One day, a wealthy master sent his servant to the marketplace to buy some fish for dinner. The servant hurried to the fish market, but when he arrived, he found it crowded with buyers. People were pushing and competing with one another to get the best fish, and there seemed to be no order at all.
Not wanting to get caught in the chaos, the servant stood aside and waited patiently for the crowd to thin out. However, the market remained busy, and after waiting for a long time, he finally decided to make his way through the crowd.
As he was pushed forward by the people around him, he managed to reach the front of the shop. Quickly, he picked up a fish and politely asked the fisherman to weigh it for him.
Unfortunately, the fisherman paid no attention to him. Seeing the servant's simple clothes, he assumed that the man was not an important customer. The servant repeated his request several times, but the fisherman continued to ignore him.
The servant became irritated by the rude treatment. Instead of arguing, however, he came up with a clever plan to teach the fisherman a lesson.
He picked up the fish and held it close to his nose as though he were smelling it carefully.
The fisherman immediately became angry.
“Why are you smelling my fish?” he shouted. “My fish are fresh, not spoiled! If you do not like them, put the fish down and leave my shop. Do not interfere with the livelihood that God has given me!”
The servant calmly replied, “I am not smelling the fish. I am listening to it answer a question that I asked.”
The fisherman looked at him in surprise.
“What question did you ask, and what did the fish answer?” he demanded.
The servant smiled and said, “I asked the fish whether it had seen my brother, who drowned in the sea three days ago.”
“And what did it say?” asked the fisherman curiously.
“It said that it knew nothing about the recent news of the sea,” replied the servant. “After all, it came out of the water two weeks ago.”
The people nearby burst into laughter, while the fisherman stood speechless, realizing that the servant had outsmarted him.
Terjemahan Bahasa Indonesia
Pelayan dan Ikan
Suatu hari, seorang tuan yang kaya menyuruh pelayannya pergi ke pasar untuk membeli ikan untuk makan malam. Pelayan itu segera menuju pasar ikan, tetapi ketika tiba, ia mendapati pasar sangat ramai oleh para pembeli. Orang-orang saling berdesakan dan berlomba mendapatkan ikan terbaik, sehingga keadaan tampak kacau tanpa aturan.
Karena tidak ingin terjebak dalam kerumunan, pelayan itu berdiri di pinggir dan menunggu dengan sabar sampai keramaian berkurang. Namun, pasar tetap ramai. Setelah menunggu cukup lama, ia akhirnya memutuskan untuk menerobos kerumunan.
Saat terdorong ke depan oleh orang-orang di sekitarnya, ia berhasil mencapai bagian depan toko. Dengan cepat ia mengambil seekor ikan dan dengan sopan meminta nelayan untuk menimbangnya.
Sayangnya, nelayan itu tidak memedulikannya. Melihat pakaian pelayan yang sederhana, ia menganggap bahwa pelayan tersebut bukan pelanggan penting. Pelayan itu mengulangi permintaannya beberapa kali, tetapi nelayan itu terus mengabaikannya.
Pelayan itu merasa kesal karena diperlakukan dengan tidak sopan. Namun, alih-alih berdebat, ia memikirkan sebuah cara cerdik untuk memberi pelajaran kepada nelayan tersebut.
Ia mengambil ikan itu dan mendekatkannya ke hidungnya seolah-olah sedang menciumnya dengan saksama.
Nelayan itu langsung marah.
“Mengapa kamu mencium ikan-ikanku?” bentaknya. “Ikan-ikanku segar, bukan ikan busuk! Jika kamu tidak menyukainya, letakkan ikan itu dan tinggalkan tokoku. Jangan mengganggu rezeki yang diberikan Tuhan kepadaku!”
Dengan tenang, pelayan itu menjawab, “Saya tidak sedang mencium ikan ini. Saya sedang mendengarkan jawabannya atas sebuah pertanyaan yang saya ajukan.”
Nelayan itu menatapnya dengan heran.
“Pertanyaan apa yang kamu ajukan, dan apa jawabannya?” tanyanya.
Pelayan itu tersenyum lalu berkata, “Saya bertanya kepada ikan ini apakah ia pernah melihat saudara saya yang tenggelam di laut tiga hari yang lalu.”
“Lalu apa jawabannya?” tanya nelayan itu dengan penasaran.
“Ia mengatakan bahwa ia tidak mengetahui berita terbaru dari laut,” jawab pelayan itu. “Bagaimanapun juga, ia sudah keluar dari laut dua minggu yang lalu.”
Orang-orang di sekitar mereka pun tertawa terbahak-bahak, sementara nelayan itu terdiam karena menyadari bahwa pelayan tersebut telah mengakalinya.
15 Kosakata Penting
| No | Kosakata | Pelafalan | Arti Indonesia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | servant | /ˈsɜːrvənt/ | pelayan |
| 2 | marketplace | /ˈmɑːrkɪtpleɪs/ | pasar |
| 3 | crowded | /ˈkraʊdɪd/ | ramai, penuh sesak |
| 4 | patiently | /ˈpeɪʃəntli/ | dengan sabar |
| 5 | chaos | /ˈkeɪɑːs/ | kekacauan |
| 6 | politely | /pəˈlaɪtli/ | dengan sopan |
| 7 | fisherman | /ˈfɪʃərmən/ | nelayan |
| 8 | ignored | /ɪɡˈnɔːrd/ | mengabaikan |
| 9 | irritated | /ˈɪrɪteɪtɪd/ | kesal |
| 10 | clever | /ˈklevər/ | cerdik |
| 11 | spoiled | /spɔɪld/ | busuk |
| 12 | livelihood | /ˈlaɪvlihʊd/ | mata pencaharian |
| 13 | demanded | /dɪˈmændɪd/ | menuntut, bertanya dengan tegas |
| 14 | drowned | /draʊnd/ | tenggelam |
| 15 | speechless | /ˈspiːtʃləs/ | terdiam, tidak mampu berkata-kata |
Pesan Moral
Intelligence and wit are often more powerful than anger or status.
Kecerdikan dan kecerdasan sering kali lebih kuat daripada kemarahan ataupun kedudukan sosial.
