Piccolissima — Page 13
The look, gloomy, and a little sullen, of the fly, recalled somewhat the funny mask of a harlequin, and Piccolissima was on the point of showing how one laughs with the lips, by laughing in the fly's face, when the latter forced air slightly through the breathing holes which open under the wings; the two little double scales, the winglets, which unfold at birth, began to vibrate; and Piccolissima, who just now remarked that this was the method that her new acquaintance took to emit sounds, was eager to listen to what he might say; so she made an effort to command herself, and became serious.
L'aspetto, cupo e un po' scontroso, della mosca, ricordava in qualche modo la buffa maschera di un arlecchino, e Piccolissima era sul punto di mostrare come si ride con le labbra, ridendo in faccia alla mosca, quando quest'ultima spinse leggermente dell'aria attraverso i fori respiratori che si aprono sotto le ali; le due piccole doppie scaglie, le alette, che si dispiegano alla nascita, cominciarono a vibrare; e Piccolissima, che aveva appena notato che questo era il metodo che la sua nuova conoscenza usava per emettere suoni, era ansiosa di ascoltare ciò che avrebbe potuto dire; così fece uno sforzo per dominarsi, e divenne seria.
"Do you not see, with your dull human intelligence, that my trunk is a pump, a hollow tube, an instrument for sucking which I stretch out and draw in at my pleasure?"
«Non vedi, con la tua ottusa intelligenza umana, che la mia proboscide è una pompa, un tubo cavo, uno strumento per succhiare che allungo e ritiro a mio piacimento?»
While speaking thus, the fly thrust half way out from the cavity in the middle of his head, just under his eyes, a trunk with two or three joints in it; at the end was an opening like two black lips, folded over, with grooves or little hollows.
Mentre parlava così, la mosca spinse a metà fuori dalla cavità al centro della sua testa, appena sotto i suoi occhi, una proboscide con due o tre articolazioni; all'estremità vi era un'apertura simile a due labbra nere, ripiegate, con scanalature o piccole cavità.
The fly, thus urged to show the use of his trunk, or, more probably, forgetting the sequel of a discourse upon which he had entered in such a pompous style, flew upon the sugar, and set himself again to sucking it.
La mosca, così spronata a mostrare l'uso della sua proboscide, o, più probabilmente, dimenticando il seguito di un discorso nel quale si era avventurata in modo così pomposo, volò sullo zucchero e si rimise a succhiarlo.
Piccolissima again observed the little drops fall which she had noticed before.
Piccolissima osservò di nuovo cadere le piccole gocce che aveva notato prima.
Vocabulary
- aspetto
- Appearance or aspect of something or someone.
- cupo
- Dark, gloomy, or somber in color or mood.
- un
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'.
- po
- Short for 'poco', meaning a little or small amount.
- scontroso
- Grumpy, morose, or bad-tempered in manner.
- della
- Preposition meaning 'of the' or 'some'.
- mosca
- Fly, the small winged insect.
- ricordava
- Remembered or recalled something from the past.
- in
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'into'.
- qualche
- Some or a few; used with singular nouns.
- modo
- Way, manner, or mode of doing something.
- la
- Feminine definite article meaning 'the'.
- buffa
- Comic, funny, or amusing in a theatrical sense.
- maschera
- Mask worn on the face for disguise.
- di
- Preposition meaning 'of'.
- arlecchino
- Harlequin, character from commedia dell'arte tradition.
- Piccolissima
- Superlative form meaning extremely tiny or very small.
- era
- Was; past tense of 'essere'.
- sul
- Preposition meaning 'on the' or 'about to'.
- punto
- Point or moment; often used in 'sul punto di'.
- mostrare
- To show or demonstrate something.
- come
- How or as; used for comparisons or questions.
- si
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself' or 'itself'.
- ride
- Laughs or smiles; third person singular of ridere.
- con
- Preposition meaning 'with'.
- le
- Feminine plural definite article or pronoun 'the'.
- labbra
- Lips; plural of 'labbro'.
- ridendo
- Laughing; present participle of ridere.
- faccia
- Face; also means 'do' in imperative form.
- alla
- Preposition meaning 'to the' or 'at the'.
- quando
- When; used in temporal clauses and questions.
- ultima
- Last or final in a sequence of things.
- spinse
- Pushed; past tense of 'spingere'.
- leggermente
- Lightly or gently; adverb from 'leggero'.
- dell
- Contraction of 'della' or 'dello' meaning 'of the'.
- aria
- Air or atmosphere; also a musical melody.
- attraverso
- Through or across; preposition of movement.
- fori
- Holes or openings; plural of 'foro'.
- respiratori
- Related to breathing or respiration.
- che
- That or which; relative pronoun.
- aprono
- Open; third person plural of 'aprire'.
- sotto
- Under or below; preposition of position.
- ali
- Wings; plural of 'ala'.
- due
- Number two or a pair of something.
- piccole
- Small; feminine plural of 'piccolo'.
- doppie
- Double; feminine plural of 'doppio'.
- scaglie
- Scales or flakes; plural of 'scaglia'.
- alette
- Small wings or fins; diminutive of 'ala'.
- dispiegano
- Unfold or display; third person plural of dispiegare.
- nascita
- Birth or beginning of something.
- cominciarono
- Began or started; past tense of cominciare.
- vibrare
- To vibrate or tremble.
- aveva
- Had; past tense of 'avere'.
- appena
- Just, hardly, or barely; adverb.
- notato
- Noticed or observed; past participle of notare.
- questo
- This; demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
- il
- Masculine singular definite article meaning 'the'.
- metodo
- Method or way of doing something.
- sua
- Her or his; possessive adjective.
- nuova
- New; feminine form of 'nuovo'.
- conoscenza
- Acquaintance or knowledge of someone.
- usava
- Used to; past tense of 'usare'.
- per
- For or in order to; preposition.
- emettere
- To emit or produce sounds.
- suoni
- Sounds or noises; plural of 'suono'.
- ansiosa
- Anxious or eager; feminine form of ansioso.
- ascoltare
- To listen or hear attentively.
- ciò
- That or this; demonstrative pronoun.
- avrebbe
- Would have; conditional of 'avere'.
- potuto
- Could have; past participle of 'potere'.
- dire
- To say or tell something.
- così
- Thus, so, or therefore; adverb.
- fece
- Made or did; past tense of 'fare'.
- uno
- One; masculine singular number.
- sforzo
- Effort or exertion towards a goal.
- dominarsi
- To control oneself or master emotions.
- divenne
- Became; past tense of 'diventare'.
- seria
- Serious; feminine form of 'serio'.
- Non
- Not; negation or negative particle.
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