The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete — Page 6
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He was not the Model Boy of the village.
Er war nicht der Musterkabe des Dorfes.
He knew the model boy very well though—and loathed him.
Den Musterkaben kannte er allerdings sehr gut – und verabscheute ihn.
Within two minutes, or even less, he had forgotten all his troubles.
Binnen zwei Minuten, oder sogar noch weniger, hatte er alle seine Sorgen vergessen.
Not because his troubles were one whit less heavy and bitter to him than a man's are to a man, but because a new and powerful interest bore them down and drove them out of his mind for the time—just as men's misfortunes are forgotten in the excitement of new enterprises.
Nicht weil seine Sorgen auch nur ein bisschen weniger schwer und bitter für ihn waren als die eines Mannes für einen Mann, sondern weil ein neues und mächtiges Interesse sie niederdrückte und sie für den Augenblick aus seinem Sinn verdrängte – genauso wie die Missgeschicke der Menschen in der Aufregung neuer Unternehmungen vergessen werden.
This new interest was a valued novelty in whistling, which he had just acquired from a negro, and he was suffering to practise it undisturbed.
Dieses neue Interesse war eine geschätzte Neuheit im Pfeifen, die er sich soeben von einem Neger angeeignet hatte, und er sehnte sich danach, sie ungestört zu üben.
It consisted in a peculiar bird-like turn, a sort of liquid warble, produced by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth at short intervals in the midst of the music—the reader probably remembers how to do it, if he has ever been a boy.
Sie bestand in einer eigentümlichen vogelähnlichen Wendung, einer Art flüssigem Trillern, das erzeugt wurde, indem man die Zunge in kurzen Abständen mitten in der Melodie an den Gaumen berührte – der Leser erinnert sich wahrscheinlich, wie man es macht, wenn er jemals ein Junge gewesen ist.
Diligence and attention soon gave him the knack of it, and he strode down the street with his mouth full of harmony and his soul full of gratitude.
Fleiß und Aufmerksamkeit brachten ihm bald den Dreh heraus, und er schritt die Straße hinunter mit einem Mund voll Harmonie und einer Seele voll Dankbarkeit.
He felt much as an astronomer feels who has discovered a new planet—no doubt, as far as strong, deep, unalloyed pleasure is concerned, the advantage was with the boy, not the astronomer.
Er fühlte sich ähnlich wie ein Astronom, der einen neuen Planeten entdeckt hat – zweifellos lag der Vorteil, was starkes, tiefes, ungetrübtes Vergnügen betrifft, beim Jungen und nicht beim Astronomen.
The summer evenings were long.
Die Sommerabende waren lang.
It was not dark, yet.
Es war noch nicht dunkel.
Presently Tom checked his whistle.
Bald hielt Tom mit seinem Pfeifen inne.
A stranger was before him—a boy a shade larger than himself.
Ein Fremder stand vor ihm – ein Junge, eine Spur größer als er selbst.
Vocabulary
- Er
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun
- war
- Was; past tense of 'sein' (to be)
- nicht
- Not; negation word used in sentences
- der
- The; definite article for masculine nouns
- Musterkabe
- Model boy; an exemplary, well-behaved child
- des
- Of the; genitive definite article form
- Dorfes
- Of the village; genitive form of 'Dorf'
- Den
- The; accusative definite article form
- Musterkaben
- Model boy; accusative form of exemplary child
- kannte
- Knew; past tense of 'kennen' (to know)
- er
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun
- allerdings
- However; admittedly, used to introduce qualification
- sehr
- Very; intensifier adverb in German sentences
- gut
- Good; adjective meaning well or fine
- und
- And; basic coordinating conjunction in German
- verabscheute
- Detested; past tense of 'verabscheuen' (to loathe)
- ihn
- Him; accusative personal pronoun third person
- Binnen
- Within; preposition indicating a time period
- zwei
- Two; the number 2 in German
- Minuten
- Minutes; plural of 'Minute' (unit of time)
- oder
- Or; coordinating conjunction offering an alternative
- sogar
- Even; adverb emphasizing something surprising
- noch
- Still; yet, adverb indicating continuation or addition
- weniger
- Less; comparative form of 'wenig' (few/little)
- hatte
- Had; past tense of 'haben' (to have)
- alle
- All; pronoun or adjective meaning everyone or everything
- seine
- His; possessive pronoun for third person masculine
- Sorgen
- Worries; plural of 'Sorge' (concern, worry)
- vergessen
- Forgotten; past participle of 'vergessen' (to forget)
- Nicht
- Not; negation particle used in clauses
- weil
- Because; subordinating conjunction giving a reason
- auch
- Also; adverb meaning too or even
- nur
- Only; limiting adverb in German
- ein
- A/an; indefinite article for singular nouns
- bisschen
- A little; adverb indicating a small amount
- schwer
- Heavy/difficult; adjective meaning hard or weighty
- bitter
- Bitter; adjective describing a sharp unpleasant taste
- für
- For; preposition indicating purpose or beneficiary
- waren
- Were; past tense plural of 'sein' (to be)
- als
- Than/as; conjunction used in comparisons or time clauses
- die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- eines
- Of a; genitive indefinite article form in German
- Mannes
- Of a man; genitive form of 'Mann'
- einen
- A/an; accusative indefinite article masculine form
- Mann
- Man; adult male person
- sondern
- But rather; conjunction contrasting a negated statement
- neues
- New; adjective in neuter attributive form
- mächtiges
- Powerful; adjective meaning mighty or strong
- Interesse
- Interest; curiosity or concern toward something
- sie
- She/they; third-person pronoun feminine or plural
- niederdrückte
- Suppressed; pressed down, overwhelmed emotionally
- den
- The; accusative definite article masculine form
- Augenblick
- Moment; a brief instant or point in time
- aus
- Out of/from; preposition indicating origin or exit
- seinem
- His; dative possessive pronoun masculine form
- Sinn
- Mind/sense; perception or mental awareness
- verdrängte
- Displaced; pushed aside or repressed from the mind
- genauso
- Just as; adverb expressing equal degree or manner
- wie
- As/how; conjunction or adverb in comparisons
- Missgeschicke
- Misfortunes; plural of unfortunate or unlucky events
- Menschen
- People; plural of 'Mensch' (human being)
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or time
- Aufregung
- Excitement; state of agitation or great excitement
- neuer
- New; adjective in genitive or dative form
- Unternehmungen
- Undertakings; plural of enterprise or venture
- werden
- To become; auxiliary verb for future or passive
- Dieses
- This; demonstrative pronoun neuter nominative form
- neue
- New; adjective describing something recent or novel
- geschätzte
- Prized; adjective meaning valued or appreciated
- Neuheit
- Novelty; quality of being new or a new thing
- im
- In the; contraction of 'in dem' (dative)
- Pfeifen
- Whistling; the act of producing a whistling sound
- sich
- Himself/herself/itself; reflexive pronoun in German
- soeben
- Just now; adverb meaning just a moment ago
- von
- From/of; preposition indicating origin or possession
- einem
- A/an; dative indefinite article masculine or neuter
- angeeignet
- Acquired; past participle meaning learned or adopted
- sehnte
- Longed; past tense of 'sehnen' (to yearn)
- danach
- For it; adverb meaning after that or for that
- ungestört
- Undisturbed; without interruption or distraction
- zu
- To; preposition or infinitive particle in German
- üben
- To practice; to train or rehearse a skill
