Piccolissima — Page 2
On the mother's side, her lineage was no less distinguished.
Du côté maternel, sa lignée n'était pas moins distinguée.
Mignonette Littlepin (this was the family name of Madam Tom Thumb) was the great granddaughter of the wonderful Princess, who once lodged in a spectacle case, out of which she came so splendidly attired that the brilliancy of her little person illuminated all surrounding objects.
Mignonette Littlepin (tel était le nom de famille de Madame Tom Pouce) était l'arrière-petite-fille de la merveilleuse Princesse, qui logea un jour dans un étui à lunettes, d'où elle sortit si splendidement parée que l'éclat de sa petite personne illuminait tous les objets alentour.
A trustworthy biographer tells us that nothing occurred in the history of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb to disgrace their illustrious parentage, and they were considered none the less good citizens because they were rather smaller than other people.
Un biographe digne de foi nous apprend que rien ne survint dans l'histoire de M. et Mme Tom Pouce qui pût déshonorer leur illustre ascendance, et ils n'étaient pas considérés comme de moins bons citoyens pour la simple raison qu'ils étaient un peu plus petits que les autres.
In the mean while, however, our humble couple became suddenly celebrated by the birth of our heroine; this small creature was so delicate, so exquisite, so pretty, and so lively and full of spirit, that from the age of two years she became the object of general admiration.
Entre-temps, cependant, notre humble couple devint soudainement célèbre grâce à la naissance de notre héroïne ; cette petite créature était si délicate, si exquise, si jolie, et si vive et pleine d'esprit, qu'à partir de l'âge de deux ans elle devint l'objet d'une admiration générale.
She was not more than one inch in height, and her mother, who had prepared the cradle and baby linen for a child of the usual size, was puzzled to know what to do.
Elle ne mesurait pas plus d'un pouce de hauteur, et sa mère, qui avait préparé le berceau et le linge de bébé pour un enfant de taille ordinaire, ne savait plus quoi faire.
Finally, the half of a cocoanut shell, lined, and furnished with soft cushions of thistle down, made a good bed for the little wonder; and the nursery maid, wife of a neighboring clockmaker, and a person of ingenuity, conceived the admirable idea of suspending the cocoanut cradle from the pendulum of a great clock, in order that the infant might be rocked all the time.
Finalement, la moitié d'une coquille de noix de coco, garnie et pourvue de doux coussins de duvet de chardon, fit un excellent lit pour la petite merveille ; et la nurse, épouse d'un horloger voisin et personne fort ingénieuse, conçut l'admirable idée de suspendre le berceau de noix de coco au pendule d'une grande horloge, afin que l'enfant pût être bercée en permanence.
Madam Tom Thumb was enchanted with the invention.
Madame Tom Pouce était enchantée de l'invention.
Vocabulary
- côté
- Side, direction, or aspect of something
- maternel
- Related to the mother or maternal side
- lignée
- Line of descent; family lineage or ancestry
- moins
- Less; fewer in degree or quantity
- distinguée
- Distinguished, refined, or of notable character
- Mignonette
- Diminutive French name meaning 'little darling'
- tel
- Such, this kind of; used for reference
- nom
- Name or noun; identifier for a person
- famille
- Family; group of related individuals living together
- Madame
- Title of address for a married woman
- Tom Pouce
- French name for Tom Thumb, tiny fictional character
- l'arrière-petite-fille
- Great-granddaughter; female descendant three generations removed
- merveilleuse
- Marvelous, wonderful, extraordinary female person or thing
- Princesse
- Princess; daughter or wife of royalty
- logea
- Past tense of 'loger'; lodged, stayed, resided
- jour
- Day; a 24-hour period of time
- étui
- Small case or box for storing objects
- lunettes
- Eyeglasses; lenses worn to aid vision
- d'où
- From which; indicating origin or source
- sortit
- Past tense of 'sortir'; came or went out
- splendidement
- Splendidly, magnificently, in a grand manner
- parée
- Adorned, dressed up, or decorated elegantly
- l'éclat
- Brilliance, radiance, or dazzling brightness of light
- petite
- Small, little; describing a female person or thing
- personne
- Person; an individual human being
- illuminait
- Imperfect tense of 'illuminer'; was illuminating, lighting up
- objets
- Objects; physical things or material items
- alentour
- Around, nearby; in the surrounding area
- biographe
- Biographer; person who writes another's life story
- digne
- Worthy, deserving; of appropriate dignity or merit
- foi
- Faith, trust; belief or credibility in someone
- apprend
- Third person singular of 'apprendre'; learns or teaches
- rien
- Nothing; not anything at all
- survint
- Past tense of 'survenir'; occurred, happened unexpectedly
- l'histoire
