The Rat and the Elephant
A free B2-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
A tiny rat sneers at a lumbering elephant's great size, insisting that being big and being important aren't the same thing — until the elephant's traveling companion gives him a rude awakening.
An uncommonly small rat was watching an uncommonly big elephant and sneering at the slowness of his steps.
Seekor tikus yang sangat kecil sedang mengamati seekor gajah yang sangat besar dan mencibir kelambanan langkahnya.
The enormous animal was heavily laden. On his back rose a three-storied howdah, wherein were accommodated a celebrated sultana, her dog, her cat, her monkey, her parrot, her old servant, and all her household. They were going upon a pilgrimage.
Hewan raksasa itu membawa muatan yang berat. Di punggungnya berdiri sebuah tandu bertingkat tiga, tempat duduk seorang sultana yang terkenal beserta anjingnya, kucingnya, monyetnya, burung beonya, pelayan tuanya, dan seluruh rombongan rumah tangganya. Mereka sedang menempuh perjalanan ziarah.
The rat wondered why all the people should express astonishment at seeing this enormous bulk—"As if the fact of occupying more or less space implied that one was the more or less important accordingly! What is it you admire in him, you men? If it is only the weight of his body which fills the children with terror, then we rats, small as we are, consider ourselves not one grain less than the elephant." He would have said more; but the cat, bounding out of her cage, let him see in an instant that a rat is not an elephant.
Tikus itu heran mengapa semua orang begitu takjub melihat tubuh raksasa ini—"Seolah-olah menempati ruang yang lebih besar atau lebih kecil berarti seseorang menjadi lebih atau kurang penting! Apa sebenarnya yang kalian kagumi darinya, wahai manusia? Jika hanya berat tubuhnyalah yang membuat anak-anak ketakutan, maka kami tikus, sekecil apa pun kami, menganggap diri kami tidak kalah sedikit pun dibandingkan gajah." Ia hendak berkata lebih banyak lagi; tetapi kucing itu, yang melompat keluar dari kandangnya, membuatnya sadar seketika bahwa tikus bukanlah gajah.
