Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Page 6

English → Fr Preface Level 5/10

she was up to her chin in salt water.

elle avait de l'eau salée jusqu'au menton.

Her first idea was that she had somehow fallen into the sea, "and in that case I can go back by railway," she said to herself.

Sa première pensée fut qu'elle était tombée dans la mer d'une façon ou d'une autre, « et dans ce cas je peux rentrer en chemin de fer, » se dit-elle.

(Alice had been to the seaside once in her life, and had come to the general conclusion, that wherever you go to on the English coast you find a number of bathing machines in the sea, some children digging in the sand with wooden spades, then a row of lodging houses, and behind them a railway station.)

(Alice était allée une fois au bord de la mer dans sa vie, et en avait conclu en général que partout où l'on va sur la côte anglaise, on trouve un certain nombre de cabines de bains dans la mer, des enfants qui creusent le sable avec des pelles en bois, puis une rangée de maisons de pension, et derrière elles une gare de chemin de fer.)

However, she soon made out that she was in the pool of tears which she had wept when she was nine feet high.

Cependant, elle reconnut bientôt qu'elle était dans la mare de larmes qu'elle avait versées quand elle mesurait neuf pieds de haut.

"I wish I hadn't cried so much!" said Alice, as she swam about, trying to find her way out.

« Je voudrais n'avoir pas tant pleuré ! » dit Alice, en nageant de tous côtés pour trouver une issue.

"I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears!

« Je vais en être punie maintenant, je suppose, en me noyant dans mes propres larmes !

That _will_ be a queer thing, to be sure!

Ce sera vraiment une chose bien étrange, à coup sûr !

However, everything is queer to-day."

Cependant, tout est étrange aujourd'hui. »

Just then she heard something splashing about in the pool a little way off, and she swam nearer to make out what it was: at first she thought it must be a walrus or hippopotamus, but then she remembered how small she was now, and she soon made out that it was only a mouse that had slipped in like herself.

Juste à ce moment elle entendit quelque chose patauger dans la mare non loin d'elle, et elle nagea dans cette direction pour voir ce que c'était : d'abord elle pensa que ce devait être un morse ou un hippopotame, mais elle se rappela ensuite combien elle était petite maintenant, et elle reconnut bientôt que c'était seulement une souris qui avait glissé dans la mare comme elle.

"Would it be of any use, now," thought Alice, "to speak to this mouse?

« Serait-il utile, maintenant, » pensa Alice, « d'adresser la parole à cette souris ?