- History or story; account of events over time
- pût
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'pouvoir'; could, might
- déshonorer
- To dishonor, disgrace, or bring shame upon someone
- illustre
- Illustrious, renowned, celebrated for notable achievements
- ascendance
- Ancestry, lineage; one's line of forebears
- considérés
- Considered, regarded as; viewed in a certain way
- bons
- Good, virtuous; plural masculine form of 'bon'
- citoyens
- Citizens; members of a city or state
- simple
- Simple, plain; uncomplicated or straightforward in nature
- raison
- Reason, cause; logical basis for an action
- peu
- A little, few; small amount or degree
- petits
- Small, little; plural masculine form of 'petit'
- autres
- Others; different or additional people or things
- Entre-temps
- In the meantime; during the intervening period
- cependant
- However, nevertheless; introduces a contrasting idea
- humble
- Humble, modest; not proud or arrogant
- couple
- Couple; two people in a relationship together
- devint
- Past tense of 'devenir'; became
- soudainement
- Suddenly; happening quickly and unexpectedly
- célèbre
- Famous, celebrated, well-known to many people
- grâce
- Grace; elegance, or thanks to something
- naissance
- Birth; the moment of coming into existence
- héroïne
- Heroine; brave female protagonist of a story
- créature
- Creature; a living being or created entity
- délicate
- Delicate, fragile; fine and requiring careful handling
- exquise
- Exquisite; extremely beautiful and delicately refined
- jolie
- Pretty, attractive; pleasing to look at
- vive
- Lively, vivacious; full of energy and spirit
- pleine
- Full of; completely filled with something
- d'esprit
- Of wit; clever, intelligent, or spirited mind
- partir
- To leave; also used in 'à partir de' meaning from
- l'âge
- The age; period of life or historical era
- ans
- Years; units of time in annual measure
- l'objet
- The object; subject or target of attention
- admiration
- Admiration; feeling of wonder and respectful approval
- générale
- General; widespread, applying to all or most
- mesurait
- Imperfect of 'mesurer'; measured, was a certain height
- pouce
- Thumb; also an old unit of measurement (inch)
- hauteur
- Height; vertical measurement from base to top
- mère
- Mother; female parent of a child
- préparé
- Prepared; made ready in advance for use
- berceau
- Cradle; small rocking bed for an infant
- linge
- Linen; cloth items such as sheets or clothing
- bébé
- Baby; a very young infant or child
- enfant
- Child; a young human being or offspring
- taille
- Size or height of a person or thing
- ordinaire
- Ordinary, usual; normal or of standard size
- savait
- Imperfect of 'savoir'; knew or knew how to
- quoi
- What; interrogative or relative pronoun for things
- faire
- To do or make; very common French verb
- Finalement
- Finally, eventually; at last after some time
- moitié
- Half; one of two equal parts of something
- coquille
- Shell; hard outer covering of a nut or mollusk
- noix
- Nut or walnut; hard-shelled edible seed
- coco
- Coconut; tropical fruit with a hard brown shell
- garnie
- Garnished, furnished, or lined with material
- pourvue
- Provided with, equipped with; supplied adequately
- doux
- Soft, gentle, mild; pleasant to the touch
- coussins
- Cushions; soft padded supports for comfort
- duvet
- Down feathers; soft fluffy material for bedding
- chardon
- Thistle; a prickly wild plant with purple flowers
- fit
- Past tense of 'faire'; made or did something
- excellent
- Excellent; of the highest quality or standard
- lit
- Bed; furniture for sleeping or resting on
- merveille
- Wonder, marvel; something astonishing or extraordinary
- nurse
- Nanny or nurse; caregiver for young children
- épouse
- Wife; a married woman in relation to her husband
- horloger
- Clockmaker; craftsman who makes or repairs clocks
- voisin
- Neighbor; person living nearby or next door
- fort
- Very, quite; used to intensify an adjective
- ingénieuse
- Ingenious, clever; showing creative and inventive thinking
- conçut
- Past tense of 'concevoir'; conceived or devised an idea
- l'admirable
- The admirable; worthy of great respect and praise
- idée
- Idea; a thought or plan formed in the mind
- suspendre
- To suspend or hang something from above
- pendule
- Pendulum or pendulum clock; swinging timekeeping device
- grande
- Large, tall, great; of significant size or stature
- horloge
- Clock; a device for measuring and showing time
- afin
- In order to; expressing purpose or intention
- l'enfant
- The child; a young person or offspring
- être
- To be; fundamental verb of existence and state
- bercée
- Rocked, lulled; gently swung as in a cradle
- permanence
- Permanence; continuously without interruption or stopping
- enchantée
- Enchanted, delighted; filled with joy or magical wonder
- l'invention
- The invention; a newly created device or idea
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