Grimms' Fairy Tales — Page 6
In the morning came the fox again and met him as he was beginning his journey, and said, 'Go straight forward, till you come to a castle, before which lie a whole troop of soldiers fast asleep and snoring: take no notice of them, but go into the castle and pass on and on till you come to a room, where the golden bird sits in a wooden cage; close by it stands a beautiful golden cage; but do not try to take the bird out of the shabby cage and put it into the handsome one, otherwise you will repent it.'
Al mattino arrivò di nuovo la volpe e lo incontrò mentre stava iniziando il suo viaggio, e disse: 'Vai dritto avanti, finché non giungi a un castello, davanti al quale giace un'intera truppa di soldati profondamente addormentati e russanti: non badare a loro, ma entra nel castello e vai avanti e avanti finché non arrivi a una stanza, dove l'uccello d'oro è seduto in una gabbia di legno; proprio accanto ad essa si trova una bella gabbia d'oro; ma non cercare di togliere l'uccello dalla gabbia misera e metterlo in quella bella, altrimenti te ne pentirai.'
Then the fox stretched out his tail again, and the young man sat himself down, and away they went over stock and stone till their hair whistled in the wind.
Poi la volpe allungò di nuovo la sua coda, e il giovane si sedette, e via andarono su ceppi e sassi finché i loro capelli fischiavano nel vento.
Before the castle gate all was as the fox had said: so the son went in and found the chamber where the golden bird hung in a wooden cage, and below stood the golden cage, and the three golden apples that had been lost were lying close by it.
Davanti al cancello del castello tutto era come la volpe aveva detto: così il figlio entrò e trovò la stanza dove l'uccello d'oro era appeso in una gabbia di legno, e sotto stava la gabbia d'oro, e le tre mele d'oro che erano state perdute giacevano proprio accanto ad essa.
Then thought he to himself, 'It will be a very droll thing to bring away such a fine bird in this shabby cage'; so he opened the door and took hold of it and put it into the golden cage.
Allora pensò tra sé: 'Sarà una cosa molto ridicola portare via un uccello così bello in questa gabbia misera'; così aprì la porta e lo prese e lo mise nella gabbia d'oro.
But the bird set up such a loud scream that all the soldiers awoke, and they took him prisoner and carried him before the king.
Ma l'uccello lanciò un grido così forte che tutti i soldati si svegliarono, e lo presero prigioniero e lo portarono davanti al re.
Vocabulary
- mattino
- The morning, the early part of the day
- arrivò
- He/she/it arrived, past tense of 'arrivare'
- nuovo
- New; again when used in 'di nuovo'
- volpe
- A fox, a cunning wild canine animal
- incontrò
- He/she met, encountered someone; past tense
- mentre
- While, whereas; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions
- stava
- He/she was; imperfect of 'stare', used in progressive
- iniziando
- Beginning, starting; gerund form of 'iniziare'
- viaggio
- A journey, trip, or voyage to a destination
- disse
- He/she said; past tense of 'dire'
- Vai
- Go; second-person singular imperative of 'andare'
- dritto
- Straight, directly forward without turning
- avanti
- Forward, ahead; indicates direction or encouragement
- finché
- Until, as long as; conjunction of time or condition
- giungi
- You arrive, reach; second-person singular of 'giungere'
- castello
- A castle, a large fortified medieval building
- davanti
- In front of, before; preposition indicating position ahead
- quale
- Which, what; relative or interrogative pronoun
- giace
- Lies, is lying down; third-person singular of 'giacere'
- intera
- Entire, whole, complete; feminine adjective
- truppa
- A troop, a group of soldiers or performers
- soldati
- Soldiers, military fighters; masculine plural noun
- profondamente
- Deeply, profoundly; adverb modifying sleep or emotion
- addormentati
- Fallen asleep, in a sleeping state; past participle plural
- russanti
- Snoring; present participle plural of 'russare'
