Piccolissima — Page 6
One evening she lost herself in the solitude of a drawer in which was kept some tobacco; she came near dying from the effect of it.
Una tarde se perdió en la soledad de un cajón en el que se guardaba tabaco; estuvo a punto de morir por sus efectos.
Once she was near drowning in a superb salad dish of frothed eggs, which she may have taken for snow mountains.
Una vez estuvo a punto de ahogarse en una soberbia ensaladera de huevos batidos, que quizás había tomado por montañas nevadas.
She had a passion for discovery, she had a prodigious activity of mind and body, and yet they could find nothing for her to do, "because," they said, "she is so little, so delicate."
Sentía pasión por el descubrimiento, tenía una prodigiosa actividad de mente y cuerpo, y sin embargo no encontraban nada que encargarle hacer, «porque», decían, «es tan pequeña, tan delicada».
She could not play with children of her own age, she was not allowed to run about, and without object, without employment, without means of studying, with no companions, no sympathy, the poor little thing was in danger of falling into a state of apathy, more to be feared than the accidents from which they wished to preserve her.
No podía jugar con niños de su misma edad, no se le permitía correr, y sin objetivo, sin ocupación, sin medios para estudiar, sin compañeros, sin comprensión, la pobrecilla corría el peligro de caer en un estado de apatía, más temible que los accidentes de los que deseaban preservarla.
One day, towards the end of February, Piccolissima had been placed upon the mantelpiece.
Un día, hacia finales de febrero, Piccolissima había sido colocada sobre la repisa de la chimenea.
Her mother had gone out; her father, who did not wish to have the trouble of watching over all his little daughter's movements, seated her upon a pincushion in which there were no pins, and putting the dictionary as a sort of rampart before her, he gave her a stick of barley sugar to entertain herself with, and after the usual admonition, left her to her dreams.
Su madre había salido; su padre, que no deseaba tomarse la molestia de vigilar todos los movimientos de su pequeña hija, la sentó sobre un acerico en el que no había alfileres, y colocando el diccionario a modo de muralla ante ella, le dio un bastón de azúcar de cebada para que se entretuviera, y tras la advertencia habitual, la dejó con sus sueños.
Vocabulary
- tarde
- Afternoon; also means 'late' as an adverb.
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive or passive verbs.
- perdió
- Lost; past tense of 'perder', to lose.
- soledad
- Solitude; state of being alone or isolated.
- cajón
- Drawer; a sliding compartment in furniture.
- guardaba
- Was keeping or storing; imperfect tense of 'guardar'.
- tabaco
- Tobacco; dried leaves used for smoking.
- estuvo
- Was; preterite tense of 'estar', temporary state.
- punto
- Point; used in 'a punto de' meaning 'about to'.
- morir
- To die; infinitive verb indicating death.
- efectos
- Effects; results or consequences of something.
- vez
- Time or occasion; used in expressions like 'a veces'.
- ahogarse
- To drown or choke; reflexive verb for suffocation.
- soberbia
- Magnificent; also means pride or arrogance as a noun.
- ensaladera
- Salad bowl; a large bowl used for serving salads.
- huevos
- Eggs; common food item from birds.
- batidos
- Beaten or whisked; past participle of 'batir'.
- quizás
- Perhaps or maybe; expressing uncertainty or possibility.
- había
- Had; imperfect tense of 'haber', auxiliary verb.
- tomado
- Taken; past participle of 'tomar', to take.
- montañas
- Mountains; large natural elevations of earth's surface.
- nevadas
- Snow-covered; adjective describing mountains covered with snow.
- Sentía
- Felt; imperfect tense of 'sentir', to feel or sense.
- pasión
- Passion; intense enthusiasm or strong emotion for something.
- descubrimiento
- Discovery; the act of finding something new or unknown.
- tenía
- Had; imperfect tense of 'tener', to have.
- prodigiosa
- Prodigious; extraordinary or remarkably impressive in quality.
- actividad
- Activity; energetic action or a specific task performed.
- mente
- Mind; the faculty of thought and reasoning.
- cuerpo
- Body; the physical structure of a living person.
- sin
- Preposition meaning 'without', indicating absence of something.
- embargo
- Used in 'sin embargo' meaning 'however' or 'nevertheless'.
- encontraban
- Found or could find; imperfect tense of 'encontrar'.
- nada
- Nothing; pronoun indicating the absence of anything.
- encargarle
- To assign or entrust something to someone; infinitive form.
- hacer
- To do or to make; common infinitive verb.
- porque
- Because; conjunction explaining reason or cause.
- decían
- They said or used to say; imperfect tense of 'decir'.
- tan
- So or such; adverb intensifying an adjective or adverb.
- pequeña
- Small or little; adjective describing small size (feminine).
- delicada
- Delicate or fragile; adjective describing something needing gentle care.
- podía
- Could or was able to; imperfect tense of 'poder'.
- jugar
- To play; infinitive verb for recreational activity.
- niños
- Children or boys; young human beings.
- misma
- Same; adjective emphasizing identity or similarity (feminine).
- edad
- Age; the number of years someone has lived.
- le
- Indirect object pronoun meaning 'to him', 'to her', 'to it'.
- permitía
- Allowed or permitted; imperfect tense of 'permitir'.
- correr
- To run; infinitive verb for moving quickly on foot.
- objetivo
- Objective or goal; a purpose or aim to be achieved.
- ocupación
- Occupation or activity; a task that keeps one busy.
- medios
- Means or resources; available ways to achieve something.
- estudiar
- To study; infinitive verb for academic learning activity.
- compañeros
- Companions or classmates; people sharing the same environment.
- comprensión
- Understanding or comprehension; ability to understand something.
- pobrecilla
- Poor little one; affectionate diminutive expressing pity.
- corría
- Ran or was running; imperfect tense of 'correr'.
- peligro
- Danger; a situation involving risk of harm or loss.
- caer
- To fall; infinitive verb for descending due to gravity.
- estado
- State or condition; a particular situation or circumstance.
- apatía
- Apathy; lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.
- más
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree or quantity.
- temible
- Fearsome or dreadful; something that inspires fear or dread.
- accidentes
- Accidents; unexpected events causing harm or damage.
- deseaban
- Desired or wished; imperfect tense of 'desear'.
- preservarla
- To preserve or protect her; infinitive with pronoun attached.
- día
- Day; a 24-hour period of time.
- hacia
- Toward; preposition indicating direction or approximate time.
- finales
- End or finals; the concluding part of a period.
- febrero
- February; the second month of the year.
- sido
- Been; past participle of 'ser', used in perfect tenses.
- colocada
- Placed or positioned; past participle of 'colocar' (feminine).
- sobre
- On top of or about; preposition indicating position or topic.
- repisa
- Shelf or ledge; a flat surface attached to a wall.
- chimenea
- Fireplace or chimney; structure for burning fuel indoors.
- madre
- Mother; a female parent of a child.
- salido
- Gone out or left; past participle of 'salir'.
- padre
- Father; a male parent of a child.
- deseaba
- Desired or wanted; imperfect tense of 'desear'.
- tomarse
- To take upon oneself; reflexive infinitive of 'tomar'.
- molestia
- Trouble or bother; an inconvenience or nuisance.
- vigilar
- To watch over or monitor; to keep guard over someone.
- todos
- All or every; adjective indicating the entirety of something.
- movimientos
- Movements; physical actions or changes in position.
- hija
- Daughter; a female child in relation to her parents.
- sentó
- Sat down; preterite tense of 'sentar', to seat.
- acerico
- Pincushion; a small pad used to hold sewing pins.
- alfileres
- Pins; small pointed metal fasteners used in sewing.
- colocando
- Placing or positioning; present participle of 'colocar'.
- diccionario
- Dictionary; a reference book listing words and definitions.
- modo
- Way or manner; how something is done or arranged.
- muralla
- Wall or rampart; a large defensive or enclosing wall.
- ante
- Before or in front of; preposition indicating position.
- dio
- Gave; preterite tense of 'dar', to give.
- bastón
- Cane or stick; a rod-shaped object used for support.
- azúcar
- Sugar; a sweet crystalline substance used in food.
- cebada
- Barley; a cereal grain, also used in barley sugar candy.
- entretuviera
- Would entertain or keep busy; past subjunctive of 'entretener'.
- tras
- After or behind; preposition indicating sequence or position.
- advertencia
- Warning or notice; a cautionary statement given beforehand.
- habitual
- Habitual or usual; something done regularly or customarily.
- dejó
- Left or allowed; preterite tense of 'dejar'.
- sueños
- Dreams; images or thoughts experienced during sleep.
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