Piccolissima — Page 2
On the mother's side, her lineage was no less distinguished.
Mütterlicherseits war ihre Abstammung nicht weniger angesehen.
Mignonette Littlepin (this was the family name of Madam Tom Thumb) was the great granddaughter of the wonderful Princess, who once lodged in a spectacle case, out of which she came so splendidly attired that the brilliancy of her little person illuminated all surrounding objects.
Mignonette Littlepin (dies war der Familienname von Madame Däumelin) war die Urenkelin jener wunderbaren Prinzessin, die einst in einem Brillenetui wohnte, aus welchem sie so prächtig gekleidet hervortrat, dass der Glanz ihrer kleinen Person alle umliegenden Gegenstände erhellte.
A trustworthy biographer tells us that nothing occurred in the history of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb to disgrace their illustrious parentage, and they were considered none the less good citizens because they were rather smaller than other people.
Ein zuverlässiger Biograph berichtet uns, dass in der Geschichte von Herrn und Frau Däumelin nichts vorkam, das ihrer erlauchten Herkunft Schande gemacht hätte, und sie galten nicht weniger als gute Bürger, weil sie etwas kleiner waren als andere Menschen.
In the mean while, however, our humble couple became suddenly celebrated by the birth of our heroine; this small creature was so delicate, so exquisite, so pretty, and so lively and full of spirit, that from the age of two years she became the object of general admiration.
Inzwischen jedoch wurde unser bescheidenes Paar durch die Geburt unserer Heldin plötzlich berühmt; dieses kleine Wesen war so zart, so köstlich, so hübsch und so lebhaft und voller Geist, dass sie vom Alter von zwei Jahren an zum Gegenstand allgemeiner Bewunderung wurde.
She was not more than one inch in height, and her mother, who had prepared the cradle and baby linen for a child of the usual size, was puzzled to know what to do.
Sie war nicht mehr als einen Zoll groß, und ihre Mutter, die Wiege und Babyausstattung für ein Kind normaler Größe vorbereitet hatte, wusste nicht, was sie tun sollte.
Finally, the half of a cocoanut shell, lined, and furnished with soft cushions of thistle down, made a good bed for the little wonder; and the nursery maid, wife of a neighboring clockmaker, and a person of ingenuity, conceived the admirable idea of suspending the cocoanut cradle from the pendulum of a great clock, in order that the infant might be rocked all the time.
Schließlich ergab die Hälfte einer Kokosnussschale, ausgekleidet und mit weichen Kissen aus Distelwolle versehen, ein gutes Bett für das kleine Wunder; und das Kindermädchen, die Frau eines benachbarten Uhrmachers und eine Person von Einfallsreichtum, kam auf den bewundernswerten Gedanken, die Kokosnusswiege am Pendel einer großen Uhr aufzuhängen, damit das Kind die ganze Zeit geschaukelt werden könnte.
Madam Tom Thumb was enchanted with the invention.
Madame Däumelin war von der Erfindung begeistert.
Vocabulary
- Mütterlicherseits
- On the mother's side; relating to maternal lineage
- war
- Was; past tense of 'sein' (to be)
- ihre
- Her, their; possessive pronoun
- Abstammung
- Descent, origin, lineage of a person
- nicht
- Not; basic negation word
- weniger
- Less, fewer; comparative form of 'wenig'
- angesehen
- Respected, esteemed, regarded highly
- dies
- This; demonstrative pronoun referring to something nearby
- der
- The; definite article for masculine or genitive
- Familienname
- Family name, surname passed down through generations
- von
- Of, from; common preposition indicating origin or possession
- die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- Urenkelin
- Great-granddaughter; female descendant two generations below grandchild
- jener
- That, of that; demonstrative pronoun referring to distant thing
- wunderbaren
- Wonderful, marvelous; adjective in inflected form
- Prinzessin
- Princess; female member of royalty
- einst
- Once, formerly; referring to a past time
- in
- In, inside; preposition indicating location
- einem
- A, an; indefinite article in dative case
- Brillenetui
- Glasses case; small container for storing spectacles
- wohnte
- Lived, resided; past tense of 'wohnen'
- aus
- Out of, from; preposition indicating origin or exit
- welchem
- Which; relative pronoun in dative case
- sie
- She, they; third-person pronoun
- so
- So, thus; adverb indicating degree or manner
- prächtig
- Splendidly, magnificently; in a grand impressive manner
- gekleidet
- Dressed, clothed; past participle of 'kleiden'
- hervortrat
- Stepped forth, emerged; past tense of 'hervortreten'
- dass
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing a clause
- Glanz
- Radiance, brilliance, shine of light or appearance
- ihrer
- Her, their; possessive pronoun in genitive case
- kleinen
- Small, little; adjective in inflected form
- Person
- Person; an individual human being
- alle
- All, every; indefinite pronoun or determiner
- umliegenden
- Surrounding, adjacent; referring to nearby areas
- Gegenstände
- Objects, items; plural of 'Gegenstand'
- erhellte
- Illuminated, lit up; past tense of 'erhellen'
- Ein
- A, one; indefinite article or numeral
- zuverlässiger
- Reliable, trustworthy; adjective in inflected form
- Biograph
- Biographer; person who writes another's life story
- berichtet
- Reports, informs; present tense of 'berichten'
- uns
- Us; first-person plural pronoun in accusative/dative
- Geschichte
- Story, history; narrative or account of events
- Herrn
- Mr., gentleman; accusative/dative form of 'Herr'
- und
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- Frau
- Mrs., woman; adult female or married woman
- nichts
- Nothing; pronoun indicating absence of anything
- vorkam
- Occurred, happened; past tense of 'vorkommen'
- das
- The, that; definite article or demonstrative pronoun
- erlauchten
- Illustrious, exalted; adjective describing noble lineage
- Herkunft
- Origin, descent, background of a person
- Schande
- Shame, disgrace; dishonor brought upon someone
- gemacht
- Made, done; past participle of 'machen'
- hätte
- Would have; subjunctive past of 'haben'
- galten
- Were considered, counted as; past tense of 'gelten'
- als
- As, than; conjunction used for comparison or equivalence
- gute
- Good; adjective in inflected form
- Bürger
- Citizens, townspeople; members of a community
- weil
- Because; subordinating conjunction giving a reason
- etwas
- Somewhat, something; indefinite pronoun or adverb
- kleiner
- Smaller; comparative form of 'klein'
- waren
- Were; past tense plural of 'sein'
- andere
- Other, different; pronoun or adjective referring to others
- Menschen
- People, humans; plural of 'Mensch'
- Inzwischen
- Meanwhile, in the meantime; temporal connecting adverb
- jedoch
- However, yet; conjunction expressing contrast
- wurde
- Became, was; past tense of 'werden'
- unser
- Our; first-person plural possessive pronoun
- bescheidenes
- Modest, humble; adjective describing unassuming character
- Paar
- Couple, pair; two people or things together
- durch
- Through, by means of; preposition indicating means
- Geburt
- Birth; the moment of being born
- unserer
- Our; possessive pronoun in genitive feminine form
- Heldin
- Heroine; female protagonist or hero of a story
- plötzlich
- Suddenly, all at once; without warning
- berühmt
- Famous, renowned; widely known and celebrated
- dieses
- This; demonstrative pronoun in nominative neuter form
- kleine
- Small, little; adjective in inflected form
- Wesen
- Being, creature; an entity or living thing
- zart
- Delicate, tender, fragile; soft and gentle
- köstlich
- Delightful, exquisite; charming and wonderfully pleasing
- hübsch
- Pretty, cute; attractive in a pleasing way
- lebhaft
- Lively, vivacious; full of energy and animation
- voller
- Full of; preposition-like adjective indicating abundance
- Geist
- Spirit, mind, wit; intellectual or mental quality
- vom
- From the; contraction of 'von dem'
- Alter
- Age; the number of years someone has lived
- zwei
- Two; the number 2
- Jahren
- Years; plural of 'Jahr' in dative case
- an
- At, on, to; preposition indicating position or time
- zum
- To the; contraction of 'zu dem'
- Gegenstand
- Object, subject, topic; a thing or matter discussed
- allgemeiner
- General, universal; widespread and applying to everyone
- Bewunderung
- Admiration; feeling of wonder and appreciation
- Sie
- She, you (formal); third-person or formal second-person pronoun
- mehr
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater quantity
- einen
- A, one; indefinite article in accusative masculine form
- Zoll
- Inch; unit of measurement, about 2.54 centimeters
- groß
- Big, tall; adjective describing large size
- Mutter
- Mother; female parent
- Wiege
- Cradle; small rocking bed for an infant
- Babyausstattung
- Baby equipment; complete set of items for newborn
- für
- For; preposition indicating purpose or recipient
- ein
- A, an, one; indefinite article
- Kind
- Child; a young human being
- normaler
- Normal, standard; of usual or average size
- Größe
- Size, height; physical dimensions of a person or object
- vorbereitet
- Prepared, ready; past participle of 'vorbereiten'
- hatte
- Had; past tense of 'haben'
- wusste
- Knew; past tense of 'wissen'
- was
- What; interrogative or relative pronoun
- tun
- To do; basic action verb
- sollte
- Should, was supposed to; past subjunctive of 'sollen'
- Schließlich
- Finally, eventually; after a long process or delay
- ergab
- Resulted in, yielded; past tense of 'ergeben'
- Hälfte
- Half; one of two equal parts
- einer
- A, one; indefinite article in genitive or dative feminine
- Kokosnussschale
- Coconut shell; hard outer casing of a coconut
- ausgekleidet
- Lined; interior covered with soft material
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- weichen
- Soft, tender; adjective describing gentle texture
- Kissen
- Pillows, cushions; soft padded objects for comfort
- Distelwolle
- Thistle down; soft fluffy fibers from thistle plants
- versehen
- Provided, equipped; fitted with something necessary
- gutes
- Good; adjective in neuter nominative inflected form
- Bett
- Bed; furniture used for sleeping
- Wunder
- Wonder, miracle; something astonishing or miraculous
- Kindermädchen
- Nanny, nursemaid; woman hired to care for children
- eines
- A, one; indefinite article in genitive neuter form
- benachbarten
- Neighboring, adjacent; located in the nearby area
- Uhrmachers
- Watchmaker's; genitive of 'Uhrmacher', clockmaker
- eine
- A, an; indefinite article in feminine nominative form
- Einfallsreichtum
- Ingenuity, inventiveness; richness of creative ideas
- kam
- Came; past tense of 'kommen'
- auf
- On, onto, upon; preposition indicating surface or direction
- den
- The; definite article in accusative masculine form
- bewundernswerten
- Admirable, remarkable; worthy of admiration or praise
- Gedanken
- Thought, idea; a mental concept or notion
- Kokosnusswiege
- Coconut cradle; cradle fashioned from a coconut shell
- am
- At the, on the; contraction of 'an dem'
- Pendel
- Pendulum; swinging weight regulating a clock
- großen
- Large, big; adjective in inflected dative form
- Uhr
- Clock, watch; device that measures and shows time
- aufzuhängen
- To hang up; infinitive with 'zu' of 'aufhängen'
- damit
- So that, with it; conjunction or pronoun of purpose
- ganze
- Whole, entire, all; adjective meaning complete
- Zeit
- Time; the ongoing sequence of existence and events
- geschaukelt
- Rocked, swung; past participle of 'schaukeln'
- werden
- To become, will be; auxiliary or main verb
- könnte
- Could; subjunctive past form of 'können'
- Erfindung
- Invention; a newly created device or idea
- begeistert
- Enthusiastic, thrilled; filled with excitement and delight
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