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.
Les ailes de l'insecte battirent et produisirent un petit bruit aigu qui, cependant, n'avait rien de terrible, et Piccolissima perçut que son compagnon riait.
It was evident that the fly must laugh with his wings, because he could not laugh in any other way.
Il était évident que la mouche devait rire avec ses ailes, parce qu'elle ne pouvait rire d'aucune autre façon.
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.
C'est avec ses antennes qu'il avait écouté ; elles lui servaient manifestement d'oreilles ; et, lorsqu'il retrouva son sérieux, il se posa sur la main de la petite fille et commença à lui parler ; alors Piccolissima l'observa plus attentivement.
"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.
« Il me semble, ma petite chérie, » dit la mouche, « tu dois être bien naïve pour comparer ma délicate trompe, cet instrument si finement fait, avec l'énorme et grossier cylindre sur lequel, par temps chaud, j'ai souvent voyagé.
How can any one suppose that I have any relationship to the deformed and gigantic monster of which you have just now spoken?"
Comment peut-on supposer que j'aie quelque rapport avec le monstre difforme et gigantesque dont vous venez de parler ? »
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 pensa que la petite personne ne manquait pas de vanité, et, pendant que la mouche reprenait haleine, elle remarqua que la trompe avait disparu, et qu'il était impossible de découvrir ce que l'insecte en avait fait.
Vocabulary
- ailes
- Wings of a bird, insect, or aircraft
- insecte
- Small invertebrate animal with six legs
- battirent
- Past tense of 'battre'; flapped or beat
- produisirent
- Past tense of 'produire'; produced or generated
- bruit
- A sound or noise
- aigu
- High-pitched, sharp, or shrill in sound
- cependant
- Adverb meaning 'however' or 'nevertheless'
- rien
- Pronoun meaning 'nothing' or 'anything'
- terrible
- Frightening, dreadful, or terrible
- perçut
- Past tense of 'percevoir'; perceived or noticed
- compagnon
- A companion, partner, or fellow traveler
- riait
- Imperfect tense of 'rire'; was laughing
- évident
- Adjective meaning obvious or evident
- mouche
- A common housefly or small flying insect
- devait
- Imperfect of 'devoir'; had to or must have
- rire
- To laugh or the act of laughing
- aucune
- No, none, or not any (feminine form)
- façon
- A manner, way, or method of doing something
- antennes
- Antennae; sensory appendages on an insect's head
- écouté
- Past participle of 'écouter'; listened or heard
- servaient
- Imperfect of 'servir'; served as or were used as
- manifestement
- Adverb meaning clearly, obviously, or manifestly
- oreilles
- Ears; organs used for hearing
- lorsqu'
- Conjunction meaning 'when' used before vowels
- retrouva
- Past tense of 'retrouver'; found again or recovered
- sérieux
- Adjective meaning serious or earnest
- posa
- Past tense of 'poser'; placed or landed on
- main
- The hand, a body part at the end of the arm
- fille
- A girl or daughter
- commença
- Past tense of 'commencer'; began or started
- parler
- To speak or to talk
- alors
- Adverb meaning 'then', 'so', or 'at that time'
- observa
- Past tense of 'observer'; observed or watched closely
- attentivement
- Adverb meaning carefully or attentively
- semble
- Present tense of 'sembler'; seems or appears
- chérie
- Feminine term of endearment meaning 'darling' or 'dear'
- dois
- Present tense of 'devoir'; must or have to
- naïve
- Adjective meaning innocent, simple, or naive
- comparer
- To compare two or more things
- délicate
- Adjective meaning delicate, fine, or fragile
- trompe
- A proboscis or trunk used for feeding
- instrument
- A tool or device used for a specific purpose
- finement
- Adverb meaning finely, delicately, or skillfully made
- énorme
- Adjective meaning enormous, huge, or very large
- grossier
- Adjective meaning coarse, crude, or roughly made
- cylindre
- A cylinder; a round tube-shaped object
- lequel
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'that'
- temps
- Time or weather; a key everyday French noun
- chaud
- Adjective meaning hot or warm
- souvent
- Adverb meaning often or frequently
- voyagé
- Past participle of 'voyager'; traveled or journeyed
- supposer
- To suppose, assume, or presume something
- aie
- Subjunctive of 'avoir'; may have or should have
- quelque
- Adjective meaning 'some' or 'any'
- rapport
- A relationship, connection, or link between things
- monstre
- A monster; a frightening or grotesque creature
- difforme
- Adjective meaning misshapen, deformed, or grotesque
- gigantesque
- Adjective meaning gigantic or enormous in size
- dont
- Relative pronoun meaning 'whose', 'of which'
- venez
- Present tense of 'venir'; come or have just done
- pensa
- Past tense of 'penser'; thought or reflected
- personne
- A person, or (with negation) nobody at all
- manquait
- Imperfect of 'manquer'; lacked or was missing
- vanité
- Vanity; excessive pride in oneself or appearance
- pendant
- Preposition meaning 'during' or 'while'
- reprenait
- Imperfect of 'reprendre'; was catching or regaining
- haleine
- Breath; air exhaled from the lungs
- remarqua
- Past tense of 'remarquer'; noticed or remarked upon
- disparu
- Past participle of 'disparaître'; disappeared or vanished
- impossible
- Adjective meaning impossible or not feasible
- découvrir
- To discover, uncover, or find out something
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