Grimms' Fairy Tales — Page 14

English → It Full Text Level 4/10

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

E il padrone disse: «Sei stato un servo fedele e buono, Hans, quindi la tua paga sarà generosa.»

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

Poi gli diede un pezzo d'argento grande quanto la sua testa.

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 tirò fuori il suo fazzoletto, vi mise dentro il pezzo d'argento, se lo gettò sulla spalla e si avviò trotterellando sulla strada verso casa.

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

Mentre avanzava pigramente, trascinando un piede dopo l'altro, apparve un uomo che trottava allegramente su un magnifico cavallo.

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

«Ah!» disse Hans ad alta voce, «che bella cosa è andare a cavallo!

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.'

Là siede così a suo agio e felice come se fosse a casa, sulla sedia accanto al caminetto; non inciampa nei sassi, risparmia le suole delle scarpe, e va avanti senza quasi rendersene conto.»

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

Hans non parlò così sottovoce, e il cavaliere sentì tutto e disse: «Ebbene, amico, perché vai a piedi allora?»

'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!» disse lui, «ho questo carico da portare: certo è argento, ma è così pesante che non riesco a tenere la testa alta, e sappiate che mi fa davvero male alla spalla.»

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

«Che ne dite di fare uno scambio?» disse il cavaliere.

'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.

«Vi darò il mio cavallo, e voi mi darete l'argento; così vi risparmierete un gran fastidio nel portarvi appresso un carico così pesante.

