Grimms' Fairy Tales — Page 14

English → Fr Full Text Level 4/10

' And the master said, 'You have been a faithful and good servant, Hans, so your pay shall be handsome.'

« Et le maître dit : « Tu as été un serviteur fidèle et bon, Hans, aussi ta récompense sera-t-elle généreuse. »

Then he gave him a lump of silver as big as his head.

Puis il lui donna un morceau d'argent aussi gros que sa tête.

Hans took out his pocket-handkerchief, put the piece of silver into it, threw it over his shoulder, and jogged off on his road homewards.

Hans sortit son mouchoir de poche, y mit le morceau d'argent, le jeta sur son épaule et prit d'un bon pas le chemin de sa maison.

As he went lazily on, dragging one foot after another, a man came in sight, trotting gaily along on a capital horse.

Comme il avançait paresseusement, traînant un pied après l'autre, un homme apparut, trottant gaiement sur un excellent cheval.

'Ah!' said Hans aloud, 'what a fine thing it is to ride on horseback!

« Ah ! » dit Hans à voix haute, « quelle belle chose que de monter à cheval !

There he sits as easy and happy as if he was at home, in the chair by his fireside; he trips against no stones, saves shoe-leather, and gets on he hardly knows how.'

Le voilà assis aussi à l'aise et heureux que s'il était chez lui, dans le fauteuil près de sa cheminée ; il ne trébuche contre aucune pierre, ménage ses semelles, et avance sans presque s'en apercevoir. »

Hans did not speak so softly but the horseman heard it all, and said, 'Well, friend, why do you go on foot then?'

Hans ne parla pas si doucement que le cavalier n'entendît tout, et il dit : « Eh bien, l'ami, pourquoi donc allez-vous à pied ? »

'Ah!' said he, 'I have this load to carry: to be sure it is silver, but it is so heavy that I can't hold up my head, and you must know it hurts my shoulder sadly.'

« Ah ! » dit-il, « j'ai ce fardeau à porter : c'est bien de l'argent, certes, mais il est si lourd que je ne peux pas lever la tête, et il faut que vous sachiez qu'il me fait bien mal à l'épaule. »

'What do you say of making an exchange?' said the horseman.

« Que diriez-vous d'un échange ? » dit le cavalier.

'I will give you my horse, and you shall give me the silver; which will save you a great deal of trouble in carrying such a heavy load about with you.

« Je vous donnerai mon cheval, et vous me donnerez l'argent ; ce qui vous épargnera bien des peines à porter un si lourd fardeau avec vous.

