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.
Uma noite ela se perdeu na solidão de uma gaveta na qual havia tabaco guardado; ela quase morreu pelo efeito disso.
Once she was near drowning in a superb salad dish of frothed eggs, which she may have taken for snow mountains.
Uma vez ela quase se afogou num soberbo saladeiro de ovos batidos, que ela pode ter confundido com montanhas de 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."
Ela tinha uma paixão pela descoberta, tinha uma atividade prodigiosa de mente e corpo, e ainda assim não conseguiam encontrar nada para ela fazer, "porque," diziam eles, "ela é tão pequena, tão delicada."
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.
Ela não podia brincar com crianças da sua própria idade, não lhe era permitido correr, e sem objetivo, sem ocupação, sem meios de estudar, sem companheiros, sem simpatia, a pobrezinha corria o risco de cair num estado de apatia, mais temível do que os acidentes dos quais desejavam preservá-la.
One day, towards the end of February, Piccolissima had been placed upon the mantelpiece.
Um dia, perto do fim de fevereiro, Piccolissima tinha sido colocada sobre a lareira.
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 mãe tinha saído; seu pai, que não desejava ter o trabalho de vigiar todos os movimentos de sua filhinha, sentou-a sobre uma almofada de alfinetes na qual não havia alfinetes, e colocando o dicionário como uma espécie de barricada à sua frente, deu-lhe um palito de açúcar de cevada para se entreter, e após a advertência habitual, deixou-a entregue aos seus sonhos.
Vocabulary
- noite
- Night; the period of darkness after sunset
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; herself, himself, itself, themselves
- perdeu
- Past tense of 'perder'; lost or got lost
- solidão
- Solitude or loneliness; state of being alone
- gaveta
- A drawer, typically found in furniture
- qual
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'that'
- havia
- Past tense of 'haver'; there was, had
- tabaco
- Tobacco; dried plant used for smoking
- guardado
- Past participle of 'guardar'; stored, kept, saved
- quase
- Almost, nearly; very close to happening
- morreu
- Past tense of 'morrer'; died, passed away
- pelo
- Contraction of 'por' and 'o'; by the, through the
- efeito
- Effect, result, or consequence of something
- disso
- Contraction of 'de' and 'isso'; of that, from that
- vez
- Time, instance, or occasion; once, one time
- afogou
- Past tense of 'afogar'; drowned or nearly drowned
- soberbo
- Superb, magnificent, or arrogantly grand
- saladeiro
- A salad bowl used for mixing or serving salads
- ovos
- Plural of 'ovo'; eggs, typically used in cooking
- batidos
- Beaten or whipped; past participle of 'bater'
- confundido
- Past participle of 'confundir'; confused or mistaken
- montanhas
- Plural of 'montanha'; mountains, large natural elevations
- neve
- Snow; frozen precipitation falling as white flakes
- paixão
- Passion, strong enthusiasm or love for something
- descoberta
- Discovery; act of finding something new or unknown
- atividade
- Activity; something done or pursued regularly
- prodigiosa
- Prodigious, extraordinary, or remarkably impressive
- mente
- Mind; the seat of thought and consciousness
- corpo
- Body; the physical structure of a living being
- ainda
- Still, yet, even; indicating continuation or addition
- assim
- Thus, so, in this way; expressing manner or result
- conseguiam
- Imperfect of 'conseguir'; they managed, were able to
- encontrar
- To find or to meet; discovering something or someone
- nada
- Nothing; not anything, no thing at all
- diziam
- Imperfect tense of 'dizer'; they used to say
- tão
- So, as, such; intensifier before adjectives or adverbs
- pequena
- Small, little; feminine adjective describing small size
- delicada
- Delicate, fragile, or sensitive; feminine adjective form
- podia
- Imperfect of 'poder'; could, was able to, used to be able
- brincar
- To play; to engage in playful or recreational activities
- crianças
- Children; young human beings, plural of 'criança'
- própria
- Own, same; emphasizing personal possession or identity
- idade
- Age; the number of years a person has lived
- lhe
- Indirect object pronoun meaning 'to her', 'to him'
- permitido
- Permitted, allowed; past participle of 'permitir'
- correr
- To run; to move quickly on foot
- sem
- Preposition meaning 'without'; lacking something
- objetivo
- Objective, goal, or purpose; something aimed for
- ocupação
- Occupation or activity; something that keeps one busy
- meios
- Means, resources, or ways to achieve something
- estudar
- To study; to learn through reading or practice
- companheiros
- Companions, peers, or fellows sharing an experience
- simpatia
- Sympathy, warmth, or friendliness toward others
- pobrezinha
- Diminutive of 'pobre'; poor little one, pitiful girl
- corria
- Imperfect of 'correr'; was running, used to run
- risco
- Risk, danger, or hazard; possibility of harm
- cair
- To fall; to drop or descend suddenly
- estado
- State or condition; the current situation of something
- apatia
- Apathy; lack of interest, enthusiasm, or emotion
- temível
- Dreadful, frightening, or to be feared
- acidentes
- Accidents; unexpected events causing harm or damage
- quais
- Plural of 'qual'; which ones, relative pronoun plural
- desejavam
- Imperfect of 'desejar'; they wished or desired
- preservá-la
- To preserve her; to protect or keep her safe
- perto
- Near, close, nearby; not far in distance
- fim
- End, conclusion, or finish of something
- fevereiro
- February; the second month of the year
- sido
- Past participle of 'ser'; been, used with 'ter'
- colocada
- Past participle of 'colocar'; placed, put, set down
- sobre
- On, upon, or about; positioned above something
- lareira
- Fireplace or hearth; indoor structure for fire
- saído
- Past participle of 'sair'; gone out, left, departed
- desejava
- Imperfect of 'desejar'; desired, wished, wanted
- trabalho
- Work, job, or labor; activity done for a purpose
- vigiar
- To watch over or monitor; to keep guard
- todos
- All, every; referring to the entirety of a group
- movimentos
- Movements; physical motions or actions of the body
- filhinha
- Diminutive of 'filha'; dear little daughter
- sentou-a
- Seated her; past tense of 'sentar' with pronoun
- almofada
- Cushion or pillow; soft padded object for comfort
- alfinetes
- Pins; small sharp objects used for fastening fabric
- colocando
- Present participle of 'colocar'; placing, putting, setting
- dicionário
- Dictionary; reference book listing words and definitions
- espécie
- Kind, sort, species, or type of something
- barricada
- Barricade; a barrier erected to block passage
- frente
- Front, face, or ahead; the forward-facing side
- deu-lhe
- Gave her/him; past tense of 'dar' with pronoun
- palito
- A small stick, toothpick, or thin rod
- açúcar
- Sugar; sweet crystalline substance used in food
- cevada
- Barley; a cereal grain used in food and drinks
- entreter
- To entertain or amuse; to keep someone occupied
- após
- After, following; indicating sequence in time
- advertência
- Warning or admonition; a cautionary statement given
- habitual
- Habitual, usual, or customary; regularly done
- deixou-a
- Left her; past tense of 'deixar' with pronoun
- entregue
- Delivered or surrendered; past participle of 'entregar'
- sonhos
- Dreams; images or thoughts experienced during sleep
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