The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete — Page 3
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Jim was only human—this attraction was too much for him.
Jim war nur ein Mensch – diese Verlockung war zu groß für ihn.
He put down his pail, took the white alley, and bent over the toe with absorbing interest while the bandage was being unwound.
Er stellte seinen Eimer ab, nahm die weiße Murmel und beugte sich mit gespanntem Interesse über den Zeh, während der Verband abgewickelt wurde.
In another moment he was flying down the street with his pail and a tingling rear, Tom was whitewashing with vigor, and Aunt Polly was retiring from the field with a slipper in her hand and triumph in her eye.
Einen Augenblick später sauste er mit seinem Eimer und einem brennenden Hinterteil die Straße hinunter, Tom tünchte mit Eifer, und Tante Polly zog sich mit einem Pantoffel in der Hand und einem triumphierenden Blick vom Schauplatz zurück.
But Tom's energy did not last.
Aber Toms Tatendrang hielt nicht lange an.
He began to think of the fun he had planned for this day, and his sorrows multiplied.
Er begann an den Spaß zu denken, den er für diesen Tag geplant hatte, und sein Kummer wuchs.
Soon the free boys would come tripping along on all sorts of delicious expeditions, and they would make a world of fun of him for having to work—the very thought of it burnt him like fire.
Bald würden die freien Jungen bei allerlei köstlichen Unternehmungen vorbeikommen und ihn weidlich auslachen, weil er arbeiten musste – der bloße Gedanke daran brannte ihn wie Feuer.
He got out his worldly wealth and examined it—bits of toys, marbles, and trash; enough to buy an exchange of _work_, maybe, but not half enough to buy so much as half an hour of pure freedom.
Er holte seinen weltlichen Reichtum hervor und betrachtete ihn – Spielzeugteile, Murmeln und Kram; genug, um vielleicht einen Arbeitstausch zu erkaufen, aber bei weitem nicht genug, um auch nur eine halbe Stunde reiner Freiheit zu kaufen.
So he returned his straitened means to his pocket, and gave up the idea of trying to buy the boys.
Also steckte er seine knappen Mittel wieder in die Tasche und gab den Gedanken auf, die Jungen kaufen zu wollen.
At this dark and hopeless moment an inspiration burst upon him!
In diesem düsteren und hoffnungslosen Augenblick überkam ihn eine Eingebung!
Nothing less than a great, magnificent inspiration.
Nichts Geringeres als eine großartige, herrliche Eingebung.
He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work.
Er nahm seinen Pinsel und ging ruhig an die Arbeit.
Ben Rogers hove in sight presently—the very boy, of all boys, whose ridicule he had been dreading.
Ben Rogers tauchte alsbald in Sicht – ausgerechnet der Junge, dessen Spott er am meisten gefürchtet hatte.
Ben's gait was the hop-skip-and-jump—proof enough that his heart was light and his anticipations high.
Bens Gang war ein Hüpfen, Springen und Tanzen – Beweis genug, dass sein Herz leicht und seine Erwartungen hoch waren.
Vocabulary
- war
- Past tense of 'sein'; was.
- nur
- Only, just, merely.
- ein
- Indefinite article or numeral meaning one, a.
- Mensch
- A human being or person.
- diese
- Demonstrative pronoun or adjective meaning this, these.
- Verlockung
- A temptation or enticement.
- zu
- Preposition or particle meaning to, too, at.
- groß
- Large, big, great in size or degree.
- für
- Preposition meaning for, in favor of.
- ihn
- Accusative pronoun meaning him.
- Er
- Third-person singular pronoun meaning he.
- stellte
- Past tense of stellen; placed or set down.
- seinen
- Accusative possessive pronoun meaning his.
- Eimer
- A bucket or pail for carrying liquids.
- ab
- Separable prefix meaning off, down, away.
- nahm
- Past tense of nehmen; took.
- die
- Definite article meaning the (feminine/plural).
- weiße
- Adjective meaning white (inflected form).
- Murmel
- A marble used as a small toy ball.
- und
- Coordinating conjunction meaning and.
- beugte
- Past tense of beugen; bent or leaned over.
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning himself, herself, itself.
- gespanntem
- Keen, tense, or eager (inflected adjective).
- Interesse
- Interest, curiosity, or attention toward something.
- über
- Preposition meaning over, above, about.
- den
- Definite article, accusative masculine meaning the.
- Zeh
- A toe on the human foot.
- während
- Conjunction or preposition meaning while, during.
- der
- Definite article, nominative masculine meaning the.
- Verband
- A bandage wrapped around a wound.
- abgewickelt
- Past participle of abwickeln; unwound or unwrapped.
- wurde
- Past tense of werden; became, was (passive).
- Einen
- Accusative masculine indefinite article meaning a, one.
- Augenblick
- A moment or instant in time.
- später
- Comparative adverb meaning later, afterward.
- sauste
- Past tense of sausen; rushed or sped away.
- seinem
- Dative possessive pronoun meaning his (dative).
- brennenden
- Burning, stinging (inflected present participle adjective).
- Hinterteil
- The backside or rear end of a person.
- Straße
- A street or road in a town.
- hinunter
- Directional adverb meaning down (away from speaker).
- tünchte
- Past tense of tünchen; whitewashed a surface.
- Eifer
- Zeal, eagerness, or enthusiasm in doing something.
- Tante
- Aunt, a parent's sister.
- zog
- Past tense of ziehen; pulled or withdrew.
- Pantoffel
- A slipper worn indoors on the foot.
- in
- Preposition meaning in, into, inside.
- Hand
- The hand at the end of a human arm.
- triumphierenden
- Triumphant, celebrating victory (inflected adjective).
- Blick
- A glance, look, or gaze.
- vom
- Contraction of von dem meaning from the.
- Schauplatz
- Scene, setting, or location of an event.
- zurück
- Back, returning to a previous position.
- Aber
- Conjunction meaning but, however.
- Tatendrang
- Drive to act; strong urge for activity.
- hielt
- Past tense of halten; held, lasted, kept.
- nicht
- Negation particle meaning not.
- lange
- Adverb meaning for a long time.
- an
- Preposition or prefix meaning at, on, to.
- begann
- Past tense of beginnen; began or started.
- Spaß
- Fun, amusement, or enjoyment.
- denken
- To think or consider mentally.
- diesen
- Accusative demonstrative meaning this (masculine accusative).
- Tag
- A day in the calendar.
- geplant
- Past participle of planen; planned or scheduled.
- hatte
- Past tense of haben; had.
- sein
- To be; also possessive pronoun meaning his.
- Kummer
- Sorrow, grief, or distress.
- wuchs
- Past tense of wachsen; grew or increased.
- Bald
- Adverb meaning soon, before long.
- würden
- Conditional form of werden; would.
- freien
- Free (inflected adjective); unoccupied, at liberty.
- Jungen
- Boys (plural of Junge).
- bei
- Preposition meaning by, at, near, with.
- allerlei
- All kinds of, various sorts of things.
- köstlichen
- Delightful, delicious, splendid (inflected adjective).
- Unternehmungen
- Enterprises, ventures, or activities (plural).
- vorbeikommen
- To come past, to pass by a place.
- weidlich
- Thoroughly, heartily, to a great degree.
- auslachen
- To laugh at or mock someone.
- weil
- Subordinating conjunction meaning because, since.
- arbeiten
- To work or labor at a task.
- musste
- Past tense of müssen; had to, was obliged.
- bloße
- Mere, bare, sheer (inflected adjective).
- Gedanke
- A thought or idea in the mind.
- daran
- Pronominal adverb meaning at it, about it.
- brannte
- Past tense of brennen; burned or stung.
- wie
- How, as, like (comparative or interrogative).
- Feuer
- Fire, flame, or blaze.
- holte
- Past tense of holen; fetched or brought out.
- weltlichen
- Worldly, secular, earthly (inflected adjective).
- Reichtum
- Wealth, riches, or abundance.
- hervor
- Separable prefix meaning forth, out from hiding.
- betrachtete
- Past tense of betrachten; examined or looked at.
- Spielzeugteile
- Toy parts or pieces of playthings.
- Murmeln
- Marbles (plural); small glass balls used in play.
- Kram
- Odds and ends; miscellaneous stuff or junk.
- genug
- Enough, sufficient in quantity or degree.
- um
- Preposition meaning around, about, in order to.
- vielleicht
- Perhaps, maybe, possibly.
- einen
- Accusative masculine indefinite article meaning a, one.
- Arbeitstausch
- A trade or exchange of work duties.
- erkaufen
- To buy or obtain by paying a price.
- aber
- But, however; contrasting conjunction.
- weitem
- By far, not nearly (used in 'bei weitem').
- auch
- Also, too, as well.
- eine
- Indefinite article, feminine nominative meaning a, one.
- halbe
- Half (inflected adjective form).
- Stunde
- An hour; a unit of sixty minutes.
- reiner
- Pure, clean, sheer (inflected comparative adjective).
- Freiheit
- Freedom, liberty, independence.
- kaufen
- To buy or purchase something.
- Also
- So, therefore, thus (discourse connector).
- steckte
- Past tense of stecken; put or placed inside.
- seine
- Possessive pronoun meaning his (feminine/plural form).
- knappen
- Scarce, meager, barely sufficient (inflected adjective).
- Mittel
- Means, resources, or funds available.
- wieder
- Again, once more.
- Tasche
- A pocket or bag.
- gab
- Past tense of geben; gave up, abandoned.
- Gedanken
- Thoughts, ideas (plural of Gedanke).
- auf
- Preposition meaning on, upon, open, up.
- wollen
- Modal verb meaning to want or intend.
- In
- Preposition meaning in, inside, within.
- diesem
- Dative demonstrative meaning this (dative neuter/masculine).
- düsteren
- Gloomy, dark, somber (inflected adjective).
- hoffnungslosen
- Hopeless, without hope (inflected adjective).
- überkam
- Past tense of überkommen; came over, struck suddenly.
- Eingebung
- An inspiration or sudden intuitive idea.
- Nichts
- Nothing, not anything.
- Geringeres
- Something lesser or inferior; less than.
- als
- Conjunction meaning than, as, when.
- großartige
- Wonderful, magnificent, splendid (inflected adjective).
- herrliche
- Glorious, wonderful, magnificent (inflected adjective).
- Pinsel
- A paintbrush used for applying paint.
- ging
- Past tense of gehen; went, proceeded.
- ruhig
- Calm, quiet, peaceful.
- Arbeit
- Work, labor, or a task to complete.
- tauchte
- Past tense of tauchen; appeared, dipped, emerged.
- alsbald
- Presently, very soon, shortly thereafter (archaic).
- Sicht
- Sight, view, or visibility.
- ausgerechnet
- Of all people/things; precisely, of all choices.
- Junge
- A boy, a young male child.
- dessen
- Genitive relative/demonstrative pronoun meaning whose, of whom.
- Spott
- Mockery, ridicule, or scorn.
- am
- Contraction of an dem; at the, on the.
- meisten
- Most (superlative of viel); the greatest amount.
- gefürchtet
- Past participle of fürchten; feared or dreaded.
- Gang
- Gait, walk, or manner of moving.
- Hüpfen
- Hopping or skipping as a movement.
- Springen
- Jumping or leaping as a movement.
- Tanzen
- Dancing; rhythmic movement of the body.
- Beweis
- Proof, evidence, or demonstration of something.
- dass
- Subordinating conjunction meaning that.
- Herz
- The heart; seat of emotion.
- leicht
- Light, easy, slight in weight or difficulty.
- Erwartungen
- Expectations or anticipations (plural of Erwartung).
- hoch
- High, tall, elevated in position or degree.
- waren
- Past tense of sein (plural); were.
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