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narative text sleeping beauty

Sleeping Beauty

A long time ago there were a king and queen who said every day, "Ah, if only we had a child," but they never had one. But it happened that once when the queen was bathing, a frog crept out of the water on to the land, and said to her, "Your wish shall be fulfilled, before a year has gone by, you shall have a daughter."
 

What the frog had said came true, and the queen had a little girl who was so pretty that the king could not contain himself for joy, and ordered a great feast. He invited not only his kindred, friends and acquaintances, but also the wise women, in order that they might be kind and well disposed towards the child. There were thirteen of them in his kingdom, but, as he had only twelve golden plates for them to eat out of, one of them had to be left at home.

The feast was held with all manner of splendor and when it came to an end the wise women bestowed their magic gifts upon the baby - one gave virtue, another beauty, a third riches, and so on with everything in the world that one can wish for.

When eleven of them had made their promises, suddenly the thirteenth came in. She wished to avenge herself for not having been invited, and without greeting, or even looking at anyone, she cried with a loud voice, "The king's daughter shall in her fifteenth year prick herself with a spindle, and fall down dead." And, without saying a word more, she turned round and left the room.

They were all shocked, but the twelfth, whose good wish still remained unspoken, came forward, and as she could not undo the evil sentence, but only soften it, she said, it shall not be death, but a deep sleep of a hundred years, into which the princess shall fall.

The king, who would fain keep his dear child from the misfortune, gave orders that every spindle in the whole kingdom should be burnt. Meanwhile the gifts of the wise women were plenteously fulfilled on the young girl, for she was so beautiful, modest, good-natured, and wise, that everyone who saw her was bound to love her.

It happened that on the very day when she was fifteen years old, the king and queen were not at home, and the maiden was left in the palace quite alone. So she went round into all sorts of places, looked into rooms and bed-chambers just as she liked, and at last came to an old tower. She climbed up the narrow winding staircase, and reached a little door. A rusty key was in the lock, and when she turned it the door sprang open, and there in a little room sat an old woman with a spindle, busily spinning her flax.

"Good day, old mother," said the king's daughter, "what are you doing there?"

 "I am spinning," said the old woman, and nodded her head.

"What sort of thing is that, that rattles round so merrily," said the girl, and she took the spindle and wanted to spin too. But scarcely had she touched the spindle when the magic decree was fulfilled, and she pricked her finger with it.

And, in the very moment when she felt the prick, she fell down upon the bed that stood there, and lay in a deep sleep. And this sleep extended over the whole palace, the king and queen who had just come home, and had entered the great hall, began to go to sleep, and the whole of the court with them. The horses, too, went to sleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the pigeons upon the roof, the flies on the wall, even the fire that was flaming on the hearth became quiet and slept, the roast meat left off frizzling, and the cook, who was just going to pull the hair of the scullery boy, because he had forgotten something, let him go, and went to sleep. And the wind fell, and on the trees before the castle not a leaf moved again.

But round about the castle there began to grow a hedge of thorns, which every year became higher, and at last grew close up round the castle and all over it, so that there was nothing of it to be seen, not even the flag upon the roof. But the story of the beautiful sleeping Briar Rose, for so the princess was named, went about the country, so that from time to time kings' sons came and tried to get through the thorny hedge into the castle. But they found it impossible, for the thorns held fast together, as if they had hands, and the youths were caught in them, could not get loose again, and died a miserable death.

After long, long years a king's son came again to that country, and heard an old man talking about the thorn hedge, and that a castle was said to stand behind it in which a wonderfully beautiful princess, named Briar Rose, had been asleep for a hundred years, and that the king and queen and the whole court were asleep likewise. He had heard, too, from his grandfather, that many kings, sons had already come, and had tried to get through the thorny hedge, but they had remained sticking fast in it, and had died a pitiful death.

Then the youth said, "I am not afraid, I will go and see the beautiful Briar Rose." The good old man might dissuade him as he would, he did not listen to his words.

But by this time the hundred years had just passed, and the day had come when Briar Rose was to awake again. When the king's son came near to the thorn hedge, it was nothing but large and beautiful flowers, which parted from each other of their own accord, and let him pass unhurt, then they closed again behind him like a hedge. In the castle yard he saw the horses and the spotted hounds lying asleep, on the roof sat the pigeons with their heads under their wings. And when he entered the house, the flies were asleep upon the wall, the cook in the kitchen was still holding out his hand to seize the boy, and the maid was sitting by the black hen which she was going to pluck.

He went on farther, and in the great hall he saw the whole of the court lying asleep, and up by the throne lay the king and queen. Then he went on still farther, and all was so quiet that a breath could be heard, and at last he came to the tower, and opened the door into the little room where Briar Rose was sleeping.

There she lay, so beautiful that he could not turn his eyes away, and he stooped down and gave her a kiss. But as soon as he kissed her, Briar Rose opened her eyes and awoke, and looked at him quite sweetly.

