Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Page 5
(Dinah was the cat.)
(Dinah era la gatta.)
"I hope they'll remember her saucer of milk at tea-time.
«Spero che si ricordino della sua ciotola di latte all'ora del tè.
Dinah my dear! I wish you were down here with me!
Dinah, mia cara! Vorrei che tu fossi quaggiù con me!
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.
Nell'aria non ci sono topi, temo, ma potresti prendere un pipistrello, che è molto simile a un topo, sai.
But do cats eat bats, I wonder?"
Ma i gatti mangiano i pipistrelli, mi chiedo?»
And here Alice began to get rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, "Do cats eat bats?
E qui Alice cominciò ad avere piuttosto sonno, e continuò a dire tra sé, in modo sognante, «I gatti mangiano i pipistrelli?
Do cats eat bats?"
I gatti mangiano i pipistrelli?»
and sometimes, "Do bats eat cats?"
e a volte, «I pipistrelli mangiano i gatti?»
for, you see, as she couldn't answer either question, it didn't much matter which way she put it.
poiché, vedete, non riuscendo a rispondere a nessuna delle due domande, non aveva molta importanza in che modo le ponesse.
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?"
Sentiva di stare appisolando, e aveva appena cominciato a sognare di camminare mano nella mano con Dinah, dicendole molto seriamente, «Ora, Dinah, dimmi la verità: hai mai mangiato un pipistrello?»
when suddenly, thump! thump! down she came upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves, and the fall was over.
quando all'improvviso, tump! tump! cadde su un mucchio di ramoscelli e foglie secche, e la caduta era finita.
Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment:
Alice non si era fatta per nulla male, e balzò in piedi in un istante:
she looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long passage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it.
guardò in su, ma era tutto buio sopra di lei; davanti a lei c'era un altro lungo corridoio, e il Coniglio Bianco era ancora visibile, che si affrettava lungo di esso.
Vocabulary
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- la
- The; feminine definite article
- gatta
- Female cat; domestic feline animal
- Spero
- I hope; first person singular of sperare
- che
- That; conjunction introducing subordinate clauses
- si
- Reflexive pronoun; themselves, oneself
- ricordino
- They remember; third person plural subjunctive of ricordare
- della
- Of the; feminine singular preposition plus article
- sua
- Her, his, its; feminine possessive adjective
- ciotola
- Bowl; small dish for food or liquid
- di
- Of; preposition indicating possession or content
- latte
- Milk; white liquid produced by mammals
- all'
- At the; contraction of a plus la or lo
- ora
- Hour, time; a specific moment in time
- del
- Of the; masculine singular preposition plus article
- tè
- Tea; popular hot beverage made from leaves
- mia
- My; feminine singular possessive adjective
- cara
- Dear, darling; affectionate term for someone loved
- Vorrei
- I would like; conditional of volere expressing desire
- tu
- You; second person singular subject pronoun
- fossi
- You were; second person singular imperfect subjunctive of essere
- quaggiù
- Down here; adverb indicating a lower position nearby
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- me
- Me; first person singular stressed object pronoun
- Nell'
- In the; contraction of in plus la or lo
- aria
- Air; the invisible gas mixture surrounding the earth
- non
- Not; negation word used before verbs
- ci
- There, us; particle used in existential constructions
- sono
- Are, am; first or third person plural of essere
- topi
- Mice; plural of topo, small rodents
- temo
- I fear; first person singular of temere
- ma
- But; coordinating conjunction showing contrast
- potresti
- You could; second person singular conditional of potere
- prendere
- To take, catch; common Italian verb of action
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- pipistrello
- Bat; nocturnal flying mammal with leathery wings
- è
- Is; third person singular present of essere
- molto
- Very, much; adverb or adjective of great degree
- simile
- Similar; resembling something else in appearance
- a
- To, at; preposition indicating direction or location
- topo
- Mouse; small rodent commonly found in homes
- sai
- You know; second person singular present of sapere
- Ma
- But; conjunction introducing contrasting information
- i
- The; masculine plural definite article
- gatti
- Cats; plural of gatto, domestic feline animals
- mangiano
- They eat; third person plural present of mangiare
- pipistrelli
- Bats; plural of pipistrello, nocturnal flying mammals
- mi
- Me, myself; first person singular reflexive pronoun
- chiedo
- I ask, I wonder; first person singular of chiedere
- E
