Peter Pan — Page 8
It would be an easy map if that were all, but there is also first day at school, religion, fathers, the round pond, needle-work, murders, hangings, verbs that take the dative, chocolate pudding day, getting into braces, say ninety-nine, three-pence for pulling out your tooth yourself, and so on, and either these are part of the island or they are another map showing through, and it is all rather confusing, especially as nothing will stand still.
Sarebbe una mappa facile se fosse tutto, ma ci sono anche il primo giorno di scuola, la religione, i padri, lo stagno rotondo, il ricamo, gli omicidi, le impiccagioni, i verbi che reggono il dativo, il giorno del budino al cioccolato, l'infilare le bretelle, dire novantanove, tre penny per cavarsi un dente da soli, e così via, e o queste cose fanno parte dell'isola o sono un'altra mappa che trasparisce, ed è tutto piuttosto confuso, specialmente perché nulla vuole stare fermo.
Of course the Neverlands vary a good deal.
Naturalmente le Terre del Mai Più variano molto.
John's, for instance, had a lagoon with flamingoes flying over it at which John was shooting, while Michael, who was very small, had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it.
Quella di John, per esempio, aveva una laguna con i fenicotteri che volavano sopra e sui quali John sparava, mentre Michael, che era molto piccolo, aveva un fenicottero con le lagune che volavano sopra di esso.
John lived in a boat turned upside down on the sands, Michael in a wigwam, Wendy in a house of leaves deftly sewn together.
John viveva in una barca capovolta sulla sabbia, Michael in un wigwam, Wendy in una casa di foglie abilmente cucite insieme.
John had no friends, Michael had friends at night, Wendy had a pet wolf forsaken by its parents, but on the whole the Neverlands have a family resemblance, and if they stood still in a row you could say of them that they have each other's nose, and so forth.
John non aveva amici, Michael aveva amici di notte, Wendy aveva un lupo addomesticato abbandonato dai suoi genitori, ma nel complesso le Terre del Mai Più hanno una somiglianza di famiglia, e se stessero ferme in fila si potrebbe dire di loro che hanno il naso dell'una e dell'altra, e così via.
On these magic shores children at play are for ever beaching their coracles.
Su queste rive magiche i bambini che giocano arenano per sempre le loro coracles.
We too have been there; we can still hear the sound of the surf, though we shall land no more.
Anche noi siamo stati lì; possiamo ancora sentire il suono delle onde, anche se non approderemo più.
Of all delectable islands the Neverland is the snuggest and most compact, not large and sprawly, you know, with tedious distances between one adventure and another, but nicely crammed.
Di tutte le isole deliziose, la Terra del Mai Più è la più accogliente e compatta, non grande e smisurata, sapete, con distanze noiose tra un'avventura e l'altra, ma piacevolmente stipata.
Vocabulary
- Sarebbe
- Would be; conditional form of essere.
- una
- A, an; feminine indefinite article.
- mappa
- Map; representation of an area or region.
- facile
- Easy; not difficult or requiring much effort.
- se
- If; conditional conjunction used in sentences.
- fosse
- Were; subjunctive form of essere.
- tutto
- Everything, all; complete or entire.
- ma
- But; conjunction expressing contrast or opposition.
- ci
- There, here; adverbial or dative pronoun.
- sono
- Are, am; present tense of essere.
- anche
- Also, too; word expressing addition or inclusion.
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- primo
- First; coming before others in order.
- giorno
- Day; twenty-four hour period.
- di
- Of; preposition expressing possession or relation.
- scuola
- School; institution for education and learning.
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article.
- religione
- Religion; system of faith and worship.
- padri
- Fathers; male parents or male ancestors.
- lo
- The; masculine singular article before s or z.
- stagno
- Pond; small body of still water.
- rotondo
- Round; circular or spherical in shape.
- ricamo
- Embroidery; decorative needlework on fabric.
- gli
- To him, the; indirect object or article.
- omicidi
- Murders; unlawful killings of human beings.
- le
- The; feminine plural definite article.
- verbi
- Verbs; words expressing actions or states.
- che
- That, which; relative pronoun.
- budino
- Pudding; creamy dessert made with milk.
- al
- To the; contraction of 'a il'.
- cioccolato
- Chocolate; sweet brown substance from cocoa.
- infilare
- Thread, put on; pass through a hole.
- bretelle
- Suspenders; straps worn over shoulders for trousers.
- dire
- To say, tell; express in words.
- novantanove
- Ninety-nine; number between ninety-eight and one hundred.
- tre
- Three; number between two and four.
- penny
- Penny; British coin of small value.
- per
- For, by; preposition expressing purpose or means.
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article.
- dente
- Tooth; hard structure in the mouth for chewing.
- da
- From, by; preposition of origin or agency.
- soli
- Alone; by oneself without others.
- così
- So, thus; in this manner or way.
- via
- Away, via; road or means of passage.
- queste
- These; feminine plural demonstrative pronoun.
- cose
- Things; objects or matters of concern.
- fanno
- Make, do; they perform actions or create.
- parte
- Part; portion or component of whole.
- dell
- Of the; contraction of 'di il'.
- isola
- Island; land surrounded by water.
- altra
- Other, another; different from previously mentioned.
- ed
- And; conjunction used before vowels.
- piuttosto
- Rather, quite; to a considerable degree.
- confuso
- Confused; unclear or bewildered in mind.
- specialmente
- Especially, particularly; to a greater extent than others.
- perché
- Because, why; reason or cause conjunction.
- nulla
- Nothing; not anything at all.
- vuole
- Wants, wishes; desires or requires something.
- stare
- Stay, be; remain in a place or state.
- fermo
- Still, firm; not moving or changing position.
- Naturalmente
- Naturally, of course; as might be expected.
- Terre
- Lands, earths; plural of terra.
- Mai
- Never; not at any time.
- Più
- More; greater in quantity or extent.
- variano
- Vary, differ; change or be different.
- molto
- Much, very; great in quantity or degree.
- Quella
- That; feminine singular demonstrative pronoun.
- esempio
- Example; instance illustrating a general principle.
- aveva
- Had; past tense of avere.
- laguna
- Lagoon; shallow body of water separated from sea.
- con
- With; preposition expressing accompaniment or means.
- volavano
- Were flying; past tense imperfect of volare.
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