On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 3
One day, walking near a little wood, he saw, hastening that way, one of the Queen's chief eunuchs, followed by a troop of officials, who appeared to be in the greatest anxiety, running hither and thither like men distraught, in search of some lost treasure.
Un día, caminando cerca de un pequeño bosque, vio, apresurándose en esa dirección, a uno de los principales eunucos de la Reina, seguido de un grupo de funcionarios, que parecían estar en la mayor angustia, corriendo de un lado a otro como hombres enloquecidos, en busca de algún tesoro perdido.
'Young man,' cried the eunuch, 'have you seen the Queen's dog?'
«Joven», gritó el eunuco, «¿ha visto usted al perro de la Reina?»
Zadig answered modestly, 'A bitch, I think, not a dog.'
Zadig respondió con modestia: «Una perra, creo, no un perro».
'Quite right,' replied the eunuch; and Zadig continued, 'A very small spaniel who has lately had puppies; she limps with the left foreleg, and has very long ears.'
«Exactamente», replicó el eunuco; y Zadig continuó: «Un spaniel muy pequeño que ha tenido cachorros recientemente; cojea de la pata delantera izquierda y tiene las orejas muy largas».
'Ah! you have seen her then,' said the breathless eunuch.
«¡Ah! Entonces la ha visto usted», dijo el eunuco sin aliento.
'No,' answered Zadig, 'I have not seen her; and I really was not aware that the Queen possessed a spaniel.'
«No», respondió Zadig, «no la he visto; y realmente no sabía que la Reina tuviera un spaniel».
By an odd coincidence, at the very same time, the handsomest horse in the King's stables broke away from his groom in the Babylonian plain.
Por una extraña coincidencia, en ese mismo momento, el caballo más hermoso de los establos del Rey se escapó de su mozo de cuadra en la llanura babilónica.
The grand huntsman and all his staff were seeking the horse with as much anxiety as the eunuch and his people the spaniel; and the grand huntsman asked Zadig if he had not seen the King's horse go that way.
El gran cazador y todo su personal buscaban al caballo con tanta angustia como el eunuco y su gente al spaniel; y el gran cazador le preguntó a Zadig si no había visto pasar al caballo del Rey por allí.
'A first-rate galloper, small-hoofed, five feet high; tail three feet and a half long; cheek pieces of the bit of twenty-three carat gold; shoes silver?' said Zadig.
«¿Un galopador de primera, con cascos pequeños, cinco pies de altura; cola de tres pies y medio de largo; camas del freno de oro de veintitrés quilates; herraduras de plata?», dijo Zadig.
'Which way did he go? Where is he?' cried the grand huntsman.
«¿Por dónde fue? ¿Dónde está?», exclamó el gran cazador.
Vocabulary
- día
- A day; a 24-hour period of time
- caminando
- Walking; moving on foot at a normal pace
- cerca
- Near; close in distance to something
- pequeño
- Small; little in size or extent
- bosque
- A forest or woodland area with trees
- vio
- He/she saw; past tense of 'ver'
- apresurándose
- Hurrying; moving or acting with great speed
- esa
- That; demonstrative adjective indicating a nearby thing
- dirección
- Direction; the path toward which something moves
- uno
- One; the number one or a single person
- principales
- Main or principal; most important among several
- Reina
- Queen; the female ruler or monarch
- seguido
- Followed; accompanied closely by others behind
- grupo
- A group; a collection of people or things
- funcionarios
- Officials; people holding government or administrative positions
- parecían
- They seemed; appeared to be in some state
- estar
- To be; indicates a temporary or conditional state
- mayor
- Greater; larger or more intense in degree
- angustia
- Anguish; intense distress or emotional suffering
- corriendo
- Running; moving quickly on foot
- lado
- Side; one of two directions or edges
- otro
- Other; a different or additional one
- como
- Like or as; used to make a comparison
- hombres
- Men; adult male human beings
- enloquecidos
- Maddened; driven crazy or out of their minds
- busca
- Search; the act of looking for something
- algún
- Some; referring to an unspecified thing or person
- tesoro
- Treasure; a valuable collection of precious items
- perdido
- Lost; no longer findable or in one's possession