Vocabulary

avait: Third person singular imperfect of 'avoir', meaning 'had'.
eau: Common noun meaning 'water'.
salée: Adjective meaning 'salty' or 'salted', feminine form.
jusqu': Preposition meaning 'until' or 'up to', used before vowels.
menton: Noun meaning 'chin', part of the face.
première: Ordinal adjective meaning 'first', feminine form.
pensée: Noun meaning 'thought' or 'idea' in one's mind.
fut: Third person singular simple past of 'être', meaning 'was'.
était: Third person singular imperfect of 'être', meaning 'was'.
tombée: Past participle of 'tomber', meaning 'fallen', feminine form.
mer: Noun meaning 'sea', a large body of saltwater.
façon: Noun meaning 'way' or 'manner' of doing something.
autre: Adjective or pronoun meaning 'other' or 'another'.
cas: Noun meaning 'case' or 'situation' or 'instance'.
peux: First person singular present of 'pouvoir', meaning 'can'.
rentrer: Verb meaning 'to return home' or 'to go back'.
chemin: Noun meaning 'path', 'road', or 'way' somewhere.
fer: Noun meaning 'iron'; 'chemin de fer' means 'railway'.
dit: Third person singular past of 'dire', meaning 'said'.
allée: Past participle of 'aller', meaning 'gone'; also 'path'.
fois: Noun meaning 'time' or 'occasion' in a sequence.
bord: Noun meaning 'edge', 'shore', or 'side' of something.
vie: Noun meaning 'life' in all its senses.
conclu: Past participle of 'conclure', meaning 'concluded' or 'decided'.
général: Adjective or noun meaning 'general' in most contexts.
partout: Adverb meaning 'everywhere' or 'all over' a place.
où: Relative adverb meaning 'where' or 'when' in context.
on: Indefinite pronoun meaning 'one', 'we', or 'people'.
va: Third person singular present of 'aller', meaning 'goes'.
côte: Noun meaning 'coast', 'shore', or 'rib' depending on context.
anglaise: Adjective meaning 'English', feminine form referring to England.
trouve: Third person singular of 'trouver', meaning 'finds' or 'there is'.
certain: Adjective meaning 'certain', 'some', or 'a particular' amount.
nombre: Noun meaning 'number' or 'quantity' of items.
cabines: Noun meaning 'cabins' or 'changing booths' at a beach.
bains: Noun meaning 'baths'; 'cabines de bains' means bathing huts.
enfants: Noun meaning 'children', young boys and girls.
creusent: Third person plural of 'creuser', meaning 'dig' into something.
sable: Noun meaning 'sand', found on beaches or in deserts.
pelles: Noun meaning 'shovels' or 'spades', tools for digging.
bois: Noun meaning 'wood' as a material or 'woods' as forest.
puis: Adverb meaning 'then' or 'next' in a sequence of events.
rangée: Noun meaning 'row' or 'line' of objects or people.
maisons: Noun meaning 'houses' or 'homes' as buildings.
pension: Noun meaning 'guesthouse', 'boarding house', or 'pension'.
derrière: Preposition meaning 'behind' or 'at the back of'.
gare: Noun meaning 'train station' or 'railway station'.
Cependant: Adverb or conjunction meaning 'however', 'yet', or 'meanwhile'.
reconnut: Third person singular past of 'reconnaître', meaning 'recognized'.
bientôt: Adverb meaning 'soon' or 'before long' in time.
mare: Noun meaning 'pond' or 'pool' of still water.
larmes: Noun meaning 'tears' shed from the eyes when crying.
versées: Past participle of 'verser', meaning 'shed' or 'poured', feminine plural.
quand: Conjunction or adverb meaning 'when' in time.
mesurait: Third person singular imperfect of 'mesurer', meaning 'measured'.
neuf: Number meaning 'nine' or adjective meaning 'new'.
pieds: Noun meaning 'feet', unit of measurement or body part.
haut: Adjective or adverb meaning 'high', 'tall', or 'loud'.
voudrais: First person conditional of 'vouloir', meaning 'would like'.
avoir: Infinitive verb meaning 'to have' in all senses.
tant: Adverb meaning 'so much' or 'so many' in quantity.
pleuré: Past participle of 'pleurer', meaning 'cried' or 'wept'.
nageant: Present participle of 'nager', meaning 'swimming' in water.
tous: Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all' or 'every', masculine plural.
côtés: Noun meaning 'sides' or 'directions' around someone.
trouver: Infinitive verb meaning 'to find' or 'to discover'.
issue: Noun meaning 'exit', 'way out', or 'outcome' of situation.
vais: First person singular present of 'aller', meaning 'I go'.
être: Infinitive verb meaning 'to be' in all contexts.
punie: Past participle of 'punir', meaning 'punished', feminine form.
maintenant: Adverb meaning 'now' or 'at this moment in time'.
suppose: Verb meaning 'I suppose' or 'I assume' something is true.
noyant: Present participle of 'noyer', meaning 'drowning' in water.
propres: Adjective meaning 'own' (emphatic) or 'clean' in French.
sera: Third person singular future of 'être', meaning 'will be'.
vraiment: Adverb meaning 'really', 'truly', or 'indeed' for emphasis.
chose: Noun meaning 'thing' or 'matter' in general terms.
bien: Adverb or adjective meaning 'well', 'good', or 'very'.
étrange: Adjective meaning 'strange', 'odd', or 'unusual' in nature.
coup: Noun meaning 'blow', 'hit'; 'à coup sûr' means 'certainly'.
sûr: Adjective meaning 'sure', 'certain', or 'safe'.
tout: Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all', 'everything', or 'quite'.
aujourd': Part of 'aujourd'hui', meaning 'today' in modern French.
Juste: Adjective or adverb meaning 'just', 'right', or 'exactly'.
moment: Noun meaning 'moment' or 'instant' in time.
entendit: Third person singular past of 'entendre', meaning 'heard'.
quelque: Adjective meaning 'some', 'a few', or 'any' quantity.
patauger: Verb meaning 'to splash about' or 'to wade' in water.
loin: Adverb meaning 'far' or 'far away' in distance.
nagea: Third person singular past of 'nager', meaning 'swam'.
cette: Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' or 'that', feminine form.
direction: Noun meaning 'direction' or 'way' toward something.
voir: Infinitive verb meaning 'to see' or 'to look at'.
abord: Used in 'd'abord', meaning 'first' or 'at first'.
pensa: Third person singular past of 'penser', meaning 'thought'.
devait: Third person singular imperfect of 'devoir', meaning 'must be'.
morse: Noun meaning 'walrus', a large marine animal with tusks.
hippopotame: Noun meaning 'hippopotamus', a large semi-aquatic African animal.
rappela: Third person singular past of 'rappeler', meaning 'remembered'.
ensuite: Adverb meaning 'then', 'next', or 'afterwards' in sequence.
combien: Adverb meaning 'how much' or 'how many' in quantity.
petite: Adjective meaning 'small' or 'little', feminine form.
seulement: Adverb meaning 'only', 'just', or 'merely' in restriction.
souris: Noun meaning 'mouse', a small rodent.
glissé: Past participle of 'glisser', meaning 'slipped' or 'slid' along.
comme: Conjunction or adverb meaning 'like', 'as', or 'how'.
Serait: Third person singular conditional of 'être', meaning 'would be'.
utile: Adjective meaning 'useful' or 'helpful' for some purpose.
adresser: Verb meaning 'to address' or 'to speak to' someone.
parole: Noun meaning 'word', 'speech', or 'the floor' in discourse.

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