On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 5
I noticed the track of an animal in the sand, and it was easy to see that it was that of a small dog.
Noté la huella de un animal en la arena, y era fácil ver que era la de un perro pequeño.
Long faint streaks upon the little elevations of sand between the footmarks convinced me that it was a she dog with pendent dugs, showing that she must have had puppies not many days since.
Largas y tenues marcas sobre las pequeñas elevaciones de arena entre las huellas me convencieron de que era una perra con ubres colgantes, lo que indicaba que debía haber tenido cachorros no hacía muchos días.
Other scrapings of the sand, which always lay close to the marks of the forepaws, indicated that she had very long ears;
Otros rasguños en la arena, que siempre se encontraban cerca de las marcas de las patas delanteras, indicaban que tenía orejas muy largas;
and, as the imprint of one foot was always fainter than those of the other three, I judged that the lady dog of our august Queen was, if I may venture to say so, a little lame.
y, como la huella de una pata era siempre más tenue que la de las otras tres, deduje que la perra de nuestra augusta Reina era, si me atrevo a decirlo, un poco coja.
'With respect to the horse of the King of Kings, permit me to observe that, wandering through the paths which traverse the wood, I noticed the marks of horse-shoes.
«Con respecto al caballo del Rey de Reyes, permítame observar que, mientras vagaba por los senderos que atraviesan el bosque, noté las marcas de las herraduras.
They were all equidistant.
Todas estaban equidistantes.
"Ah!" said I, "this is a famous galloper."
«¡Ah!», dije, «este es un famoso galopador».
In a narrow alley, only seven feet wide, the dust upon the trunks of the trees was a little disturbed at three feet and a half from the middle of the path.
En un callejón estrecho, de apenas siete pies de ancho, el polvo sobre los troncos de los árboles estaba ligeramente removido a tres pies y medio del centro del camino.
"This horse," said I to myself, "had a tail three feet and a half long, and, lashing it from one side to the other, he has swept away the dust."
«Este caballo», me dije, «tenía una cola de tres pies y medio de largo, y, al azotarla de un lado a otro, ha barrido el polvo».
Vocabulary
- Noté
- I noticed; I noted down
- la
- the (feminine singular article)
- huella
- footprint; trace; mark left behind
- de
- of; from; by (preposition)
- un
- a; an (masculine singular article)
- animal
- animal; living creature
- en
- in; on; at (preposition)
- arena
- sand; sandy area or surface
- era
- was; it was (imperfect tense)
- fácil
- easy; simple; not difficult
- ver
- to see; to watch; to observe
- que
- that; which; what (relative pronoun)
- perro
- dog; male dog
- pequeño
- small; little; tiny in size
- Largas
- long; extended in length or duration
- tenues
- faint; soft; delicate or thin
- marcas
- marks; signs; traces or brands
- sobre
- on; over; about (preposition)
- las
- the (feminine plural article)
- pequeñas
- small; little; tiny (feminine plural)
- elevaciones
- elevations; rises; raised areas or mounds
- entre
- between; among; in the middle of
- huellas
- footprints; traces; marks left behind
- me
- me; to me (pronoun)
- convencieron
- convinced; persuaded me of something
- una
- a; an (feminine singular article)
- perra
- female dog; bitch (animal term)
- con
- with; accompanied by (preposition)
- colgantes
- hanging; dangling; suspended downward
- lo
- it; him; the (masculine neuter article)
- indicaba
- indicated; suggested; pointed out
- debía
- must have; should have; ought to
- haber
- to have; to exist (auxiliary verb)
- tenido
- had; possessed (past participle)
- cachorros
- puppies; young dogs; baby animals
- no
- no; not; negation
- hacía
- made; did; was making (imperfect)
- muchos
- many; a lot of; numerous
- días
- days; twenty-four hour periods
- Otros
- others; other people or things
- rasguños
- scratches; scrapes; claw marks on surface
- siempre
- always; ever; at all times
- se
- oneself; himself; herself (reflexive pronoun)
- encontraban
- found; were found; were located
- cerca
- near; close to; nearby
- patas
- paws; legs of animals; feet
- delanteras
- front; forward; anterior (feminine plural)
- indicaban
- indicated; suggested; showed; pointed out
- tenía
- had; possessed; owned (imperfect tense)
- orejas
- ears; auditory organs on head
- muy
- very; greatly; to great extent
- largas
- long; extended; of great length
- como
- like; as; as if (preposition)
- pata
- paw; leg of an animal
- más
- more; greater; most (comparative)
- tenue
- faint; soft; delicate or thin
- otras
- others; other (feminine plural)
- tres
- three; the number three
- deduje
- I deduced; I inferred; I concluded
- nuestra
- our; belonging to us (feminine)
- Reina
- Queen; female monarch; queen chess piece
- si
- if; whether (conditional conjunction)
- atrevo
- dare; venture; risk (first person)
- decirlo
- to say it; to speak it
- poco
- little; small amount; not much
- coja
- lame; limping; unable to walk normally
- Con
- with; accompanied by (preposition)
- respecto
- respect; regard; consideration or relation
- al
- to the; at the (contraction)
- caballo
- horse; equine animal; chess piece
- del
- of the; from the (contraction)
- Rey
- King; male monarch; chess piece
- Reyes
- Kings; royal couple; Epiphany holiday
- permítame
- allow me; permit me; let me
- observar
- to observe; to watch; to notice
- mientras
- while; during; as long as
- vagaba
- wandered; roamed; moved aimlessly about
- por
- by; through; for; per (preposition)
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