The Crystal Ball

There was once an enchantress, who had three sons who loved each other as brothers, but the old woman did not trust them, and thought they wanted to steal her power from her. So she changed the eldest into an eagle, which was forced to dwell in the rocky mountains, and was often seen sweeping in great circles in the sky. The second, she changed into a whale, which lived in the deep sea, and all that was seen of it was that it sometimes spouted up a great jet of water in the air. Each of them only bore his human form for two hours daily.

Dahulu kala ada seorang penyihir wanita, yang mempunyai tiga putra yang saling menyayangi layaknya saudara, tetapi wanita tua itu tidak mempercayai mereka, dan mengira mereka ingin mencuri kekuatannya darinya. Maka ia mengubah putra sulungnya menjadi seekor elang, yang terpaksa tinggal di pegunungan berbatu, dan sering terlihat melayang berputar-putar besar di langit. Putra kedua, ia ubah menjadi seekor paus, yang hidup di laut dalam, dan yang terlihat darinya hanyalah bahwa kadang-kadang ia menyemburkan pancaran air besar ke udara. Masing-masing dari mereka hanya bisa mempertahankan wujud manusianya selama dua jam setiap hari.

The third son, who was afraid she might change him into a raging wild beast—a bear perhaps, or a wolf, went secretly away. He had heard that a King’s daughter who was bewitched, was imprisoned in the Castle of the Golden Sun, and was waiting for deliverance. Those, however, who tried to free her risked their lives; three-and-twenty youths had already died a miserable death, and now only one other might make the attempt, after which no more must come. And as his heart was without fear, he caught at the idea of seeking out the Castle of the Golden Sun.

Putra ketiga, yang takut ibunya mungkin akan mengubahnya menjadi seekor binatang buas yang ganas—mungkin beruang, atau serigala, pergi diam-diam. Ia telah mendengar bahwa seorang putri Raja yang tersihir, dipenjarakan di Istana Matahari Emas, dan sedang menunggu pembebasan. Namun, mereka yang mencoba membebaskannya mempertaruhkan nyawa mereka; dua puluh tiga pemuda telah mati dengan cara yang menyedihkan, dan kini hanya satu orang lagi yang boleh mencoba, setelah itu tak boleh ada lagi yang datang. Dan karena hatinya tak mengenal rasa takut, ia pun tertarik pada gagasan mencari Istana Matahari Emas.

He had already travelled about for a long time without being able to find it, when he came by chance into a great forest, and did not know the way out of it. All at once he saw in the distance two giants, who made a sign to him with their hands, and when he came to them they said, “We are quarrelling about a cap, and which of us it is to belong to, and as we are equally strong, neither of us can get the better of the other. The small men are cleverer than we are, so we will leave the decision to thee.”

Ia sudah lama sekali berkelana tanpa berhasil menemukannya, ketika ia tanpa sengaja tiba di sebuah hutan besar, dan tidak tahu jalan keluar darinya. Tiba-tiba ia melihat di kejauhan dua raksasa, yang memberinya isyarat dengan tangan mereka, dan ketika ia mendekati mereka, mereka berkata, "Kami sedang bertengkar soal sebuah topi, dan menjadi milik siapa topi ini, dan karena kami sama-sama kuat, tak satu pun dari kami bisa mengalahkan yang lain. Manusia kecil lebih cerdik daripada kami, jadi kami akan menyerahkan keputusannya kepadamu."

“How can you dispute about an old cap?” said the youth. “Thou dost not know what properties it has! It is a wishing-cap; whosoever puts it on, can wish himself away wherever he likes, and in an instant he will be there.” “Give me the cap,” said the youth, “I will go a short distance off, and when I call you, you must run a race, and the cap shall belong to the one who gets first to me.”

