Cranford — Page 9
The whole town knew and kindly regarded Miss Betsy Barker's Alderney; therefore great was the sympathy and regret when, in an unguarded moment, the poor cow tumbled into a lime-pit.
Todo el pueblo conocía y apreciaba con afecto la vaca Alderney de la señorita Betsy Barker; por eso fue grande la compasión y el pesar cuando, en un momento de descuido, la pobre vaca cayó en un pozo de cal.
She moaned so loudly that she was soon heard and rescued; but meanwhile the poor beast had lost most of her hair, and came out looking naked, cold, and miserable, in a bare skin.
Mugió tan fuerte que pronto fue escuchada y rescatada; pero mientras tanto la pobre bestia había perdido la mayor parte de su pelo, y salió con aspecto desnudo, frío y miserable, con la piel al aire.
Everybody pitied the animal, though a few could not restrain their smiles at her droll appearance.
Todo el mundo sentía lástima por el animal, aunque algunos no pudieron contener sus sonrisas ante su cómica apariencia.
Miss Betsy Barker absolutely cried with sorrow and dismay; and it was said she thought of trying a bath of oil.
La señorita Betsy Barker lloró desconsoladamente de pena y consternación; y se decía que pensó en probar un baño de aceite.
This remedy, perhaps, was recommended by some one of the number whose advice she asked; but the proposal, if ever it was made, was knocked on the head by Captain Brown's decided "Get her a flannel waistcoat and flannel drawers, ma'am, if you wish to keep her alive.
Este remedio, quizás, fue recomendado por alguno de los que le dieron consejo; pero la propuesta, si es que alguna vez se hizo, fue rechazada de plano por la tajante opinión del capitán Brown: «Cómprale un chaleco de franela y unos calzones de franela, señora, si desea mantenerla con vida.
But my advice is, kill the poor creature at once."
Pero mi consejo es que mate a la pobre criatura de una vez.»
Miss Betsy Barker dried her eyes, and thanked the Captain heartily; she set to work, and by-and-by all the town turned out to see the Alderney meekly going to her pasture, clad in dark grey flannel.
La señorita Betsy Barker se enjugó los ojos y agradeció efusivamente al capitán; se puso manos a la obra, y al poco tiempo todo el pueblo salió a ver a la vaca Alderney dirigiéndose mansamente a su prado, vestida con franela gris oscura.
I have watched her myself many a time.
Yo misma la he observado muchas veces.
Do you ever see cows dressed in grey flannel in London?
¿Ven ustedes alguna vez vacas vestidas con franela gris en Londres?
[Picture: Meekly going to her pasture]
[Ilustración: Dirigiéndose mansamente a su prado]
Captain Brown had taken a small house on the outskirts of the town, where he lived with his two daughters.
El capitán Brown había alquilado una pequeña casa en las afueras del pueblo, donde vivía con sus dos hijas.
Vocabulary
- Todo
- Everything, all, the entirety of something
- pueblo
- Town, village, or common people
- conocía
- Knew, was acquainted with someone or something
- apreciaba
- Appreciated, valued, or held in esteem
- afecto
- Affection, fondness, warm feeling toward someone
- vaca
- Cow, a female bovine farm animal
- señorita
- Miss, title for an unmarried woman
- por
- For, by, because of, a common preposition
- eso
- That, referring to something previously mentioned
- fue
- Was, went, past tense of ser or ir
- grande
- Great, large, big in size or degree
- compasión
- Compassion, sympathy felt for another's suffering
- pesar
- Sorrow, regret, grief over something unfortunate
- cuando
- When, at the time that something occurs
- momento
- Moment, a brief or specific point in time
- descuido
- Carelessness, moment of inattention or negligence
- pobre
- Poor, unfortunate, evoking pity or sympathy
- cayó
- Fell, dropped down due to gravity or accident
- pozo
- Well, pit, a deep hole dug in ground
- cal
- Lime, a white caustic alkaline substance
- Mugió
- Mooed, made the loud cry of a cow
- tan
- So, as, used to intensify adjectives or adverbs
- fuerte
- Loud, strong, powerful in sound or force
- pronto
- Soon, quickly, in a short amount of time
- escuchada
- Heard, listened to, past participle of escuchar
- rescatada
- Rescued, saved from danger or difficult situation
- pero
- But, however, a contrasting conjunction
- mientras
- While, meanwhile, during the time that
- tanto
- So much, that much, to such a degree
- bestia
- Beast, animal, creature, often used with affection
- había
- Had, there was, imperfect of haber auxiliary
- perdido
- Lost, past participle of perder, to lose
- mayor
- Greater, larger, most, greater in degree
- parte
- Part, portion, a section of a whole
- su
- Her, his, its, their possessive adjective
- pelo
- Hair, fur, coat of an animal
- salió
- Came out, left, exited from a place
- aspecto
- Appearance, aspect, the way something looks
- desnudo
- Bare, naked, exposed without covering
- frío
- Cold, low in temperature, chilly
- miserable
- Miserable, wretched, in a pitiful poor state
- piel
- Skin, hide, the outer covering of body
- al
- To the, contraction of a and el
