Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Page 4
London is the capital of Paris, and Paris is the capital of Rome, and Rome—no, _that's_ all wrong, I'm certain!
Londra è la capitale di Parigi, e Parigi è la capitale di Roma, e Roma—no, _questo_ è tutto sbagliato, ne sono certa!
I must have been changed for Mabel!
Devo essere stata scambiata con 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:—
Proverò a recitare '_Come fa il piccolo_—'" e incrociò le mani in grembo come se stesse ripetendo le lezioni, e cominciò a recitarla, ma la sua voce suonava rauca e strana, e le parole non venivano come erano solite venire:—
"How doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tail, And pour the waters of the Nile On every golden scale!
«Come fa il piccolo coccodrillo A migliorare la sua lucente coda, E a versare le acque del Nilo Su ogni dorata squama!
"How cheerfully he seems to grin, How neatly spread his claws, And welcome little fishes in With gently smiling jaws!"
«Come allegramente sembra sogghignare, Come elegantemente distende gli artigli, E dà il benvenuto ai pesciolini Con le mascelle che sorridono dolcemente!»
"I'm sure those are not the right words," said poor Alice, and her eyes filled with tears again as she went on,
«Sono sicura che queste non sono le parole giuste,» disse la povera Alice, e i suoi occhi si riempirono di nuovo di lacrime mentre continuava,
"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!
«Devo essere Mabel dopotutto, e dovrò andare a vivere in quella piccola casa angusta, e avere quasi nessun giocattolo con cui giocare, e oh! così tante lezioni da imparare!
No, I've made up my mind about it; if I'm Mabel, I'll stay down here!
No, ho deciso; se sono Mabel, resterò quaggiù!
It'll be no use their putting their heads down and saying 'Come up again, dear!'
Non servirà a niente che loro chinino la testa e dicano 'Risali su, cara!'
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!
Mi limiterò a guardare su e a dire 'Chi sono allora? Dimmelo prima, e poi, se mi piace essere quella persona, salirò su: altrimenti, resterò quaggiù finché non sarò qualcun altro'—ma, oh cielo!
Vocabulary
- Londra
- Capital city of England and the United Kingdom
- è
- Third person singular present tense of 'essere' (to be)
- la
- Feminine definite article meaning 'the'
- capitale
- The main city of a country or region
- di
- Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'
- Parigi
- Capital city of France
- e
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- Roma
- Capital city of Italy
- no
- Word used to express negation or disagreement
- _questo_
- Demonstrative pronoun or adjective meaning 'this'
- tutto
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all' or 'everything'
- sbagliato
- Adjective meaning wrong, incorrect, or mistaken
- ne
- Pronoun meaning 'of it,' 'of them,' or 'some'
- sono
- First person plural or singular present of 'essere'
- certa
- Feminine adjective meaning sure, certain, or confident
- Devo
- First person singular of 'dovere,' meaning I must
- essere
- Infinitive verb meaning 'to be'
- stata
- Past participle of 'essere,' feminine form, meaning 'been'
- scambiata
- Past participle of 'scambiare,' meaning mistaken or exchanged
- con
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- Proverò
- First person future of 'provare,' meaning I will try
- a
- Preposition meaning 'to,' 'at,' or 'in'
- recitare
- Infinitive verb meaning to recite, act, or perform
- '_Come
- Adverb meaning 'how,' introducing a question or exclamation
- fa
- Third person singular present of 'fare,' meaning does or makes
- il
- Masculine singular definite article meaning 'the'
- piccolo_—'
- Adjective meaning small, little, or young
- incrociò
- Third person singular past of 'incrociare,' meaning crossed
- le
- Feminine plural definite article or indirect pronoun 'her'
- mani
- Plural noun meaning 'hands'
- in
- Preposition meaning 'in,' 'into,' or 'at'
- grembo
- Noun meaning lap or womb of a person
- come
- Adverb or conjunction meaning 'how,' 'as,' or 'like'
- se
- Conjunction meaning 'if' or reflexive pronoun 'himself'
- stesse
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'stare,' meaning were staying or doing
- ripetendo
- Gerund of 'ripetere,' meaning repeating or going over again
- lezioni
- Plural noun meaning lessons or classes
- cominciò
- Third person singular past of 'cominciare,' meaning began
- recitarla
- Infinitive 'recitare' plus pronoun 'la,' meaning to recite it
- ma
- Conjunction meaning 'but,' introducing a contrasting idea
- sua
- Feminine possessive adjective meaning 'her,' 'his,' or 'its'
- voce
- Noun meaning voice or the sound of speaking
- suonava
- Imperfect of 'suonare,' meaning sounded or was sounding
- rauca
- Feminine adjective meaning hoarse, husky, or rough-sounding
- strana
- Feminine adjective meaning strange, odd, or unusual
- parole
- Plural noun meaning words or spoken expressions
- non
- Adverb of negation meaning 'not'
- venivano
- Imperfect plural of 'venire,' meaning were coming or came
- erano
- Imperfect plural of 'essere,' meaning 'they were'
- solite
- Feminine plural adjective meaning usual, accustomed, or habitual
- venire
- Infinitive verb meaning 'to come'
- Come
- Adverb meaning 'how,' used to ask or exclaim
- piccolo
- Masculine adjective meaning small, little, or young
- coccodrillo
- Noun meaning crocodile, a large reptile
- A
- Preposition meaning 'to,' 'at,' or used before infinitives
- migliorare
- Infinitive verb meaning to improve or to get better
- lucente
