Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Page 4

English → Spanish Preface Level 4/10

London is the capital of Paris, and Paris is the capital of Rome, and Rome—no, _that's_ all wrong, I'm certain!

¡Londres es la capital de París, y París es la capital de Roma, y Roma—no, _eso_ está todo mal, estoy segura!

I must have been changed for Mabel!

¡Debo de haberme convertido en Mabel!

I'll try and say '_How doth the little_—'" and she crossed her hands on her lap as if she were saying lessons, and began to repeat it, but her voice sounded hoarse and strange, and the words did not come the same as they used to do:—

Intentaré recitar '_Cómo el pequeño_—'" y cruzó las manos sobre su regazo como si estuviera recitando lecciones, y comenzó a repetirlo, pero su voz sonaba ronca y extraña, y las palabras no salían igual que antes:—

"How doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tail, And pour the waters of the Nile On every golden scale!

"Cómo el pequeño cocodrilo Mejora su brillante cola, Y vierte las aguas del Nilo Sobre cada escama dorada!

"How cheerfully he seems to grin, How neatly spread his claws, And welcome little fishes in With gently smiling jaws!"

"¡Qué alegremente parece sonreír, Qué pulcramente extiende sus garras, Y da la bienvenida a los pececillos Con sus suaves y sonrientes fauces!"

"I'm sure those are not the right words," said poor Alice, and her eyes filled with tears again as she went on,

"Estoy segura de que esas no son las palabras correctas", dijo la pobre Alicia, y sus ojos se llenaron de lágrimas nuevamente mientras continuaba,

"I must be Mabel after all, and I shall have to go and live in that poky little house, and have next to no toys to play with, and oh! ever so many lessons to learn!

"Al fin y al cabo debo de ser Mabel, y tendré que ir a vivir en esa casita estrecha, y no tener casi ningún juguete con el que jugar, ¡y oh! ¡tantísimas lecciones que aprender!

No, I've made up my mind about it; if I'm Mabel, I'll stay down here!

¡No, ya me he decidido al respecto; si soy Mabel, me quedaré aquí abajo!

It'll be no use their putting their heads down and saying 'Come up again, dear!'

No servirá de nada que asomen la cabeza y digan '¡Sube de nuevo, querida!'

I shall only look up and say 'Who am I then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I'll come up: if not, I'll stay down here till I'm somebody else'—but, oh dear!

Solo miraré hacia arriba y diré '¿Quién soy entonces? Dímelo primero, y luego, si me gusta ser esa persona, subiré: si no, me quedaré aquí abajo hasta ser otra persona'—pero, ¡ay, Dios mío!

