Piccolissima — Page 8
I have learned that one minute does not resemble another; that cold is near to heat, that light is near to darkness, and that sweet follows bitter.
Ich habe gelernt, dass eine Minute der anderen nicht gleicht; dass Kälte nah an Wärme ist, dass Licht nah an Dunkelheit ist, und dass Süßes auf Bitteres folgt.
It is now two hundred and twenty-one thousand, seven hundred and sixty-one minutes, and twenty-four seconds, since I broke my shell.
Es sind nun zweihunderteinundzwanzigtausend, siebenhunderteinundsechzig Minuten und vierundzwanzig Sekunden vergangen, seit ich meine Schale durchbrochen habe.
This sun, which you now see so pale in the dusk, glowed then with more fervor, and sent every where more rays and sparkles than I can count seconds in my long life.
Diese Sonne, die ihr nun so blass in der Dämmerung seht, glühte damals mit größerem Eifer und sandte überall mehr Strahlen und Funken aus, als ich Sekunden in meinem langen Leben zählen kann.
I was all wet as you are now--poor, helpless thing; but I turned myself to some of those brilliant rays, and my wings directly became strong, as you now see them, embossed and painted with seven different, changing colors, reflections of the rays of the sun.
Ich war ganz nass, wie ihr es jetzt seid – armes, hilfloses Wesen; aber ich wandte mich einigen jener strahlenden Lichtstrahlen zu, und meine Flügel wurden sofort stark, wie ihr sie jetzt seht, geprägt und bemalt mit sieben verschiedenen, wechselnden Farben, Spiegelungen der Sonnenstrahlen.
See! there is one of these rays now; come forth; spread thy moist wing, already shrunk and chill; thou shalt take thy part in the blessings which come from on high."
Sieh! dort ist nun einer dieser Strahlen; komm hervor; breite deinen feuchten Flügel aus, der schon eingeschrumpft und kalt ist; du sollst deinen Anteil an den Segnungen empfangen, die von oben herabkommen."
Piccolissima, all attention and full of curiosity, looked around her, and saw coming out from the window frame two flies, who appeared to be talking together.
Piccolissima, ganz aufmerksam und voller Neugier, schaute sich um und sah zwei Fliegen aus dem Fensterrahmen herauskriechen, die miteinander zu sprechen schienen.
The wings of one of them remained stuck together on its back, and it made a great effort to extend them.
Die Flügel einer von ihnen blieben auf ihrem Rücken zusammengeklebt, und sie bemühte sich sehr, sie auszubreiten.
Delighted at the discovery of companions in her solitude, companions, too, whose language she could understand, Piccolissima was eager to make their acquaintance; so she offered them her stick of candy.
Erfreut über die Entdeckung von Gefährten in ihrer Einsamkeit, Gefährten zudem, deren Sprache sie verstehen konnte, war Piccolissima begierig, ihre Bekanntschaft zu machen; so bot sie ihnen ihren Zuckerstab an.
Vocabulary
- gelernt
- Past participle of 'lernen'; learned or studied something
- dass
- Subordinating conjunction meaning 'that'
- Minute
- Unit of time equal to sixty seconds
- anderen
- Adjective meaning 'other' or 'another'
- gleicht
- Third person singular of 'gleichen'; resembles or equals
- Kälte
- Noun meaning coldness or low temperature
- nah
- Adjective or adverb meaning near or close
- Wärme
- Noun meaning warmth or heat
- Licht
- Noun meaning light or illumination
- Dunkelheit
- Noun meaning darkness or absence of light
- Süßes
- Nominalized adjective meaning something sweet
- Bitteres
- Nominalized adjective meaning something bitter
- folgt
- Third person singular of 'folgen'; follows or succeeds
- nun
- Adverb meaning 'now' or 'at this point'
- Minuten
- Plural noun meaning minutes, units of time
- vierundzwanzig
- Number meaning twenty-four
- Sekunden
- Plural noun meaning seconds, units of time
- vergangen
- Past participle of 'vergehen'; elapsed or passed by
- seit
- Preposition meaning 'since' or 'for' (time)
- Schale
- Noun meaning shell, husk, or outer casing
- durchbrochen
- Past participle of 'durchbrechen'; broken through or pierced
- Sonne
- Noun meaning the sun, star of our solar system
- blass
- Adjective meaning pale or faint in color
- Dämmerung
- Noun meaning twilight, dusk, or dawn
- seht
- Second person plural of 'sehen'; you (plural) see
- glühte
- Past tense of 'glühen'; glowed or burned brightly
- damals
- Adverb meaning 'back then' or 'at that time'
- größerem
- Comparative adjective dative meaning 'greater' or 'larger'
- Eifer
- Noun meaning eagerness, zeal, or enthusiasm
- sandte
- Past tense of 'senden'; sent or dispatched something
- überall
- Adverb meaning 'everywhere' or 'all around'
- Strahlen
- Plural noun meaning rays or beams of light
- Funken
- Plural noun meaning sparks of light or fire
- langen
- Adjective meaning 'long' in inflected dative form
- Leben
- Noun meaning life or lifetime
- zählen
- Verb meaning to count or enumerate
- ganz
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'completely,' 'whole,' or 'quite'
- nass
- Adjective meaning wet or damp
- armes
- Inflected adjective meaning 'poor' or 'pitiful'
- hilfloses
- Inflected adjective meaning helpless or defenseless
- Wesen
- Noun meaning creature, being, or entity
- wandte
- Past tense of 'wenden'; turned toward or directed
- einigen
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'some' or 'a few'
- jener
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'those' (distant)
- strahlenden
- Inflected participle meaning 'radiant' or 'shining brightly'
- Lichtstrahlen
- Plural noun meaning rays or beams of light
- Flügel
- Noun meaning wing or wings of a creature
- sofort
- Adverb meaning immediately or right away
- stark
- Adjective meaning strong, powerful, or intense
- geprägt
- Past participle of 'prägen'; stamped, shaped, or imprinted
- bemalt
- Past participle of 'bemalen'; painted over or decorated
- sieben
- Number meaning seven
- verschiedenen
- Inflected adjective meaning various or different
- wechselnden
- Inflected participle meaning changing or alternating
- Farben
- Plural noun meaning colors or hues
- Spiegelungen
- Plural noun meaning reflections or mirror images
- Sonnenstrahlen
- Plural noun meaning rays or beams of sunlight
- Sieh
- Imperative singular of 'sehen'; look or see!
- dort
- Adverb meaning 'there' or 'over there'
- komm
- Imperative singular of 'kommen'; come here!
- hervor
- Separable prefix meaning forth, out, or forward
- breite
- Imperative of 'breiten'; spread out or extend
- feuchten
- Inflected adjective meaning damp, moist, or wet
- schon
- Adverb meaning 'already' or 'even now'
- eingeschrumpft
- Past participle of 'einschrumpfen'; shrunken or shriveled up
- kalt
- Adjective meaning cold or chilly in temperature
- sollst
- Second person singular of 'sollen'; you shall or should
- Anteil
- Noun meaning share, portion, or participation
- Segnungen
- Plural noun meaning blessings or divine benefactions
- empfangen
- Verb meaning to receive, accept, or welcome
- oben
- Adverb meaning 'above,' 'up there,' or 'from above'
- herabkommen
- Verb meaning to come down or descend from above
- aufmerksam
- Adjective meaning attentive, alert, or observant
- voller
- Adjective meaning full of or filled with something
- Neugier
- Noun meaning curiosity or inquisitiveness
- schaute
- Past tense of 'schauen'; looked or gazed around
- sah
- Past tense of 'sehen'; saw or observed
- Fliegen
- Plural noun meaning flies (the insects)
- Fensterrahmen
- Noun meaning window frame or window casing
- herauskriechen
- Verb meaning to crawl out or emerge by crawling
- miteinander
- Adverb meaning 'with each other' or 'together'
- sprechen
- Verb meaning to speak or talk
- schienen
- Past tense of 'scheinen'; seemed or appeared to
- blieben
- Past tense plural of 'bleiben'; remained or stayed
- Rücken
- Noun meaning back (of the body)
- zusammengeklebt
- Past participle of 'zusammenkleben'; stuck or glued together
- bemühte
- Past tense reflexive of 'bemühen'; tried hard or strove
- auszubreiten
- Infinitive of 'ausbreiten'; to spread out or unfold
- Erfreut
- Past participle used as adjective meaning pleased or delighted
- Entdeckung
- Noun meaning discovery or finding of something new
- Gefährten
- Genitive/plural noun meaning companions or fellow travelers
- Einsamkeit
- Noun meaning loneliness, solitude, or isolation
- zudem
- Adverb meaning 'moreover,' 'in addition,' or 'furthermore'
- deren
- Relative/genitive pronoun meaning 'whose' or 'of which'
- Sprache
- Noun meaning language or speech
- verstehen
- Verb meaning to understand or comprehend
- konnte
- Past tense of 'können'; was able to or could
- begierig
- Adjective meaning eager, keen, or desirous
- Bekanntschaft
- Noun meaning acquaintance or act of making acquaintance
- bot
- Past tense of 'bieten'; offered or presented something
- Zuckerstab
- Noun meaning sugar stick or candy cane
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