- Joven
- Young person; someone in an early stage of life
- gritó
- He/she shouted; called out loudly to someone
- visto
- Seen; past participle of 'ver,' to see
- usted
- You; formal second-person singular pronoun
- perro
- Dog; a common domesticated canine animal
- respondió
- He/she responded; gave an answer to a question
- modestia
- Modesty; the quality of being humble and understated
- perra
- Female dog; a bitch or female canine
- creo
- I believe or think; expressing an opinion or assumption
- Exactamente
- Exactly; precisely or without error
- replicó
- He/she replied; responded quickly or sharply
- continuó
- He/she continued; kept going or proceeded further
- muy
- Very; adverb intensifying an adjective or adverb
- tenido
- Had; past participle of 'tener,' to have
- cachorros
- Puppies; young offspring of a dog
- recientemente
- Recently; not long ago in time
- cojea
- Limps; walks unevenly due to a leg injury
- pata
- Paw or leg; a limb of an animal
- delantera
- Front; the forward-facing side or limb
- izquierda
- Left; the direction opposite to the right side
- tiene
- Has; third person singular present of 'tener'
- orejas
- Ears; the organs of hearing on a head
- largas
- Long; extended in length beyond the normal size
- Entonces
- Then; at that time or as a consequence
- dijo
- He/she said; past tense of 'decir,' to say
- sin
- Without; lacking or not having something
- aliento
- Breath; air inhaled and exhaled by a person
- realmente
- Really; in truth or in actual fact
- sabía
- I/he/she knew; past imperfect of 'saber,' to know
- tuviera
- Had; imperfect subjunctive of 'tener,' to have
- extraña
- Strange; unusual or unexpected in nature
- coincidencia
- Coincidence; two events happening unexpectedly at once
- ese
- That; demonstrative adjective for a nearby masculine noun
- mismo
- Same; identical or the very one mentioned
- momento
- Moment; a very brief period of time
- caballo
- Horse; a large domesticated four-legged animal
- más
- More; a greater quantity or degree
- hermoso
- Beautiful; having an attractive or pleasing appearance
- establos
- Stables; buildings where horses are kept
- Rey
- King; the male ruler of a kingdom
- escapó
- Escaped; got away or broke free from confinement
- mozo
- Groom or lad; a young male servant or helper
- cuadra
- Stable; a building housing horses or livestock
- llanura
- Plain; a large flat area of open land
- gran
- Great; large, important, or impressive in scale
- cazador
- Hunter; a person who hunts animals
- todo
- All or everything; the entire amount or group
- personal
- Staff or personnel; a group of employees or workers
- buscaban
- They were searching; past imperfect of 'buscar'
- tanta
- So much; such a large amount of something
- gente
- People; a group of human beings collectively
- preguntó
- He/she asked; posed a question to someone
- si
- If or whether; conjunction introducing a condition
- había
- There was/had; past imperfect of 'haber'
- pasar
- To pass; to go by or through a place
- allí
- There; in or at that place
- galopador
- A galloper; a horse moving at a full gallop
- primera
- First; coming before all others in order
- cascos
- Hooves; hard coverings on a horse's feet
- pequeños
- Small; little in size, plural masculine form
- cinco
- Five; the number 5
- pies
- Feet; unit of measurement or body extremities
- altura
- Height; the measurement of how tall something is
- cola
- Tail; the rear appendage of an animal
- tres
- Three; the number 3
- medio
- Half or middle; halfway or the center point
- largo
- Long; extended in length or duration
- freno
- Bit or brake; device controlling a horse's movement
- oro
- Gold; a precious yellow metallic element
- veintitrés
- Twenty-three; the number 23
- quilates
- Carats; units measuring the purity of gold
- herraduras
- Horseshoes; metal shoes nailed to horse hooves
- plata
- Silver; a shiny white precious metallic element
- dónde
- Where; interrogative asking about direction or place
- fue
- Went or was; past tense of 'ir' or 'ser'
- ¿Dónde
- Where; interrogative asking about a location
- está
- Is; third person singular present of 'estar'
- exclamó
- He/she exclaimed; cried out with strong emotion
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