Vocabulary

Londres: Capital city of England and the United Kingdom.
es: Third-person singular present tense of 'ser' (to be).
la: Feminine definite article meaning 'the'.
capital: The main city serving as seat of government.
de: Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'.
París: Capital city of France.
y: Conjunction meaning 'and'.
Roma: Capital city of Italy.
no: Adverb or interjection meaning 'no' or 'not'.
_eso_: Neuter demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that'.
está: Third-person singular present of 'estar' (to be).
todo: Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all' or 'everything'.
mal: Adjective or adverb meaning 'bad' or 'badly'.
estoy: First-person singular present of 'estar' (to be).
segura: Adjective meaning 'sure' or 'safe' (feminine form).
Debo: First-person singular of 'deber', meaning 'I must'.
haberme: Reflexive infinitive of 'haber', used in perfect constructions.
convertido: Past participle of 'convertir', meaning 'turned into' or 'converted'.
en: Preposition meaning 'in', 'on', or 'into'.
Intentaré: First-person future of 'intentar', meaning 'I will try'.
recitar: To recite or speak aloud from memory.
'_Cómo: Interrogative or exclamative adverb meaning 'how'.
el: Masculine definite article meaning 'the'.
pequeño_—': Adjective meaning 'small' or 'little' (masculine form).
cruzó: Third-person singular preterite of 'cruzar', meaning 'crossed'.
las: Feminine plural definite article meaning 'the'.
manos: Plural noun meaning 'hands'.
sobre: Preposition meaning 'on', 'over', or 'about'.
su: Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'.
regazo: Noun meaning 'lap', the area formed by sitting thighs.
como: Conjunction or adverb meaning 'like', 'as', or 'how'.
si: Conjunction meaning 'if' or 'whether'.
estuviera: Imperfect subjunctive of 'estar', meaning 'were' or 'was'.
recitando: Present participle of 'recitar', meaning 'reciting'.
lecciones: Plural noun meaning 'lessons'.
comenzó: Third-person preterite of 'comenzar', meaning 'began'.
a: Preposition meaning 'to' or 'at'.
repetirlo: Infinitive 'repetir' plus pronoun, meaning 'to repeat it'.
pero: Conjunction meaning 'but'.
voz: Noun meaning 'voice'.
sonaba: Third-person imperfect of 'sonar', meaning 'sounded'.
ronca: Adjective meaning 'hoarse' or 'husky' (feminine form).
extraña: Adjective meaning 'strange' or 'foreign' (feminine form).
palabras: Plural noun meaning 'words'.
salían: Third-person plural imperfect of 'salir', meaning 'came out'.
igual: Adjective or adverb meaning 'the same' or 'equal'.
que: Conjunction or relative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'than'.
antes: Adverb meaning 'before' or 'previously'.
Cómo: Interrogative or exclamative adverb meaning 'how'.
pequeño: Adjective meaning 'small' or 'little' (masculine form).
cocodrilo: Noun meaning 'crocodile', a large reptile.
Mejora: Verb or noun meaning 'improves' or 'improvement'.
brillante: Adjective meaning 'bright', 'shining', or 'brilliant'.
cola: Noun meaning 'tail' or 'queue'.
Y: Conjunction meaning 'and'.
vierte: Third-person singular present of 'verter', meaning 'pours'.
aguas: Plural noun meaning 'waters'.
del: Contraction of 'de' and 'el', meaning 'of the'.
Sobre: Preposition meaning 'on', 'over', or 'upon'.
cada: Adjective meaning 'each' or 'every'.
escama: Noun meaning 'scale', as on a fish or reptile.
dorada: Adjective meaning 'golden' or 'gilded' (feminine form).
Qué: Interrogative or exclamative pronoun meaning 'what' or 'how'.
alegremente: Adverb meaning 'cheerfully' or 'happily'.
parece: Third-person singular present of 'parecer', meaning 'seems'.
sonreír: Infinitive meaning 'to smile'.
pulcramente: Adverb meaning 'neatly' or 'tidily'.
extiende: Third-person singular present of 'extender', meaning 'extends'.
sus: Plural possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'their'.
garras: Plural noun meaning 'claws' or 'talons'.
da: Third-person singular present of 'dar', meaning 'gives'.
bienvenida: Noun or adjective meaning 'welcome' (feminine form).
los: Masculine plural definite article meaning 'the'.
pececillos: Diminutive plural noun meaning 'little fish'.
Con: Preposition meaning 'with'.
