Light O' the Morning: The Story of an Irish Girl — Page 1
NORA.
NORA.
"Why, then, Miss Nora--"
« Eh bien, mademoiselle Nora... »
"Yes, Hannah?"
« Oui, Hannah ? »
"You didn't see the masther going this way, miss?"
« Vous n'avez pas vu le maître passer par ici, mademoiselle ? »
"What do you mean, Hannah? Father is never at home at this hour."
« Que voulez-vous dire, Hannah ? Père n'est jamais à la maison à cette heure-ci. »
"I thought maybe--" said Hannah.
« Je pensais peut-être... » dit Hannah.
She spoke in a dubious voice, backing a little away.
Elle parlait d'une voix hésitante, reculant légèrement.
Hannah was a small, squat woman, of a truly Irish type.
Hannah était une petite femme trapue, d'un type véritablement irlandais.
Her nose was celestial, her mouth wide, her eyes dark, and sparkling with fun.
Son nez était retroussé, sa bouche large, ses yeux sombres et pétillants de malice.
She was dressed in a short, coarse serge petticoat, with what is called a bedgown over it; the bedgown was made of striped calico, yellow and red, and was tied in at the waist with a broad band of the same.
Elle était vêtue d'un court jupon de serge grossière, recouvert de ce qu'on appelle une camisole de nuit ; la camisole était faite de calicot rayé, jaune et rouge, et était nouée à la taille par une large bande du même tissu.
Hannah's hair was strongly inclined to gray, and her humorous face was covered with a perfect network of wrinkles.
Les cheveux de Hannah tiraient fortement sur le gris, et son visage jovial était couvert d'un véritable réseau de rides.
She showed a gleam of snowy teeth now, as she looked full at the young girl whom she was addressing.
Elle laissa entrevoir un éclat de dents blanches comme neige, tandis qu'elle regardait droit dans les yeux la jeune fille à qui elle s'adressait.
"Ah, then, Miss Nora," she said, "it's I that am sorry for yez."
« Ah, alors, mademoiselle Nora, » dit-elle, « c'est moi qui suis désolée pour vous. »
Before Nora O'Shanaghgan could utter a word Hannah had turned on her heel.
Avant que Nora O'Shanaghgan pût prononcer un mot, Hannah avait tourné les talons.
"Come back, Hannah," said Nora in an imperious voice.
« Revenez, Hannah, » dit Nora d'une voix impérieuse.
"Presently, darlint; it's the childer I hear calling me. Coming, Mike asthore, coming."
« Tout de suite, mon cœur ; ce sont les enfants que j'entends m'appeler. J'arrive, Mike chéri, j'arrive. »
The squat little figure flew down a side walk which led to a paddock: beyond the paddock was a turnstile, and at the farther end of an adjacent field a cabin made of mud, with one tiny window and a thatched roof.
La petite silhouette trapue dévala un chemin de côté menant à un enclos : au-delà de l'enclos se trouvait un tourniquet, et à l'extrémité d'un champ voisin une cabane faite de boue, avec une toute petite fenêtre et un toit de chaume.
Vocabulary
- Eh
- Interjection expressing surprise or emphasis
- bien
- Well; good; expressing agreement or transition
- mademoiselle
- Title for an unmarried woman; Miss
- Oui
- Yes; affirmative response in French
- Vous
- You; formal or plural second-person pronoun
- n'
- Contracted negative particle used before vowels
- avez
- Have; second-person plural form of avoir
- pas
- Not; negative particle used with ne
- vu
- Seen; past participle of voir
- le
- The; masculine singular definite article
- maître
- Master; employer; person in charge
- passer
- To pass; to go by; to come through
- par
- By; through; via; preposition of passage
- ici
- Here; in this place or location
- Que
- What; that; interrogative or relative pronoun
- voulez-
- Want; second-person plural of vouloir
- vous
- You; formal or plural second-person pronoun
- dire
- To say; to tell; to mean
- Père
- Father; male parent or paternal figure
- est
- Is; third-person singular of être
- jamais
- Never; at no time; ever in negation
- à
- At; to; in; preposition indicating location or time
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- maison
- House; home; dwelling place
- cette
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- heure-
- Hour; time; part of compound expression
- ci
- Here; demonstrative suffix in heure-ci
- Je
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- pensais
- Was thinking; imperfect of penser
- peut-
- Can; may; part of peut-être (maybe)
- être
- To be; infinitive of the verb être
- dit
- Said; third-person singular past of dire
- Elle
- She; third-person singular feminine pronoun
- parlait
- Was speaking; imperfect tense of parler
- d'
- Of; contracted preposition before vowel
- une
- A; feminine singular indefinite article
- voix
- Voice; sound produced by speaking or singing
- hésitante
- Hesitant; uncertain; faltering in speech or action
- reculant
- Stepping back; moving backward slightly
- légèrement
- Slightly; lightly; to a small degree
- était
- Was; third-person singular imperfect of être
- petite
- Small; little; short in stature
- femme
- Woman; wife; adult female person
- trapue
- Stocky; squat; short and thickset in build
- un
- A; one; masculine singular indefinite article
- type
- Type; kind; a typical example or sort
- véritablement
- Truly; genuinely; in a real sense
- irlandais
- Irish; relating to Ireland or its people
- Son
- His; her; its; possessive adjective singular
- nez
- Nose; the facial organ for smelling
- retroussé
- Turned up; upturned; referring to a nose shape
- sa
- His; her; its; feminine possessive adjective
- bouche
- Mouth; the oral opening of the face
- large
- Wide; broad; large in extent or size
- ses
- His; her; its; plural possessive adjective
- yeux
- Eyes; plural of œil; organs of sight
- sombres
- Dark; gloomy; dim in color or mood
- et
- And; coordinating conjunction linking elements
- pétillants
- Sparkling; twinkling; lively and bright
- de
- Of; from; preposition indicating origin or possession
- malice
- Mischief; playful cunning; sly humor
- vêtue
- Dressed; clothed; wearing particular garments
- court
- Short; brief; not long in length
- jupon
- Petticoat; underskirt worn beneath a dress
- serge
- Serge; a type of sturdy twill fabric
- grossière
- Coarse; rough; crude in texture or manner
- recouvert
- Covered; overlaid; wearing something on top
- ce
- This; that; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- qu'
- That; what; contracted relative pronoun
- on
- One; we; they; indefinite subject pronoun
- appelle
- Calls; names; third-person singular of appeler
- camisole
- Camisole; sleeveless undergarment worn on torso
- nuit
- Night; the dark period between sunset and sunrise
- faite
- Made; done; feminine past participle of faire
- calicot
- Calico; a plain coarse cotton fabric
- rayé
- Striped; having stripes of alternating colors
- jaune
- Yellow; the color of gold or sunshine
- rouge
- Red; the color of blood or fire
- nouée
- Tied; knotted; fastened with a knot
- taille
- Waist; size; the middle part of the body
- bande
- Band; strip; a narrow piece of material
- du
- Of the; contracted masculine singular article
- même
- Same; even; identical in kind or quality
- tissu
- Fabric; cloth; woven or knitted material
- Les
- The; plural definite article for all genders
- cheveux
- Hair; plural noun referring to head hair
- tiraient
- Were pulling; tending toward; imperfect of tirer
