Little Women — Page 1
PLAYING PILGRIMS
JUGANDO A SER PEREGRINOS
"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.
«La Navidad no será Navidad sin ningún regalo», refunfuñó Jo, tumbada en la alfombra.
"It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.
«¡Es tan horrible ser pobre!», suspiró Meg, mirando su viejo vestido.
"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff.
«No me parece justo que algunas chicas tengan muchas cosas bonitas y otras no tengan nada», añadió la pequeña Amy, con un resoplido ofendido.
"We've got Father and Mother, and each other," said Beth contentedly from her corner.
«Tenemos a Papá y a Mamá, y nos tenemos la una a la otra», dijo Beth con satisfacción desde su rincón.
The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly, "We haven't got Father, and shall not have him for a long time."
Los cuatro rostros jóvenes sobre los que brillaba la luz del fuego se iluminaron con las alegres palabras, pero volvieron a ensombrecerse cuando Jo dijo con tristeza: «No tenemos a Papá, y no lo tendremos durante mucho tiempo».
She didn't say "perhaps never," but each silently added it, thinking of Father far away, where the fighting was.
No dijo «quizás nunca», pero cada una lo añadió en silencio, pensando en Papá, lejos de allí, donde se libraba la batalla.
Nobody spoke for a minute; then Meg said in an altered tone, "You know the reason Mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas was because it is going to be a hard winter for everyone; and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure, when our men are suffering so in the army.
Nadie habló durante un momento; luego Meg dijo en un tono distinto: «Sabéis que la razón por la que Mamá propuso no tener regalos esta Navidad fue porque va a ser un invierno duro para todos; y ella cree que no deberíamos gastar dinero en placeres cuando nuestros hombres están sufriendo tanto en el ejército.
We can't do much, but we can make our little sacrifices, and ought to do it gladly.
No podemos hacer mucho, pero podemos hacer nuestros pequeños sacrificios, y deberíamos hacerlo con gusto.
But I am afraid I don't," and Meg shook her head, as she thought regretfully of all the pretty things she wanted.
Pero me temo que yo no lo hago», y Meg sacudió la cabeza mientras pensaba con pesar en todas las cosas bonitas que deseaba.
"But I don't think the little we should spend would do any good. We've each got a dollar, and the army wouldn't be much helped by our giving that.
«Pero no creo que el poco que gastaríamos sirviese de algo. Cada una tenemos un dólar, y el ejército no se vería muy beneficiado porque lo diéramos.
Vocabulary
- JUGANDO
- Playing or engaging in a game or activity
- A
- Preposition indicating direction, purpose, or indirect object
- SER
- To be; indicates permanent or inherent characteristics
- PEREGRINOS
- Pilgrims; people on a religious or spiritual journey
- Navidad
- Christmas; the Christian holiday celebrated on December 25th
- será
- Will be; future tense of the verb ser
- sin
- Without; preposition indicating absence of something
- ningún
- No, none; adjective indicating zero quantity of something
- regalo
- Gift; a present given to someone on an occasion
- refunfuñó
- Grumbled or muttered in a discontented, complaining manner
- tumbada
- Lying down; stretched out horizontally on a surface
- alfombra
- Carpet or rug; a floor covering made of fabric
- tan
- So, such; adverb used to intensify adjectives or adverbs
- horrible
- Horrible; extremely unpleasant, dreadful, or shocking
- ser
- To be; Spanish infinitive indicating permanent states or identity
- pobre
- Poor; lacking money or material possessions
- suspiró
- Sighed; exhaled deeply expressing sadness or relief
- mirando
- Looking at; gazing or directing one's eyes toward something
- viejo
- Old; having existed or been used for a long time
- vestido
- Dress; a garment worn by women covering the body
- parece
- Seems; third-person singular of parecer, to seem or appear
- justo
- Fair, just; conforming to moral rightness or equality
- algunas
- Some; feminine plural indefinite adjective indicating an unspecified number
- chicas
- Girls; young female persons or teenagers
- tengan
- Have; third-person plural present subjunctive of tener
- muchas
- Many; feminine plural adjective indicating a large quantity
- cosas
- Things; objects, items, or matters of any kind
- bonitas
- Pretty, nice; feminine plural adjective describing attractive things
- otras
- Others; feminine plural pronoun referring to different people or things
- nada
- Nothing; not anything, an absence of all things
- añadió
- Added; said something further in a conversation or statement
- pequeña
- Small, little; feminine adjective describing size or age
- resoplido
- Snort or huff; a noisy breath expressing irritation or contempt
- ofendido
- Offended; feeling hurt, insulted, or disrespected by something
- Tenemos
- We have; first-person plural present tense of tener
- Papá
- Dad, father; informal term for one's male parent
- Mamá
- Mom, mother; informal term for one's female parent
- tenemos
- We have; first-person plural present tense of tener
- otra
- Another, other; feminine singular adjective or pronoun indicating difference
- dijo
- Said; third-person singular preterite of decir, to say
- satisfacción
- Satisfaction; a feeling of pleasure or contentment from achievement
- desde
- From, since; preposition indicating starting point in time or space
- rincón
- Corner; an inner angle formed by two walls or surfaces
- cuatro
- Four; the cardinal number between three and five
- rostros
- Faces; the front parts of human heads with features
- jóvenes
- Young; adjective or noun referring to youthful persons
- sobre
