Piccolissima — Page 6
One evening she lost herself in the solitude of a drawer in which was kept some tobacco; she came near dying from the effect of it.
Una sera si perse nella solitudine di un cassetto in cui era conservato del tabacco; quasi morì per gli effetti di esso.
Once she was near drowning in a superb salad dish of frothed eggs, which she may have taken for snow mountains.
Una volta rischiò di annegare in uno splendido piatto da insalata di uova sbattute, che poteva aver scambiato per montagne di neve.
She had a passion for discovery, she had a prodigious activity of mind and body, and yet they could find nothing for her to do, "because," they said, "she is so little, so delicate."
Aveva una passione per la scoperta, aveva una prodigiosa attività di mente e di corpo, eppure non riuscivano a trovarle nulla da fare, "perché," dicevano, "è così piccola, così delicata."
She could not play with children of her own age, she was not allowed to run about, and without object, without employment, without means of studying, with no companions, no sympathy, the poor little thing was in danger of falling into a state of apathy, more to be feared than the accidents from which they wished to preserve her.
Non poteva giocare con i bambini della sua età, non le era permesso di correre in giro, e senza scopo, senza occupazione, senza mezzi per studiare, senza compagni, senza comprensione, la povera piccola era in pericolo di cadere in uno stato di apatia, più da temere degli incidenti dai quali desideravano preservarla.
One day, towards the end of February, Piccolissima had been placed upon the mantelpiece.
Un giorno, verso la fine di febbraio, Piccolissima era stata collocata sul caminetto.
Her mother had gone out; her father, who did not wish to have the trouble of watching over all his little daughter's movements, seated her upon a pincushion in which there were no pins, and putting the dictionary as a sort of rampart before her, he gave her a stick of barley sugar to entertain herself with, and after the usual admonition, left her to her dreams.
Sua madre era uscita; suo padre, che non desiderava prendersi la briga di sorvegliare tutti i movimenti della sua piccola figlia, la fece sedere su un puntaspilli in cui non c'erano spilli, e mettendo il dizionario come una sorta di baluardo davanti a lei, le diede un bastoncino di zucchero d'orzo per intrattenersi, e dopo la solita ammonizione, la lasciò ai suoi sogni.
Vocabulary
- sera
- Evening; the time after sunset
- si
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself, himself, herself
- perse
- Lost (past tense of perdere); became lost
- nella
- Contraction of in + la; in the (feminine)
- solitudine
- Solitude; state of being alone or isolated
- cassetto
- Drawer; sliding compartment in a piece of furniture
- cui
- Relative pronoun meaning which, whom, whose
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- conservato
- Preserved, stored, or kept in good condition
- del
- Partitive article: some, of the (masculine singular)
- tabacco
- Tobacco; dried leaves used for smoking
- quasi
- Almost, nearly; very close to but not quite
- morì
- Died; third person singular past of morire
- gli
- Definite article or pronoun; the (masculine plural) or him
- effetti
- Effects, results; consequences of an action or substance
- esso
- It; third person singular neutral pronoun
- volta
- Time, occasion; una volta means once or one time
- rischiò
- Risked; third person singular past of rischiare
- annegare
- To drown; to die or cause death by submersion
- splendido
- Splendid, magnificent; wonderfully impressive or beautiful
- piatto
- Plate, dish; flat vessel used for serving food
- insalata
- Salad; dish of raw or cooked vegetables
- uova
- Eggs; plural of uovo, oval food from birds
- sbattute
- Beaten, whisked; eggs mixed vigorously together
- poteva
- Could; third person singular imperfect of potere
- aver
- Shortened infinitive of avere; to have
- scambiato
- Mistaken, exchanged; confused one thing for another
- montagne
- Mountains; large natural elevations of the earth
- neve
- Snow; frozen precipitation falling as white flakes
- Aveva
- Had; third person singular imperfect of avere
- passione
- Passion; intense enthusiasm or strong emotion
- scoperta
- Discovery; finding something new or previously unknown
- aveva
- Had; third person singular imperfect of avere
- prodigiosa
- Prodigious, extraordinary; remarkably impressive in ability
- attività
- Activity; energetic action or series of actions
- mente
- Mind; the faculty of thinking and reasoning
- corpo
- Body; physical structure of a living being
- eppure
- Yet, still, and yet; expresses unexpected contrast
- riuscivano
- Managed, succeeded; imperfect of riuscire, third plural
- trovarle
- To find for her; infinitive trovare with pronoun le
- nulla
- Nothing; not anything at all
- fare
- To do, to make; basic Italian action verb
- perché
- Because or why; introduces reason or question
- dicevano
- They said; third person plural imperfect of dire
- così
- So, thus, like this; in this way or manner
- piccola
- Small, little; feminine adjective describing small size
- delicata
- Delicate, fragile; requiring careful handling or treatment
- giocare
- To play; to engage in games or recreation
- bambini
- Children; young boys and girls, plural of bambino
- della
- Contraction of di + la; of the (feminine singular)
- età
- Age; number of years a person has lived
- permesso
- Permission, allowed; past participle of permettere
- correre
- To run; to move quickly on foot
- giro
- Round, turn, walk; movement in a circular path
- senza
- Without; in the absence of something
- scopo
- Purpose, goal, aim; reason or objective for action
- occupazione
- Occupation, activity; task that keeps one engaged
- mezzi
- Means, resources; ways or tools to achieve something
- studiare
- To study; to learn through reading and practice
- compagni
- Companions, classmates; people one shares activities with
- comprensione
- Understanding, comprehension; ability to grasp meaning
- povera
- Poor, unfortunate; lacking resources or deserving pity
- pericolo
- Danger, risk; situation likely to cause harm
- cadere
- To fall; to drop down due to gravity
- stato
- State, condition; also past participle of essere (been)
- apatia
- Apathy; lack of interest, emotion, or motivation
- più
- More, anymore; indicates greater degree or quantity
- temere
- To fear; to feel afraid of something or someone
- degli
- Contraction of di + gli; of the (masculine plural)
- incidenti
- Accidents, incidents; unexpected harmful or notable events
- dai
- Contraction of da + i; from the (masculine plural)
- quali
- Which, whom; plural relative or interrogative pronoun
- desideravano
- They desired, wished; imperfect of desiderare, third plural
- preservarla
- To preserve her; infinitive preservare with pronoun la
- giorno
- Day; period of 24 hours or daylight time
- verso
- Toward, around; preposition indicating direction or approximation
- fine
- End; the concluding part of a period or thing
- febbraio
- February; the second month of the calendar year
- Piccolissima
- Tiniest, very tiny; superlative of piccola, extremely small
- stata
- Been; feminine past participle of essere
- collocata
- Placed, positioned; put in a particular location
- sul
- Contraction of su + il; on the (masculine singular)
- caminetto
- Fireplace, mantelpiece; small hearth or its surrounding shelf
- madre
- Mother; female parent of a child
- uscita
- Gone out; past participle of uscire, to exit
- padre
- Father; male parent of a child
- desiderava
- Desired, wanted; third person singular imperfect of desiderare
- prendersi
- To take upon oneself; reflexive form of prendere
- briga
- Trouble, bother; effort or nuisance of doing something
- sorvegliare
- To watch over, supervise; to monitor someone closely
- tutti
- All, every; referring to the totality of things
- movimenti
- Movements; acts of moving from place to place
- figlia
- Daughter; female child in relation to parents
- fece
- Made, did; third person singular past of fare
- sedere
- To sit; to rest in a seated position
- puntaspilli
- Pincushion; small cushion used for storing sewing pins
- c'erano
- There were; contraction of ci erano, plural c'è
- spilli
- Pins; thin pointed metal fasteners used in sewing
- mettendo
- Placing, putting; gerund of mettere
- dizionario
- Dictionary; reference book listing words and their meanings
- sorta
- Sort, kind, type; a variety or category of something
- baluardo
- Bulwark, barrier; defensive wall or protective structure
- davanti
- In front of, before; positional preposition or adverb
- diede
- Gave; third person singular past of dare
- bastoncino
- Little stick; small thin rod or candy stick
- zucchero
- Sugar; sweet crystalline substance used in food
- d'orzo
- Of barley; barley-flavored, as in barley sugar candy
- intrattenersi
- To entertain oneself; to keep oneself occupied or amused
- dopo
- After, afterward; following in time or order
- solita
- Usual, customary; feminine of solito, habitual
- ammonizione
- Warning, admonition; cautionary advice or reprimand given
- lasciò
- Left, let; third person singular past of lasciare
- ai
- Contraction of a + i; to the (masculine plural)
- sogni
- Dreams; images and thoughts experienced during sleep
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