Vocabulary

maître: Master, employer, or teacher with authority over others.
dit: Past tense of 'dire'; said or told someone something.
été: Past participle of 'être'; been, indicating a past state.
serviteur: Servant, a person employed to serve another person.
fidèle: Faithful, loyal, and reliable in service or devotion.
aussi: Also, too, or likewise; expressing addition or similarity.
récompense: Reward or compensation given for good work or service.
sera: Future tense of 'être'; will be, indicating future state.
généreuse: Generous, giving freely and abundantly to others.
Puis: Then, afterwards; indicating a sequence of events.
donna: Past tense of 'donner'; gave something to someone.
morceau: A piece or chunk of something, often food or material.
argent: Silver or money; a precious metal used as currency.
gros: Big, large, or fat; describing something of great size.
tête: Head, the uppermost part of the human body.
sortit: Past tense of 'sortir'; went out or took something out.
mouchoir: Handkerchief, a cloth used for wiping the face or nose.
poche: Pocket, a small pouch sewn into clothing for storage.
y: Pronoun meaning 'there' or 'it', replacing a place or thing.
mit: Past tense of 'mettre'; put or placed something somewhere.
jeta: Past tense of 'jeter'; threw or tossed something somewhere.
épaule: Shoulder, the joint connecting the arm to the torso.
prit: Past tense of 'prendre'; took or grabbed something.
pas: Step, footstep; also used in negation meaning 'not'.
chemin: Path, road, or way leading from one place to another.
maison: House or home, a building where people live.
Comme: As, while, or like; introducing comparison or simultaneity.
avançait: Imperfect tense of 'avancer'; was moving or advancing forward.
paresseusement: Lazily, in a slow and idle manner without effort.
traînant: Dragging, pulling something heavy slowly along the ground.
pied: Foot, the lower extremity of the leg used for walking.
après: After, following in time or order behind something else.
autre: Other, another, different from the one already mentioned.
homme: Man, an adult male human being.
apparut: Past tense of 'apparaître'; appeared or came into sight.
trottant: Trotting, moving at a brisk steady pace on horseback.
gaiement: Cheerfully, in a happy and lively manner full of joy.
excellent: Excellent, of very high quality or outstanding merit.
cheval: Horse, a large domesticated animal used for riding.
voix: Voice, the sound produced by a person when speaking.
haute: High or loud; describing elevated pitch or volume.
quelle: What or which, an exclamatory or interrogative adjective feminine.
belle: Beautiful, attractive, pleasing to the eye; feminine form.
chose: Thing, an object or matter of unspecified nature.
monter: To go up, climb, or mount a horse or vehicle.
voilà: There it is; used to point out or present something.
assis: Seated, sitting down in a chair or on a surface.
aise: Ease, comfort, or well-being; feeling at ease.
heureux: Happy, fortunate, feeling joy or contentment.
était: Imperfect tense of 'être'; was, indicating a past state.
chez: At the home or place of a person; preposition.
fauteuil: Armchair, a comfortable padded chair with armrests.
près: Near, close to, in proximity to something or someone.
cheminée: Fireplace or chimney, used for heating a room with fire.
trébuche: Stumbles or trips over an obstacle while walking.
contre: Against, opposing or in contact with something solid.
aucune: No, not any; negative adjective indicating absence feminine.
pierre: Stone or rock, a hard natural mineral material.
ménage: Spares or looks after; also means household or housekeeping.
semelles: Soles, the bottom parts of shoes that touch the ground.
avance: Advances, moves forward; present tense of 'avancer'.
sans: Without, lacking or not having something at all.
presque: Almost, nearly, but not quite reaching a certain point.
apercevoir: To notice, perceive, or catch a glimpse of something.
parla: Past tense of 'parler'; spoke or talked to someone.
si: So, so much, or if; indicating degree or condition.
doucement: Softly, gently, or quietly in a calm manner.
cavalier: Rider, horseman, a person riding on horseback.
entendît: Subjunctive of 'entendre'; that he might hear or understand.
tout: All, everything, or completely; indicating totality.
bien: Well, good; adverb indicating quality or degree.
ami: Friend, a person with whom one has a close bond.
pourquoi: Why, asking for a reason or cause of something.
donc: Therefore, so, thus; indicating consequence or emphasis.
allez: You go; second-person plural present tense of 'aller'.
fardeau: Burden, a heavy load carried with difficulty by someone.
porter: To carry or bear a load; also to wear clothing.
certes: Certainly, admittedly, indeed; used to concede a point.
mais: But, however; conjunction expressing contrast or opposition.
lourd: Heavy, of great weight or difficult to lift or carry.
peux: Can, am able to; first-person singular of 'pouvoir'.
lever: To lift, raise, or get up from a lower position.
faut: It is necessary; impersonal verb 'falloir' meaning must.
sachiez: Subjunctive of 'savoir'; that you know or be aware of.
fait: Makes or does; third-person singular of 'faire'.
mal: Pain, harm, or evil; feeling of physical or moral hurt.
Que: What; used in exclamations or as relative pronoun.
diriez: Conditional of 'dire'; would you say or think about something.
échange: Exchange, a trade or swap of one thing for another.
donnerai: Future tense of 'donner'; I will give something to someone.
donnerez: Future tense of 'donner'; you will give something to someone.
épargnera: Future of 'épargner'; will spare or save someone from trouble.
peines: Troubles, difficulties, or sorrows; pains or hardships.
avec: With, together with, or by means of something or someone.

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