Adventures of Huckleberry Finn — Page 5

English → Fr CHAPTER II. Level 6/10

Well, when Tom and me got to the edge of the hilltop we looked away down into the village and could see three or four lights twinkling, where there was sick folks, maybe; and the stars over us was sparkling ever so fine; and down by the village was the river, a whole mile broad, and awful still and grand.

Eh bien, quand Tom et moi arrivâmes au bord du sommet de la colline, nous regardâmes au loin vers le village et pûmes voir trois ou quatre lumières scintiller, là où il y avait peut-être des malades ; et les étoiles au-dessus de nous brillaient d'un éclat magnifique ; et en bas, près du village, coulait le fleuve, large d'un bon mille, d'un calme et d'une majesté impressionnants.

We went down the hill and found Jo Harper and Ben Rogers, and two or three more of the boys, hid in the old tanyard.

Nous descendîmes la colline et trouvâmes Jo Harper et Ben Rogers, ainsi que deux ou trois autres garçons, cachés dans la vieille tannerie.

So we unhitched a skiff and pulled down the river two mile and a half, to the big scar on the hillside, and went ashore.

Alors nous détachâmes une barque et remontâmes le fleuve sur deux milles et demi, jusqu'à la grande cicatrice sur le flanc de la colline, et nous débarquâmes.

We went to a clump of bushes, and Tom made everybody swear to keep the secret, and then showed them a hole in the hill, right in the thickest part of the bushes.

Nous allâmes vers un bouquet de buissons, et Tom fit jurer à tout le monde de garder le secret, puis leur montra un trou dans la colline, juste au cœur de la partie la plus dense des buissons.

Then we lit the candles, and crawled in on our hands and knees.

Ensuite nous allumâmes les bougies et nous avançâmes en rampant sur les mains et les genoux.

We went about two hundred yards, and then the cave opened up.

Nous parcourûmes environ deux cents mètres, puis la caverne s'ouvrit.

Tom poked about amongst the passages, and pretty soon ducked under a wall where you wouldn't a noticed that there was a hole.

Tom fureta parmi les couloirs, et bientôt se glissa sous une paroi où l'on n'aurait pas remarqué qu'il y avait un trou.

We went along a narrow place and got into a kind of room, all damp and sweaty and cold, and there we stopped.

Nous avançâmes le long d'un passage étroit et pénétrâmes dans une sorte de salle, toute humide, suintante et froide, et là nous nous arrêtâmes.

Tom says:

Tom dit :

"Now, we'll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer's Gang.

« Maintenant, nous allons fonder cette bande de brigands et l'appeler la Bande de Tom Sawyer.

Everybody that wants to join has got to take an oath, and write his name in blood."

Quiconque veut en faire partie doit prêter serment et écrire son nom en sang. »

Everybody was willing.

Tout le monde était partant.