Vocabulary

padrone: pa-dro-ne — Master, owner, or employer of a person or property.
disse: dis-se — Past tense of 'dire'; he/she said or told.
stato: sta-to — Past participle of 'essere'; been, or a state/nation.
servo: ser-vo — A servant or person who serves a master.
fedele: fe-de-le — Faithful, loyal, or devoted to someone or something.
quindi: quin-di — Therefore, so, or consequently; indicates logical conclusion.
paga: pa-ga — Wage, salary, or payment for work performed.
sarà: sa-rà — Future tense of 'essere'; will be.
generosa: ge-ne-ro-sa — Generous, abundant, or giving more than expected.
Poi: poi — Then, afterward, or subsequently in a sequence of events.
gli: gli — Indirect object pronoun meaning 'to him' or 'to them'.
diede: die-de — Past tense of 'dare'; he/she gave something to someone.
pezzo: pez-zo — A piece, chunk, or portion of something larger.
argento: ar-gen-to — Silver; a precious metallic element or its color.
quanto: quan-to — As much as, how much; used for comparisons or quantities.
testa: te-sta — Head; the uppermost part of the human body.
tirò: ti-rò — Past tense of 'tirare'; he/she pulled or took out.
fuori: fuo-ri — Outside, out; indicating position or movement outward.
fazzoletto: faz-zo-let-to — A handkerchief or small cloth for wiping or carrying.
vi: vi — Pronoun meaning 'there', 'to you', or 'in it'.
mise: mi-se — Past tense of 'mettere'; he/she placed or put something.
dentro: den-tro — Inside, within; indicating position or location inside something.
se: se — Reflexive pronoun 'himself/herself' or conjunction 'if'.
gettò: get-tò — Past tense of 'gettare'; he/she threw or tossed something.
spalla: spal-la — Shoulder; the part of the body between neck and arm.
avviò: av-viò — Past tense of 'avviarsi'; he/she set off or started walking.
trotterellando: trot-te-rel-lan-do — Gerund of 'trotterellare'; trotting or jogging along in a leisurely way.
strada: stra-da — Road, street, or path used for travel or walking.
verso: ver-so — Toward, in the direction of a place or person.
Mentre: men-tre — While or as; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions.
avanzava: a-van-za-va — Imperfect of 'avanzare'; he/she was advancing or moving forward.
pigramente: pi-gra-men-te — Lazily, sluggishly; in a slow and unenergetic manner.
trascinando: tra-sci-nan-do — Gerund of 'trascinare'; dragging or pulling something heavily along.
piede: pie-de — Foot; the lower extremity of the leg used for walking.
dopo: do-po — After, following; indicating sequence in time or space.
altro: al-tro — Other, another; referring to a different person or thing.
apparve: ap-par-ve — Past tense of 'apparire'; he/she/it appeared or came into view.
trottava: trot-ta-va — Imperfect of 'trottare'; he/she was trotting or moving briskly.
allegramente: al-le-gra-men-te — Cheerfully, merrily; in a happy and lively manner.
magnifico: ma-gni-fi-co — Magnificent, splendid; of impressive beauty or quality.
cavallo: ca-val-lo — Horse; a large domesticated animal used for riding.
alta: al-ta — High, loud; of great height or intensity, feminine form.
voce: vo-ce — Voice; the sound produced by a person when speaking or singing.
Là: là — There; indicates a place at some distance from the speaker.
siede: sie-de — Third person singular of 'sedersi'; he/she sits down.
così: co-sì — So, thus, in this way; indicating manner or degree.
agio: a-gio — Ease, comfort; a state of relaxation and well-being.
felice: fe-li-ce — Happy, joyful; experiencing or showing contentment and pleasure.
fosse: fos-se — Imperfect subjunctive of 'essere'; (as if) it were.
sedia: se-dia — Chair; a piece of furniture for sitting on.
accanto: ac-can-to — Next to, beside; indicating proximity to something or someone.
caminetto: ca-mi-net-to — Fireplace; a small hearth used for warmth and comfort.
inciampa: in-ciam-pa — Third person of 'inciampare'; he/she stumbles or trips on something.
sassi: sas-si — Stones, rocks; small to medium pieces of hard mineral matter.
risparmia: ri-spar-mia — Third person of 'risparmiare'; he/she saves or spares something.
suole: suo-le — Soles; the bottom parts of shoes or boots.
scarpe: scar-pe — Shoes; footwear worn to protect and cover the feet.
avanti: a-van-ti — Forward, ahead; indicating movement or progress in front.
senza: sen-za — Without; indicating the absence of something or someone.
quasi: qua-si — Almost, nearly; indicating something close to but not complete.
rendersene: ren-der-se-ne — To realize or notice it; reflexive infinitive with pronoun.
conto: con-to — Account, count; awareness of something or a financial account.
parlò: par-lò — Past tense of 'parlare'; he/she spoke or talked.
sottovoce: sot-to-vo-ce — In a low voice, under one's breath; speaking quietly.
cavaliere: ca-va-lie-re — Horseman, knight; a person riding a horse or a knight.
sentì: sen-tì — Past tense of 'sentire'; he/she heard or felt something.
Ebbene: eb-be-ne — Well then, so; an interjection introducing a remark or response.
perché: per-ché — Why or because; used for asking reasons or giving explanations.
piedi: pie-di — Feet; plural of 'piede', used for walking or standing.
allora: al-lo-ra — Then, so, at that time; used for transitions or emphasis.
carico: ca-ri-co — Load, burden; a heavy weight or cargo being carried.
portare: por-ta-re — To carry, bring, or wear; an infinitive of movement or transport.
certo: cer-to — Certainly, sure; expressing agreement or moderate certainty.
pesante: pe-san-te — Heavy; having great weight or being burdensome to carry.
riesco: rie-sco — First person of 'riuscire'; I manage or succeed in doing something.
tenere: te-ne-re — To hold, keep; an infinitive meaning to grasp or maintain.
sappiate: sap-pia-te — Subjunctive/imperative of 'sapere'; know, be aware of this.
davvero: dav-ve-ro — Really, truly; used to emphasize truth or sincerity.
male: ma-le — Pain, harm, bad; indicating hurt or something negative.
ne: ne — Pronoun meaning 'of it', 'about it', or 'some of them'.
dite: di-te — Second person plural of 'dire'; you (all) say or tell.
scambio: scam-bio — Exchange, swap; trading one thing for another.
Vi: vi — Pronoun 'to you' (plural); indirect object pronoun in Italian.
darò: da-rò — First person future of 'dare'; I will give something.
darete: da-re-te — Second person plural future of 'dare'; you will give.
risparmierete: ri-spar-mie-re-te — Future of 'risparmiare'; you will save or spare effort.
gran: gran — Great, big; shortened form of 'grande' before nouns.
fastidio: fa-sti-dio — Annoyance, bother; a feeling of irritation or inconvenience.
portarvi: por-tar-vi — Infinitive 'portare' with pronoun 'vi'; to carry it with you.
appresso: ap-pres-so — With you, nearby; indicating closeness or carrying something along.

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