"Bagaimana kalian bisa bertengkar soal topi tua ini?" kata si pemuda. "Kalian tidak tahu apa keistimewaannya! Ini adalah topi permintaan; siapa pun yang memakainya, bisa mengharapkan dirinya pergi ke mana pun ia suka, dan dalam sekejap ia akan berada di sana." "Berikan aku topi itu," kata si pemuda, "aku akan pergi sedikit menjauh, dan ketika aku memanggil kalian, kalian harus berlari lomba, dan topi itu akan menjadi milik siapa pun yang tiba pertama kepadaku."

He put it on and went away, and thought of the King’s daughter, forgot the giants, and walked continually onward. At length he sighed from the very bottom of his heart, and cried, “Ah, if I were but at the Castle of the Golden Sun,” and hardly had the words passed his lips than he was standing on a high mountain before the gate of the castle.

Ia mengenakannya dan pergi, lalu memikirkan putri Raja itu, melupakan kedua raksasa itu, dan terus berjalan tanpa henti. Akhirnya ia menghela napas dari lubuk hatinya yang paling dalam, dan berseru, "Ah, andai saja aku berada di Istana Matahari Emas," dan baru saja kata-kata itu terucap dari bibirnya, ia sudah berdiri di sebuah gunung tinggi di depan gerbang istana itu.

He entered and went through all the rooms, until in the last he found the King’s daughter. But how shocked he was when he saw her. She had an ashen-gray face full of wrinkles, blear eyes, and red hair. “Are you the King’s daughter, whose beauty the whole world praises?” cried he.

Ia masuk dan melewati semua ruangan, sampai di ruangan terakhir ia menemukan putri Raja itu. Tetapi betapa terkejutnya ia ketika melihatnya. Wajahnya abu-abu pucat penuh keriput, matanya berkantung, dan rambutnya merah. "Apakah engkau putri Raja, yang kecantikannya dipuji seluruh dunia?" serunya.

“Ah,” she answered, “this is not my form; human eyes can only see me in this state of ugliness, but that thou mayst know what I am like, look in the mirror—it does not let itself be misled—it will show thee my image as it is in truth.” She gave him the mirror in his hand, and he saw therein the likeness of the most beautiful maiden on earth, and saw, too, how the tears were rolling down her cheeks with grief.

"Ah," jawabnya, "ini bukan wujud asliku; mata manusia hanya bisa melihatku dalam keadaan buruk rupa ini, tetapi supaya engkau tahu seperti apa aku sebenarnya, lihatlah ke cermin ini—cermin ini tak bisa disesatkan—ia akan menunjukkan kepadamu gambaranku yang sebenarnya." Ia memberikan cermin itu ke tangannya, dan di dalamnya ia melihat rupa gadis tercantik di bumi, dan melihat pula, bagaimana air mata mengalir turun di pipinya karena kesedihan.

Then said he, “How canst thou be set free? I fear no danger.” She said, “He who gets the crystal ball, and holds it before the enchanter, will destroy his power with it, and I shall resume my true shape. Ah,” she added, “so many have already gone to meet death for this, and thou art so young; I grieve that thou shouldst encounter such great danger.” “Nothing can keep me from doing it,” said he, “but tell me what I must do.”

Lalu ia berkata, "Bagaimana engkau bisa dibebaskan? Aku tidak takut bahaya apa pun." Ia berkata, "Siapa yang mendapatkan bola kristal itu, dan memegangnya di depan sang penyihir, akan menghancurkan kekuatannya dengan itu, dan aku akan kembali ke wujud asliku." "Ah," tambahnya, "begitu banyak yang telah menemui ajal demi ini, dan engkau begitu muda; aku sedih engkau harus menghadapi bahaya sebesar itu." "Tak ada yang bisa menghalangiku melakukannya," katanya, "tapi katakan padaku apa yang harus kulakukan."

“Thou shalt know everything,” said the King’s daughter; “when thou descendest the mountain on which the castle stands, a wild bull will stand below by a spring, and thou must fight with it, and if thou hast the luck to kill it, a fiery bird will spring out of it, which bears in its body a burning egg, and in the egg the crystal ball lies like a yolk.