suaves: Plural adjective meaning 'soft', 'smooth', or 'gentle'.
sonrientes: Plural adjective meaning 'smiling'.
fauces: Plural noun meaning 'jaws' or 'throat'.
Estoy: First-person singular present of 'estar', meaning 'I am'.
esas: Feminine plural demonstrative adjective meaning 'those'.
son: Third-person plural present of 'ser', meaning 'are'.
correctas: Plural adjective meaning 'correct' or 'right' (feminine).
dijo: Third-person singular preterite of 'decir', meaning 'said'.
pobre: Adjective meaning 'poor' or 'unfortunate'.
ojos: Plural noun meaning 'eyes'.
se: Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself', 'herself', or 'itself'.
llenaron: Third-person plural preterite of 'llenar', meaning 'filled'.
lágrimas: Plural noun meaning 'tears' (from crying).
nuevamente: Adverb meaning 'again' or 'once more'.
mientras: Conjunction meaning 'while' or 'as long as'.
continuaba: Third-person imperfect of 'continuar', meaning 'continued'.
Al: Contraction of 'a' and 'el', meaning 'to the' or 'at the'.
fin: Noun meaning 'end' or 'purpose'.
al: Contraction of 'a' and 'el', meaning 'to the'.
cabo: Noun meaning 'end', 'cape', or 'corporal'; used in 'al fin y al cabo'.
debo: First-person singular present of 'deber', meaning 'I must'.
ser: Infinitive meaning 'to be' (permanent states).
tendré: First-person future of 'tener', meaning 'I will have'.
ir: Infinitive meaning 'to go'.
vivir: Infinitive meaning 'to live'.
esa: Feminine singular demonstrative adjective meaning 'that'.
casita: Diminutive noun meaning 'little house'.
estrecha: Adjective meaning 'narrow' or 'tight' (feminine form).
tener: Infinitive meaning 'to have'.
casi: Adverb meaning 'almost' or 'nearly'.
ningún: Adjective meaning 'no' or 'not any' (before masculine noun).
juguete: Noun meaning 'toy'.
con: Preposition meaning 'with'.
jugar: Infinitive meaning 'to play'.
oh: Interjection expressing surprise or emotion.
tantísimas: Superlative adjective meaning 'so very many' (feminine plural).
aprender: Infinitive meaning 'to learn'.
No: Adverb or interjection meaning 'no' or 'not'.
ya: Adverb meaning 'already', 'now', or 'no longer'.
me: First-person singular reflexive or object pronoun, 'me'.
he: First-person singular present of 'haber', auxiliary 'have'.
decidido: Past participle of 'decidir', meaning 'decided'.
respecto: Noun meaning 'regard' or 'respect'; used in 'al respecto'.
soy: First-person singular present of 'ser', meaning 'I am'.
quedaré: First-person future of 'quedar', meaning 'I will stay'.
aquí: Adverb meaning 'here'.
abajo: Adverb meaning 'below' or 'down'.
servirá: Third-person future of 'servir', meaning 'will serve' or 'help'.
nada: Pronoun or adverb meaning 'nothing' or 'not at all'.
asomen: Third-person plural present subjunctive of 'asomar', meaning 'peek out'.
cabeza: Noun meaning 'head'.
digan: Third-person plural present subjunctive of 'decir', meaning 'say'.
Sube: Second-person singular imperative of 'subir', meaning 'go up'.
nuevo: Adjective meaning 'new'; in 'de nuevo' means 'again'.
querida: Adjective or noun meaning 'dear' or 'darling' (feminine).
Solo: Adjective or adverb meaning 'alone' or 'only'.
miraré: First-person future of 'mirar', meaning 'I will look'.
hacia: Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'in the direction of'.
arriba: Adverb meaning 'up' or 'above'.
diré: First-person future of 'decir', meaning 'I will say'.
Quién: Interrogative pronoun meaning 'who'.
entonces: Adverb meaning 'then' or 'so'.
Dímelo: Imperative of 'decir' with pronouns, meaning 'tell me it'.
primero: Ordinal adjective or adverb meaning 'first'.
luego: Adverb meaning 'then', 'later', or 'afterwards'.
gusta: Third-person singular present of 'gustar', meaning 'is pleasing'.
persona: Noun meaning 'person'.
subiré: First-person future of 'subir', meaning 'I will go up'.
hasta: Preposition meaning 'until', 'up to', or 'even'.
otra: Adjective meaning 'other' or 'another' (feminine form).
ay: Interjection expressing pain, surprise, or distress.
Dios: Noun meaning 'God'; used in exclamations like 'Dios mío'.
mío: Possessive pronoun meaning 'mine' or 'my' (masculine form).

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