The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete — Page 7
A new-comer of any age or either sex was an impressive curiosity in the poor little shabby village of St. Petersburg.
Un nouveau venu de tout âge ou de l'un ou l'autre sexe était une curiosité impressionnante dans le pauvre petit village misérable de Saint-Pétersbourg.
This boy was well dressed, too—well dressed on a week-day.
Ce garçon était bien habillé, de plus—bien habillé un jour de semaine.
This was simply astounding.
C'était tout simplement stupéfiant.
His cap was a dainty thing, his close-buttoned blue cloth roundabout was new and natty, and so were his pantaloons.
Sa casquette était une chose délicate, sa veste courte en drap bleu boutonnée jusqu'en haut était neuve et élégante, et son pantalon aussi.
He had shoes on—and it was only Friday.
Il portait des chaussures—et ce n'était que vendredi.
He even wore a necktie, a bright bit of ribbon.
Il portait même une cravate, un beau petit bout de ruban.
He had a citified air about him that ate into Tom's vitals.
Il avait un air citadin qui rongeait Tom jusqu'aux entrailles.
The more Tom stared at the splendid marvel, the higher he turned up his nose at his finery and the shabbier and shabbier his own outfit seemed to him to grow.
Plus Tom regardait fixement cette splendide merveille, plus il levait le nez sur ses beaux atours et plus sa propre tenue lui semblait misérable.
Neither boy spoke.
Aucun des deux garçons ne parla.
If one moved, the other moved—but only sidewise, in a circle; they kept face to face and eye to eye all the time.
Si l'un bougeait, l'autre bougeait—mais seulement de côté, en cercle ; ils restaient face à face et les yeux dans les yeux tout le temps.
Finally Tom said:
Finalement, Tom dit :
"I can lick you!"
« Je peux t'avoir ! »
"I'd like to see you try it."
« J'aimerais te voir essayer. »
"Well, I can do it."
« Eh bien, je peux le faire. »
"No you can't, either."
« Non, tu ne peux pas, justement. »
"Yes I can."
« Mais si, je peux. »
"No you can't."
« Non, tu ne peux pas. »
"I can."
« Je peux. »
"You can't."
« Tu ne peux pas. »
"Can!"
« Si ! »
"Can't!"
« Non ! »
An uncomfortable pause.
Un silence gênant.
Then Tom said:
Puis Tom dit :
"What's your name?"
« Comment tu t'appelles ? »
"'Tisn't any of your business, maybe."
« Ça ne te regarde peut-être pas. »
"Well I 'low I'll _make_ it my business."
« Eh bien, je vais _en_ faire mon affaire. »
"Well why don't you?"
« Eh bien, pourquoi tu ne le fais pas ? »
"If you say much, I will."
« Si tu continues, je le ferai. »
"Much—much—_much_. There now."
« Beaucoup—beaucoup—_beaucoup_. Voilà. »
"Oh, you think you're mighty smart, _don't_ you?
« Oh, tu te crois bien malin, _n'est-ce pas_ ?
Vocabulary
- nouveau
- New or recent; describing something recently arrived
- venu
- Arrived; past participle of 'venir' (to come)
- tout
- All, every, or entirely; very common adjective/adverb
- âge
- Age; the length of time someone has lived
- autre
- Other; referring to a different person or thing
- sexe
- Sex; biological category of male or female
- était
- Was; third-person singular imperfect of 'être'
- curiosité
- Curiosity; something unusual attracting interest or attention
- impressionnante
- Impressive; causing admiration or a strong reaction
- pauvre
- Poor; lacking wealth or evoking pity
- petit
- Small or little; describing something of small size
- village
- Village; a small rural community or settlement
- misérable
- Miserable, wretched; in a very poor or sad state
- garçon
- Boy; a young male person
- bien
- Well; adverb indicating good quality or manner
- habillé
- Dressed; wearing clothes, especially nicely or formally
- plus
- More; indicating greater quantity, degree, or addition
- jour
- Day; a 24-hour period
- semaine
- Week; a period of seven consecutive days
- simplement
- Simply; in a plain or uncomplicated manner
- stupéfiant
- Astounding, stunning; causing great surprise or shock
- casquette
- Cap; a flat-brimmed hat worn on the head
- chose
- Thing; a general term for any object or matter
- délicate
- Delicate; fine, subtle, or requiring careful handling
- veste
- Jacket; a short coat worn over other clothing
- courte
- Short; of little length or height
- drap
- Cloth or broadcloth; a type of woven fabric
- bleu
- Blue; the color of the sky or sea
- boutonnée
- Buttoned up; fastened with buttons from bottom to top
- jusqu'
- Until or up to; preposition indicating a limit or endpoint
- haut
- High or top; referring to an upper point or position
- neuve
- Brand new; recently made and unused
- élégante
- Elegant; stylish and graceful in appearance
- pantalon
- Trousers; a garment covering the legs
- aussi
- Also, too; indicating something additional or similar
- portait
- Was wearing; imperfect tense of 'porter' (to wear/carry)
- chaussures
- Shoes; footwear worn on the feet
- vendredi
- Friday; the fifth day of the working week
- même
- Same, even, or very; emphasizing identity or contrast
- cravate
- Tie or necktie; cloth worn around the neck
- beau
- Beautiful, handsome; pleasing to the eye
- bout
- End or tip; the extremity of something
- ruban
- Ribbon; a narrow strip of fabric used decoratively
- avait
- Had; third-person singular imperfect of 'avoir'
- air
- Air or appearance; the look or manner of someone
- citadin
- City dweller; a person from an urban environment
- rongeait
- Was gnawing; eating away at something persistently
- entrailles
- Entrails, guts; inner organs, used figuratively for deep feelings
- Plus
- More; used in comparisons or indicating continuation
- regardait
- Was looking at; imperfect of 'regarder' (to look)
- fixement
- Fixedly, steadily; staring without looking away
- splendide
- Splendid; magnificent and impressive in appearance
- merveille
- Marvel or wonder; something extraordinarily impressive
- levait
- Was raising; imperfect of 'lever' (to lift or raise)
- nez
- Nose; the facial organ used for smelling and breathing
- beaux
- Beautiful, handsome (plural); plural form of 'beau'
- atours
- Finery, attire; elegant or decorative clothing and accessories
- propre
- Clean or own; neat in appearance or belonging to oneself
- tenue
- Outfit or attire; the clothes worn on a specific occasion
- semblait
- Seemed; imperfect of 'sembler' (to seem or appear)
- Aucun
- None or neither; negative adjective meaning not any
- deux
- Two; the number 2
- garçons
- Boys; plural of 'garçon,' young male persons
- parla
- Spoke; third-person singular simple past of 'parler'
- Si
- If or yes (contradicting a negative); conjunction or affirmation
- bougeait
- Was moving; imperfect of 'bouger' (to move or stir)
- seulement
- Only or merely; limiting something to a single thing
- côté
- Side; a lateral direction or edge of something
- cercle
- Circle; a round shape or a group surrounding someone
- restaient
- Remained; imperfect of 'rester' (to stay or remain)
- face
- Face or front; the front side of something or someone
- yeux
- Eyes; the organs of sight, plural of 'œil'
- temps
- Time or weather; duration or atmospheric conditions
- Finalement
- Finally or eventually; after a long wait or process
- dit
- Said; third-person singular past of 'dire' (to say)
- peux
- Can; first-person singular present of 'pouvoir'
- avoir
- To have; infinitive of the auxiliary verb 'avoir'
- aimerais
- Would like; conditional of 'aimer' (to like or love)
- voir
- To see; infinitive meaning to observe or witness
- essayer
- To try; to attempt something or test an action
- Eh
- Hey; interjection to attract attention or express surprise
- faire
- To do or make; very common and versatile French verb
- justement
- Exactly or precisely; used to confirm or emphasize a point
- si
- If or yes (contradicting negative); common conjunction
- silence
- Silence; the absence of sound or noise
- gênant
- Awkward or embarrassing; causing discomfort or unease
- Puis
- Then or next; indicating sequence of events
- Comment
- How; interrogative adverb asking about manner or way
- appelles
- Call (yourself); second-person singular of 's'appeler'
- Ça
- That or it; informal demonstrative pronoun in French
- regarde
- Concerns or looks; 'ça me regarde' means 'it's my business'
- peut
- Can or may; third-person singular present of 'pouvoir'
- être
- To be; infinitive of the fundamental auxiliary verb
- vais
- Am going; first-person singular present of 'aller'
- _en_
- Of it or about it; pronoun replacing a prepositional phrase
- affaire
- Business or matter; something that concerns a person
- pourquoi
- Why; interrogative adverb asking for a reason
- fais
- Do or make; first/second-person singular present of 'faire'
- continues
- Continue; second-person singular present of 'continuer'
- ferai
- Will do; first-person singular future of 'faire'
- Beaucoup
- A lot, much; adverb indicating a large amount
- beaucoup
- A lot, much; adverb indicating a large amount
- _beaucoup_
- A lot (emphasized); stressed repetition for strong effect
- Voilà
- There it is; used to present or conclude something
- crois
- Think or believe; first-person singular present of 'croire'
- malin
- Clever or cunning; someone who is shrewd or crafty
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