- Over, above, on; preposition indicating position or topic
- brillaba
- Shone, gleamed; imperfect tense of brillar, to shine
- luz
- Light; electromagnetic radiation visible to the human eye
- fuego
- Fire; combustion producing heat, light, and flames
- iluminaron
- Lit up; preterite of iluminar, to illuminate or brighten
- alegres
- Happy, cheerful; adjective describing a joyful or lively mood
- palabras
- Words; units of language used to express meaning
- pero
- But; conjunction used to introduce a contrasting statement
- volvieron
- Returned, turned again; preterite plural of volver, to return
- ensombrecerse
- To darken or cloud over; become shadowed with sadness
- cuando
- When; conjunction or adverb referring to a time or moment
- tristeza
- Sadness; a feeling of sorrow, unhappiness, or grief
- tendremos
- We will have; first-person plural future tense of tener
- durante
- During; preposition indicating a period of time something occurs
- mucho
- Much, a lot; adverb or adjective indicating a large amount
- tiempo
- Time or weather; duration or atmospheric conditions
- quizás
- Perhaps, maybe; adverb expressing uncertainty or possibility
- nunca
- Never; adverb indicating something does not happen at any time
- cada
- Each, every; adjective referring to individual members of a group
- silencio
- Silence; the complete absence of sound or noise
- pensando
- Thinking; present participle of pensar, to think or consider
- lejos
- Far, far away; adverb indicating a great distance
- allí
- There; adverb indicating a place at some distance
- donde
- Where; relative adverb or conjunction indicating a place
- libraba
- Was waging; imperfect of librar, to fight or wage
- batalla
- Battle; a military fight or conflict between opposing forces
- Nadie
- Nobody, no one; indefinite pronoun indicating the absence of persons
- habló
- Spoke; third-person singular preterite of hablar, to speak
- momento
- Moment; a very brief period of time
- luego
- Then, later, soon; adverb indicating sequence or subsequent time
- tono
- Tone; the quality or character of a voice or sound
- distinto
- Different, distinct; not the same as something else
- Sabéis
- You know; second-person plural present tense of saber
- razón
- Reason; a cause, explanation, or justification for something
- por
- For, by, through; preposition indicating cause, means, or exchange
- propuso
- Proposed, suggested; preterite of proponer, to propose or suggest
- tener
- To have; infinitive expressing possession or obligation
- regalos
- Gifts, presents; items given to others on special occasions
- esta
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- fue
- Was, went; preterite of ser or ir in third-person singular
- porque
- Because; conjunction explaining the reason or cause for something
- va
- Goes, is going; third-person singular present of ir, to go
- invierno
- Winter; the coldest season of the year
- duro
- Hard, tough; adjective describing difficulty or hardness
- para
- For, in order to; preposition indicating purpose or recipient
- todos
- Everyone, all; masculine plural pronoun or adjective meaning everyone
- cree
- Believes, thinks; third-person singular present of creer
- deberíamos
- We should; first-person plural conditional of deber, to owe
- gastar
- To spend or waste; to use money or resources
- dinero
- Money; currency used as a medium of exchange
- placeres
- Pleasures; feelings of enjoyment, satisfaction, or delight
- nuestros
- Our; first-person plural masculine possessive adjective
- hombres
- Men; adult male human beings
- están
- Are; third-person plural present tense of estar, to be
- sufriendo
- Suffering; experiencing pain, hardship, or distress
- tanto
- So much; adverb or adjective indicating a large degree
- ejército
- Army; a large organized military force of soldiers
- podemos
- We can; first-person plural present tense of poder
- hacer
- To do, to make; common Spanish verb expressing action
- pequeños
- Small, little; masculine plural adjective describing reduced size
- sacrificios
- Sacrifices; acts of giving up something valued for others
- hacerlo
- To do it; infinitive hacer combined with direct object pronoun
- gusto
- Pleasure, taste; enjoyment or satisfaction derived from something
- Pero
- But; conjunction introducing a contrasting or opposing idea
- temo
- I fear; first-person singular present of temer, to fear
- hago
- I do, I make; first-person singular present of hacer
- sacudió
- Shook; preterite of sacudir, to shake or jolt something
- cabeza
- Head; the upper part of the human body
- mientras
- While, meanwhile; conjunction indicating simultaneous or contrasting actions
- pensaba
- Was thinking; imperfect tense of pensar, to think
- pesar
- Regret, sorrow; a feeling of sadness or disappointment
- todas
- All, every; feminine plural adjective or pronoun meaning everyone
- deseaba
- Wished, desired; imperfect of desear, to wish or want
- creo
- I believe, I think; first-person singular present of creer
- poco
- A little, few; adjective or adverb indicating a small amount
- gastaríamos
- We would spend; first-person plural conditional of gastar
- sirviese
- Would serve; imperfect subjunctive of servir, to serve
- algo
- Something, somewhat; indefinite pronoun or adverb indicating an unspecified thing
- Cada
- Each, every; adjective indicating each individual member of a group
- dólar
- Dollar; a unit of currency used in several countries
- vería
- Would see; first or third-person singular conditional of ver
- muy
- Very; adverb used to intensify adjectives or other adverbs
- beneficiado
- Benefited; having received an advantage or positive outcome
- diéramos
- We gave; first-person plural imperfect subjunctive of dar
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