Little Women — Page 13
Or a nurse, so I could be near him and help him," exclaimed Jo, with a groan.
O enfermera, para poder estar cerca de él y ayudarlo», exclamó Jo, con un gemido.
"It must be very disagreeable to sleep in a tent, and eat all sorts of bad-tasting things, and drink out of a tin mug," sighed Amy.
«Debe de ser muy desagradable dormir en una tienda de campaña, y comer toda clase de cosas de mal sabor, y beber de una taza de hojalata», suspiró Amy.
"When will he come home, Marmee?" asked Beth, with a little quiver in her voice.
«¿Cuándo volverá a casa, mamá?», preguntó Beth, con un ligero temblor en la voz.
"Not for many months, dear, unless he is sick.
«No por muchos meses, querida, a menos que esté enfermo.
He will stay and do his work faithfully as long as he can, and we won't ask for him back a minute sooner than he can be spared.
Se quedará y hará su trabajo fielmente todo el tiempo que pueda, y no pediremos que regrese ni un minuto antes de que pueda ser relevado.
Now come and hear the letter."
Ahora venid a escuchar la carta».
They all drew to the fire, Mother in the big chair with Beth at her feet, Meg and Amy perched on either arm of the chair, and Jo leaning on the back, where no one would see any sign of emotion if the letter should happen to be touching.
Todas se acercaron al fuego, la madre en el sillón grande con Beth a sus pies, Meg y Amy posadas en cada uno de los brazos del sillón, y Jo apoyada en el respaldo, donde nadie vería ninguna señal de emoción si la carta resultaba ser conmovedora.
Very few letters were written in those hard times that were not touching, especially those which fathers sent home.
Muy pocas cartas se escribieron en aquellos tiempos difíciles que no fueran conmovedoras, especialmente las que los padres enviaban a casa.
In this one little was said of the hardships endured, the dangers faced, or the homesickness conquered.
En esta, poco se decía de las penurias soportadas, los peligros afrontados o la nostalgia del hogar superada.
It was a cheerful, hopeful letter, full of lively descriptions of camp life, marches, and military news, and only at the end did the writer's heart over-flow with fatherly love and longing for the little girls at home.
Era una carta alegre y esperanzadora, llena de vívidas descripciones de la vida en el campamento, las marchas y las noticias militares, y solo al final el corazón del autor rebosaba de amor paternal y añoranza por las pequeñas que esperaban en casa.
"Give them all of my dear love and a kiss.
«Dadles a todas mi más cariñoso amor y un beso.
Vocabulary
- enfermera
- Nurse; a person who cares for the sick
- para
- Preposition meaning 'in order to' or 'for'
- poder
- To be able to; to have the ability
- estar
- To be; indicates state or location
- cerca
- Near; close in distance to something
- ayudarlo
- To help him; to assist a male person
- exclamó
- Exclaimed; said something with strong emotion
- gemido
- Groan or moan expressing pain or distress
- Debe
- Must; expresses obligation or probability
- ser
- To be; indicates identity or permanent characteristic
- desagradable
- Unpleasant; disagreeable or uncomfortable to experience
- dormir
- To sleep; to rest in a sleeping state
- tienda
- Tent or store; shelter made of fabric
- campaña
- Campaign or countryside; military field operation
- comer
- To eat; to consume food
- clase
- Kind, class, or type of something
- mal
- Bad; of poor quality or unpleasant
- sabor
- Flavor or taste of food or drink
- beber
- To drink; to consume a liquid
- taza
- Cup; a small vessel for drinking liquids
- hojalata
- Tin; a material used to make metal cans
- suspiró
- Sighed; exhaled deeply expressing sadness or relief
- Cuándo
- When; interrogative adverb asking about time
- volverá
- Will return; future tense of volver
- preguntó
- Asked; posed a question to someone
- ligero
- Slight or light; not heavy or intense
- temblor
- Tremor or trembling; slight shaking movement
- voz
- Voice; the sound produced when speaking
- meses
- Months; plural of mes, units of time
- querida
- Dear; beloved or affectionate term of address
- menos
- Unless or less; a comparative or conditional word
- esté
- Subjunctive form of estar meaning 'to be'
- enfermo
- Sick or ill; suffering from a disease
- quedará
- Will stay; future tense of quedarse
- hará
- Will do; future tense of hacer
- trabajo
- Work or job; a person's employment or task
- fielmente
- Faithfully; in a loyal and devoted manner
- tiempo
- Time or weather; duration or meteorological conditions
- pueda
- Subjunctive form of poder meaning 'can'
- pediremos
- We will ask; future tense of pedir
- regrese
- Subjunctive of regresar meaning 'to return'
- ni
- Nor or not even; negative conjunction
- minuto
- Minute; a unit of time equal to sixty seconds
- antes
- Before; earlier in time or position
- relevado
- Relieved of duty; replaced by someone else
- venid
- Come (plural command); imperative of venir
- escuchar
- To listen; to pay attention to a sound
- carta
- Letter; written message sent to someone
- acercaron
- Drew near; moved closer to something or someone
- fuego
- Fire; burning flames producing heat and light
- sillón
- Armchair; a large comfortable padded chair
- pies
- Feet; the lower extremities of the legs
- posadas
- Settled or perched; resting in a position
- cada
- Each; every individual in a group
- brazos
- Arms; the upper limbs of the human body
- apoyada
- Leaning or resting; supported against something
- respaldo
- Backrest; the back support of a chair
- donde
- Where; relative adverb indicating a location
- nadie
- Nobody; no person at all
- vería
- Would see; conditional tense of ver
- ninguna
- None or no; feminine form of ninguno
- señal
- Sign or signal; an indication of something
- emoción
- Emotion; a strong feeling like joy or sadness
- resultaba
- Turned out to be; proved to be something
- conmovedora
- Moving or touching; emotionally affecting or stirring
- pocas
- Few; a small number of feminine things
- cartas
- Letters; written messages sent to recipients
- escribieron
- Wrote; past tense of escribir, to write
- aquellos
- Those; demonstrative adjective for distant things
- tiempos
- Times; periods or eras in history
- difíciles
- Difficult; hard or challenging circumstances
- fueran
- Subjunctive past of ser/ir meaning 'were'
- conmovedoras
- Moving; emotionally touching, plural feminine form
- especialmente
- Especially; particularly above all other things
- padres
- Parents or fathers; male or parental figures
- enviaban
- Were sending; imperfect tense of enviar
- poco
- Little; a small amount of something
- decía
- Said or spoke; imperfect tense of decir
- penurias
- Hardships; severe privations or difficult conditions
- soportadas
- Endured; tolerated difficult conditions or suffering
- peligros
- Dangers; risks or threats to safety
- afrontados
- Faced; confronted challenges or dangers directly
- nostalgia
- Nostalgia; longing for the past or home
- hogar
- Home; one's place of living and belonging
- superada
- Overcome; surpassed or gotten past a difficulty
- alegre
- Happy or cheerful; expressing joy and positivity
- esperanzadora
- Hopeful; inspiring hope and positive expectations
- llena
- Full; filled completely with something
- vívidas
- Vivid; clear and lively in description
- descripciones
- Descriptions; detailed accounts of people or things
- vida
- Life; the state of being alive
- campamento
- Camp; a temporary outdoor living area
- marchas
- Marches; organized military or group movements
- noticias
- News; information about recent events
- militares
- Military; relating to armed forces or soldiers
- solo
- Only or just; alone or singular
- final
- End or final; last part of something
- corazón
- Heart; organ symbolizing love and emotion
- autor
- Author; writer or creator of a text
- rebosaba
- Overflowed; was full to the brim with
- amor
- Love; deep affection for someone or something
- paternal
- Paternal; relating to a father's love
- añoranza
- Longing; deep nostalgic yearning for someone missed
- pequeñas
- Little ones; small or young feminine beings
- esperaban
- Were waiting or hoping; imperfect tense of esperar
- Dadles
- Give them; imperative form of dar with pronoun
- cariñoso
- Affectionate; showing warmth, love, and tenderness
- beso
- Kiss; a touch with the lips as affection
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