Great Expectations — Page 3
A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared, and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.
Un hombre que había sido empapado en agua, y ahogado en barro, y lisiado por las piedras, y cortado por pedernales, y picado por ortigas, y desgarrado por zarzas; que cojeaba, y temblaba, y miraba con furia, y gruñía; y cuyos dientes castañeteaban en su cabeza mientras me agarraba por el mentón.
"Oh! Don't cut my throat, sir," I pleaded in terror. "Pray don't do it, sir."
«¡Oh! No me corte el cuello, señor», supliqué aterrorizado. «Le ruego que no lo haga, señor».
"Tell us your name!" said the man. "Quick!"
«¡Dinos tu nombre!», dijo el hombre. «¡Rápido!»
"Pip, sir."
«Pip, señor».
"Once more," said the man, staring at me. "Give it mouth!"
«Una vez más», dijo el hombre, mirándome fijamente. «¡Dilo en voz alta!»
"Pip. Pip, sir."
«Pip. Pip, señor».
"Show us where you live," said the man. "Pint out the place!"
«Muéstranos dónde vives», dijo el hombre. «¡Señala el lugar!»
I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church.
Señalé hacia donde estaba nuestro pueblo, en la llanura costera entre los alisos y los árboles podados, a una milla o más de la iglesia.
The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets.
El hombre, después de mirarme un momento, me puso boca abajo y vació mis bolsillos.
There was nothing in them but a piece of bread.
No había en ellos más que un trozo de pan.
When the church came to itself,—for he was so sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels before me, and I saw the steeple under my feet,—when the church came to itself, I say, I was seated on a high tombstone, trembling while he ate the bread ravenously.
Cuando la iglesia volvió a su sitio —pues él fue tan repentino y fuerte que la hizo dar volteretas ante mí, y yo vi el campanario bajo mis pies—, cuando la iglesia volvió a su sitio, digo, yo estaba sentado sobre una alta lápida, temblando mientras él devoraba el pan con voracidad.
"You young dog," said the man, licking his lips, "what fat cheeks you ha' got."
«Perro joven», dijo el hombre, lamiéndose los labios, «qué mejillas tan gordas tienes».
I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for my years, and not strong.
Creo que lo eran, aunque en aquel entonces era pequeño para mi edad y no era fuerte.
Vocabulary
- hombre
- An adult male person; a man
- había
- Past perfect auxiliary verb; 'had' (from haber)
- sido
- Past participle of 'ser'; meaning 'been'
- empapado
- Soaked or drenched thoroughly with liquid
- agua
- The liquid essential for life; water
- ahogado
- Drowned or suffocated; overwhelmed by liquid
- barro
- Wet earth mixture; mud or clay
- lisiado
- Physically disabled or crippled due to injury
- piedras
- Solid mineral matter found in nature; stones
- cortado
- Cut or sliced; having received a sharp wound
- pedernales
- Hard flint stones with sharp cutting edges
- picado
- Stung or pricked by something sharp or irritating
- ortigas
- Stinging plants that irritate skin on contact; nettles
- desgarrado
- Torn apart or ripped by force; lacerated
- zarzas
- Thorny shrubs with prickly branches; brambles or briars
- cojeaba
- Was limping; walking unevenly due to injury
- temblaba
- Was trembling or shaking involuntarily from cold or fear
- miraba
- Was looking or gazing at someone or something
- furia
- Intense rage or violent anger; fury
- gruñía
- Was growling or grumbling in a threatening manner
- cuyos
- Relative possessive pronoun meaning 'whose' (masculine plural)
- dientes
- Hard bony structures in the mouth used for chewing; teeth
- castañeteaban
- Were chattering together, as teeth do from cold
- cabeza
- The uppermost part of the body; the head
- mientras
- Conjunction meaning 'while' or 'as' indicating simultaneity
- agarraba
- Was grabbing or gripping tightly with the hand
- mentón
- The lower front part of the face; the chin
- corte
- Imperative form of 'cortar'; meaning 'cut' (formal command)
- cuello
- The part of the body connecting head to torso; neck
- señor
- Respectful title for a man; mister or sir
- supliqué
- I pleaded or begged desperately for something
- aterrorizado
- Filled with extreme terror or intense fear
- ruego
- I beg or entreat; a formal plea for something
- haga
- Subjunctive form of 'hacer'; meaning 'do' or 'make'
- Dinos
- Imperative form; 'tell us' (informal plural command)
- nombre
- A word used to identify a person or thing; name
- dijo
- Third person singular preterite of 'decir'; 'said' or 'told'
- Rápido
- Done with great speed; quickly or fast
- vez
- An occurrence or instance of something happening; time
- más
- Adverb meaning 'more' or 'again' in some contexts
