How to Tell a True Princess

There was once upon a time a Prince who wanted to marry a Princess, but she must be a true Princess. So he travelled through the whole world to find one, but there was always something against each. There were plenty of Princesses, but he could not find out if they were true Princesses. In every case there was some little defect, which showed the genuine article was not yet found. So he came home again in very low spirits, for he had wanted very much to have a true Princess.

Dahulu kala ada seorang Pangeran yang ingin menikahi seorang Putri, tetapi ia harus putri sejati. Maka ia berkelana ke seluruh dunia untuk menemukannya, tetapi selalu ada saja yang kurang pada tiap-tiap calon. Ada banyak Putri, tetapi ia tak bisa memastikan apakah mereka Putri sejati. Dalam setiap kasus selalu ada sedikit cacat, yang menunjukkan bahwa yang asli belum juga ditemukan. Maka ia pun pulang dengan hati sangat murung, sebab ia sangat ingin memiliki seorang Putri sejati.

One night there was a dreadful storm; it thundered and lightened and the rain streamed down in torrents. It was fearful! There was a knocking heard at the Palace gate, and the old King went to open it.

Suatu malam terjadi badai dahsyat; guntur menggelegar, kilat menyambar, dan hujan turun bagai dicurahkan. Sungguh menakutkan! Terdengar ketukan di gerbang Istana, dan Raja tua pergi membukanya.

There stood a Princess outside the gate; but oh, in what a sad plight she was from the rain and the storm! The water was running down from her hair and her dress into the points of her shoes and out at the heels again. And yet she said she was a true Princess!

Berdirilah seorang Putri di luar gerbang; tetapi, oh, betapa memprihatinkan keadaannya akibat hujan dan badai! Air mengalir turun dari rambut dan gaunnya masuk ke ujung sepatunya dan keluar lagi dari tumitnya. Namun ia tetap berkata bahwa ia adalah Putri sejati!

‘Well, we shall soon find that!’ thought the old Queen. But she said nothing, and went into the sleeping-room, took off all the bed-clothes, and laid a pea on the bottom of the bed. Then she put twenty mattresses on top of the pea, and twenty eider-down quilts on the top of the mattresses. And this was the bed in which the Princess was to sleep.

'Baiklah, kita akan segera tahu itu!' pikir sang Ratu tua. Tetapi ia tidak berkata apa-apa, dan pergi ke kamar tidur, mengangkat semua seprai dari ranjang, dan meletakkan sebutir kacang polong di dasar ranjang. Lalu ia menumpuk dua puluh kasur di atas kacang polong itu, dan dua puluh selimut bulu angsa di atas tumpukan kasur. Dan itulah ranjang tempat sang Putri akan tidur.

The next morning she was asked how she had slept.

Keesokan paginya ia ditanya bagaimana ia tidur.

‘Oh, very badly!’ said the Princess. ‘I scarcely closed my eyes all night! I am sure I don’t know what was in the bed. I laid on something so hard that my whole body is black and blue. It is dreadful!’

'Oh, sangat buruk!' kata sang Putri. 'Aku hampir tidak bisa memejamkan mata semalaman! Aku benar-benar tidak tahu apa yang ada di ranjang itu. Aku berbaring di atas sesuatu yang begitu keras hingga seluruh tubuhku memar. Sungguh mengerikan!'

Now they perceived that she was a true Princess, because she had felt the pea through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down quilts.

Kini mereka menyadari bahwa ia adalah Putri sejati, karena ia bisa merasakan kacang polong itu menembus dua puluh kasur dan dua puluh selimut bulu angsa.

No one but a true Princess could be so sensitive.

Tak ada yang bisa sepeka itu selain Putri sejati.

So the Prince married her, for now he knew that at last he had got hold of a true Princess. And the pea was put into the Royal Museum, where it is still to be seen if no one has stolen it. Now this is a true story.

Maka sang Pangeran pun menikahinya, karena kini ia tahu bahwa akhirnya ia telah mendapatkan Putri sejati. Dan kacang polong itu disimpan di Museum Kerajaan, tempat ia masih bisa dilihat jika belum ada yang mencurinya. Nah, ini adalah kisah nyata.