"Engkau akan tahu semuanya," kata sang putri Raja; "ketika engkau turun dari gunung tempat istana ini berdiri, seekor banteng liar akan berdiri di bawah dekat sebuah mata air, dan engkau harus bertarung dengannya, dan jika engkau beruntung membunuhnya, seekor burung berapi akan melompat keluar darinya, yang membawa dalam tubuhnya sebutir telur yang menyala, dan di dalam telur itu bola kristal itu berada seperti kuning telur.

The bird will not, however, let the egg fall until forced to do so, and if it falls on the ground, it will flame up and burn everything that is near, and melt even ice itself, and with it the crystal ball, and then all thy trouble will have been in vain.”

Namun burung itu tidak akan menjatuhkan telur itu kecuali dipaksa, dan jika telur itu jatuh ke tanah, ia akan menyala dan membakar segala sesuatu di dekatnya, bahkan melelehkan es itu sendiri, dan bersamanya bola kristal itu, dan kemudian semua usahamu akan sia-sia belaka."

The youth went down to the spring, where the bull snorted and bellowed at him. After a long struggle he plunged his sword in the animal’s body, and it fell down. Instantly a fiery bird arose from it, and was about to fly away, but the young man’s brother, the eagle, who was passing between the clouds, swooped down, hunted it away to the sea, and struck it with his beak until, in its extremity, it let the egg fall.

Si pemuda turun menuju mata air itu, tempat sang banteng mendengus dan menggeram kepadanya. Setelah pertarungan panjang ia menghunjamkan pedangnya ke tubuh binatang itu, dan ia pun tumbang. Seketika seekor burung berapi bangkit darinya, dan hendak terbang pergi, tetapi saudara si pemuda, sang elang, yang sedang lewat di antara awan-awan, menukik turun, mengejarnya ke arah laut, dan mematuknya dengan paruhnya sampai, dalam keadaan terdesak, ia menjatuhkan telur itu.

The egg did not, however, fall into the sea, but on a fisherman’s hut which stood on the shore and the hut began at once to smoke and was about to break out in flames. Then arose in the sea waves as high as a house, they streamed over the hut, and subdued the fire. The other brother, the whale, had come swimming to them, and had driven the water up on high. When the fire was extinguished, the youth sought for the egg and happily found it; it was not yet melted, but the shell was broken by being so suddenly cooled with the water, and he could take out the crystal ball unhurt.

Namun telur itu tidak jatuh ke laut, melainkan di atas sebuah pondok nelayan yang berdiri di tepi pantai dan pondok itu seketika mulai mengepulkan asap dan hampir terbakar dalam kobaran api. Kemudian bangkitlah gelombang laut setinggi rumah, mereka mengalir menerjang pondok itu, dan memadamkan api itu. Saudara yang lain, sang paus, telah datang berenang mendekati mereka, dan telah mendorong air itu naik tinggi-tinggi. Ketika api telah padam, si pemuda mencari telur itu dan dengan bahagia menemukannya; belum meleleh, tetapi cangkangnya pecah karena begitu tiba-tiba didinginkan oleh air, dan ia bisa mengeluarkan bola kristal itu tanpa cedera.

When the youth went to the enchanter and held it before him, the latter said, “My power is destroyed, and from this time forth thou art the King of the Castle of the Golden Sun. With this canst thou likewise give back to thy brothers their human form.” Then the youth hastened to the King’s daughter, and when he entered the room, she was standing there in the full splendour of her beauty, and joyfully they exchanged rings with each other.

Ketika si pemuda pergi menemui sang penyihir dan memegangnya di depannya, yang terakhir ini berkata, "Kekuatanku telah hancur, dan mulai sekarang engkaulah Raja Istana Matahari Emas. Dengan ini engkau juga bisa mengembalikan wujud manusia kepada saudara-saudaramu." Kemudian si pemuda bergegas menemui putri Raja itu, dan ketika ia memasuki ruangan itu, ia berdiri di sana dalam kemegahan kecantikannya yang penuh, dan dengan gembira mereka saling bertukar cincin.