Grimms' Fairy Tales — Page 12
' So he said, 'Yes,' and forgot the fox's counsel, and sat down on the side of the river; and while he suspected nothing, they came behind, and threw him down the bank, and took the princess, the horse, and the bird, and went home to the king their master, and said.
Il dit donc « Oui » et oublia le conseil du renard, et s'assit sur le bord de la rivière ; et comme il ne se méfiait de rien, ils vinrent par-derrière, le jetèrent en bas de la berge, prirent la princesse, le cheval et l'oiseau, et rentrèrent chez le roi leur maître, et dirent.
'All this have we won by our labour.'
« Tout cela, nous l'avons gagné par notre travail. »
Then there was great rejoicing made; but the horse would not eat, the bird would not sing, and the princess wept.
Alors on se réjouit grandement ; mais le cheval ne voulait pas manger, l'oiseau ne voulait pas chanter, et la princesse pleurait.
The youngest son fell to the bottom of the river's bed: luckily it was nearly dry, but his bones were almost broken, and the bank was so steep that he could find no way to get out.
Le fils cadet tomba au fond du lit de la rivière : heureusement elle était presque à sec, mais ses os furent presque brisés, et la berge était si escarpée qu'il ne trouvait aucun moyen d'en sortir.
Then the old fox came once more, and scolded him for not following his advice; otherwise no evil would have befallen him: 'Yet,' said he, 'I cannot leave you here, so lay hold of my tail and hold fast.'
Alors le vieux renard revint une fois de plus, et le gronda de n'avoir pas suivi son conseil ; sans cela, aucun mal ne lui serait arrivé : « Pourtant, dit-il, je ne puis vous laisser ici, alors saisissez ma queue et tenez bon. »
Then he pulled him out of the river, and said to him, as he got upon the bank, 'Your brothers have set watch to kill you, if they find you in the kingdom.'
Puis il le tira hors de la rivière, et lui dit, tandis qu'il remontait sur la berge : « Vos frères ont posté des guetteurs pour vous tuer, s'ils vous trouvent dans le royaume. »
So he dressed himself as a poor man, and came secretly to the king's court, and was scarcely within the doors when the horse began to eat, and the bird to sing, and the princess left off weeping.
Il se déguisa donc en homme pauvre, et se rendit secrètement à la cour du roi, et il était à peine entré que le cheval se mit à manger, l'oiseau à chanter, et la princesse cessa de pleurer.
Vocabulary
- dit
- Past tense of 'dire'; said or told someone something
- donc
- Conjunction meaning 'therefore' or 'so'
- oublia
- Past tense of 'oublier'; forgot something or someone
- conseil
- Noun meaning advice, counsel, or a council
- renard
- Noun meaning fox, a cunning wild animal
- assit
- Past tense of 's'asseoir'; sat down somewhere
- bord
- Noun meaning edge, border, or bank of water
- rivière
- Noun meaning river or stream flowing through land
- comme
- Conjunction meaning 'as' or 'since' or 'like'
- méfiait
- Imperfect of 'se méfier'; was suspicious or wary of
- rien
- Negative pronoun meaning 'nothing' or 'anything'
- vinrent
- Past tense of 'venir'; they came to a place
- derrière
- Preposition meaning 'behind' or 'at the back of'
- jetèrent
- Past tense of 'jeter'; they threw something forcefully
- bas
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'low' or 'down'
- berge
- Noun meaning steep riverbank or embankment beside water
- prirent
- Past tense of 'prendre'; they took or seized something
- princesse
- Noun meaning princess, daughter or wife of a prince
- cheval
- Noun meaning horse, a large domesticated riding animal
- oiseau
- Noun meaning bird, a feathered flying animal
- rentrèrent
- Past tense of 'rentrer'; they returned home or back
- chez
- Preposition meaning 'at the home of' someone
- roi
- Noun meaning king, male monarch ruling a kingdom
- maître
- Noun meaning master, employer, or person of authority
- dirent
- Past tense of 'dire'; they said or told something
- Tout
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all' or 'everything'
- cela
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'all of this'
- gagné
- Past participle of 'gagner'; won or earned something
- travail
- Noun meaning work, labor, or effort applied to tasks
- Alors
- Adverb meaning 'then' or 'so' at that moment
- réjouit
- Past tense of 'se réjouir'; rejoiced or was glad
- grandement
- Adverb meaning greatly, enormously, or to a large degree
- voulait
- Imperfect of 'vouloir'; wanted or wished for something
- manger
- Infinitive meaning to eat food or have a meal
- chanter
- Infinitive meaning to sing a song or melody
- pleurait
- Imperfect of 'pleurer'; was crying or weeping sadly
- fils
- Noun meaning son, a male child of a parent
- cadet
- Adjective meaning younger or youngest son in family
- tomba
- Past tense of 'tomber'; fell down to a lower place
- fond
- Noun meaning bottom, depth, or base of something
- lit
- Noun meaning bed used for sleeping; or reads (verb)
- heureusement
- Adverb meaning fortunately, luckily, or thankfully
- presque
- Adverb meaning almost, nearly, or not quite fully
- sec
- Adjective meaning dry, without water or moisture
- os
- Noun meaning bone or bones of a body structure
- furent
- Past tense of 'être'; were, in a past state
- brisés
- Past participle of 'briser'; broken or shattered into pieces
- si
- Conjunction meaning 'if' or adverb meaning 'so/such'
- escarpée
- Adjective meaning steep, sheer, or abruptly sloping
- trouvait
- Imperfect of 'trouver'; found or considered something
- aucun
- Negative adjective meaning 'no' or 'not any' at all
- moyen
- Noun meaning means, way, or method to do something
- sortir
- Infinitive meaning to go out or exit a place
- vieux
- Adjective meaning old, aged, or elderly in years
- revint
- Past tense of 'revenir'; came back or returned again
- fois
- Noun meaning time or instance of an occurrence
- plus
- Adverb meaning 'more' or in negation 'no longer'
- gronda
- Past tense of 'gronder'; scolded or reprimanded someone
- avoir
- Infinitive meaning to have; auxiliary verb in French
- suivi
- Past participle of 'suivre'; followed or heeded advice
- sans
- Preposition meaning 'without' lacking something
- mal
- Noun or adjective meaning harm, pain, or evil
- serait
- Conditional of 'être'; would be under certain conditions
- arrivé
- Past participle of 'arriver'; happened or arrived somewhere
- Pourtant
- Conjunction meaning however, yet, or nevertheless
- puis
- Adverb meaning 'then' or first person of 'pouvoir' (can)
- laisser
- Infinitive meaning to leave, let, or allow someone
- ici
- Adverb meaning 'here', at this specific place
- saisissez
- Imperative of 'saisir'; grab or seize something firmly
- queue
- Noun meaning tail of an animal or a line of people
- tenez
- Imperative of 'tenir'; hold on tightly or keep firm
- bon
- Adjective meaning good or strong; hold firm here
- Puis
- Adverb meaning 'then' indicating what happened next
- tira
- Past tense of 'tirer'; pulled or drew something out
- hors
- Preposition meaning outside or out of a place
- tandis
- Conjunction used in 'tandis que' meaning 'while/whereas'
- remontait
- Imperfect of 'remonter'; was climbing or going back up
- frères
- Noun meaning brothers, male siblings in a family
- posté
- Past participle of 'poster'; posted or stationed someone
- guetteurs
- Noun meaning watchers or lookouts posted to spy
- tuer
- Infinitive meaning to kill or slay someone
- trouvent
- Present tense of 'trouver'; they find or encounter something
- royaume
- Noun meaning kingdom, a realm ruled by a king
- déguisa
- Past tense of 'déguiser'; disguised oneself in costume
- homme
- Noun meaning man or human being generally
- pauvre
- Adjective meaning poor, having little money or resources
- rendit
- Past tense of 'se rendre'; went or made his way
- secrètement
- Adverb meaning secretly, in a hidden or covert manner
- cour
- Noun meaning court, as in royal court or courtyard
- peine
- Noun meaning barely, difficulty, or sorrow and pain
- entré
- Past participle of 'entrer'; entered or gone inside a place
- mit
- Past tense of 'mettre'; put, placed, or began something
- cessa
- Past tense of 'cesser'; stopped or ceased doing something
- pleurer
- Infinitive meaning to cry or weep from emotion
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