Piccolissima — Page 7
Leaving the sugar to slip down by her side, she remained lost in melancholy reflections from which she was drawn by a light murmur, such as one hears sometimes in the silence of the night when persons are speaking in a low voice in a distant part of the house.
Lasciando scivolare lo zucchero al suo fianco, rimase persa in malinconiche riflessioni dalle quali fu tratta da un leggero mormorio, come quello che si sente talvolta nel silenzio della notte quando delle persone parlano a bassa voce in una parte lontana della casa.
Piccolissima listened with deep attention for some time.
Piccolissima ascoltò con profonda attenzione per qualche tempo.
Usually she disliked the sound of conversation; it struck harshly on her organs, and seemed a sort of mimic thunder; but these sounds had nothing discordant, nothing disagreeable in them, to her ear.
Di solito non le piaceva il suono della conversazione; colpiva duramente i suoi organi e sembrava una sorta di tuono imitato; ma questi suoni non avevano nulla di discordante, nulla di spiacevole, al suo orecchio.
As Piccolissima had been forced to observe rather than to act, her faculties took a new direction, and a development of which she was unconscious herself took place, and her joy and her surprise were great when she found that, in what had at first appeared to her a confused murmur, she distinguished, as she listened attentively, intelligible words.
Poiché Piccolissima era stata costretta ad osservare piuttosto che ad agire, le sue facoltà presero una nuova direzione, e si verificò uno sviluppo di cui lei stessa era inconsapevole, e la sua gioia e la sua sorpresa furono grandi quando scoprì che, in ciò che in un primo momento le era sembrato un mormorio confuso, distingueva, mentre ascoltava attentamente, parole intelligibili.
"It was hardly worth while," said a small, sharp voice, "it was hardly worth the trouble it cost me to leave my cradle.
«Non ne valeva quasi la pena,» disse una piccola voce acuta, «non valeva quasi la pena del disturbo che mi è costato lasciare la mia culla.
I have come into the world where all is dead around me.
Sono venuta al mondo dove tutto è morto intorno a me.
Ah! if I had only known that this world was so cold and dull, I should not have made efforts which almost destroyed me, to break the roof and leave my narrow house."
Ah! se avessi solo saputo che questo mondo era così freddo e tetro, non avrei fatto sforzi che quasi mi distrussero, per sfondare il tetto e lasciare la mia stretta dimora.»
"Patience," replied another voice, a little quieter, but much like the other; "I have lived longer than thou, who art only a few seconds old.
«Pazienza,» rispose un'altra voce, un po' più quieta, ma molto simile all'altra; «Io ho vissuto più a lungo di te, che hai solo pochi secondi di vita.
Vocabulary
- Lasciando
- Leaving or letting something happen; present participle.
- scivolare
- To slide or glide smoothly across a surface.
- lo
- Him or it; direct object pronoun (masculine singular).
- zucchero
- Sugar; sweet crystalline substance used in cooking.
- al
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'il'.
- suo
- His, her, or its; possessive adjective (formal).
- fianco
- Side of the body or flank of something.
- rimase
- Remained or stayed; past tense of rimanere.
- persa
- Lost or absorbed; feminine form of perso.
- in
- In or inside; preposition indicating location or position.
- malinconiche
- Melancholic or sad; feminine plural adjective.
- riflessioni
- Reflections or contemplations; plural of riflessione.
- dalle
- From the; contraction of 'da' and 'le'.
- quali
- Which or what; relative pronoun (plural form).
- fu
- Was; past tense of essere (third person singular).
- tratta
- Drawn or pulled; past participle of trarre.
- da
- By or from; preposition indicating origin or agent.
- un
- A or an; indefinite article (masculine singular).
- leggero
- Light or slight; adjective describing minimal weight.
- mormorio
- Murmur or soft whispering sound; quiet noise.
- come
- Like or as; conjunction used in comparisons.
- quello
- That one; demonstrative pronoun (masculine singular).
- che
- That or which; relative pronoun used frequently.
- si
- Oneself or himself; reflexive pronoun particle.
- sente
- Hears or feels; present tense of sentire.
- talvolta
- Sometimes or occasionally; adverb of frequency.
- nel
- In the; contraction of 'in' and 'il'.
- silenzio
- Silence; absence of sound or noise.
- della
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'la'.
- notte
- Night; time of darkness after sunset.
- quando
- When; conjunction indicating temporal relationships.
- delle
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'le'.
- persone
- People or persons; plural of persona.
- parlano
- They speak or talk; present tense of parlare.
- bassa
- Low or soft; feminine form of basso.
- voce
- Voice or sound produced by speaking.
- una
- A or an; indefinite article (feminine singular).
- parte
- Part or portion; section of something larger.
- lontana
- Distant or far away; feminine adjective.
- casa
- House or home; dwelling place.
- ascoltò
- Listened or heard attentively; past tense of ascoltare.
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or manner.
- profonda
- Deep or profound; feminine form of profondo.
- attenzione
- Attention or careful consideration; focus.
- per
- For or in order to; preposition with multiple uses.
- qualche
- Some or a few; indefinite adjective.
- tempo
- Time or period; duration or weather.
- Di
- Of; preposition indicating possession or origin.
- solito
- Usual or customary; as typically happens.
- non
- Not; negative adverb used to negate verbs.
- le
- Her or to her; indirect or direct pronoun.
- piaceva
- Pleased or liked; imperfect tense of piacere.
- il
- The; definite article (masculine singular).
- suono
- Sound or noise; acoustic phenomenon.
- conversazione
- Conversation or discussion between people.
- colpiva
- Struck or affected harshly; imperfect of colpire.
- duramente
- Harshly or severely; adverb modifying action.
- suoi
- His, her, or its; possessive adjective (plural).
- organi
- Organs; body parts or musical instruments.
- sembrava
- Seemed or appeared; imperfect of sembrare.
- sorta
- Kind or type of; feminine form of sorto.
- tuono
- Thunder; loud sound during storms.
- imitato
- Imitated or copied; past participle of imitare.
- questi
- These or this; demonstrative pronoun (masculine).
- suoni
- Sounds or noises; plural of suono.
- avevano
- Had or possessed; imperfect of avere.
- nulla
- Nothing or not anything; negative pronoun.
- spiacevole
- Unpleasant or disagreeable; negative adjective.
- orecchio
- Ear; organ of hearing and balance.
- Poiché
- Since or because; causal conjunction.
- era
- Was; imperfect of essere.
- stata
- Been; past participle of essere (feminine).
- costretta
- Forced or compelled; feminine of costretto.
- ad
- To; preposition used before vowels.
- osservare
- To observe or watch carefully and attentively.
- piuttosto
- Rather or quite; adverb indicating degree.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →