Peter Pan — Page 3
She wanted to risk it, come what might, but that was not his way; his way was with a pencil and a piece of paper, and if she confused him with suggestions he had to begin at the beginning again.
Elle voulait tenter le risque, quoi qu'il advienne, mais ce n'était pas sa manière de faire ; sa manière à lui, c'était avec un crayon et un morceau de papier, et si elle le perturbait avec des suggestions il devait recommencer depuis le début.
"Now don't interrupt," he would beg of her.
« Ne m'interrompez pas, maintenant », la suppliait-il.
"I have one pound seventeen here, and two and six at the office; I can cut off my coffee at the office, say ten shillings, making two nine and six, with your eighteen and three makes three nine seven, with five naught naught in my cheque-book makes eight nine seven—who is that moving?—eight nine seven, dot and carry seven—don't speak, my own—and the pound you lent to that man who came to the door—quiet, child—dot and carry child—there, you've done it!—did I say nine nine seven? yes, I said nine nine seven; the question is, can we try it for a year on nine nine seven?"
« J'ai une livre dix-sept ici, et deux shillings six au bureau ; je peux supprimer mon café au bureau, disons dix shillings, ce qui fait deux neuf six, avec vos dix-huit et trois cela fait trois neuf sept, avec cinq zéro zéro dans mon carnet de chèques cela fait huit neuf sept — qui est-ce qui bouge là ? — huit neuf sept, je note et reporte sept — ne parlez pas, mon amour — et je note et reporte mon amour — voilà, vous l'avez fait ! — ai-je dit neuf neuf sept ? oui, j'ai dit neuf neuf sept ; la question est, pouvons-nous essayer pendant un an avec neuf neuf sept ? »
"Of course we can, George," she cried.
« Bien sûr que nous le pouvons, George », s'écria-t-elle.
But she was prejudiced in Wendy's favour, and he was really the grander character of the two.
Mais elle était partiale en faveur de Wendy, et lui était vraiment le plus noble caractère des deux.
"Remember mumps," he warned her almost threateningly, and off he went again.
« Souvenez-vous des oreillons », l'avertit-il d'un ton presque menaçant, et il reprit de plus belle.
Vocabulary
- voulait
- Past tense of 'vouloir'; she/he wanted something
- tenter
- To attempt or try something risky
- risque
- A danger or chance of something going wrong
- quoi
- Interrogative or relative pronoun meaning 'what'
- advienne
- Subjunctive of 'advenir'; whatever may happen or occur
- était
- Imperfect tense of 'être'; was or used to be
- manière
- A way, manner, or style of doing something
- faire
- To do or to make; very common French verb
- lui
- Stressed pronoun meaning 'him', 'her', or 'to him/her'
- crayon
- A pencil used for writing or drawing
- morceau
- A piece or bit of something tangible
- papier
- Paper, a material used for writing or printing
- perturbait
- Imperfect tense; was disturbing or disrupting something
- suggestions
- Proposals or ideas offered for consideration
- devait
- Imperfect of 'devoir'; had to or was supposed to
- recommencer
- To start over or begin again from scratch
- depuis
- Preposition meaning 'since' or 'from' a point in time
- début
- The beginning or start of something
- interrompez
- Imperative form of 'interrompre'; do not interrupt me
- maintenant
- Adverb meaning 'now' referring to the present moment
- suppliait
- Imperfect tense; was begging or pleading with someone
- livre
- A book or a pound (currency or weight unit)
- ici
- Adverb meaning 'here', indicating current location
- bureau
- An office or desk where work is done
- peux
- First person present of 'pouvoir'; I can or am able
- supprimer
- To eliminate, cut out, or remove something
- café
- Coffee or a café where beverages are served
- disons
- First person plural of 'dire'; let's say or suppose
- vos
- Plural possessive adjective meaning 'your' (formal/plural)
- cela
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' referring to something
- carnet
- A small notebook or booklet for records
- chèques
- Checks or cheques used for financial payment
- bouge
- Third person present of 'bouger'; moves or budges
- là
- Adverb meaning 'there', indicating a nearby location
- note
- A note, written record, or musical note
- reporte
- Third person present of 'reporter'; carries over or defers
- parlez
- Second person plural imperative or present of 'parler'; speak
- amour
- Love, a deep feeling of affection for someone
- voilà
- Expression meaning 'there it is' or 'there you go'
- dit
- Past tense of 'dire'; said or told someone something
- question
- A question or issue raised for discussion or debate
- pouvons
- First person plural present of 'pouvoir'; we can
- essayer
- To try or attempt something; to make an effort
- pendant
- Preposition meaning 'during' or 'for' a time period
- an
- A year, unit of time equal to twelve months
- Bien
- Adverb meaning 'well' or adjective meaning 'good'
- sûr
- Adjective meaning 'sure' or 'certain' about something
- écria
- Past tense of 's'écrier'; exclaimed or cried out loudly
- partiale
- Feminine adjective meaning 'biased' or 'partial' toward someone
- faveur
- A favor or advantage given to support someone
- vraiment
- Adverb meaning 'really' or 'truly', emphasizing a statement
- plus
- More or most; comparative or superlative degree marker
- noble
- Adjective meaning noble, dignified, or of high character
- caractère
- Character, personality, or temperament of a person
- Souvenez
- Imperative of 'se souvenir'; remember or recall something
- avertit
- Past tense of 'avertir'; warned or alerted someone
- ton
- Possessive adjective 'your' (informal) or a tone of voice
- presque
- Adverb meaning 'almost' or 'nearly' something
- menaçant
- Adjective or participle meaning 'threatening' or 'menacing'
- reprit
- Past tense of 'reprendre'; resumed or replied continuing speech
- belle
- Feminine adjective meaning 'beautiful' or 'lovely'
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