Little Women — Page 5
"
"
And Jo shook the blue army sock till the needles rattled like castanets, and her ball bounded across the room.
Y Jo sacudió el calcetín azul del ejército hasta que las agujas sonaron como castañuelas, y su ovillo saltó por toda la habitación.
"Poor Jo! It's too bad, but it can't be helped.
«¡Pobre Jo! Es una lástima, pero no tiene remedio.
So you must try to be contented with making your name boyish, and playing brother to us girls," said Beth, stroking the rough head with a hand that all the dish washing and dusting in the world could not make ungentle in its touch.
Así que debes intentar conformarte con tener un nombre de chico y hacerte pasar por el hermano de nosotras», dijo Beth, acariciando la revuelta cabellera con una mano que todo el friegue de platos y el quitar el polvo del mundo no hubieran podido hacer menos suave en su tacto.
"As for you, Amy," continued Meg, "you are altogether too particular and prim.
«En cuanto a ti, Amy», continuó Meg, «eres demasiado remilgada y estirada.
Your airs are funny now, but you'll grow up an affected little goose, if you don't take care.
Tus aires resultan graciosos ahora, pero te convertirás en una pequeña oca afectada si no tienes cuidado.
I like your nice manners and refined ways of speaking, when you don't try to be elegant.
Me gustan tus buenos modales y tu forma refinada de hablar, cuando no intentas parecer elegante.
But your absurd words are as bad as Jo's slang."
Pero tus palabras absurdas son tan malas como la jerga de Jo.»
"If Jo is a tomboy and Amy a goose, what am I, please?" asked Beth, ready to share the lecture.
«Si Jo es un marimacho y Amy una oca, ¿yo qué soy, si puede saberse?», preguntó Beth, dispuesta a recibir su parte de la lección.
"You're a dear, and nothing else," answered Meg warmly, and no one contradicted her, for the 'Mouse' was the pet of the family.
«Eres un encanto, y nada más», respondió Meg con afecto, y nadie la contradijo, pues el «Ratoncito» era la preferida de la familia.
As young readers like to know 'how people look', we will take this moment to give them a little sketch of the four sisters, who sat knitting away in the twilight, while the December snow fell quietly without, and the fire crackled cheerfully within.
Como a los jóvenes lectores les gusta saber «cómo es la gente», aprovecharemos este momento para ofrecerles una breve descripción de las cuatro hermanas, que estaban sentadas tejiendo al anochecer, mientras la nieve de diciembre caía silenciosamente en el exterior y el fuego crepitaba alegremente en el interior.
Vocabulary
- sacudió
- Shook or jerked something with a sudden movement.
- calcetín
- A sock worn on the foot.
- azul
- The color blue.
- ejército
- A large organized military force of a nation.
- hasta
- Preposition meaning 'until' or 'up to'.
- agujas
- Knitting needles or sewing needles used in crafts.
- sonaron
- Produced a sound; rang or made noise.
- castañuelas
- Small percussion instruments clicked together in flamenco.
- ovillo
- A ball of wound yarn or thread.
- saltó
- Jumped or leaped suddenly from a position.
- habitación
- A room inside a house or building.
- Pobre
- Adjective meaning 'poor' or expressing pity for someone.
- lástima
- A pity or shame; something that causes regret.
- remedio
- A remedy or solution; often used in 'no tiene remedio'.
- Así
- Adverb meaning 'so', 'thus', or 'in this way'.
- intentar
- To try or attempt to do something.
- conformarte
- To resign oneself or be content with a situation.
- nombre
- A name given to a person or thing.
- chico
- A boy or young male person.
- pasar
- To pass, happen, or pose as someone else.
- hermano
- A brother; a male sibling in a family.
- acariciando
- Stroking or caressing gently with the hand.
- revuelta
- Disheveled or tangled, as in messy hair.
- cabellera
- A full head of hair on a person.
- mano
- The hand, the body part at the end of the arm.
- friegue
- Subjunctive or imperative of 'fregar'; scrub or wash dishes.
- platos
- Plates or dishes used for serving food.
- quitar
- To remove, take away, or eliminate something.
- polvo
- Dust that accumulates on surfaces in a room.
- mundo
- The world or everyone in general.
- hacer
- Infinitive meaning 'to do' or 'to make'.
- menos
- Adverb meaning 'less' or 'fewer' in comparison.