- And; basic coordinating conjunction linking clauses
- qui
- Here; adverb indicating a nearby location
- cominciò
- She began; third person singular past of cominciare
- ad
- To; preposition used before vowels instead of a
- avere
- To have; infinitive of common auxiliary verb
- piuttosto
- Rather, quite; adverb indicating a moderate degree
- sonno
- Sleep, sleepiness; the state of needing to sleep
- e
- And; coordinating conjunction linking words or clauses
- continuò
- She continued; third person singular past of continuare
- dire
- To say, to tell; basic Italian verb of speech
- tra
- Between, among; preposition indicating position or relation
- sé
- Herself, oneself; reflexive stressed pronoun
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or manner
- modo
- Way, manner; how something is done or expressed
- sognante
- Dreamy; adjective describing a dreaming, distant manner
- I
- The; masculine plural definite article (literary form)
- volte
- Times; occasions, instances of something happening
- poiché
- Since, because; conjunction indicating cause or reason
- vedete
- You see; second person plural present of vedere
- riuscendo
- Managing, succeeding; gerund of riuscire
- rispondere
- To answer; infinitive of verb meaning to respond
- nessuna
- None, no; feminine indefinite adjective of negation
- delle
- Of the; feminine plural preposition plus article
- due
- Two; the cardinal number 2
- domande
- Questions; plural of domanda, things asked
- aveva
- Had; third person singular imperfect of avere
- molta
- Much, a lot of; feminine adjective of quantity
- importanza
- Importance; the quality of being significant or relevant
- le
- Her, to her; feminine indirect object pronoun
- ponesse
- She posed; imperfect subjunctive of porre
- Sentiva
- She felt; third person singular imperfect of sentire
- stare
- To be, to stay; infinitive of common Italian verb
- appisolando
- Dozing off; gerund of appisolarsi, to fall asleep gently
- appena
- Just, barely; adverb indicating a recent or slight action
- cominciato
- Begun; past participle of cominciare
- sognare
- To dream; infinitive of verb for dreaming
- camminare
- To walk; infinitive of verb for walking
- mano
- Hand; the body part at the end of the arm
- nella
- In the; feminine singular preposition plus article
- dicendole
- Saying to her; gerund of dire with indirect object pronoun
- seriamente
- Seriously; adverb indicating a grave or earnest manner
- Ora
- Now; adverb indicating the present moment
- dimmi
- Tell me; imperative of dire with reflexive mi
- verità
- Truth; the quality of being true or real
- hai
- You have; second person singular present of avere
- mai
- Ever, never; adverb used in questions and negations
- mangiato
- Eaten; past participle of mangiare
- quando
- When; conjunction or adverb of time
- improvviso
- Sudden; adjective for something unexpected or abrupt
- cadde
- She fell; third person singular past of cadere
- su
- On, up; preposition indicating position or direction
- mucchio
- Pile, heap; a collection of things gathered together
- ramoscelli
- Twigs; plural of ramoscello, small branches or sticks
- foglie
- Leaves; plural of foglia, flat parts of plants
- secche
- Dry; feminine plural adjective meaning dried out
- caduta
- Fall; noun indicating the act of falling down
- finita
- Finished, ended; feminine past participle of finire
- fatta
- Done, made; feminine past participle of fare
- per
- For, by, through; preposition with multiple uses
- nulla
- Nothing; indefinite pronoun meaning no harm done
- male
- Badly, harm; adverb or noun indicating injury
- balzò
- She leaped; third person singular past of balzare
- piedi
- Feet; plural of piede, lower limbs for standing
- istante
- Instant, moment; a very brief period of time
- guardò
- She looked; third person singular past of guardare
- tutto
- All, everything; adjective or pronoun of totality
- buio
- Dark, darkness; absence of light in a space
- sopra
- Above, over; preposition indicating a higher position
- lei
- She, her; third person singular feminine pronoun
- davanti
- In front, ahead; adverb indicating forward position
- c'
- There; contracted form of ci before è
- altro
- Another, other; adjective indicating something different
- lungo
- Long; adjective describing great length or extent
- corridoio
- Corridor, hallway; a long passage in a building
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- Coniglio
- Rabbit; small furry mammal with long ears
- Bianco
- White; the colour of snow or pure light
- ancora
- Still, yet, again; adverb of continuation or repetition
- visibile
- Visible; able to be seen with the eyes
- affrettava
- Was hurrying; imperfect of affrettarsi, to rush
- esso
- It; third person singular neuter pronoun
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