The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 2

English → Fr BOOK I. THE VISION OF THE KING Level 7/10

And men rode out of the eastern lands,

Et des hommes chevauchèrent hors des terres de l'est,

Broad river and burning plain;

Le large fleuve et la plaine brûlante ;

Trees that are Titan flowers to see,

Des arbres qui sont, à voir, des fleurs de Titans,

And tiger skies, striped horribly,

Et des ciels de tigre, affreusement rayés,

With tints of tropic rain.

Aux teintes de pluie tropicale.

Where Ind's enamelled peaks arise

Là où s'élèvent les cimes émaillées des Indes

Around that inmost one,

Autour de la plus secrète,

Where ancient eagles on its brink,

Où d'antiques aigles sur son bord,

Vast as archangels, gather and drink

Vastes comme des archanges, se rassemblent et boivent

The sacrament of the sun.

Le sacrement du soleil.

And men brake out of the northern lands,

Et des hommes s'échappèrent des terres du nord,

Enormous lands alone,

De vastes terres solitaires,

Where a spell is laid upon life and lust

Où un sortilège pèse sur la vie et le désir

And the rain is changed to a silver dust

Et la pluie se change en une poussière d'argent

And the sea to a great green stone.

Et la mer en une grande pierre verte.

And a Shape that moveth murkily

Et une Forme qui se meut obscurément

In mirrors of ice and night,

Dans des miroirs de glace et de nuit,

Hath blanched with fear all beasts and birds,

A blanchi de peur toutes les bêtes et les oiseaux,

As death and a shock of evil words

Comme la mort et le choc de paroles mauvaises

Blast a man's hair with white.

Blanchissent d'un coup les cheveux d'un homme.

And the cry of the palms and the purple moons,

Et le cri des palmiers et des lunes pourpres,

Or the cry of the frost and foam,

Ou le cri du gel et de l'écume,

Swept ever around an inmost place,

Balayait sans cesse autour d'un lieu le plus secret,

And the din of distant race on race

Et le fracas de races lointaines contre d'autres races

Cried and replied round Rome.

Criait et répondait autour de Rome.

And there was death on the Emperor

Et la mort pesait sur l'Empereur

And night upon the Pope:

Et la nuit sur le Pape :

And Alfred, hiding in deep grass,

Et Alfred, caché dans l'herbe profonde,

Hardened his heart with hope.

Endurcit son cœur avec l'espoir.

A sea-folk blinder than the sea

Un peuple de la mer plus aveugle que la mer

Broke all about his land,

Déferla de toutes parts sur sa terre,

But Alfred up against them bare

Mais Alfred s'éleva nu contre eux

And gripped the ground and grasped the air,

Et agrippa le sol et saisit l'air,

Staggered, and strove to stand.

Chancela, et s'efforça de tenir debout.

He bent them back with spear and spade,

Il les repoussa avec lance et bêche,

With desperate dyke and wall,

Avec fossé et muraille désespérés,

With foemen leaning on his shield

Avec des ennemis appuyés sur son bouclier

And roaring on him when he reeled;

Et rugissant contre lui quand il chancelait ;

And no help came at all.

Et nul secours ne vint jamais.

Vocabulary

Et: And; used to connect words or clauses.
des: Of the; plural indefinite article or preposition.
hommes: Men; plural of homme.
chevauchèrent: They rode; past tense of chevaucher.
hors: Outside of; beyond; out of.
terres: Lands; territories; plural of terre.
de: Of; from; preposition indicating possession or origin.
est: Is; third person singular present of être.
Le: The; masculine singular definite article.
large: Wide; broad; also means open sea.
fleuve: River; large river flowing to sea.
et: And; used to connect words or clauses.
la: The; feminine singular definite article.
plaine: Plain; flat open area of land.
brûlante: Burning; hot; feminine form of brûlant.
Des: Of the; plural indefinite or partitive article.
arbres: Trees; plural of arbre.
qui: Who; which; relative pronoun.
sont: Are; third person plural present of être.
voir: To see; to look at; to perceive.
fleurs: Flowers; plural of fleur.
ciels: Skies; plural of ciel.
tigre: Tiger; large striped wild cat.
affreusement: Terribly; dreadfully; in a frightful manner.
rayés: Striped; marked with stripes; past participle.
Aux: To the; contraction of à les.
teintes: Tints; shades; colors; plural of teinte.
pluie: Rain; water falling from clouds.
tropicale: Tropical; relating to tropical regions.
Là: There; in that place.
où: Where; in which place or location.
élèvent: They raise; they elevate; third person plural.
les: The; plural definite article.
cimes: Peaks; summits; tops of mountains.
Autour: Around; about; on all sides.
plus: More; plus; additional; greater in amount.
secrète: Secret; hidden; mysterious; feminine form.
Où: Where; in which place or location.
antiques: Ancient; old; from former times.
aigles: Eagles; large predatory birds.
sur: On; upon; on top of; over.
son: His; her; its; possessive adjective.
bord: Edge; border; bank; side of something.
Vastes: Vast; very large; extensive; spacious.
comme: Like; as; in the manner of.
se: Themselves; each other; reflexive pronoun.
rassemblent: They gather; they assemble together.
boivent: They drink; third person plural of boire.
sacrement: Sacrament; sacred religious rite or ceremony.
du: Of the; from the; contraction of de le.
soleil: Sun; the star at center of solar system.
échappèrent: They escaped; past tense of échapper.
nord: North; cardinal direction toward the pole.
De: Of; from; preposition indicating possession.
vastes: Vast; very large; extensive; spacious.
solitaires: Solitary; alone; lonely; one at a time.
un: A; one; masculine singular indefinite article.
pèse: Weighs; has weight; third person singular.
vie: Life; existence; the state of living.
le: The; masculine singular definite article.
désir: Desire; wish; longing for something.
change: Changes; exchanges; third person singular verb.
en: Into; in; on; preposition or pronoun.
une: A; one; feminine singular indefinite article.
poussière: Dust; fine particles of matter.
argent: Silver; money; metallic element or cash.
mer: Sea; large body of salt water.
grande: Great; large; big; feminine form.
pierre: Stone; rock; hard mineral object.
verte: Green; color of plants; feminine form.
Forme: Form; shape; appearance; structure.
Dans: In; inside; within; during; preposition.
miroirs: Mirrors; reflective surfaces; plural of miroir.

← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →