Piccolissima — Page 12
The wings of the insect fluttered, and made a little sharp noise, which, however, had nothing terrible in it, and Piccolissima perceived that her companion was laughing.
Las alas del insecto aletearon y produjeron un pequeño ruido agudo que, sin embargo, no tenía nada de terrible, y Piccolissima se dio cuenta de que su compañero se estaba riendo.
It was evident that the fly must laugh with his wings, because he could not laugh in any other way.
Era evidente que la mosca debía reírse con sus alas, porque no podía reírse de ninguna otra manera.
It was with his antennae that he had listened; they evidently served him as ears; and, when he recovered his gravity, he flew on the little girl's hand, and began to talk with her; then Piccolissima observed him more intelligently.
Había escuchado con sus antenas; estas evidentemente le servían de oídos; y, cuando recobró su seriedad, voló hacia la mano de la niña y comenzó a hablar con ella; entonces Piccolissima lo observó con mayor atención.
"It appears to me, little pet," said the fly, "thou must be very green to compare my delicate trunk, this instrument so nicely made, with the enormous and coarse cylinder upon which, in hot weather, I have often travelled.
«Me parece, pequeña mía», dijo la mosca, «que debes ser muy ingenua para comparar mi delicada trompa, este instrumento tan finamente hecho, con el enorme y tosco cilindro sobre el cual, en los días de calor, he viajado con frecuencia.
How can any one suppose that I have any relationship to the deformed and gigantic monster of which you have just now spoken?"
¿Cómo puede alguien suponer que tengo alguna relación con el deforme y gigantesco monstruo del que acabas de hablar?»
Piccolissima thought that the little person was not wanting in vanity, and, while the fly was taking breath, observed that the trunk had disappeared, and that there was no possibility of discovering what the insect had done with it.
Piccolissima pensó que a la pequeña criatura no le faltaba vanidad, y, mientras la mosca tomaba aliento, observó que la trompa había desaparecido, y que no había ninguna posibilidad de descubrir qué había hecho el insecto con ella.
Vocabulary
- Las
- Definite article, feminine plural form of 'the'
- alas
- Wings of an insect or bird
- del
- Contraction of 'de el', meaning 'of the'
- insecto
- Small arthropod animal with six legs
- aletearon
- They fluttered or beat wings repeatedly
- produjeron
- They produced or created something
- un
- Indefinite article, masculine singular 'a' or 'an'
- pequeño
- Small in size or scale
- ruido
- Sound, noise, or loud disturbance
- agudo
- High-pitched, sharp, or acute in sound
- que
- Relative pronoun 'that', 'which', or 'who'
- sin
- Preposition meaning 'without' or 'lacking'
- embargo
- However, nevertheless, still; used in 'sin embargo'
- no
- Negative adverb meaning 'not' or 'no'
- tenía
- Third person singular past tense of 'tener' (had)
- nada
- Nothing, or anything in negative context
- de
- Preposition indicating possession or origin
- terrible
- Awful, dreadful, or extremely bad
- se
- Reflexive pronoun 'oneself' or 'herself'
- dio
- Third person singular past tense of 'dar' (gave)
- cuenta
- Account, bill, or realization in 'darse cuenta'
- su
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', 'their'
- compañero
- Companion, friend, or colleague
- estaba
- Third person singular past tense of 'estar' (was)
- riendo
- Laughing; present participle of 'reír'
- Era
- Third person singular past tense of 'ser' (was)
- evidente
- Clear, obvious, or self-evident
- la
- Definite article, feminine singular 'the'
- mosca
- Fly; a common household insect
- debía
- Should or ought to; past imperfect of deber
- reírse
- To laugh; reflexive infinitive verb
- con
- Preposition meaning 'with' or 'by means of'
- sus
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', 'their'
- porque
- Because; used to explain reasons or causes
- podía
- Could or was able to; past imperfect of poder
- ninguna
- No, none, or not any; feminine form
- otra
- Other, another; feminine singular form
- manera
- Way, manner, or method of doing
- Había
- Had or there was; past imperfect of haber
- escuchado
- Listened; past participle of 'escuchar'
- antenas
- Antennae; sensory organs of insects
- estas
- These; plural feminine demonstrative pronoun
- evidentemente
- Obviously, clearly, or self-evidently
- le
- Indirect object pronoun 'to him' or 'to her'
- servían
- They served or functioned as
- oídos
- Ears; plural of 'oído'
- cuando
- When; temporal conjunction or adverb
- recobró
- Recovered or regained; past tense of recobrar
- seriedad
- Seriousness or gravity; noun form
- voló
- Flew; past tense of 'volar'
- hacia
- Toward; preposition indicating direction
- mano
- Hand; body part used for grasping
- niña
- Girl; young female child
- comenzó
- Began or started; past tense of comenzar
- hablar
- To speak or talk; infinitive verb
- ella
- She or her; third person feminine pronoun
- entonces
- Then or at that time; temporal adverb
- lo
- It; direct object pronoun, masculine singular
- observó
- Observed or noticed; past tense of observar
- mayor
- Bigger, older, greater; comparative adjective
- atención
- Attention or care; noun
- Me
- Me; first person singular pronoun
- parece
- Seems or appears; present tense of parecer
- pequeña
- Small; feminine singular adjective
- mía
- Mine; possessive pronoun, feminine singular
- dijo
- Said; past tense of 'decir'
- debes
- You should or must; present tense of deber
- ser
- To be; permanent state or identity
- muy
- Very; intensifying adverb
- ingenua
- Naive, artless, or innocent; adjective
- para
- For or in order to; preposition
- comparar
- To compare; infinitive verb
- mi
- My; possessive adjective
- delicada
- Delicate or fragile; feminine adjective
- trompa
- Trunk or proboscis of an insect
- este
- This; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- instrumento
- Instrument or tool; noun
- tan
- So or such; intensifying adverb
- finamente
- Finely or delicately; adverb
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