Piccolissima — Page 5
When, however, Piccolissima was two inches high, and lively as a grasshopper, she became restless in her cocoanut shell; she was desirous to get out of it, to walk, and to jump, and she not only deranged the clock, but she was in real danger.
Sin embargo, cuando Piccolissima medía dos pulgadas de altura y era tan vivaz como un saltamontes, se volvió inquieta en su cáscara de coco; deseaba salir de ella, caminar y saltar, y no solo alteraba el reloj, sino que se encontraba en verdadero peligro.
She was now as much as seven years old, and she amused herself with all sorts of little pranks, and loving ways, with one of her brothers eighteen months old.
Tenía ya nada menos que siete años, y se divertía con toda clase de pequeñas travesuras y muestras de cariño con uno de sus hermanos de dieciocho meses.
The great boy, in a sort of ecstasy at some of the drolleries of his little sister, seized her and put her in his mouth, taking into it nearly the whole head of the poor little thing.
El grandullón, en una especie de éxtasis ante algunas de las gracias de su hermanita, la agarró y se la metió en la boca, introduciéndole en ella casi toda la cabeza de la pobrecilla.
Her cry was so shrill that the baby boy opened his jaws and let the unfortunate Piccolissima fall on the floor.
Su grito fue tan agudo que el niño abrió las mandíbulas y dejó caer a la desafortunada Piccolissima al suelo.
She did not recover for a long time from this fall.
Tardó mucho tiempo en recuperarse de esta caída.
Another time, a large cat, a great mouser, ran after her, and it was with difficulty they rescued Piccolissima from the claws of Raminagrobis.
En otra ocasión, un gato grande, un gran cazador de ratones, corrió tras ella, y con dificultad lograron rescatar a Piccolissima de las garras de Raminagrobis.
The father, Mr. Thumb, could not repress some anxiety about the fate of his amiable daughter, who had more than common intelligence, and who, by her extreme smallness, was exposed to so many dangers.
El padre, el señor Pulgarcito, no podía reprimir cierta inquietud por el destino de su amable hija, quien poseía una inteligencia superior a la común y quien, por su extremada pequeñez, estaba expuesta a tantos peligros.
Piccolissima did her best to acquire knowledge.
Piccolissima hacía todo lo posible por adquirir conocimientos.
She had the best intentions in the world; she desired in every thing to please all who approached her; but her extreme restlessness led her away in spite of herself.
Tenía las mejores intenciones del mundo; deseaba en todo complacer a quienes se le acercaban; pero su extrema inquietud la arrastraba a pesar de sí misma.
Vocabulary
- Sin
- Without; used to indicate absence or lack
- embargo
- However; nevertheless; used to contrast ideas
- cuando
- When; at the time that something occurs
- medía
- Measured; had a specific height or length
- dos
- Two; the number 2
- pulgadas
- Inches; units of measurement equal to 2.54 cm
- de
- Of; from; indicating origin or possession
- altura
- Height; vertical measurement from base to top
- y
- And; conjunction joining words or clauses
- era
- Was; past tense of 'ser' indicating permanent state
- tan
- So; as; used in comparisons of quality
- vivaz
- Lively; energetic; full of life and spirit
- como
- Like; as; used for comparisons between things
- un
- A; an; indefinite article for masculine nouns
- saltamontes
- Grasshopper; jumping insect found in meadows
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive verbs
- volvió
- Became; turned; past tense of volverse
- inquieta
- Restless; uneasy; unable to stay calm or still
- en
- In; on; at; preposition indicating location
- su
- Her; his; their; possessive adjective
- cáscara
- Shell; husk; outer covering of a nut or egg
- coco
- Coconut; tropical fruit with hard brown shell
- deseaba
- Desired; wanted; imperfect tense of desear
- salir
- To go out; to leave a place
- ella
- She; third-person singular feminine pronoun
- caminar
- To walk; to move on foot at a steady pace
- saltar
- To jump; to leap from one place to another
- no
- No; not; negation particle in Spanish
- solo
- Only; alone; solely; without others
- alteraba
- Disrupted; altered; imperfect tense of alterar
- el
- The; definite article for masculine singular nouns
- reloj
- Clock; watch; device for measuring time
- sino
- But rather; but instead; used for contrast
- que
- That; which; who; conjunction or relative pronoun
- encontraba
- Found; encountered; imperfect tense of encontrar
- verdadero
- True; real; genuine; not false or imaginary
- peligro
- Danger; risk; situation that can cause harm
- Tenía
- Had; possessed; imperfect tense of tener
- ya
- Already; now; indicating something has occurred
- nada
- Nothing; not anything; used in negation
- menos
- Less; fewer; minus; indicating smaller quantity
- siete
- Seven; the number 7
- años
- Years; units of time equal to twelve months
- divertía
- Amused herself; had fun; imperfect of divertirse
- con
- With; together with; accompanied by
- toda
- All; every; the entire amount or kind
- clase
- Kind; type; class; category of things
- pequeñas
- Small; little; of diminutive size
- travesuras
- Mischief; pranks; playful naughty behavior
- muestras
- Displays; shows; samples or demonstrations of something
- cariño
- Affection; tenderness; warm feeling toward someone
- uno
- One; a single person or thing
- sus
- Her; his; their; plural possessive adjective
- hermanos
- Brothers; siblings; male or mixed-gender siblings
- dieciocho
- Eighteen; the number 18
- meses
- Months; units of time; plural of mes
- El
- The; definite article for masculine singular nouns
- grandullón
- Big boy; overgrown child; large or oversized person
- una
- A; an; indefinite article for feminine nouns
- especie
- Kind; sort; species; a type or variety
- éxtasis
- Ecstasy; rapture; overwhelming feeling of delight
- ante
- Before; in front of; faced with something
- algunas
- Some; a few; certain feminine plural things
- las
- The; definite article for feminine plural nouns
- gracias
- Charms; graces; charming or endearing qualities
- hermanita
- Little sister; affectionate diminutive of hermana
- la
- The; definite article for feminine singular nouns
- agarró
- Grabbed; seized; past tense of agarrar
- metió
- Put; inserted; past tense of meter
- boca
- Mouth; oral opening used for eating and speaking
- introduciéndole
- Inserting for her; putting inside; gerund of introducir
- casi
- Almost; nearly; very close to but not quite
- cabeza
- Head; the upper part of the body
- pobrecilla
- Poor little one; affectionate diminutive of pobre
- Su
- Her; his; their; possessive adjective
- grito
- Scream; shout; loud cry of fear or pain
- fue
- Was; went; preterite tense of ser or ir
- agudo
- Sharp; shrill; high-pitched in sound
- niño
- Boy; child; young male person
- abrió
- Opened; past tense of abrir
- mandíbulas
- Jaws; mandibles; bones forming the mouth
- dejó
- Let; left; allowed; past tense of dejar
- caer
- To fall; to drop down due to gravity
- a
- To; at; preposition indicating direction or location
- desafortunada
- Unfortunate; unlucky; suffering bad luck
- al
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'el'
- suelo
- Floor; ground; surface one walks on
- Tardó
- Took; delayed; past tense of tardar
- mucho
- Much; a lot; a great quantity or degree
- tiempo
- Time; weather; duration of events
- recuperarse
- To recover; to regain health or strength
- esta
- This; demonstrative adjective for feminine nouns
- caída
- Fall; tumble; act of falling down
- En
- In; on; preposition indicating location or time
- otra
- Another; other; a different feminine noun
- ocasión
- Occasion; opportunity; a particular time or event
- gato
- Cat; common domestic feline animal
- grande
- Large; big; great in size or importance
- gran
- Great; big; shortened form of grande before nouns
- cazador
- Hunter; one who hunts animals or prey
- ratones
- Mice; small rodents; plural of ratón
- corrió
- Ran; chased; past tense of correr
- tras
- After; behind; in pursuit of something
- dificultad
- Difficulty; hardship; something hard to accomplish
- lograron
- Managed; succeeded; past tense of lograr
- rescatar
- To rescue; to save someone from danger
- garras
- Claws; sharp curved nails of an animal
- padre
- Father; male parent of a child
- señor
- Mr.; sir; gentleman; title of respect for men
- podía
- Could; was able to; imperfect tense of poder
- reprimir
- To repress; to suppress a feeling or impulse
- cierta
- Certain; a certain; some degree of something
- inquietud
- Anxiety; unease; feeling of worry or restlessness
- por
- For; by; through; because of; preposition
- destino
- Destiny; fate; the future outcome for someone
- amable
- Kind; friendly; pleasant in manner toward others
- hija
- Daughter; female child of a parent
- quien
- Who; whom; relative pronoun referring to a person
- poseía
- Possessed; had; imperfect tense of poseer
- inteligencia
- Intelligence; mental ability to learn and understand
- superior
- Superior; higher; above average in quality
- común
- Common; ordinary; shared by most people
- extremada
- Extreme; excessive; very great in degree
- pequeñez
- Smallness; tininess; the state of being tiny
- estaba
- Was; imperfect tense of estar for temporary state
- expuesta
- Exposed; subjected to danger or risk
- tantos
- So many; such a large number of things
- peligros
- Dangers; risks; plural of peligro
- hacía
- Did; made; imperfect tense of hacer
- todo
- Everything; all; the complete amount
- lo
- It; the; neuter article or direct object pronoun
- posible
- Possible; capable of happening or being done
- adquirir
- To acquire; to obtain knowledge or possessions
- conocimientos
- Knowledge; learning; things known or understood
- mejores
- Best; better; superior plural comparative form
- intenciones
- Intentions; purposes; plans one aims to carry out
- del
- Of the; contraction of 'de' and 'el'
- mundo
- World; the earth; all people or society
- complacer
- To please; to satisfy someone's wishes
- quienes
- Those who; whom; plural relative pronoun for people
- le
- Him; her; indirect object pronoun in Spanish
- acercaban
- Approached; came near; imperfect tense of acercarse
- pero
- But; however; conjunction showing contrast
- extrema
- Extreme; excessive; very great in intensity
- arrastraba
- Dragged; pulled along; imperfect tense of arrastrar
- pesar
- Grief; sorrow; regret; sadness about something
- sí
- Herself; himself; reflexive pronoun after preposition
- misma
- Herself; same; used for emphasis or reflexive reference
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