Peter Pan — Page 1
THE MERMAIDS' LAGOON
LA LAGUNA DE LAS SIRENAS
If you shut your eyes and are a lucky one, you may see at times a shapeless pool of lovely pale colours suspended in the darkness; then if you squeeze your eyes tighter, the pool begins to take shape, and the colours become so vivid that with another squeeze they must go on fire.
Si cierras los ojos y eres afortunado, podrás ver a veces una masa informe de hermosos colores pálidos suspendida en la oscuridad; luego, si aprietas más los ojos, la masa comienza a tomar forma, y los colores se vuelven tan vívidos que con otro apretón tendrían que prenderse en llamas.
But just before they go on fire you see the lagoon.
Pero justo antes de que se prendan en llamas ves la laguna.
This is the nearest you ever get to it on the mainland, just one heavenly moment; if there could be two moments you might see the surf and hear the mermaids singing.
Esto es lo más cerca que llegas a ella desde el continente, tan solo un momento celestial; si pudiera haber dos momentos podrías ver las olas y escuchar el canto de las sirenas.
The children often spent long summer days on this lagoon, swimming or floating most of the time, playing the mermaid games in the water, and so forth.
Los niños solían pasar largos días de verano en esta laguna, nadando o flotando la mayor parte del tiempo, jugando a los juegos de las sirenas en el agua, y demás.
You must not think from this that the mermaids were on friendly terms with them: on the contrary, it was among Wendy's lasting regrets that all the time she was on the island she never had a civil word from one of them.
No hay que pensar por ello que las sirenas mantenían una relación amistosa con ellos: al contrario, era uno de los pesares duraderos de Wendy que durante todo el tiempo que estuvo en la isla nunca recibió una palabra amable de ninguna de ellas.
When she stole softly to the edge of the lagoon she might see them by the score, especially on Marooners' Rock, where they loved to bask, combing out their hair in a lazy way that quite irritated her; or she might even swim, on tiptoe as it were, to within a yard of them, but then they saw her and dived, probably splashing her with their tails, not by accident, but intentionally.
Cuando se acercaba sigilosamente al borde de la laguna podía verlas en gran número, especialmente en la Roca de los Abandonados, donde les encantaba tomar el sol, peinando su cabello de una manera perezosa que la irritaba bastante; o incluso podía nadar, de puntillas por así decirlo, hasta quedar a un metro de ellas, pero entonces la veían y se zambullían, salpicándola probablemente con sus colas, no por accidente, sino intencionalmente.
Vocabulary
- LAGUNA
- A small lake or lagoon
- SIRENAS
- Mythical creatures, half-woman and half-fish: mermaids
- cierras
- Second person singular present: 'you close'
- ojos
- Plural noun meaning 'eyes'
- afortunado
- Adjective meaning 'lucky' or 'fortunate'
- podrás
- Second person singular future of 'poder': 'you will be able'
- veces
- Plural noun meaning 'times' or 'occasions'
- masa
- A bulk, mass, or large shapeless body
- informe
- Adjective meaning 'shapeless' or 'formless'
- hermosos
- Adjective meaning 'beautiful' or 'lovely'
- pálidos
- Adjective meaning 'pale' or 'faint in color'
- suspendida
- Adjective meaning 'suspended' or 'hanging in place'
- oscuridad
- Noun meaning 'darkness' or 'obscurity'
- luego
- Adverb meaning 'then' or 'afterwards'
- aprietas
- You squeeze or press tightly
- comienza
- Third person singular present of 'comenzar': 'it begins'
- forma
- Noun meaning 'shape' or 'form'
- vuelven
- Third person plural of 'volverse': 'they become'
- vívidos
- Adjective meaning 'vivid' or 'bright and intense'
- apretón
- A squeeze or tight grip
- tendrían
- Third person plural conditional of 'tener': 'they would have'
- prenderse
- Reflexive infinitive meaning 'to catch fire' or 'ignite'
- llamas
- Plural noun meaning 'flames'
- justo
- Adverb meaning 'just' or 'exactly'
- prendan
- Third person plural subjunctive of 'prender': 'they ignite'
- laguna
- A small lake or lagoon
- llegas
- Second person singular present of 'llegar': 'you arrive'
- continente
- Noun meaning 'mainland' or 'continent'
- celestial
- Adjective meaning 'heavenly' or 'celestial'
- pudiera
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'poder': 'could' or 'might'
- podrías
- Second person singular conditional of 'poder': 'you could'
- olas
- Plural noun meaning 'waves' of water
- canto
- Noun meaning 'song' or 'singing'
- sirenas
- Mermaids or sirens of myth and legend
- solían
- Third person plural imperfect of 'soler': 'they used to'
- largos
- Adjective meaning 'long' in length or duration
- nadando
- Gerund of 'nadar': 'swimming'
- flotando
- Gerund of 'flotar': 'floating'
- mayor
- Adjective meaning 'greater' or 'most' part
- demás
- Pronoun meaning 'the others' or 'the rest'
- ello
- Neutral pronoun meaning 'it' or 'that'
- mantenían
- They maintained or kept up a relationship
- relación
- Noun meaning 'relationship' or 'connection'
- amistosa
- Adjective meaning 'friendly' or 'amicable'
- contrario
- Noun or adjective meaning 'opposite' or 'contrary'
- pesares
- Plural noun meaning 'sorrows' or 'regrets'
- duraderos
- Adjective meaning 'lasting' or 'enduring'
- estuvo
- Third person singular preterite of 'estar': 'she was'
- isla
- Noun meaning 'island'
- recibió
- Third person singular preterite of 'recibir': 'she received'
- amable
- Adjective meaning 'kind' or 'friendly'
- ninguna
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'none' or 'not any' (feminine)
- acercaba
- She approached or drew near repeatedly
- sigilosamente
- Adverb meaning 'stealthily' or 'quietly and carefully'
- borde
- Noun meaning 'edge' or 'border'
- verlas
- Infinitive 'ver' with pronoun: 'to see them'
- especialmente
- Adverb meaning 'especially' or 'particularly'
- Roca
- Noun meaning 'rock' or 'large stone'
- Abandonados
- Adjective meaning 'abandoned' or 'deserted'
- encantaba
- They loved or delighted in doing something
- peinando
- Gerund of 'peinar': 'combing' or 'brushing hair'
- cabello
- Noun meaning 'hair' of the head
- manera
- Noun meaning 'way' or 'manner'
- perezosa
- Adjective meaning 'lazy' or 'idle'
- irritaba
- It irritated or annoyed her repeatedly
- bastante
- Adverb meaning 'quite' or 'fairly'
- incluso
- Adverb meaning 'even' or 'including'
- nadar
- Infinitive meaning 'to swim'
- puntillas
- Plural noun; 'de puntillas' means 'on tiptoe'
- quedar
- Infinitive meaning 'to remain' or 'to be left'
- zambullían
- They dived or plunged into the water repeatedly
- salpicándola
- Gerund with pronoun: 'splashing her' with liquid
- probablemente
- Adverb meaning 'probably' or 'most likely'
- colas
- Plural noun meaning 'tails'
- sino
- Conjunction meaning 'but rather' or 'but instead'
- intencionalmente
- Adverb meaning 'intentionally' or 'on purpose'
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