Then they went down together, and the king awoke, and the queen, and the whole court, and looked at each other in great astonishment. And the horses in the courtyard stood up and shook themselves, the hounds jumped up and wagged their tails, the pigeons upon the roof pulled out their heads from under their wings, looked round, and flew into the open country, the flies on the wall crept again, the fire in the kitchen burned up and flickered and cooked the meat, the joint began to turn and sizzle again, and the cook gave the boy such a box on the ear that he screamed, and the maid finished plucking the fowl.

And then the marriage of the king's son with Briar Rose was celebrated with all splendor, and they lived contented to the end of their days.

THE END

DAMPAK PENAMBANGAN TIMAH BAGI MASYARAKAT BANGKA BELITUNG

DAMPAK PENAMBANGAN TIMAH BAGI MASYARAKAT BANGKA BELITUNG

Istilah TI sebagai kepanjangan dari Tambang Inkonvensional sudah sangat dikenal di kalangan rakyat Kepulauan Bangka Belitung. Ini merupakan sebutan untuk penambangan timah dengan memanfaatkan peralatan mekanis sederhana, yang biasanya bermodalkan antara 10 juta sampai 15 juta rupiah. Untuk skala penambangan yang lebih kecil lagi, biasanya disebut Tambang Rakyat (TR). TI sebenarnya dimodali oleh rakyat dan dikerjakan oleh rakyat juga. Secara legal formal TI sebenarnya adalah kegiatan penambangan yang melanggar hukum karena memang umumnya tidak memiliki izin penambangan. 

Pada awalnya TI "dipelihara" oleh PT. Tambang Timah ketika perusahaan itu masih melakukan kegiatan penambangan darat di Kepulauan Bangka Belitung. TI sebetulnya muncul karena dulu PT. Tambang Timah melihat daerah-daerah yang tidak ekonomis untuk dilakukan kegiatan pendulangan oleh PT. Tambang Timah sendiri. Oleh karena itulah, kepada pengelola TI diberikan peralatan pendulangan mekanis yang sederhana. Peralatan yang dibutuhkan memang tidak terlalu rumit, cukup dengan ekskavator, pompa penyemprot air, dan menyiapkan tempat pendulangan pasir timah. Metodenya pun sederhana, tanah yang diambil dengan ekskavator kemudian ditempatkan di tempat pendulangan, dan kemudian dibersihkan dengan air. Lapisan tanah yang benar-benar berupa tanah, dengan sendirinya akan hanyut terbawa air, dan tersisa biasanya adalah batu dan pasir timah.

Pada mulanya pengelola TI melakukan kegiatan di dalam areal kuasa penambangan (KP) PT. Tambang Timah dan kalau sudah habis mereka bisa pindah ke tempat lain yang ditentukan oleh PT. Tambang Timah. Akan tetapi, setelah masuk di era reformasi, dari tahun 1998 ke atas, masyarakat mulai mencari-cari lokasi di luar KP PT. Tambang Timah sehingga jumlah TI berkembang pesat menjadi ribuan. Mereka kini di luar kontrol karena menambang kebanyakan di luar KP PT. Tambang Timah.

Kegiatan pertambangan inkonvensional timah di Pulau Bangka dalam setahun terakhir makin memprihatinkan. Seiring dengan itu pembangunan smelter (pabrik pengolahan menjadi timah balok) juga mengalami peningkatan sangat tajam. Meruyaknya smelter menjadi ancaman besar terjadinya pencemaran lingkungan. Hal ini dikarenakan smelter-smelter baru tersebut kurang mempertimbangkan sisi lingkungan. Kerusakan akibat kegiatan penambangan ilegal dengan mudah ditemukan, seperti di kawasan Kecamatan Belinyu.

1. Lubang Tambang

Sebagian besar pertambangan mineral di Indonesia dilakukan dengan cara terbuka. Ketika selesai beroperasi, perusahaan meninggalkan lubang-lubang raksasa di bekas areal pertambangannya. Lubang-lubang itu berpotensi menimbulkan dampak lingkungan jangka panjang, terutama berkaitan dengan kualitas dan kuantitas air. Air lubang tambang mengandung berbagai logam berat yang dapat merembes ke sistem air tanah dan dapat mencemari air tanah sekitar. Potensi bahaya akibat rembesan ke dalam air tanah seringkali tidak terpantau akibat lemahnya sistem pemantauan perusahaan-perusahaan pertambangan tersebut. Di pulau Bangka dan Belitung banyak di jumpai lubang-lubang bekas galian tambang timah (kolong) yang berisi air bersifat asam dan sangat berbahaya. 

2. Air Asam Tambang

Air asam tambang mengandung logam-logam berat berpotensi menimbulkan dampak lingkungan dalam jangka panjang. Ketika air asam tambang sudah terbentuk maka akan sangat sulit untuk menghentikannya karena sifat alamiah dari reaksi yang terjadi pada batuan. Sebagai contoh, pertambangan timbal pada era kerajaan Romawi masih memproduksi air asam tambang 2000 tahun setelahnya. Air asam tambang baru terbentuk bertahun-tahun kemudian sehingga perusahaan pertambangan yang tidak melakukan monitoring jangka panjang bisa salah menganggap bahwa batuan limbahnya tidak menimbulkan air asam tambang. Air asam tambang berpotensi mencemari air permukaan dan air tanah. Sekali terkontaminasi terhadap air akan sulit melakukan tindakan penanganannya. 