- Adjective meaning shining, gleaming, or bright
- coda
- Noun meaning tail or queue
- E
- Conjunction meaning 'and,' connecting words or clauses
- versare
- Infinitive verb meaning to pour or to shed
- acque
- Plural noun meaning waters or bodies of water
- del
- Contraction of 'di' and 'il,' meaning 'of the'
- Su
- Preposition meaning 'on,' 'upon,' or 'up'
- ogni
- Adjective meaning 'every' or 'each'
- dorata
- Feminine adjective meaning golden or gilded
- squama
- Noun meaning scale, as on a fish or reptile
- allegramente
- Adverb meaning cheerfully, merrily, or happily
- sembra
- Third person singular of 'sembrare,' meaning seems or appears
- sogghignare
- Infinitive verb meaning to sneer, smirk, or grin slyly
- elegantemente
- Adverb meaning elegantly, gracefully, or in a refined manner
- distende
- Third person singular of 'distendere,' meaning stretches out
- gli
- Masculine plural article or indirect pronoun meaning 'to him'
- artigli
- Plural noun meaning claws or talons of an animal
- dà
- Third person singular of 'dare,' meaning gives
- benvenuto
- Noun or adjective meaning welcome or a warm greeting
- ai
- Contraction of 'a' and 'i,' meaning 'to the' (masculine plural)
- pesciolini
- Diminutive plural of 'pesce,' meaning little fish
- Con
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- mascelle
- Plural noun meaning jaws or jawbones
- che
- Relative pronoun or conjunction meaning 'that,' 'which,' or 'who'
- sorridono
- Third person plural present of 'sorridere,' meaning smile
- dolcemente
- Adverb meaning sweetly, gently, or softly
- Sono
- First person singular or plural of 'essere,' meaning I am
- sicura
- Feminine adjective meaning sure, safe, or confident
- queste
- Feminine plural demonstrative meaning 'these'
- giuste
- Feminine plural adjective meaning correct, right, or fair
- disse
- Third person singular past of 'dire,' meaning said
- povera
- Feminine adjective meaning poor, wretched, or unfortunate
- i
- Masculine plural definite article meaning 'the'
- suoi
- Masculine plural possessive meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'its'
- occhi
- Plural noun meaning eyes
- si
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself,' 'herself,' or 'itself'
- riempirono
- Third person plural past of 'riempire,' meaning filled up
- nuovo
- Adjective meaning new; in 'di nuovo' means again
- lacrime
- Plural noun meaning tears shed from the eyes
- mentre
- Conjunction meaning 'while' or 'whereas'
- continuava
- Imperfect of 'continuare,' meaning was continuing or kept on
- dopotutto
- Adverb meaning after all or when all is considered
- dovrò
- First person future of 'dovere,' meaning I will have to
- andare
- Infinitive verb meaning 'to go'
- vivere
- Infinitive verb meaning 'to live'
- quella
- Feminine demonstrative adjective meaning 'that'
- piccola
- Feminine adjective meaning small, little, or young
- casa
- Noun meaning house or home
- angusta
- Feminine adjective meaning narrow, cramped, or confined
- avere
- Infinitive verb meaning 'to have'
- quasi
- Adverb meaning almost, nearly, or hardly
- nessun
- Adjective meaning no, none, or not any
- giocattolo
- Noun meaning toy or plaything for children
- cui
- Relative pronoun meaning whom, which, or whose
- giocare
- Infinitive verb meaning to play or to have fun
- oh
- Interjection expressing surprise, wonder, or emotion
- così
- Adverb meaning so, thus, or in this way
- tante
- Feminine plural adjective meaning many or so many
- da
- Preposition meaning from, by, since, or as
- imparare
- Infinitive verb meaning to learn or to study
- No
- Adverb expressing negation or refusal
- ho
- First person singular present of 'avere,' meaning I have
- deciso
- Past participle of 'decidere,' meaning decided or resolved
- resterò
- First person future of 'restare,' meaning I will stay
- quaggiù
- Adverb meaning down here or right below
- Non
- Adverb of negation meaning 'not'
- servirà
- Third person future of 'servire,' meaning will serve or help
- niente
- Pronoun or adverb meaning nothing or not anything
- loro
- Third person plural pronoun meaning they, them, or their
- testa
- Noun meaning head, the top part of the body
- dicano
- Third person plural present subjunctive of 'dire,' meaning say
- Risali
- Second person imperative of 'risalire,' meaning go back up
- su
- Preposition or adverb meaning up, on, or above
- cara
- Feminine adjective meaning dear, beloved, or expensive
- Mi
- First person singular reflexive or indirect pronoun meaning me
- limiterò
- First person future of 'limitarsi,' meaning I will limit myself
- guardare
- Infinitive verb meaning to look at or to watch
- dire
- Infinitive verb meaning to say or to tell
- Chi
- Interrogative pronoun meaning who or whoever
- allora
- Adverb meaning then, so, or at that time
- Dimmelo
- Imperative of 'dire' plus pronouns, meaning tell me it
- prima
- Adverb or adjective meaning first, before, or earlier
- poi
- Adverb meaning then, afterwards, or later
- mi
- First person singular pronoun meaning me or myself
- piace
- Third person singular of 'piacere,' meaning pleases or I like
- persona
- Noun meaning person or individual human being
- salirò
- First person future of 'salire,' meaning I will go up
- altrimenti
- Adverb meaning otherwise or if not
- finché
- Conjunction meaning until or as long as
- sarò
- First person future of 'essere,' meaning I will be
- qualcun
- Indefinite pronoun meaning someone or somebody
- altro
- Adjective or pronoun meaning other, another, or else
- cielo
- Noun meaning sky or heaven
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →