The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete — Page 3
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Jim was only human—this attraction was too much for him.
Jim era solo un essere umano—quell'attrazione era troppo forte per lui.
He put down his pail, took the white alley, and bent over the toe with absorbing interest while the bandage was being unwound.
Posò il secchio, prese la biglia bianca, e si chinò sul dito del piede con interesse assorbente mentre la benda veniva svolta.
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.
Un attimo dopo stava volando giù per la strada con il suo secchio e un posteriore bruciante, Tom stava imbiancando con vigore, e zia Polly si ritirava dal campo con una pantofola in mano e il trionfo negli occhi.
But Tom's energy did not last.
Ma l'energia di Tom non durò a lungo.
He began to think of the fun he had planned for this day, and his sorrows multiplied.
Cominciò a pensare al divertimento che aveva pianificato per quel giorno, e i suoi dispiaceri si moltiplicarono.
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.
Presto i ragazzi liberi sarebbero arrivati trotterellando per ogni sorta di deliziose spedizioni, e lo avrebbero preso in giro per dover lavorare—il solo pensiero lo bruciava come il fuoco.
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.
Tirò fuori le sue ricchezze terrene e le esaminò—pezzetti di giocattoli, biglie e cianfrusaglie; abbastanza per comprare uno scambio di _lavoro_, forse, ma non la metà di quanto bastasse per comprare anche solo mezz'ora di pura libertà.
So he returned his straitened means to his pocket, and gave up the idea of trying to buy the boys.
Così rimise i suoi mezzi scarsi in tasca, e abbandonò l'idea di cercare di comprare i ragazzi.
At this dark and hopeless moment an inspiration burst upon him!
In quel momento buio e senza speranza un'ispirazione gli balenò in mente!
Nothing less than a great, magnificent inspiration.
Nientemeno che una grande, magnifica ispirazione.
He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work.
Prese il pennello e si mise tranquillamente al lavoro.
Ben Rogers hove in sight presently—the very boy, of all boys, whose ridicule he had been dreading.
Ben Rogers apparve poco dopo—proprio il ragazzo, tra tutti i ragazzi, di cui aveva temuto il ridicolo.
Ben's gait was the hop-skip-and-jump—proof enough that his heart was light and his anticipations high.
L'andatura di Ben era saltellante e vivace—prova sufficiente che il suo cuore era leggero e le sue aspettative alte.
Vocabulary
- era
- Was; past tense of essere (to be)
- solo
- Only; alone; solely
- un
- A; an; one (indefinite article)
- essere
- To be; fundamental auxiliary and main verb
- umano
- Human; relating to mankind or humanity
- quell
- That; those (demonstrative pronoun or adjective)
- attrazione
- Attraction; the act of attracting or drawing
- troppo
- Too much; too many; excessively
- forte
- Strong; loud; one's strong point or specialty
- per
- For; through; by means of; during
- lui
- Him; he (disjunctive pronoun)
- Posò
- Put down; placed (past tense of posare)
- il
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- prese
- Took; seized; grasped (past tense of prendere)
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- bianca
- White; the color of snow or milk
- si
- Oneself; himself; herself; reflexive pronoun
- chinò
- Bent down; leaned over (past tense of chinare)
- sul
- On the; on (preposition + article contraction)
- dito
- Finger; toe; digit of hand or foot
- del
- Of the; from the (preposition + article)
- piede
- Foot; lower limb from ankle downward
- con
- With; together with; accompanied by
- interesse
- Interest; concern; financial gain or curiosity
- mentre
- While; during the time that; meanwhile
- benda
- Bandage; strip of cloth for binding wounds
- veniva
- Was being; came (imperfect tense of venire)
- svolta
- Unwound; turned; unrolled (past participle)
- Un
- A; an; one (indefinite article)
- attimo
- Moment; instant; very short period of time
- dopo
- After; afterward; following in time or place
- stava
- Was; stood (imperfect tense of stare)
- volando
- Flying; moving through air with wings
- giù
- Down; downward; below in position
- strada
- Street; road; way or path for travel
- suo
- His; her; its; one's (possessive adjective)
- vigore
- Vigor; strength; energy; physical or moral force
- zia
- Aunt; father's or mother's sister
- ritirava
- Withdrew; removed; took back (imperfect tense)
- dal
- From the; from (preposition + article)
- campo
- Field; countryside; area or domain of activity
- mano
- Hand; upper limb from wrist to fingers
- trionfo
- Triumph; victory; great success or achievement
- negli
- In the; in (preposition + article contraction)
- occhi
- Eyes; organs of sight in the head
- Ma
- But; however; yet; expressing contrast
- energia
- Energy; power; strength; capacity for action
- di
- Of; from; belonging to; made of
- non
- Not; negation; used to negate verbs
- durò
- Lasted; endured; persisted (past tense of durare)
- lungo
- Long; lengthy; extended in space or time
- Cominciò
- Began; started; commenced (past tense of cominciare)
- pensare
- To think; to consider; to reflect upon
- al
- To the; to (preposition + article contraction)
- divertimento
- Entertainment; amusement; fun; diversion or pastime
- che
- That; which; who; relative pronoun
- aveva
- Had; owned (imperfect tense of avere)
- pianificato
- Planned; arranged; organized in advance
- quel
- That; those (demonstrative adjective)
- giorno
- Day; twenty-four hour period; daytime
- suoi
- His; her; its; one's (possessive adjective plural)
- moltiplicarono
- Multiplied; increased in number (past tense)
- Presto
- Soon; early; quickly; in the near future
- ragazzi
- Boys; youngsters; children; young males
- liberi
- Free; at liberty; unoccupied or unattached
- sarebbero
- Would be; would have been (conditional)
- arrivati
- Arrived; came; reached (past participle of arrivare)
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