Vocabulary

bien: Well; used to introduce or emphasize a statement.
quand: When; conjunction introducing a time clause.
et: And; basic coordinating conjunction joining elements.
moi: Me; stressed first-person singular pronoun.
arrivâmes: We arrived; past historic of arriver.
au: To the, at the; contraction of à and le.
bord: Edge, rim, or border of something.
du: Of the; contraction of de and le.
sommet: Summit, top, or peak of a hill.
de: Of, from; very common French preposition.
la: The; feminine definite article.
colline: Hill; a raised area of land.
nous: We, us; first-person plural pronoun.
regardâmes: We looked; past historic of regarder.
loin: Far, far away; indicating great distance.
vers: Toward, towards; preposition indicating direction.
le: The; masculine definite article.
village: Village; a small rural community.
pûmes: We were able to; past historic of pouvoir.
voir: To see; basic infinitive verb of sight.
trois: Three; the cardinal number 3.
ou: Or; coordinating conjunction indicating alternative.
quatre: Four; the cardinal number 4.
lumières: Lights; plural of lumière, sources of illumination.
scintiller: To twinkle, to sparkle, to glimmer.
là: There; adverb indicating a specific place.
où: Where; relative or interrogative adverb of place.
il: He, it; third-person masculine singular pronoun.
y: There; pronoun replacing a previously mentioned place.
avait: There was/were; imperfect tense of avoir.
peut-être: Perhaps, maybe; adverb expressing uncertainty.
des: Some, of the; indefinite plural article.
malades: Sick people; those who are ill.
les: The; plural definite article for all genders.
étoiles: Stars; luminous celestial bodies seen at night.
au-dessus: Above, overhead; adverb or preposition of position.
brillaient: Were shining, gleaming; imperfect tense of briller.
d'un: Of a, with a; contraction of de and un.
éclat: Brilliance, brightness, radiance, dazzling light.
magnifique: Magnificent, splendid, wonderful, superb.
en: In, on; preposition indicating location or manner.
bas: Below, down; adverb indicating a lower position.
près: Near, close; adverb or preposition of proximity.
coulait: Was flowing; imperfect tense of couler.
fleuve: River; a large river flowing to the sea.
large: Wide, broad; describing great horizontal extent.
bon: Good; adjective expressing positive quality.
mille: Mile or thousand; unit of distance or number.
calme: Calm, peaceful, still, tranquil.
d'une: Of a; contraction of de and une (feminine).
majesté: Majesty; quality of greatness and impressive dignity.
impressionnants: Impressive, striking, awe-inspiring; plural masculine adjective.
Nous: We; first-person plural subject pronoun.
descendîmes: We went down; past historic of descendre.
trouvâmes: We found; past historic of trouver.
ainsi: Thus, so, in this way; adverb of manner.
que: That, than, as; very common French conjunction.
deux: Two; the cardinal number 2.
autres: Other, others; adjective or pronoun of difference.
garçons: Boys; plural of garçon, young male persons.
cachés: Hidden, concealed; past participle of cacher.
dans: In, inside; preposition indicating location within.
vieille: Old; feminine adjective describing age.
tannerie: Tannery; a place where animal hides are processed.
Alors: Then, so; conjunction or adverb of sequence.
détachâmes: We untied; past historic of détacher.
une: A, an; feminine indefinite article.
barque: Small boat; a light, simple watercraft.
remontâmes: We went back up; past historic of remonter.
sur: On, upon, over; common preposition of position.
milles: Miles; plural unit of distance measurement.
demi: Half; adjective or noun indicating 50 percent.
jusqu'à: Until, up to, as far as; preposition of limit.
grande: Large, big, great; feminine adjective of size.
cicatrice: Scar; a mark left after a wound heals.
flanc: Flank, side; the lateral surface of a hill.
débarquâmes: We disembarked, landed; past historic of débarquer.
allâmes: We went; past historic of aller.
un: A, an; masculine indefinite article, also one.
bouquet: Clump, cluster; here a cluster of bushes.
buissons: Bushes, shrubs; plural of buisson.
fit: Made, caused; past historic of faire (3rd person).
jurer: To swear, to take an oath.
à: To, at, in; very common French preposition.
tout: All, every, whole; indefinite adjective or pronoun.
monde: World, everyone; tout le monde means everybody.
garder: To keep, to guard, to maintain.
secret: Secret; something kept hidden from others.
puis: Then, next; adverb indicating sequence of events.
leur: Them, their; third-person plural pronoun or adjective.
montra: Showed; past historic of montrer (3rd person).
trou: Hole, opening; a hollow or gap in something.
juste: Just, right, exactly; adverb or adjective of precision.
cœur: Heart; central organ or metaphorical center of something.
partie: Part, portion; a section of a whole.
plus: More, most; comparative or superlative adverb.
dense: Dense, thick; closely packed or concentrated.
Ensuite: Then, next, afterwards; adverb of sequence.
allumâmes: We lit, switched on; past historic of allumer.
bougies: Candles; plural of bougie, wax light sources.
avançâmes: We advanced, moved forward; past historic of avancer.
rampant: Crawling, creeping; present participle of ramper.
mains: Hands; plural of main, the human hand.
genoux: Knees; plural of genou, the knee joint.
parcourûmes: We covered, traveled through; past historic of parcourir.
environ: About, approximately; adverb indicating rough estimation.
cents: Hundreds; plural of cent, the number 100.
mètres: Meters; plural unit of length measurement.
caverne: Cave, cavern; a large natural underground hollow.
s'ouvrit: Opened up; past historic of s'ouvrir (reflexive).
fureta: Nosed around, poked about; past historic of fureter.
parmi: Among, amongst; preposition indicating being within a group.
couloirs: Corridors, passages; narrow connecting pathways or tunnels.
bientôt: Soon, shortly; adverb indicating near future time.
se: Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun.
glissa: Slipped, slid; past historic of glisser (3rd person).
sous: Under, beneath; preposition indicating lower position.
paroi: Wall, rock face; vertical inner surface of a cave.
l'on: One, we; euphonic form of on for fluency.
n'aurait: Would not have; conditional negative of avoir.
pas: Not; essential particle of French negation.
remarqué: Noticed, remarked; past participle of remarquer.
qu'il: That it, that he; contraction of que and il.
long: Long; adjective describing great length or extent.
passage: Passage, corridor; a narrow way through a space.
étroit: Narrow, tight; adjective describing small width.
pénétrâmes: We entered, penetrated; past historic of pénétrer.
sorte: Sort, kind, type; une sorte de means a kind of.
salle: Room, hall; an enclosed interior space.
toute: All, entirely, wholly; feminine form of tout.
humide: Damp, humid, moist; containing or full of moisture.
suintante: Oozing, seeping; feminine present participle of suinter.
froide: Cold; feminine adjective describing low temperature.
arrêtâmes: We stopped; past historic of arrêter.
dit: Said; past historic of dire (3rd person singular).
Maintenant: Now; adverb referring to the present moment.
allons: Let's go, we go; present tense of aller.
fonder: To found, to establish, to create an organization.
cette: This, that; feminine demonstrative adjective.
bande: Band, gang, group; a set of people acting together.
brigands: Brigands, bandits; armed robbers or outlaws.
l'appeler: To call it; infinitive of appeler with direct object.
Bande: Band, gang; here part of a proper group name.
Quiconque: Whoever, anyone who; indefinite relative pronoun.
veut: Wants; third-person singular present of vouloir.
faire: To do, to make; highly versatile common French verb.
doit: Must, has to; third-person singular present of devoir.
prêter: To lend, to swear; prêter serment means to take oath.
serment: Oath, vow; a solemn formal promise.
écrire: To write; infinitive of the verb to write.
son: His, her, its; third-person singular possessive adjective.
nom: Name; a word by which a person is known.
sang: Blood; the red fluid circulating in the body.
Tout: Everyone, all; indefinite pronoun meaning everybody.
était: Was; third-person singular imperfect tense of être.
partant: On board, agreeable; être partant means to be willing.

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