- Sie
- She/they/You; pronoun with multiple uses in German
- bestand
- Consisted; past tense of 'bestehen' (to consist of)
- einer
- A/an; dative or genitive indefinite article form
- eigentümlichen
- Peculiar; adjective meaning distinctive or characteristic
- vogelähnlichen
- Bird-like; adjective resembling a bird's quality
- Wendung
- Turn; a twist or turn in motion or speech
- Art
- Kind/type; manner or sort of something
- flüssigem
- Fluid/liquid; smooth and flowing in character
- Trillern
- Trilling; rapid alternation of musical notes
- das
- The/that; neuter definite article or pronoun
- erzeugt
- Produced; past participle of 'erzeugen' (to generate)
- wurde
- Was; past tense auxiliary for passive constructions
- indem
- By doing; conjunction meaning while or by means of
- man
- One; impersonal pronoun meaning one or people generally
- Zunge
- Tongue; the muscular organ in the mouth
- kurzen
- Short; adjective in inflected form meaning brief
- Abständen
- Intervals; dative plural of 'Abstand' (distance/gap)
- mitten
- In the middle; adverb meaning amid or in the center
- Melodie
- Melody; a sequence of musical notes forming a tune
- an
- At/on; preposition indicating contact or direction
- Gaumen
- Palate; the roof of the mouth
- berührte
- Touched; past tense of 'berühren' (to touch)
- Leser
- Reader; a person who reads a text
- erinnert
- Reminds/remembered; from 'erinnern' (to remember)
- wahrscheinlich
- Probably; adverb indicating likelihood or probability
- es
- It; neuter third-person pronoun in German
- macht
- Does/makes; present tense of 'machen'
- wenn
- If/when; conditional or temporal conjunction
- jemals
- Ever; adverb meaning at any time
- Junge
- Boy; a young male child
- gewesen
- Been; past participle of 'sein' (to be)
- ist
- Is; third-person singular present of 'sein'
- Fleiß
- Diligence; industriousness and hard work
- Aufmerksamkeit
- Attention; careful focus or mindfulness
- brachten
- Brought; past tense plural of 'bringen'
- ihm
- Him; dative personal pronoun third person masculine
- bald
- Soon; adverb indicating something happening shortly
- Dreh
- Knack/trick; the way of doing something skillfully
- heraus
- Out; separable verb prefix meaning out or figured out
- schritt
- Walked/strode; past tense of 'schreiten' (to stride)
- Straße
- Street; a road in a town or city
- hinunter
- Down; adverb or prefix meaning downward along something
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- Mund
- Mouth; the opening for eating and speaking
- voll
- Full; adjective meaning filled or complete
- Harmonie
- Harmony; pleasant agreement of sounds or elements
- Seele
- Soul; the spiritual or inner essence of a person
- Dankbarkeit
- Gratitude; the feeling of being thankful
- fühlte
- Felt; past tense of 'fühlen' (to feel)
- ähnlich
- Similar; adjective meaning alike or resembling
- Astronom
- Astronomer; a scientist who studies celestial bodies
- Planeten
- Planets; plural of 'Planet' (celestial body)
- entdeckt
- Discovered; past participle of 'entdecken'
- hat
- Has; third-person singular present of 'haben'
- zweifellos
- Undoubtedly; adverb meaning without any doubt
- lag
- Lay; past tense of 'liegen' (to lie/be located)
- Vorteil
- Advantage; a favorable or beneficial condition
- was
- What; interrogative or relative pronoun in German
- starkes
- Strong; adjective in inflected form meaning powerful
- tiefes
- Deep; adjective in inflected form meaning profound
- ungetrübtes
- Unclouded; adjective meaning pure and undisturbed
- Vergnügen
- Pleasure; enjoyment or delight in something
- betrifft
- Concerns; third-person present of 'betreffen'
- beim
- At the; contraction of 'bei dem' (dative)
- Astronomen
- Astronomer; dative/accusative form of 'Astronom'
- Die
- The; definite article feminine or plural nominative
- Sommerabende
- Summer evenings; plural of 'Sommerabend'
- lang
- Long; adjective meaning extended in time or space
- Es
- It; neuter third-person pronoun or dummy subject
- dunkel
- Dark; adjective meaning without light
- Bald
- Soon; adverb indicating something will happen shortly
- hielt
- Stopped/held; past tense of 'halten' (to hold/stop)
- inne
- Still; part of 'innehalten' meaning to pause or stop
- Ein
- A/an; indefinite article masculine nominative form
- Fremder
- Stranger; an unfamiliar or unknown person
- stand
- Stood; past tense of 'stehen' (to stand)
- vor
- Before/in front of; preposition indicating position
- Spur
- Trace/track; a mark, hint, or trail left behind
- größer
- Bigger; comparative form of 'groß' (large/tall)
- selbst
- Himself/itself; reflexive intensifier pronoun
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