- suave
- Soft, smooth, or gentle in texture or manner.
- tacto
- The sense of touch; also means tact in behavior.
- cuanto
- Used in 'en cuanto a', meaning 'as for' or 'regarding'.
- continuó
- Continued speaking or doing something without stopping.
- demasiado
- Too much or excessively; beyond what is appropriate.
- remilgada
- Overly fussy, prim, or prudish in behavior.
- estirada
- Stiff, haughty, or stuck-up in attitude.
- aires
- Airs or pretentious mannerisms; affected behaviors.
- resultan
- Turn out to be or come across as something.
- graciosos
- Funny or amusing; charming in an entertaining way.
- ahora
- Adverb meaning 'now' or 'at this moment'.
- convertirás
- Future tense of 'convertirse'; you will become something.
- pequeña
- Adjective meaning 'small' or 'little' for feminine nouns.
- oca
- A goose; used figuratively to mean a silly person.
- afectada
- Affected or pretentious in manner or behavior.
- cuidado
- Care or caution; also used in warnings like 'be careful'.
- buenos
- Adjective meaning 'good' for masculine plural nouns.
- modales
- Manners or polite social behaviors and etiquette.
- forma
- A way, manner, or form of doing something.
- refinada
- Refined, polished, or cultured in style or manner.
- hablar
- Infinitive meaning 'to speak' or 'to talk'.
- cuando
- Conjunction meaning 'when', introducing a time clause.
- intentas
- Second-person singular present; you try or attempt something.
- parecer
- To seem or appear to be a certain way.
- elegante
- Elegant, stylish, or graceful in appearance or behavior.
- palabras
- Words used in speech or writing to communicate.
- absurdas
- Absurd or ridiculous; lacking sense or logic.
- tan
- Adverb meaning 'so' or 'as', used in comparisons.
- malas
- Adjective meaning 'bad' or 'wrong' for feminine plural.
- jerga
- Slang or jargon; informal nonstandard language use.
- marimacho
- A tomboy; a girl who behaves in boyish ways.
- saberse
- Reflexive of 'saber'; to be known or found out.
- preguntó
- Past tense of 'preguntar'; asked a question.
- dispuesta
- Ready or willing to do or receive something.
- recibir
- To receive or accept something given to you.
- parte
- A part, portion, or share of something.
- lección
- A lesson; something taught or learned.
- encanto
- A charming or delightful person; also means 'charm'.
- nada
- Nothing; used to express absence of something.
- respondió
- Past tense of 'responder'; replied or answered someone.
- afecto
- Affection or fondness felt toward someone.
- nadie
- Pronoun meaning 'nobody' or 'no one'.
- contradijo
- Past tense of 'contradecir'; contradicted or disagreed with.
- pues
- Filler word meaning 'well', 'then', or 'since'.
- Ratoncito
- Little mouse; an affectionate nickname for a person.
- preferida
- Favorite or most preferred person or thing.
- familia
- Family; the group of people related to you.
- jóvenes
- Young people; youths or adolescents.
- lectores
- Readers; people who read books or texts.
- saber
- To know facts or information about something.
- gente
- People; a group of human beings in general.
- aprovecharemos
- Future tense; we will take advantage of an opportunity.
- momento
- A moment; a brief or specific point in time.
- ofrecerles
- To offer or present something to a group of people.
- breve
- Brief or short in length or duration.
- descripción
- A description; an account of what something is like.
- cuatro
- The number four.
- hermanas
- Sisters; female siblings in a family.
- sentadas
- Seated; in the position of sitting down.
- tejiendo
- Knitting or weaving; creating fabric with needles or loom.
- anochecer
- Nightfall or dusk; the time when day turns to night.
- mientras
- Conjunction meaning 'while' or 'as long as'.
- nieve
- Snow; frozen precipitation that falls in winter.
- diciembre
- December; the twelfth and last month of the year.
- caía
- Past imperfect of 'caer'; was falling continuously.
- silenciosamente
- Silently or quietly, without making any noise.
- exterior
- The outside or outer part of a building or space.
- fuego
- Fire; burning flames producing heat and light.
- crepitaba
- Was crackling; making sharp snapping sounds like fire.
- alegremente
- Cheerfully or happily; in a joyful manner.
- interior
- The inside or inner part of a building or space.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →