The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 5
In the river island of Athelney,
Dans l'île fluviale d'Athelney,
With the river running past,
Avec la rivière qui coulait devant,
In colours of such simple creed
En des couleurs d'une foi si simple
All things sprang at him, sun and weed,
Toutes choses bondissaient vers lui, soleil et herbes folles,
Till the grass grew to be grass indeed
Jusqu'à ce que l'herbe devînt vraiment de l'herbe
And the tree was a tree at last.
Et que l'arbre fût enfin un arbre.
Fearfully plain the flowers grew,
D'une simplicité saisissante les fleurs poussaient,
Like the child's book to read,
Comme le livre d'images d'un enfant,
Or like a friend's face seen in a glass;
Ou comme le visage d'un ami vu dans un miroir ;
He looked; and there Our Lady was,
Il regarda ; et là se trouvait Notre-Dame,
She stood and stroked the tall live grass
Elle se tenait debout et caressait la haute herbe vivante
As a man strokes his steed.
Comme un homme caresse sa monture.
Her face was like an open word
Son visage était comme une parole ouverte
When brave men speak and choose,
Quand les hommes courageux parlent et choisissent,
The very colours of her coat
Les couleurs mêmes de son manteau
Were better than good news.
Valaient mieux qu'une bonne nouvelle.
She spoke not, nor turned not,
Elle ne parla point, ne se retourna point,
Nor any sign she cast,
Ni ne fit aucun signe,
Only she stood up straight and free,
Seulement elle se tenait droite et libre,
Between the flowers in Athelney,
Parmi les fleurs d'Athelney,
And the river running past.
Et la rivière qui coulait devant.
One dim ancestral jewel hung
Un joyau ancestral aux reflets ternes pendait
On his ruined armour grey,
Sur son armure grise et ruinée,
He rent and cast it at her feet:
Il l'arracha et le jeta à ses pieds :
Where, after centuries, with slow feet,
Là où, après des siècles, à pas lents,
Men came from hall and school and street
Des hommes vinrent de la salle et de l'école et de la rue
And found it where it lay.
Et le trouvèrent là où il gisait.
"Mother of God," the wanderer said,
« Mère de Dieu, » dit le voyageur,
"I am but a common king,
« Je ne suis qu'un roi ordinaire,
Nor will I ask what saints may ask,
Et je ne demanderai pas ce que les saints peuvent demander,
To see a secret thing.
De voir une chose secrète.
"The gates of heaven are fearful gates
« Les portes du ciel sont des portes redoutables
Worse than the gates of hell;
Pires que les portes de l'enfer ;
Not I would break the splendours barred
Ce n'est pas moi qui briserais les splendeurs verrouillées
Or seek to know the thing they guard,
Ou chercherais à connaître ce qu'elles gardent,
Which is too good to tell.
Qui est trop beau pour être dit.
Vocabulary
- Dans
- In, inside, within a place or time period.
- île
- Island surrounded by water.
- Avec
- With, accompanied by, in company.
- la
- The (feminine singular article).
- rivière
- River, stream flowing into larger body of water.
- qui
- Who, which, that (relative pronoun).
- coulait
- Flowed, ran (imperfect past tense of couler).
- devant
- Before, in front of a person or thing.
- En
- In, on, while, by means of (preposition).
- des
- Some, of the (plural article or contraction).
- couleurs
- Colors, hues, shades of light and pigment.
- une
- A, one (feminine singular indefinite article).
- foi
- Faith, belief, trust, confidence in something.
- si
- So, such, if, whether (adverb/conjunction).
- simple
- Simple, plain, uncomplicated, straightforward in nature.
- Toutes
- All (feminine plural form of tout).
- choses
- Things, objects, matters, issues, affairs.
- vers
- Toward, to, in direction of something.
- lui
- Him, her, to him/her (indirect object).
- soleil
- Sun, sunshine, bright light from star.
- et
- And, plus, also, as well.
- herbes
- Grasses, herbs, plants used for food or medicine.
- folles
- Mad, wild, crazy (feminine plural adjective).
- Jusqu
- Until, up to a point in time.
- ce
- This, that, it (demonstrative pronoun/adjective).
- que
- That, which, what (relative/interrogative pronoun).
- herbe
- Grass, herb, plant growing from ground.
- devînt
- Became (past tense of devenir).
- vraiment
- Really, truly, indeed, genuinely, actually.
- de
- Of, from, by, made of (preposition).
- Et
- And, plus, also, as well.
- arbre
- Tree, woody plant with branches and leaves.
- fût
- Was (subjunctive past tense of être).
- enfin
- Finally, at last, in the end.
- un
- A, one (masculine singular indefinite article).
- simplicité
- Simplicity, plainness, lack of complexity or artifice.
- les
- The (plural definite article).
- fleurs
- Flowers, blossoms, colored reproductive parts of plants.
- poussaient
- Grew, pushed (imperfect past tense).
- Comme
- Like, as, such as, in the manner.
- le
- The (masculine singular definite article).
- livre
- Book, written work bound and printed.
- images
- Images, pictures, illustrations, visual representations.
- enfant
- Child, young person, boy or girl.
- Ou
- Or, alternatively, either one or other.
- comme
- Like, as, such as, in the manner.
- visage
- Face, countenance, appearance, features of person.
- ami
- Friend, friendly person, companion.
- vu
- Seen (past participle of voir).
- dans
- In, inside, within a place or time.
- miroir
- Mirror, reflective surface showing image.
- Il
- He, it (masculine singular pronoun).
- regarda
- Looked, watched (past tense of regarder).
- là
- There, in that place, at that spot.
- se
- Himself, herself, itself (reflexive pronoun).
- trouvait
- Was located, was found (imperfect past).
- Notre
- Our, belonging to us (possessive adjective).
- Dame
- Lady, woman of rank or importance.
- Elle
- She, it (feminine singular pronoun).
- tenait
- Held, kept (imperfect past tense).
- debout
- Standing, upright, on one's feet.
- caressait
- Caressed, stroked, touched gently (imperfect past).
- haute
- High, tall, elevated (feminine singular adjective).
- vivante
- Living, alive, vibrant (feminine singular adjective).
- homme
- Man, adult male person, human being.
- caresse
- Caress, gentle touch, stroke of affection.
- sa
- His, her, its (feminine possessive adjective).
- Son
- His, her, its (masculine possessive adjective).
- était
- Was (imperfect past tense of être).
- parole
- Word, speech, spoken utterance, promise.
- ouverte
- Open, opened (feminine singular adjective/past participle).
- Quand
- When, at what time, during which.
- hommes
- Men, adult males, human beings (plural).
- courageux
- Courageous, brave, fearless, bold (plural adjective).
- parlent
- Speak, talk (present tense, third person plural).
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →