Piccolissima — Page 14
It seems that the fly, being only able to take up liquids through his trunk, wetted and dissolved the sugar that he might suck it up.
Parece que la mosca, siendo capaz de absorber solo líquidos a través de su trompa, humedeció y disolvió el azúcar para poder succionarlo.
It was a pleasant thing to see his lips swell out, and press, handle, and knead, as it were, the amber surface of the sugar in order to make it melt sooner, and enable him to draw it up faster.
Era un placer ver cómo sus labios se hinchaban y presionaban, manejaban y amasaban, por así decirlo, la superficie ámbar del azúcar para derretirlo más pronto y poder absorberlo más rápidamente.
After having examined all these proceedings for some time, with great amusement, the little apprentice naturalist cried out, "Well, my little guest has a remarkable talent for eating barley sugar."
Después de haber observado todos estos procedimientos durante algún tiempo con gran deleite, la pequeña aprendiz de naturalista exclamó: «Pues bien, mi pequeño huésped tiene un talento extraordinario para comer azúcar de cebada».
The other fly, timid, wet, and with his wings folded, so that he seemed naked, remained behind upon the frame of the window.
La otra mosca, tímida, mojada y con las alas plegadas, de modo que parecía desnuda, se había quedado atrás sobre el marco de la ventana.
"Come, poor little wet chicken as thou art," cried the elder fly; "thou wast complaining just now of having found in life only discomfort and cold; dost thou not see these rays of the sun? dost thou not perceive the perfume of this delicious food?"
«Ven, pobrecillo mojado como estás», exclamó la mosca mayor; «hace un momento te quejabas de no haber encontrado en la vida más que incomodidad y frío; ¿acaso no ves estos rayos de sol? ¿acaso no percibes el perfume de este delicioso alimento?»
The young, inexperienced fly was disposed to take Piccolissima, the dictionary, and the barley sugar for a chain of mountains.
La joven e inexperta mosca estaba dispuesta a tomar a Piccolissima, el diccionario y el azúcar de cebada por una cadena de montañas.
However, when the little girl turned her gentle, child-like face towards him, the insect felt the pleasant warmth of her breath; it reanimated him, and gave him courage, and with one bound he flew upon the arm of Piccolissima.
Sin embargo, cuando la niña volvió hacia él su dulce y aniñado rostro, el insecto sintió el agradable calor de su aliento; esto lo reanimó y le dio valor, y de un solo salto voló sobre el brazo de Piccolissima.
With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine? Thou warmest me.
Con repentina familiaridad murmuró en voz baja: «¿Eres tú, quizás, una hermana mayor mía? Tú me calientas.
Vocabulary
- Parece
- It seems or appears to be something.
- que
- That; which; used to introduce clauses.
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article).
- mosca
- A flying insect with two wings.
- siendo
- Being; present participle of ser.
- capaz
- Able or capable of doing something.
- de
- Of; from; indicates possession or origin.
- absorber
- To absorb or soak up liquid.
- solo
- Only; alone; sole or single.
- líquidos
- Liquids; plural of liquid substance.
- través
- Through; across; by way of.
- su
- His; her; its; your (formal).
- humedeció
- Made wet or moist; past tense.
- disolvió
- Dissolved; past tense of dissolve.
- el
- The (masculine singular definite article).
- azúcar
- Sugar; sweet crystalline substance.
- para
- For; in order to; toward.
- poder
- To be able; can; power.
- Era
- Was; past tense of ser.
- un
- A; an; one (masculine singular).
- placer
- Pleasure; enjoyment; satisfaction.
- ver
- To see; to watch; to observe.
- cómo
- How; in what way or manner.
- sus
- His; her; its; their; your.
- labios
- Lips; edges of the mouth.
- se
- Itself; himself; herself; reflexive pronoun.
- manejaban
- Handled; managed; operated or controlled.
- por
- By; for; through; per.
- así
- Thus; in this way; so.
- decirlo
- To say it; to express it.
- superficie
- Surface; outer layer or face.
- del
- Of the; from the (contraction).
- más
- More; greater in quantity or degree.
- pronto
- Soon; quickly; as soon as possible.
- rápidamente
- Rapidly; quickly; at high speed.
- Después
- After; afterward; following in time.
- haber
- To have; auxiliary verb for perfect tenses.
- observado
- Observed; watched; past participle.
- todos
- All; everyone; every single one.
- estos
- These; this group of things.
- procedimientos
- Procedures; methods; processes or steps.
- durante
- During; throughout; for the duration.
- algún
- Some; any; a certain (apocopated).
- tiempo
- Time; period; duration or weather.
- con
- With; accompanied by; having.
- gran
- Great; large; impressive in size.
- pequeña
- Small; little; young (feminine form).
- aprendiz
- Apprentice; learner; person learning a skill.
- exclamó
- Exclaimed; cried out; shouted.
- Pues
- Well; then; therefore; so.
- bien
- Well; good; in good manner.
- mi
- My; belonging to me.
- pequeño
- Small; little; young (masculine form).
- huésped
- Guest; host; visitor or lodger.
- tiene
- Has; possesses; owns (present tense).
- talento
- Talent; natural ability or skill.
- extraordinario
- Extraordinary; remarkable; unusual or special.
- comer
- To eat; to consume food.
- La
- The; feminine singular definite article.
- otra
- Other; another; different one (feminine).
- tímida
- Shy; timid; lacking confidence (feminine).
- mojada
- Wet; soaked; covered with water.
- las
- The; feminine plural definite article.
- alas
- Wings; appendages for flying insects.
- modo
- Way; manner; mode of doing.
- parecía
- Seemed; appeared; looked (past tense).
- desnuda
- Naked; nude; bare (feminine form).
- había
- Had; there was/were (past tense).
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →