Piccolissima — Page 4
Simple themselves, every thing appeared simple to them.
Simples eux-mêmes, tout leur paraissait simple.
Mrs. Mignonette was at first a little disconcerted at finding that a drawer of baby linen which she had taken so much pains to make was of no use, and that one of the stockings which she had knit was big enough for her child to get into.
Madame Mignonette fut d'abord un peu déconcertée de trouver qu'un tiroir de linge de bébé qu'elle avait pris tant de peine à confectionner ne servait à rien, et que l'un des bas qu'elle avait tricotés était assez grand pour que son enfant puisse y entrer.
But, when she was convinced that the baby could do just as well without stockings, and that the cushions of thistle down were sufficient to keep it warm, she was no longer troubled, and she said to her neighbors, who were eager to see her little wonder, "It is very natural that the little one should be so very delicate; from the first we called it Piccolissima; then, neither Mr. Tom Thumb nor I are very large; and I am told that our ancestors were still more delicately formed; what then is more natural than that this little one should be such a wee wee thing?"
Mais, lorsqu'elle fut convaincue que le bébé pouvait très bien se passer de bas, et que les coussins de duvet de chardon suffisaient à le tenir au chaud, elle ne s'en inquiéta plus, et elle dit à ses voisines, qui étaient impatientes de voir sa petite merveille : « Il est tout naturel que la petite soit si délicate ; dès le début nous l'avons appelée Piccolissima ; d'ailleurs, ni M. Petit Poucet ni moi ne sommes très grands ; et l'on me dit que nos ancêtres étaient encore plus délicatement formés ; quoi donc de plus naturel que cette petite soit une si toute petite chose ? »
The tranquillity of Mrs. Tom Thumb had this good effect; it appeased the curiosity of the neighbors.
La tranquillité de Madame Petit Poucet eut ce bon effet ; elle apaisa la curiosité des voisines.
At last, like her, they came to the conclusion "that it was very natural that the child was smaller than the mother." and all went on as usual around our heroine, while she was quietly rocked by the passing hours, and was amused with the sound of the silver clock bell.
Finalement, comme elle, elles en vinrent à la conclusion « qu'il était tout naturel que l'enfant fût plus petite que la mère », et tout continua comme à l'ordinaire autour de notre héroïne, tandis qu'elle était doucement bercée par les heures qui passaient, et s'amusait du son de la clochette de l'horloge en argent.
Vocabulary
- Simples
- Simple, plain, or ordinary things
- eux
- Them, third-person plural masculine pronoun
- mêmes
- Same, or themselves; emphasizes identity or sameness
- tout
- Everything, all, or completely
- leur
- Their, or to them; possessive or indirect pronoun
- paraissait
- Appeared or seemed; imperfect tense of paraître
- simple
- Simple, easy, or plain
- Madame
- Mrs. or Madam; formal title for a woman
- fut
- Was; simple past tense of être
- d'
- Of or from; elided preposition before vowel
- abord
- First, used in d'abord meaning at first
- un
- A, an; indefinite masculine singular article
- peu
- A little, slightly, or a small amount
- déconcertée
- Disconcerted, puzzled, or thrown off balance
- de
- Of, from; very common French preposition
- trouver
- To find or to discover something
- qu'
- That; elided conjunction before vowel sound
- tiroir
- A drawer, as in a piece of furniture
- linge
- Linen, laundry, or cloth items
- bébé
- Baby, infant
- elle
- She, her; third-person feminine singular pronoun
- avait
- Had; imperfect tense of avoir
- pris
- Taken; past participle of prendre
- tant
- So much, so many, such a lot
- peine
- Trouble, effort, or pain; difficulty
- à
- To, at, in; very common French preposition
- confectionner
- To make, prepare, or craft something carefully
- ne
- Not; negative particle used with pas or other words
- servait
- Served or was useful; imperfect tense of servir
- rien
- Nothing, not anything
- et
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- que
- That, which, than; conjunction or relative pronoun
- l'
- The; elided definite article before vowel sound
- des
- Some, of the; plural indefinite article
- bas
- Stockings, socks; also means low
- tricotés
- Knitted; past participle of tricoter
- était
- Was; imperfect tense of être
- assez
- Enough, fairly, quite, sufficiently
- grand
- Big, large, tall, or great
- pour
- For, in order to; common preposition
- son
- His, her, its; possessive adjective singular
- enfant
- Child, boy or girl
- puisse
- Can, may; subjunctive of pouvoir
- y
- There, in it; pronoun replacing a place or thing
- entrer
- To enter, go in, or come inside
- Mais
- But; coordinating conjunction showing contrast
- lorsqu'
- When; conjunction used before vowel sound
- convaincue
- Convinced, persuaded; feminine past participle
- le
- The; masculine singular definite article or pronoun
- pouvait
- Could, was able to; imperfect of pouvoir
- très
- Very, extremely; common adverb of degree
- bien
- Well, good, very well
- se
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
- passer
- To pass, spend time, or do without
- les
- The; plural definite article or pronoun
- coussins
- Cushions, pillows, or pads
- duvet
- Down feathers or a soft fluffy material
- suffisaient
- Were enough, sufficed; imperfect of suffire
- tenir
- To hold, keep, or maintain
- au
- To the, at the; contraction of à le
- chaud
- Warm, hot; adjective or noun
- s'
- Himself, herself; elided reflexive pronoun
- en
- In, of it, some; preposition or pronoun
- inquiéta
- Worried, became concerned; past tense of inquiéter
- plus
- More, no more, anymore
- dit
- Said, told; past tense of dire
- ses
- His, her, its; plural possessive adjective
- voisines
- Female neighbors, women living nearby
- qui
- Who, which, that; relative or interrogative pronoun
- étaient
- Were; imperfect plural of être
- impatientes
- Impatient, eager, unable to wait; feminine plural
- voir
- To see, to look at
- sa
- His, her, its; feminine singular possessive adjective
- petite
- Small, little, tiny; feminine adjective
- merveille
- Marvel, wonder, something amazing
- Il
- He, it; masculine third-person singular pronoun
- est
- Is; third-person singular of être
- naturel
- Natural, expected, or normal
- la
- The; feminine definite article or pronoun her
- soit
- Be; subjunctive of être
- si
- So, if, such; conjunction or adverb
- délicate
- Delicate, fragile, or sensitive; feminine adjective
- dès
- From, since, as early as; preposition
- début
- Beginning, start, outset
- nous
- We, us; first-person plural pronoun
- avons
- Have; first-person plural of avoir
- appelée
- Called, named; feminine past participle of appeler
- ailleurs
- Elsewhere, besides; adverb of place
- ni
- Neither, nor; negative conjunction
- M.
- Monsieur, Mr.; abbreviated title for a man
- Petit
- Small, little; adjective or surname
- moi
- Me, I; emphatic first-person singular pronoun
- sommes
- Are; first-person plural of être
- grands
- Tall, big, great; masculine plural adjective
- on
- One, we, they, people; indefinite pronoun
- me
- Me, myself; first-person object pronoun
- nos
- Our; first-person plural possessive adjective
- ancêtres
- Ancestors, forebears
- encore
- Still, again, yet, more
- délicatement
- Delicately, gently, carefully
- formés
- Formed, shaped, built; past participle of former
- quoi
- What; interrogative or exclamatory pronoun
- donc
- So, therefore, then; logical connector
- cette
- This, that; feminine demonstrative adjective
- une
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- toute
- All, whole, entirely; feminine singular of tout
- chose
- Thing, something, matter
- La
- The; feminine definite article
- tranquillité
- Tranquility, calmness, peacefulness
- eut
- Had; simple past of avoir
- ce
- This, that, it; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- bon
- Good, kind, pleasant; masculine adjective
- effet
- Effect, result, impression
- apaisa
- Calmed, soothed; simple past of apaiser
- curiosité
- Curiosity, inquisitiveness, interest in knowing
- Finalement
- Finally, eventually, in the end
- comme
- Like, as, since; conjunction or preposition
- elles
- They, them; feminine third-person plural pronoun
- vinrent
- Came; simple past plural of venir
- conclusion
- Conclusion, end, final decision
- il
- He, it; masculine third-person singular pronoun
- fût
- Were, be; imperfect subjunctive of être
- mère
- Mother, mom
- continua
- Continued; simple past of continuer
- ordinaire
- Ordinary, usual, normal
- autour
- Around, surrounding; adverb or preposition
- notre
- Our; first-person plural possessive adjective
- héroïne
- Heroine, female hero of a story
- tandis
- While, whereas; used in tandis que
- doucement
- Gently, softly, slowly
- bercée
- Rocked, cradled; feminine past participle of bercer
- par
- By, through, per; common preposition
- heures
- Hours, o'clock; units of time
- passaient
- Passed, went by; imperfect of passer
- amusait
- Amused, entertained itself; imperfect of amuser
- du
- Of the; contraction of de le
- clochette
- Little bell, small bell
- horloge
- Clock, timepiece, wall or standing clock
- argent
- Silver or money
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