Suatu hari di hutan Ujung Kulon, cuaca terasa hangat. Sinar matahari menembus lebatnya pepohonan. Seekor anak badak bernama Ceros yang baru berumur lima tahun, sedang berjalan di sekitar hutan. (One day in the Ujung Kulon forest, the weather is warm. Sunshine penetrates the dense trees. A boy rhino named Ceros who is five years old, is walking around the forest.)
Ceros kemudian bertemu dengan Caballus, si kuda jantan. “Hai kuda… Otot kakimu kecil sekali, pasti tidak sekuat kakiku,” kata Ceros sombong. Caballus tersinggung dengan ucapan badak kecil itu. Ia meringkik marah dan mengangkat kedua kaki depannya ke arah Ceros. (Ceros then meets Caballus, the stallion. “Hi stallion, the muscles on your legs are small, they can’t be as strong as mine,” says Ceros in arrogance. Caballus is offended by the little rhino. He shrieks angrily and lifts both his front legs towards Ceros.)
Caballus lantas pergi meninggalkan Ceros dengan kesal. Ceros tertawa senang, karena ia merasa lebih hebat dibandingkan Caballus. (The upset Caballus then leaves Ceros. Ceros laughs happily, thinking that he is better than Caballus.)
“La… la… la… la…” Ceros kembali berjalan sambil bersenandung. Tiba-tiba, langkahnya terhenti. Ia melihat Torto, si kura-kura sedang menyantap dedaunan. (“La… la… la… la…” Ceros walks away and humming. Suddenly, his steps came to a halt. He sees Torto the tortoise who is eating the leaves.)
“Torto, cangkangmu masih kalah dengan kulitku yang sekeras baja,” teriak Ceros. Hewan–hewan penghuni Ujung Kulon mendengar teriakan Ceros. Mereka hanya menatap diam pada Ceros. “Kalian semua akan kalah bila melawanku. Culaku akan menusuk kalian,” kata Ceros. (“Torto, your shell is still bested by my skin that’s as hard as steel,” shouts Ceros. The animals who live in Ujung Kulon heard Ceros. They just looked silently at Ceros. “You will all be defeated if you fight me. My horn will skewer you all,” says Ceros.)
“Anak kecil yang congkak,” lirih Torto kembali melanjutkan makan siangnya. (“What an arrogant little boy,” says Torto as he continues eating his lunch.)
Ceros terus tertawa, karena ia merasa paling hebat dibandingkan hewan lainnya. Tiba-tiba, tawa Ceros terhenti dan giginya gemerutuk. Wajahnya terlihat ketakutan. Semua hewan serentak melihat keanehan Ceros. “Kenapa dia?” ujar Torto sedikit bingung. (Ceros keeps laughing because he thinks he is the greatest of all animals. Suddenly, Ceros’ laughter stops and his teeth rattles. His face looks terrified. All the animals immediately turn their eyes to Ceros. “What happened to him?” says Torto, a little confused.)
Ternyata, Ceros ketakutan melihat tulang belulang badak yang sedang dikerubungi lalat. Ia mengira badak tersebut tewas karena diserang kawanan lalat. Ceros takut bernasib seperti badak malang itu. (Apparently, Ceros is afraid to see the bones of a rhino that’s being swarmed by flies. He thinks that the rhino died because of the fly swarm. Ceros is afraid he’d turned out to be like the rhino.)
“Aku takuuuut…,” teriak Ceros sambil lari terbirit-birit. “Ternyata, badak kalah dengan lalat,” seru Torto yang disambut dengan tawa para penghuni hutan Ujung Kulon. (“I’m scareeeed….,” cries Ceros as he runs all over the place. “It turns out that the rhino is defeated by the fly,” exclaims Torto, replied by laughter from all the animals in Ujung Kulon forest.)
(Teks: Just For Kids/ Ilustrasi: Just For Kids/ Translator: Yos)