3. Tailing

Tailing dihasilkan dari operasi pertambangan dalam jumlah yang sangat besar. Sekitar 97 persen dari bijih yang diolah oleh pabrik pengolahan bijih akan berakhir sebagai tailing. Tailing mengandung logam-logam berat dalam kadar yang cukup mengkhawatirkan, seperti tembaga, timbal atau timah hitam, merkuri, seng, dan arsen. Ketika masuk kedalam tubuh makhluk hidup logam-logam berat tersebut akan terakumulasi di dalam jaringan tubuh dan dapat menimbulkan efek yang membahayakan kesehatan. 
Akibat aktifitas liar ini, banyak program kehutanan dan pertanian tidak berjalan, karena tidak jelasnya alokasi atau penetapan wilayah TI. Aktivitas TI juga mengakibatkan pencemaran air permukaan dan perairan umum. Lahan menjadi tandus, kolong-kolong (lubang eks-tambang) tidak terawat, tidak adanya upaya reklamasi/ rehabilitasi pada lahan eks-tambang, terjadi abrasi pantai dan kerusakan cagar alam, yang untuk memulihkannya perlu waktu setidaknya 150 tahun secara suksesi alami. 

Hutan menjadi korban, alam pun mengamuk!

Legalitas pemanfaatan lahan yang tidak berkelanjutan dan pengeksploitasian sumber daya alam yang berlebihan tanpa mengindahkan keseimbangan ekosistem merupakan salah satu pemicu kerusakan lingkungan di Bangka Belitung. Keadaan ini merupakan imbas dari krisis ekonomi berkepanjangan yang berakibat pada krisis sosial. Selain itu pelaksanaan otonomi daerah yang kurang siap mengakibatkan eksploitasi sumberdaya yang tidak berkelanjutan. Pada akhirnya, aktifitas yang tidak lepas dari urusan ekosistem alam inipun membuat imbas berupa kerusakan lingkungan tatanan ekosistem pulau Bangka khususnya daerah yang mengalami degradasi kualitas dan kuantitas lahan yang telah mencakup luas ke beberapa aspek ekosistem Bangka pada umumnya, yakni khususnya wilayah hutan di Bumi Serumpun Sebalai ini. Tidak dapat dipungkiri bahwa kegiatan TI di Pulau Bangka telah memacu pertumbuhan ekonomi yang pesat. Namun, bukan hanya pertumbuhan ekonomi yang dihasilkan TI. Aktivitas pertambangan yang dilakukan secara sporadis dan massal itu juga mengakibatkan kerusakan lingkungan yang dahsyat. Sebagian besar penambang menggunakan peralatan besar sehingga dengan mudah mencabik-cabik permukaan tanah. Sisa pembuangan tanah dari TI menyebabkan pendangkalan sungai. 

Kerusakan yang ditimbulkan TI tidak hanya terjadi di lokasi penambangan wilayah daratan. Seperti yang diinformasikan sebelumnya, bahwasanya kerusakan alam bahkan terjadi hingga ke pantai (masyarakat Bangka menyebutnya TI Apung), tempat bermuara sungai-sungai yang membawa air dan lumpur dari lokasi TI. Di kawasan pantai, hutan bakau di sejumlah lokasi rusak akibat limbah penambangan TI. Selain itu di wilayah pesisir pantai, beroperasi juga tambang rakyat menggunakan rakit, drum-drum bekas, mesin dongfeng dan pipa paralon, yang mengapung. Para buruh menyelam ke dasar laut, mengumpulkan sedikit demi sedikit timah. 

Bekas-bekas penambangan TI umumnya dibiarkan saja sebagaimana adanya, tanpa adanya upaya mereklamasi. Dengan luasan wilayah penambangan antara dua sampai lima hektar, bolong-bolong pada permukaan tanah yang mereka gali merupakan pemandangan yang tampak mengenaskan. Penambangan timah inkonvensional di Kecamatan Belinyu kini masih terus berlangsung, termasuk di kawasan hutan lindung. Salah satunya adalah di kawasan hutan lindung Gunung Pelawan. Penambang secara sembunyi-sembunyi tetap menambang timah di kawasan terlarang tersebut. TI juga merusak daerah aliran sungai, kawasan sempadan pantai, hutan lindung, dan hutan produksi. Lubang-lubang bekas penambangan tandus karena tidak direklamasi. 

Perusakan hutan karena tambang membuat banyak wilayah kekeringan hebat pada musim kemarau. Jika dilihat dari udara sebelum mendarat di Bandara Depati Amir, wajah bumi Bangka Belitung dipenuhi kawah dan lubang menganga. Lubang-lubang itu terisi air hujan dan menjadi tempat subur perkembangan nyamuk anofeles. Akibatnya, penularan penyakit malaria di Pulau Bangka cukup tinggi.