- fortement
- Strongly; greatly; to a strong degree
- sur
- On; over; upon; preposition of surface
- gris
- Grey; the color between black and white
- son
- His; her; its; masculine possessive adjective
- visage
- Face; the front of the human head
- jovial
- Jovial; cheerful; good-humored and friendly
- couvert
- Covered; spread over; past participle of couvrir
- véritable
- True; real; genuine; not fake or imitated
- réseau
- Network; web; an intricate pattern or system
- rides
- Wrinkles; lines on skin caused by aging
- laissa
- Left; allowed; past simple of laisser
- entrevoir
- To glimpse; to catch a brief sight of
- éclat
- Gleam; sparkle; brilliance or burst of light
- dents
- Teeth; the hard structures used for chewing
- blanches
- White; feminine plural adjective of blanc
- comme
- Like; as; in the same way as
- neige
- Snow; frozen precipitation falling from clouds
- tandis
- While; whereas; used in tandis que construction
- elle
- She; her; third-person singular feminine pronoun
- regardait
- Was looking at; imperfect tense of regarder
- droit
- Straight; directly; right; without deviation
- dans
- In; inside; within a space or container
- les
- The; plural definite article for all genders
- jeune
- Young; youthful; not old in age
- fille
- Girl; daughter; young female person
- qui
- Who; which; that; relative or interrogative pronoun
- s'
- Reflexive pronoun contracted before a vowel
- adressait
- Was addressing; speaking to; imperfect of adresser
- Ah
- Ah; exclamation expressing realization or surprise
- alors
- Then; so; well; transition or consequence word
- dit-
- Said; past tense of dire in inversion
- c'
- It; this; contracted form of ce before vowel
- moi
- Me; I; first-person stressed pronoun
- suis
- Am; first-person singular of être
- désolée
- Sorry; distressed; feminine form of désolé
- pour
- For; in order to; on behalf of
- Avant
- Before; earlier; prior to an event or time
- que
- That; which; than; subordinating conjunction
- pût
- Could; subjunctive imperfect of pouvoir
- prononcer
- To pronounce; to utter; to speak a word
- mot
- Word; a unit of spoken or written language
- avait
- Had; third-person singular imperfect of avoir
- tourné
- Turned; rotated; past participle of tourner
- talons
- Heels; the back part of the foot or shoe
- Revenez
- Come back; return; imperative of revenir
- impérieuse
- Imperious; commanding; domineering in manner
- Tout
- All; everything; completely; entirely
- suite
- Suite; sequence; tout de suite means immediately
- mon
- My; masculine singular first-person possessive adjective
- cœur
- Heart; the organ or emotional center
- sont
- Are; third-person plural of être
- enfants
- Children; young persons; offspring
- j'
- I; contracted form of je before a vowel
- entends
- Hear; understand; first-person of entendre
- m'
- Me; contracted reflexive or object pronoun
- appeler
- To call; to name; to summon someone
- J'
- I; contracted subject pronoun before vowel
- arrive
- Arrive; am coming; first-person of arriver
- chéri
- Darling; dear; term of affection for loved one
- La
- The; feminine singular definite article
- silhouette
- Silhouette; outline; shadow-like shape of a figure
- dévala
- Rushed down; scrambled down; past simple of dévaler
- chemin
- Path; road; way; a route or track
- côté
- Side; beside; direction; du côté de means toward
- menant
- Leading; going toward; present participle of mener
- enclos
- Enclosure; fenced area; a closed-off space
- au-
- To the; contracted article prefix in compound words
- delà
- Beyond; further on; on the other side
- l'
- The; contracted definite article before vowel
- se
- Himself; herself; itself; reflexive pronoun
- trouvait
- Was found; was located; imperfect of trouver
- tourniquet
- Turnstile; revolving gate allowing one-way passage
- extrémité
- Extremity; end; tip; the furthest point of something
- champ
- Field; open land used for farming or pasture
- voisin
- Neighboring; adjacent; nearby in location
- cabane
- Cabin; hut; a small simple dwelling or shelter
- boue
- Mud; wet earth; thick sticky ground substance
- avec
- With; accompanied by; together with someone
- toute
- All; every; whole; feminine singular of tout
- fenêtre
- Window; an opening in a wall for light
- toit
- Roof; the top covering of a building
- chaume
- Thatch; straw used as roofing material
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