- badare
- To pay attention to, to take care of someone
- entra
- Enter; second-person singular imperative of 'entrare'
- vai
- You go; second-person singular present of 'andare'
- arrivi
- You arrive; second-person singular present of 'arrivare'
- stanza
- A room, an enclosed space within a building
- dove
- Where; relative or interrogative adverb of place
- uccello
- A bird, a feathered winged animal
- oro
- Gold; a precious yellow metal or its color
- seduto
- Seated, sitting; past participle of 'sedere'
- gabbia
- A cage, an enclosure for birds or animals
- legno
- Wood; the hard material from trees
- proprio
- Just, right, exactly; also means 'own' as adjective
- accanto
- Next to, beside; preposition indicating proximity
- trova
- Is found, is located; third-person singular of 'trovare'
- bella
- Beautiful, lovely; feminine singular adjective
- cercare
- To look for, to seek, to search for something
- togliere
- To remove, to take away something from a place
- misera
- Wretched, miserable, poor; feminine singular adjective
- metterlo
- To put it, to place it; infinitive with pronoun attached
- altrimenti
- Otherwise, or else; conjunction warning of consequence
- pentirai
- You will regret it; future of 'pentirsi'
- Poi
- Then, afterward; temporal adverb indicating sequence
- allungò
- He/she stretched out, extended; past tense of 'allungare'
- coda
- A tail; the appendage at the back of an animal
- giovane
- Young; adjective or noun describing a young person
- sedette
- He/she sat down; past tense of 'sedere'
- via
- Away, off; adverb indicating departure or movement away
- andarono
- They went; third-person plural past tense of 'andare'
- ceppi
- Stumps or logs; also shackles; masculine plural noun
- sassi
- Stones, rocks; masculine plural of 'sasso'
- capelli
- Hair; the strands of hair on a person's head
- fischiavano
- They whistled, whizzed; imperfect of 'fischiare'
- vento
- Wind; moving air, often felt outdoors
- Davanti
- In front of, before; preposition of place
- cancello
- A gate, a barred or fenced entrance to a place
- tutto
- Everything, all; pronoun or adjective meaning whole
- detto
- Said, told; past participle of 'dire'
- così
- So, thus, in this way; adverb of manner
- figlio
- Son, child; a male offspring in a family
- entrò
- He/she entered; past tense of 'entrare'
- trovò
- He/she found; past tense of 'trovare'
- appeso
- Hung, hanging; past participle of 'appendere'
- sotto
- Under, beneath, below; preposition of position
- mele
- Apples; plural of 'mela', a common fruit
- perdute
- Lost; feminine plural past participle of 'perdere'
- giacevano
- They were lying; imperfect plural of 'giacere'
- Allora
- Then, at that point; temporal adverb or discourse marker
- pensò
- He/she thought; past tense of 'pensare'
- tra
- Between, among, within; preposition of place or time
- sé
- Himself, herself, oneself; reflexive pronoun with accent
- Sarà
- It will be; third-person singular future of 'essere'
- cosa
- Thing; a generic noun for an object or matter
- molto
- Very, much, a lot; common Italian adverb of degree
- ridicola
- Ridiculous, absurd; feminine singular adjective
- portare
- To bring, to carry, to take something somewhere
- aprì
- He/she opened; past tense of 'aprire'
- porta
- Door; an entrance to a room or building
- prese
- He/she took, grabbed; past tense of 'prendere'
- mise
- He/she put, placed; past tense of 'mettere'
- lanciò
- He/she threw, let out; past tense of 'lanciare'
- grido
- A cry, a shout; a loud exclamation of alarm
- forte
- Loud, strong; adjective describing intensity or volume
- tutti
- Everyone, all; masculine plural of 'tutto'
- svegliarono
- They woke up; past tense plural of 'svegliarsi'
- presero
- They took, seized; past tense plural of 'prendere'
- prigioniero
- A prisoner, a captive person held against their will
- portarono
- They brought, carried; past tense plural of 'portare'
- re
- King; a male monarch ruling a kingdom
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