- aire
- Air, the open atmosphere surrounding us
- mundo
- World, everyone, all people around
- sentía
- Felt, experienced an emotion, imperfect of sentir
- lástima
- Pity, shame, sorrow felt for another's misfortune
- animal
- Animal, a living creature, non-human being
- aunque
- Although, even though, despite the fact that
- algunos
- Some, a few, certain ones among a group
- pudieron
- Could, were able to, preterite of poder
- contener
- To contain, hold back, restrain an impulse
- sus
- Their, his, her, plural possessive adjective
- sonrisas
- Smiles, expressions of amusement on the face
- ante
- Before, faced with, in front of something
- cómica
- Comic, funny, amusing in an absurd way
- apariencia
- Appearance, the way something looks externally
- lloró
- Cried, wept, shed tears due to sadness
- desconsoladamente
- Inconsolably, without comfort, in deep grief
- pena
- Sorrow, grief, sadness, pain of the heart
- consternación
- Consternation, dismay, great anxiety or distress
- se
- Herself, himself, reflexive or impersonal pronoun
- decía
- Said, was saying, imperfect tense of decir
- pensó
- Thought, considered, preterite of pensar
- probar
- To try, test, attempt something as a solution
- baño
- Bath, a washing or soaking of the body
- aceite
- Oil, a liquid fat used for various purposes
- Este
- This, referring to something near the speaker
- remedio
- Remedy, cure, solution to a problem
- quizás
- Perhaps, maybe, expressing uncertainty about something
- recomendado
- Recommended, suggested as a good course of action
- alguno
- Some, someone, an unspecified person or thing
- le
- To her, to him, an indirect object pronoun
- dieron
- Gave, preterite plural of dar, to give
- consejo
- Advice, counsel, a recommendation given to someone
- propuesta
- Proposal, suggestion offered for consideration
- si
- If, whether, a conditional conjunction
- alguna
- Some, any, feminine form of alguno
- vez
- Time, instance, occurrence of something happening
- hizo
- Did, made, preterite of hacer
- rechazada
- Rejected, turned down, refused outright
- plano
- Flat, plain, outright, completely and directly
- tajante
- Sharp, blunt, decisive, cutting in manner
- opinión
- Opinion, a personal view or judgment expressed
- del
- Of the, contraction of de and el
- capitán
- Captain, a military or naval officer of rank
- Cómprale
- Buy for her, imperative of comprar with pronoun
- chaleco
- Vest, waistcoat, a sleeveless garment for the torso
- franela
- Flannel, a soft warm woven fabric material
- unos
- Some, a few, masculine plural indefinite article
- calzones
- Breeches, trousers, leg covering garment
- señora
- Mrs., Madam, title for a married or older woman
- desea
- Wishes, desires, wants something to happen
- mantenerla
- To keep her, maintain her in a condition
- vida
- Life, the state of being alive
- Pero
- But, however, introducing a contrasting statement
- mate
- Will kill, subjunctive of matar, to kill
- criatura
- Creature, small being, often used affectionately
- enjugó
- Wiped, dried, removed tears or moisture
- ojos
- Eyes, the organs used for seeing
- agradeció
- Thanked, expressed gratitude, preterite of agradecer
- efusivamente
- Effusively, warmly, with great emotional enthusiasm
- puso
- Put, placed, set, preterite of poner
- manos
- Hands, the body parts at the end of arms
- obra
- Work, task, a piece of work to be done
- poco
- Little, a small amount of something
- tiempo
- Time, weather, a period or duration
- todo
- Everyone, everything, all without exception
- ver
- To see, to watch, perceive with the eyes
- dirigiéndose
- Heading toward, making one's way to a place
- mansamente
- Gently, meekly, in a calm and docile manner
- prado
- Meadow, pasture, a grassy field for animals
- vestida
- Dressed, clothed, wearing garments on the body
- gris
- Gray, a neutral color between black and white
- oscura
- Dark, deep in color, lacking brightness
- misma
- Myself, herself, the same, used for emphasis
- he
- I have, first person present of haber auxiliary
- observado
- Observed, watched, noticed carefully over time
- muchas
- Many, a large number of feminine plural things
- veces
- Times, occasions, instances when something occurs
- Ven
- Do you see, come, second person of ver or venir
- ustedes
- You all, the formal or Latin American plural you
- vacas
- Cows, plural of vaca, female bovine animals
- vestidas
- Dressed, clothed, plural feminine past participle
- Londres
- London, the capital city of England
- Ilustración
- Illustration, a picture accompanying a text
- Dirigiéndose
- Heading toward, making one's way somewhere
- alquilado
- Rented, leased, obtained in exchange for payment
- pequeña
- Small, little, of a reduced size
- casa
- House, home, a building where people live
- afueras
- Outskirts, suburbs, the edges of a town
- donde
- Where, in which, a relative adverb of place
- vivía
- Lived, was living, imperfect tense of vivir
- dos
- Two, the number two
- hijas
- Daughters, female children of a parent
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