Piccolissima — Page 10
Piccolissima, from her education, resembled the flies a little too much to boast of her perseverance.
Piccolissima, por su educación, se parecía demasiado a las moscas como para presumir de su perseverancia.
So she gave up her project.
Así que abandonó su proyecto.
While bending her small head over these eyes, she distinguished, at the bottom of these crystals, a moving dark spot, and thousands of little Piccolissimas, one after the other, smiled upon her from these little mirrors.
Mientras inclinaba su pequeña cabeza sobre esos ojos, distinguió, en el fondo de esos cristales, una mancha oscura en movimiento, y miles de pequeñas Piccolissimas, una tras otra, le sonreían desde esos pequeños espejos.
O, wonderful! these thousands of crystal groups on each side of the head were not all; a triangle of three diamonds crowned the forehead of the fly.
¡Oh, maravilloso! esos miles de grupos de cristales a cada lado de la cabeza no eran todo; un triángulo de tres diamantes coronaba la frente de la mosca.
Piccolissima did not know the name they give to these small eyes, nor that a writer on the subject had said, that the diadem of the fly outshines that of queens, but she could not refrain from saying aloud, "O, my little friend, pray tell me what you do with so many eyes?"
Piccolissima no sabía el nombre que dan a esos pequeños ojos, ni que un escritor sobre el tema había dicho que la diadema de la mosca supera a la de las reinas, pero no pudo abstenerse de decir en voz alta: «¡Oh, mi pequeña amiga, dime por favor qué haces con tantos ojos!»
"What do I do with them, indeed! why, I look," answered the fly, a little vexed at being disturbed in his repast.
«¡Qué hago con ellos, vaya pregunta! pues, miro», respondió la mosca, un poco molesta por ser interrumpida en su festín.
"Are there not fingers, nails, pins, pincers, jaws, claws, beaks, which menace me on every side?
«¿Acaso no hay dedos, uñas, alfileres, pinzas, mandíbulas, garras, picos, que me amenazan por todos lados?
Do I not want eyes to see at a distance, and eyes to see near?
¿No necesito ojos para ver de lejos y ojos para ver de cerca?
And do you not know that my head is better put on than yours, which cannot turn to all points of the compass?"
¿Y no sabes que mi cabeza está mejor colocada que la tuya, que no puede girar hacia todos los puntos cardinales?»
"What! can you look behind you without turning your head?"
«¡Cómo! ¿puedes mirar detrás de ti sin girar la cabeza?»
Vocabulary
- por
- For; by; through; indicates reason or agent.
- su
- His, her, its, your (formal) possessive adjective.
- educación
- Education; upbringing; training or instruction received.
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself; indicates reflexive action.
- parecía
- Seemed; appeared to be; looked like.
- demasiado
- Too much; excessive; more than necessary or desired.
- las
- The (feminine plural definite article).
- moscas
- Flies; small flying insects (plural of mosca).
- como
- As; like; how; in the manner of.
- para
- For; in order to; toward; by (deadline).
- presumir
- To boast; to show off; to presume.
- de
- Of; from; about; indicates possession or origin.
- perseverancia
- Perseverance; persistence; steadfast pursuit of goals.
- Así
- Thus; so; in this way; therefore.
- que
- That; which; what; conjunction linking clauses.
- abandonó
- Abandoned; gave up; left behind or deserted.
- proyecto
- Project; plan; scheme or undertaking.
- Mientras
- While; during; meanwhile; at the same time.
- inclinaba
- Bent; leaned; tilted; bowed or inclined.
- pequeña
- Small; tiny; little (feminine singular adjective).
- cabeza
- Head; mind; top part of body.
- sobre
- On; over; above; about; concerning.
- esos
- Those; that (masculine plural demonstrative adjective).
- ojos
- Eyes; organs of sight (plural of ojo).
- distinguió
- Distinguished; made out; discerned or perceived.
- en
- In; on; at; indicates location or position.
- el
- The (masculine singular definite article).
- fondo
- Bottom; depth; background; fundamental basis.
- cristales
- Crystals; glasses; panes (plural of cristal).
- una
- A; an; one (feminine singular indefinite article).
- mancha
- Spot; stain; mark; blemish on surface.
- oscura
- Dark; obscure; gloomy (feminine singular adjective).
- movimiento
- Movement; motion; action or activity.
- miles
- Thousands; plural of mil (number one thousand).
- pequeñas
- Small; tiny; little (feminine plural adjective).
- tras
- After; behind; following; in pursuit of.
- otra
- Another; other; different one (feminine singular).
- le
- Him; her; it; to him/her (indirect object).
- sonreían
- Smiled; were smiling (plural, imperfect tense).
- desde
- From; since; starting from; as of.
- pequeños
- Small; tiny; little (masculine plural adjective).
- espejos
- Mirrors; reflecting surfaces (plural of espejo).
- Oh
- Oh; exclamation expressing surprise or emotion.
- maravilloso
- Wonderful; marvelous; extraordinary or astonishing.
- grupos
- Groups; clusters; collections (plural of grupo).
- cada
- Each; every; one by one individually.
- lado
- Side; flank; edge of something.
- no
- No; not; negation (most common negative word).
- eran
- Were; plural past tense of ser.
- todo
- All; everything; whole; entire or complete.
- triángulo
- Triangle; three-sided geometric shape or polygon.
- tres
- Three; number between two and four.
- diamantes
- Diamonds; precious gems (plural of diamante).
- coronaba
- Crowned; adorned with crown; topped.
- frente
- Forehead; front; face; opposite side.
- mosca
- Fly; small flying insect; pest.
- sabía
- Knew; had knowledge (imperfect tense of saber).
- nombre
- Name; title; noun; what something is called.
- dan
- Give; grant; provide (third person plural present).
- ni
- Nor; and not; neither; not even.
- escritor
- Writer; author; person who writes.
- tema
- Topic; subject; theme; matter or issue.
- había
- Had; there was (imperfect past tense).
- dicho
- Said; told; mentioned; past participle of decir.
- diadema
- Diadem; crown; tiara worn on head.
- supera
- Surpasses; exceeds; goes beyond; is superior.
- reinas
- Queens; female monarchs (plural of reina).
- pero
- But; however; nevertheless; yet or still.
- pudo
- Could; was able; managed (past tense).
- abstenerse
- To abstain; refrain; hold back from.
- decir
- To say; to tell; to speak; to utter.
- voz
- Voice; sound; word; expression; tone.
- alta
- High; loud; tall (feminine singular adjective).
- mi
- My; mine (first person singular possessive).
- amiga
- Female friend; woman companion (feminine noun).
- dime
- Tell me; give me information or details.
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