itu, dan melemparkan dirinya ke dalam tungku, tanpa memberi alasan apa pun; tetapi tak diragukan lagi setan kecil hitam di dalam kotak tembakau itu juga berada di balik semua ini.

There the Tin-soldier lay, and felt a heat that was truly terrible; but whether he was suffering from actual fire, or from the ardour of his passion, he did not know. All his colour had disappeared; whether this had happened on his travels or whether it was the result of trouble, who can say? He looked at the little lady, she looked at him, and he felt that he was melting; but he remained steadfast, with his gun at his shoulder.

Di sana prajurit timah itu terbaring, dan merasakan panas yang benar-benar mengerikan; tetapi apakah ia menderita karena api yang sesungguhnya, atau karena kobaran gairahnya, ia tidak tahu. Semua warnanya telah lenyap; entah ini terjadi selama perjalanannya atau ini adalah akibat dari kesedihan, siapa yang tahu? Ia memandang nona kecil itu, ia memandangnya balik, dan ia merasa bahwa dirinya sedang meleleh; tetapi ia tetap teguh, dengan senapannya di bahunya.

Suddenly a door opened, the draught caught up the little Dancer, and off she flew like a sylph to the Tin-soldier in the stove, burst into flames—and that was the end of her! Then the Tin-soldier melted down into a little lump, and when next morning the maid was taking out the ashes, she found him in the shape of a heart. There was nothing left of the little Dancer but her gilt rose, burnt as black as a cinder.

Tiba-tiba sebuah pintu terbuka, angin menerbangkan penari kecil itu, dan terbanglah ia seperti seorang peri menuju prajurit timah di dalam tungku itu, berkobar dalam api—dan itulah akhir baginya! Kemudian prajurit timah itu meleleh menjadi sebuah gumpalan kecil, dan ketika keesokan paginya sang pengasuh sedang mengeluarkan abu, ia menemukannya dalam bentuk sebuah hati. Tak ada yang tersisa dari penari kecil itu selain mawar berlapis emasnya, yang terbakar hitam seperti arang.