- mirándome
- Looking or staring at me (gerund with pronoun)
- fijamente
- Steadily and intently; staring without looking away
- Dilo
- Imperative command meaning 'say it' (informal)
- voz
- Sound produced by vocal cords; voice
- alta
- Adjective meaning 'loud' or 'high' in volume
- Muéstranos
- Imperative command meaning 'show us' (informal)
- dónde
- Interrogative adverb meaning 'where'
- vives
- Second person singular present tense of 'vivir'; 'you live'
- Señala
- Imperative command meaning 'point' or 'indicate'
- lugar
- A specific area or position in space; place
- Señalé
- First person singular preterite of 'señalar'; 'I pointed'
- hacia
- Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'in the direction of'
- donde
- Relative adverb meaning 'where' indicating location
- estaba
- Past imperfect of 'estar'; 'was' indicating temporary state
- nuestro
- First person plural possessive adjective meaning 'our'
- pueblo
- A small community or settlement; village or town
- llanura
- A large flat expanse of land; plain or flatland
- costera
- Relating to or situated along the coast; coastal
- entre
- Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among'
- alisos
- Deciduous trees growing near water; alder trees
- árboles
- Tall woody perennial plants with trunks and branches; trees
- podados
- Trimmed or pruned; having had branches cut back
- milla
- A unit of distance equal to approximately 1.6 kilometers
- iglesia
- A building used for Christian worship; church
- después
- Adverb meaning 'after' or 'afterwards' in time
- mirarme
- Infinitive with pronoun; 'to look at me'
- momento
- A very brief period of time; a moment or instant
- puso
- Third person singular preterite of 'poner'; 'put' or 'placed'
- boca
- The opening in the face used for eating and speaking; mouth
- abajo
- Adverb meaning 'down' or 'below' in direction
- vació
- Emptied out the contents of something completely
- bolsillos
- Small pouches sewn into clothing for storing items; pockets
- trozo
- A piece or chunk broken or cut from a whole
- pan
- A baked food made from flour and water; bread
- Cuando
- Conjunction meaning 'when,' introducing a time clause
- volvió
- Third person singular preterite of 'volver'; 'returned' or 'turned'
- sitio
- A particular position or location; place or spot
- pues
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'well,' 'since,' or 'then'
- fue
- Third person singular preterite of 'ser' or 'ir'; 'was' or 'went'
- tan
- Adverb meaning 'so' or 'as,' expressing degree or intensity
- repentino
- Happening without warning; sudden or abrupt
- fuerte
- Having great physical power or intensity; strong
- hizo
- Third person singular preterite of 'hacer'; 'made' or 'did'
- dar
- Infinitive meaning 'to give' or 'to do' in expressions
- volteretas
- Acrobatic rolling somersaults or tumbles through the air
- ante
- Preposition meaning 'before' or 'in front of'
- vi
- First person singular preterite of 'ver'; 'I saw'
- campanario
- A tower housing bells in a church; bell tower
- bajo
- Preposition or adjective meaning 'under,' 'below,' or 'low'
- pies
- The lower extremities of the body used for walking; feet
- cuando
- Conjunction meaning 'when,' introducing a time clause
- digo
- First person singular present of 'decir'; 'I say' or 'I mean'
- sentado
- In a seated position; having sat down
- sobre
- Preposition meaning 'on,' 'over,' or 'about'
- lápida
- A flat stone slab marking a grave; gravestone or tombstone
- temblando
- Shaking or trembling continuously from cold or fear
- devoraba
- Was consuming food rapidly and greedily; was devouring
- voracidad
- Extreme eagerness in consuming food; greediness or voracity
- Perro
- A domesticated canine animal kept as a pet; dog
- joven
- Being in an early stage of life; young
- lamiéndose
- Licking oneself; passing the tongue over one's own body
- labios
- The fleshy edges of the mouth opening; lips
- mejillas
- The fleshy parts of the face below the eyes; cheeks
- gordas
- Having an excess of body fat; fat or chubby (feminine plural)
- tienes
- Second person singular present of 'tener'; 'you have'
- Creo
- First person singular present of 'creer'; 'I believe' or 'I think'
- eran
- Third person plural imperfect of 'ser'; 'they were'
- aunque
- Conjunction meaning 'although,' 'even though,' or 'even if'
- aquel
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' (distant, masculine singular)
- entonces
- Adverb meaning 'then' or 'at that time'
- era
- Third person singular imperfect of 'ser'; 'was' or 'used to be'
- pequeño
- Of limited size or extent; little or small
- edad
- The number of years a person has lived; age
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