Peter Pan — Page 9
When you play at it by day with the chairs and table-cloth, it is not in the least alarming, but in the two minutes before you go to sleep it becomes very real.
Quando ci giochi di giorno con le sedie e la tovaglia, non è affatto allarmante, ma nei due minuti prima di addormentarti diventa molto reale.
That is why there are night-lights.
Ecco perché esistono le luci notturne.
Occasionally in her travels through her children's minds Mrs. Darling found things she could not understand, and of these quite the most perplexing was the word Peter.
Talvolta nei suoi viaggi attraverso le menti dei suoi figli la signora Darling trovava cose che non riusciva a capire, e di queste la più sconcertante era la parola Peter.
She knew of no Peter, and yet he was here and there in John and Michael's minds, while Wendy's began to be scrawled all over with him.
Non conosceva nessun Peter, eppure era qua e là nella mente di John e Michael, mentre quella di Wendy cominciava ad essere scarabocchiata tutta con il suo nome.
The name stood out in bolder letters than any of the other words, and as Mrs. Darling gazed she felt that it had an oddly cocky appearance.
Il nome spiccava in lettere più marcate di qualsiasi altra parola, e mentre la signora Darling lo fissava, sentiva che aveva un aspetto stranamente arrogante.
"Yes, he is rather cocky," Wendy admitted with regret.
«Sì, è piuttosto arrogante», ammise Wendy con rammarico.
Her mother had been questioning her.
Sua madre l'aveva interrogata.
"But who is he, my pet?"
«Ma chi è, tesoro mio?»
"He is Peter Pan, you know, mother."
«È Peter Pan, sai, mamma.»
At first Mrs. Darling did not know, but after thinking back into her childhood she just remembered a Peter Pan who was said to live with the fairies.
Dapprima la signora Darling non lo sapeva, ma dopo aver ripensato alla sua infanzia riuscì appena a ricordare un Peter Pan che si diceva vivesse con le fate.
There were odd stories about him, as that when children died he went part of the way with them, so that they should not be frightened.
Circolavano strane storie su di lui, come quella secondo cui quando i bambini morivano li accompagnava per un tratto del cammino, affinché non si spaventassero.
She had believed in him at the time, but now that she was married and full of sense she quite doubted whether there was any such person.
Ci aveva creduto a suo tempo, ma ora che era sposata e piena di buon senso dubitava fortemente che esistesse una tale persona.
"Besides," she said to Wendy, "he would be grown up by this time.
«Inoltre», disse a Wendy, «a quest'ora sarebbe già cresciuto.
Vocabulary
- Quando
- When; at what time or in which moment
- ci
- Here; there; us; to us (pronoun/adverb)
- giochi
- Games; you play (verb, second person singular)
- di
- Of; from; about (preposition)
- giorno
- Day; daytime period from sunrise to sunset
- con
- With; together with (preposition)
- le
- The (feminine plural definite article)
- sedie
- Chairs; furniture for sitting upon
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- tovaglia
- Tablecloth; fabric covering for tables
- non
- Not; negation particle (adverb)
- affatto
- At all; not at all (adverb)
- allarmante
- Alarming; causing worry or concern
- ma
- But; however; yet (conjunction)
- nei
- In the; in those (preposition contraction)
- due
- Two; the number 2
- minuti
- Minutes; units of time (60 seconds each)
- prima
- Before; previously; first (adverb/preposition)
- addormentarti
- To fall asleep; to become sleeping
- diventa
- Becomes; grows to be (verb, third person)
- molto
- Very; much; greatly (adverb)
- reale
- Real; actual; genuine (adjective)
- Ecco
- Here is; there is; behold (interjection)
- perché
- Why; because; for what reason
- esistono
- Exist; are present (verb, third person plural)
- luci
- Lights; sources of illumination
- notturne
- Nocturnal; of the night (adjective feminine)
- Talvolta
- Sometimes; occasionally; at times (adverb)
- suoi
- His; her; its (possessive adjective)
- viaggi
- Travels; journeys; trips (noun plural)
- attraverso
- Through; across; by way of (preposition)
- menti
- Minds; intellects; consciousnesses (noun plural)
- dei
- Of the; some (preposition contraction)
- figli
- Children; sons; offspring (noun plural)
- signora
- Woman; lady; Mrs (title/noun)
- trovava
- Found; discovered; located (verb, past tense)
- cose
- Things; objects; matters (noun plural)
- che
- That; which; who (relative pronoun)
- riusciva
- Could manage; succeeded; was able (verb)
- capire
- To understand; to comprehend (verb)
- queste
- These; these ones (feminine plural pronoun)
- più
- More; greater amount; additional (adverb)
- sconcertante
- Disconcerting; bewildering; confusing (adjective)
- era
- Was; existed (verb, past tense singular)
- parola
- Word; term; spoken expression (noun)
- Non
- Not; negation particle (adverb)
- conosceva
- Knew; was acquainted with (verb, past)
- nessun
- No one; nobody; not any (pronoun)
- eppure
- Yet; nevertheless; and yet (conjunction)
- qua
- Here; in this place (adverb)
- là
- There; in that place (adverb)
- nella
- In the; within (preposition contraction)
- mente
- Mind; intellect; brain (noun)
- mentre
- While; whereas; during (conjunction)
- quella
- That; that one (feminine singular pronoun)
- cominciava
- Began; started; commenced (verb, past tense)
- ad
- To; at (preposition, before vowels)
- essere
- To be; to exist (verb infinitive)
- scarabocchiata
- Scribbled; doodled; written messily (adjective)
- tutta
- All; whole; entire (feminine singular)
- il
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- suo
- His; her; its; your (possessive adjective)
- nome
- Name; what someone is called
- Il
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- spiccava
- Stood out; was prominent (verb, past tense)
- in
- In; within; inside (preposition)
- lettere
- Letters; characters; mail (noun plural)
- marcate
- Marked; emphasized; bold (adjective feminine)
- qualsiasi
- Any; whatever; whichever (adjective)
- altra
- Other; different; another (adjective feminine)
- lo
- Him; it (masculine singular object pronoun)
- fissava
- Stared at; gazed upon (verb, past tense)
- sentiva
- Felt; heard; sensed (verb, past tense)
- aveva
- Had; possessed (verb, past tense singular)
- un
- A; an (masculine singular indefinite article)
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