Piccolissima — Page 15
Art thou placed in the sun to strengthen thy wings?
¿Estás colocado al sol para fortalecer tus alas?
Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself.
Cuéntame, rápidamente, tu metamorfosis mientras me seco.
Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?
Veamos, ¿has sido una oruga, un gusano?
How many feet didst thou once have?
¿Cuántas patas tuviste alguna vez?
I will lay a wager thou didst not have any.
Apuesto a que no tenías ninguna.
For me, I had three rows of feet, forty-two in all, at least.
En cuanto a mí, yo tenía tres filas de patas, cuarenta y dos en total, por lo menos.
Come, then, speak, and tell me; answer my question.
Vamos, pues, habla y dime; responde a mi pregunta.
Usually Piccolissima did not require to be urged to speak; but these questions were of such an extraordinary nature, so unexpected, that the little girl remained silent.
Por lo general, Piccolissima no necesitaba que la animaran a hablar; pero estas preguntas eran de una naturaleza tan extraordinaria, tan inesperadas, que la niña permaneció en silencio.
"Whether I have been a caterpillar or a worm? A queer question at the commencement of an acquaintance."
«¿Si he sido una oruga o un gusano? Una pregunta extraña al comienzo de un conocido.»
In the mean time the questioner was silent.
Mientras tanto, el interrogador guardó silencio.
Occupied with the comfort of exposing all his little person to the sun, he extended his wings, which, intersected with nerves, became every moment more substantial, without losing any of their delicacy.
Ocupado con el placer de exponer toda su pequeña persona al sol, extendió sus alas, las cuales, surcadas de nervios, se volvían cada momento más consistentes, sin perder nada de su delicadeza.
This transparent network, divided like stained glass windows, by dark lines, resembled isinglass, sometimes decomposing the sun's rays, and showing the colors of the rainbow.
Esta red transparente, dividida como vidrieras de colores por líneas oscuras, se asemejaba a la cola de pescado, descomponiendo a veces los rayos del sol y mostrando los colores del arcoíris.
The head of the insect, as it dried, became shiny like satin; the eyes, of a reddish brown, glowed in a circle of silver.
La cabeza del insecto, al secarse, se volvió brillante como el satén; los ojos, de un marrón rojizo, brillaban en un círculo de plata.
Over a little jet band, on the top of his head, three little soft eyes peeped out like those which the young observer had already noticed in the other fly.
Sobre una pequeña banda de azabache, en la parte superior de su cabeza, tres pequeños ojos suaves asomaban como aquellos que la joven observadora ya había notado en la otra mosca.
Vocabulary
- Estás
- You are (informal, present tense of estar)
- colocado
- Placed, positioned, or situated in a location
- al
- To the, at the (contraction of a + el)
- sol
- The sun or sunshine in the sky
- para
- For, in order to, towards a destination
- fortalecer
- To strengthen, make stronger or more robust
- tus
- Your (informal plural possessive adjective)
- alas
- Wings or pinions of birds and insects
- Cuéntame
- Tell me (informal command of contar)
- rápidamente
- Quickly, swiftly, or at high speed
- tu
- Your (informal singular possessive adjective)
- metamorfosis
- Transformation, especially of insects from larva to adult
- mientras
- While, during, or at the same time as
- me
- Me, myself (direct or indirect object pronoun)
- seco
- Dry, lacking moisture or wetness
- Veamos
- Let us see, let's see (hortative subjunctive)
- has
- You have (informal present perfect of haber)
- sido
- Been (past participle of ser)
- una
- A, an (feminine singular indefinite article)
- oruga
- Caterpillar, the larva of a butterfly
- un
- A, an (masculine singular indefinite article)
- gusano
- Worm or grub, a small crawling creature
- Cuántas
- How many (feminine plural interrogative adjective)
- patas
- Legs or paws of animals and insects
- tuviste
- You had (informal past tense of tener)
- alguna
- Some, any (feminine singular indefinite adjective)
- vez
- Time, occasion, or instance of something
- Apuesto
- I bet, I wager (present tense of apostar)
- que
- That, which, or what (relative pronoun)
- no
- No, not (negation or negative response)
- tenías
- You had (informal imperfect tense of tener)
- ninguna
- None, not any (feminine singular negative adjective)
- En
- In, on, at (preposition indicating location)
- cuanto
- As for, as much as, in terms of
- mí
- Me, myself (prepositional pronoun)
- yo
- I (first person singular subject pronoun)
- tenía
- I had (imperfect tense of tener)
- tres
- Three (cardinal number)
- filas
- Rows, lines, or series arranged sequentially
- de
- Of, from (preposition showing possession or origin)
- cuarenta
- Forty (cardinal number)
- dos
- Two (cardinal number)
- en
- In, at (preposition indicating location or time)
- total
- Total, the complete sum of everything
- por
- For, by, through (preposition)
- lo
- It, that (neuter direct object pronoun)
- menos
- Less, least, or at minimum
- Vamos
- We go, let's go (present hortative of ir)
- pues
- Well, then, so (discourse connector)
- habla
- Speak, talk (command or present tense)
- dime
- Tell me (informal command of decir)
- responde
- Respond, answer (command of responder)
- mi
- My (singular possessive adjective)
- pregunta
- Question, query, or something asked
- Por
- For, by, through (preposition)
- general
- General, usual, or common in nature
- necesitaba
- Needed (imperfect tense of necesitar)
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- animaran
- Encouraged, animated (subjunctive of animar)
- hablar
- To speak, talk, or communicate with words
- pero
- But, however (conjunction expressing contrast)
- estas
- These (feminine plural demonstrative adjective)
- preguntas
- Questions, queries, or things asked
- eran
- Were (imperfect tense of ser)
- naturaleza
- Nature, natural quality or characteristics
- tan
- So, such (adverb of degree or manner)
- extraordinaria
- Extraordinary, unusual, or remarkable in nature
- inesperadas
- Unexpected, surprising, or unforeseen events
- niña
- Girl, a female child or young person
- permaneció
- Remained, stayed (past tense of permanecer)
- silencio
- Silence, absence of sound or speech
- Si
- If (conditional conjunction)
- he
- I have (present perfect of haber)
- Una
- A, an (feminine singular indefinite article)
- extraña
- Strange, odd, or peculiar in nature
- comienzo
- Beginning, start, or commencement of something
- conocido
- Known, acquaintance, or familiar person
- Mientras
- While, during, or at the same time
- tanto
- So much, as much, or meanwhile
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →