Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Page 5
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(Dinah was the cat.) "I hope they'll remember her saucer of milk at tea-time.
(Dinah était le chat.) « J'espère qu'ils se souviendront de sa soucoupe de lait à l'heure du thé.
Dinah my dear! I wish you were down here with me!
Dinah, ma chérie ! Je voudrais que tu sois ici en bas avec moi !
There are no mice in the air, I'm afraid, but you might catch a bat, and that's very like a mouse, you know.
Il n'y a pas de souris dans l'air, j'en ai peur, mais tu pourrais attraper une chauve-souris, et c'est très ressemblant à une souris, tu sais.
But do cats eat bats, I wonder?"
Mais est-ce que les chats mangent des chauve-souris, je me demande ? »
And here Alice began to get rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, "Do cats eat bats?
Et là Alice commença à avoir plutôt sommeil, et continua à se dire, d'une manière rêveuse, « Les chats mangent-ils des chauve-souris ?
Do cats eat bats?" and sometimes, "Do bats eat cats?"
Les chats mangent-ils des chauve-souris ? » et parfois, « Les chauve-souris mangent-elles des chats ? »
for, you see, as she couldn't answer either question, it didn't much matter which way she put it.
car, vous voyez, comme elle ne pouvait répondre à aucune des deux questions, cela n'avait guère d'importance dans quel sens elle la posait.
She felt that she was dozing off, and had just begun to dream that she was walking hand in hand with Dinah, and saying to her very earnestly, "Now, Dinah, tell me the truth: did you ever eat a bat?"
Elle sentait qu'elle s'assoupissait, et venait juste de commencer à rêver qu'elle marchait main dans la main avec Dinah, et lui disait très sérieusement, « Alors, Dinah, dis-moi la vérité : as-tu jamais mangé une chauve-souris ? »
when suddenly, thump! thump! down she came upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves, and the fall was over.
quand soudain, boum ! boum ! elle tomba sur un tas de bâtons et de feuilles sèches, et la chute était terminée.
Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment:
Alice n'était pas du tout blessée, et elle se releva d'un bond en un instant :
she looked up, but it was all dark overhead;
elle leva les yeux, mais il faisait tout noir au-dessus d'elle ;
before her was another long passage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it.
devant elle se trouvait un autre long couloir, et le Lapin Blanc était encore visible, se dépêchant de le descendre.
Vocabulary
- était
- Was; third-person singular imperfect of être.
- le
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- chat
- Cat; a common domesticated feline animal.
- J'
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun, elided.
- espère
- Hope; first-person singular present of espérer.
- qu'
- That; subordinating conjunction, elided form.
- ils
- They; third-person plural masculine subject pronoun.
- se
- Themselves; reflexive pronoun for third person.
- souviendront
- Will remember; third-person plural future of souvenir.
- de
- Of/from; common French preposition indicating possession.
- sa
- Her/his; feminine singular possessive adjective.
- soucoupe
- Saucer; small dish placed under a cup.
- lait
- Milk; white liquid produced by mammals.
- à
- At/to; common French preposition indicating location or time.
- l'
- The; elided definite article before a vowel.
- heure
- Hour/time; unit measuring sixty minutes.
- du
- Of the; contracted masculine singular definite article.
- thé
- Tea; hot beverage made from dried leaves.
- ma
- My; feminine singular possessive adjective.
- chérie
- Darling/dear; affectionate term of endearment.
- Je
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun.
- voudrais
- Would like; first-person singular conditional of vouloir.
- que
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing a clause.
- tu
- You; second-person singular informal subject pronoun.
- sois
- Be; second-person singular subjunctive of être.
- ici
- Here; adverb indicating this present location.
- en
- In/on; preposition indicating location or state.
- bas
- Down/below; adverb or adjective indicating low position.
- avec
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or association.
- moi
- Me; first-person singular stressed pronoun.
- Il
- It/he; third-person singular masculine subject pronoun.
- n'
- Not; first part of French negation, elided.
- y
- There; adverbial pronoun replacing a place.
- a
- Has/there is; third-person singular present of avoir.
- pas
- Not; second part of French negation.
- souris
- Mouse; small rodent often chased by cats.
- dans
- In/inside; preposition indicating location within something.
- air
- Air; invisible gaseous mixture surrounding the earth.
- j'
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun, elided.
- ai
- Have; first-person singular present of avoir.
- peur
- Fear; unpleasant emotion caused by perceived danger.
- mais
- But; coordinating conjunction indicating contrast.
- pourrais
- Could; first-person singular conditional of pouvoir.
- attraper
- To catch; to seize or grab something.
- une
- A/an; feminine singular indefinite article.
- chauve
- Bald; having no hair on the head.
- et
- And; coordinating conjunction linking words or clauses.
- c'
- It/this; demonstrative pronoun ce, elided form.
- est
- Is; third-person singular present of être.
- très
- Very; adverb intensifying an adjective or adverb.
- ressemblant
- Similar/resembling; looking like something or someone.
- sais
- Know; first-person singular present of savoir.
- Mais
- But; coordinating conjunction indicating contrast or opposition.
- ce
- This/that; demonstrative adjective or pronoun.
- les
- The; plural definite article for masculine or feminine.
- chats
- Cats; plural of chat, domesticated feline animals.
- mangent
- Eat; third-person plural present of manger.
- des
- Some/of the; plural indefinite or partitive article.
- je
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun.
- me
- Me/myself; first-person singular reflexive pronoun.
- demande
- Wonder/ask; first-person singular present of demander.
- Et
- And; coordinating conjunction linking clauses or words.
- là
- There; adverb indicating a specific place or moment.
- commença
- Began; third-person singular simple past of commencer.
- avoir
- To have; infinitive of the verb avoir.
- plutôt
- Rather/quite; adverb indicating preference or degree.
- sommeil
- Sleep/sleepiness; the natural state of rest.
- continua
- Continued; third-person singular simple past of continuer.
- dire
- To say; infinitive of the verb dire.
- d'
- Of/from; elided preposition de before a vowel.
- manière
- Manner/way; the style or method of doing something.
- rêveuse
- Dreamy; adjective describing a daydreaming or dreamy state.
- Les
- The; plural definite article for masculine or feminine.
- parfois
- Sometimes; adverb indicating occasional occurrence.
- elles
- They; third-person plural feminine subject pronoun.
- car
- Because/for; coordinating conjunction explaining a reason.
- vous
- You; second-person plural or formal subject pronoun.
- voyez
- See; second-person plural present of voir.
- comme
- As/like; conjunction or adverb indicating comparison.
- elle
- She/it; third-person singular feminine subject pronoun.
- ne
- Not; first part of French negation construction.
- pouvait
- Could; third-person singular imperfect of pouvoir.
- répondre
- To answer/reply; to give a response to something.
- aucune
- None/neither; feminine negative adjective or pronoun.
- deux
- Two; the cardinal number following one.
- questions
- Questions; plural of question, interrogative statements.
- cela
- That; demonstrative pronoun referring to something distant.
- avait
- Had; third-person singular imperfect of avoir.
- guère
- Hardly/scarcely; adverb indicating very little importance.
- importance
- Importance; the quality of being significant or valuable.
- quel
- Which/what; masculine interrogative or exclamatory adjective.
- sens
- Sense/direction; meaning or logical interpretation.
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article.
- posait
- Was asking/posing; third-person singular imperfect of poser.
- Elle
- She; third-person singular feminine subject pronoun.
- sentait
- Felt/sensed; third-person singular imperfect of sentir.
- s'
- Himself/herself; elided reflexive pronoun.
- assoupissait
- Was dozing off; third-person singular imperfect of assoupir.
- venait
- Was coming; third-person singular imperfect of venir.
- juste
- Just/only; adverb indicating something barely or recently.
- commencer
- To begin/start; infinitive of the verb commencer.
- rêver
- To dream; to experience images during sleep.
- marchait
- Was walking; third-person singular imperfect of marcher.
- main
- Hand; the body part at the end of the arm.
- lui
- Him/her; third-person singular indirect object pronoun.
- disait
- Was saying; third-person singular imperfect of dire.
- sérieusement
- Seriously; adverb indicating a grave or earnest manner.
- Alors
- So/then; adverb indicating a consequence or transition.
- dis
- Tell/say; second-person singular imperative of dire.
- vérité
- Truth; the quality of being in accordance with fact.
- as
- Have; second-person singular present of avoir.
- jamais
- Never/ever; adverb indicating at no time.
- mangé
- Eaten; past participle of manger.
- quand
- When; conjunction or adverb indicating a time.
- soudain
- Suddenly; adverb indicating something happening unexpectedly.
- boum
- Bang/thump; onomatopoeia for a sudden loud noise.
- tomba
- Fell; third-person singular simple past of tomber.
- sur
- On/upon; preposition indicating position on top.
- un
- A/an; masculine singular indefinite article.
- tas
- Pile/heap; a gathered accumulation of objects.
- bâtons
- Sticks; plural of bâton, thin rigid rods.
- feuilles
- Leaves; plural of feuille, flat parts of plants.
- sèches
- Dry; feminine plural adjective meaning not wet.
- chute
- Fall; the act of dropping or descending suddenly.
- terminée
- Finished/over; feminine past participle of terminer.
- tout
- All/quite; adjective or adverb indicating entirety.
- blessée
- Injured/hurt; feminine past participle of blesser.
- releva
- Got back up; third-person singular simple past of relever.
- bond
- Leap/jump; a sudden spring or bound upward.
- instant
- Instant/moment; a very brief period of time.
- leva
- Raised/lifted; third-person singular simple past of lever.
- yeux
- Eyes; plural of œil, organs used for seeing.
- il
- It/he; third-person singular masculine subject pronoun.
- faisait
- Was/made; third-person singular imperfect of faire.
- noir
- Dark/black; adjective indicating absence of light.
- au
- To the/at the; contracted masculine definite article.
- dessus
- Above/overhead; adverb indicating a higher position.
- devant
- In front of; preposition indicating position ahead.
- trouvait
- Found/was located; third-person singular imperfect of trouver.
- autre
- Other/another; adjective indicating a different one.
- long
- Long; adjective describing great length or distance.
- couloir
- Corridor/hallway; a long narrow passage in a building.
- Lapin
- Rabbit; a small furry mammal with long ears.
- Blanc
- White; adjective describing the color white.
- encore
- Still/yet/again; adverb indicating continuation or repetition.
- visible
- Visible; able to be seen with the eyes.
- dépêchant
- Hurrying; present participle of dépêcher, to rush.
- descendre
- To go down; to move from a higher position.
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