Polly Meets Someone

The morning Polly arrived on Oak Street, the whole neighborhood smelled of fresh bread. Polly left two suitcases by the green door and greeted the first neighbor in sight: an enormous bear watering her geraniums. "Hello! My name is Polly. I arrived this morning."

Pagi ketika Polly tiba di Jalan Oak, seluruh lingkungan beraroma roti yang baru matang. Dua koper ditinggalkan di samping pintu hijau, lalu Polly menyapa tetangga pertama yang terlihat: seekor beruang besar yang sedang menyiram bunga geraniumnya. “Halo! Nama saya Polly. Saya tiba tadi pagi.”

The bear wiped her paws on her apron and smiled. "I am Berta. I have lived here for twenty years." They talked for a good while by the fence: where Polly came from, what Polly did for a living, and why this street of all streets. "I teach languages," Polly explained. "I work from home, so we are going to see a lot of each other."

Beruang itu mengelap kakinya ke celemek dan tersenyum. “Saya Berta. Saya sudah dua puluh tahun tinggal di sini.” Mereka mengobrol cukup lama di dekat pagar: dari mana Polly datang, apa pekerjaannya, dan mengapa harus jalan ini. “Saya mengajar bahasa,” jelas Polly. “Saya bekerja dari rumah, jadi kita akan sering bertemu.”

When the sun was high, Berta pointed at the square at the end of the street. "There is a market tomorrow. If you want, I will show you where I buy my fruit." Polly accepted right away. "Nice to meet you, Berta. See you later!" And stepping into the new house, Polly thought that learning the neighbors' names was going to be the best possible start.

Ketika matahari sudah tinggi, Berta menunjuk lapangan di ujung jalan. “Besok ada pasar. Kalau kamu mau, saya tunjukkan tempat saya membeli buah.” Polly langsung setuju. “Senang berkenalan, Berta. Sampai jumpa!” Dan sambil melangkah masuk ke rumah baru, Polly berpikir bahwa menghafal nama para tetangga adalah awal terbaik yang mungkin ada.