COMMON IGNORANCE

Once up a time, an old illiterate asked somebody to write a letter for him. He said, "Please write whatever I am telling you." He then began to explain his life while the writer was busy writing. He talked about himself and some hos problems. After he finished, he turned to the writer and said, "Alright. Now read me all you have written." The man began to read the letter. Little by little the old man, listening to the writer carefully, started crying. The writer looked at him surprisingly and said, "These are what you have already explained. There is nothing more in this letter. Why are crying then?"

Still crying hard, the old man said, "I practically knew that I was a poor wretched man, but I didn't know it so clearly as you told me today!"

TIDAK PEDULI

Pada suatu hari, seorang warga emas buta huruf meminta seseorang menuliskan sepucuk surat untuknya. Dia berkata, "Tulis apa yang saya katakan." Dia mula bercerita mengenai kehidupannya sementara penulis itu sibuk menulis. Dia bercerita mengenai dirinya dan beberapa masalah dihadapinya. Setelah selesai bercerita, dia menoleh ke arah penulis itu dan berkata, "Baiklah, bacakan apa yang kamu tulis." Penulis itu mula membacakan sedikit demi sedikit sementara warga emas itu mendengar dengan teliti. Tiba-tiba warga emas itu mula menangis. Penulis itu merasa terkejut dan berkata, "Ini yang kamu terangkan dan tiada sebarang tambahan. Kenapakah kamu menangis?"

Masih menangis, warga emas itu berkata, "Saya tahu saya miskin tetapi saya tidak tahu ia seperti apa yang kamu ceritakan."

Diterjemah oleh : Teratai Melur

E-mel : terataigenius@gmail.com