The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 1

English → Fr BOOK II. THE GATHERING OF THE CHIEFS Level 7/10

Up across windy wastes and up

Par-dessus les étendues venteuses et plus haut encore

Went Alfred over the shaws,

Alfred traversa les halliers,

Shaken of the joy of giants,

Secoué par la joie des géants,

The joy without a cause.

La joie sans raison.

In the slopes away to the western bays,

Sur les pentes s'étendant vers les baies de l'ouest,

Where blows not ever a tree,

Où nul arbre n'est jamais battu par le vent,

He washed his soul in the west wind

Il lava son âme dans le vent d'ouest

And his body in the sea.

Et son corps dans la mer.

And he set to rhyme his ale-measures,

Et il mit en vers ses chants de bière,

And he sang aloud his laws,

Et il chanta ses lois à voix haute,

Because of the joy of the giants,

À cause de la joie des géants,

The joy without a cause.

La joie sans raison.

The King went gathering Wessex men,

Le Roi alla rassembler les hommes du Wessex,

As grain out of the chaff

Comme le grain séparé de la balle

The few that were alive to die,

Le petit nombre de ceux qui vivaient pour mourir,

Laughing, as littered skulls that lie

Riant, comme des crânes épars qui gisent

After lost battles turn to the sky

Après les batailles perdues, tournés vers le ciel

An everlasting laugh.

D'un rire éternel.

The King went gathering Christian men,

Le Roi alla rassembler les hommes chrétiens,

As wheat out of the husk;

Comme le blé séparé de l'écale ;

Eldred, the Franklin by the sea,

Eldred, le Franc du bord de mer,

And Mark, the man from Italy,

Et Marc, l'homme venu d'Italie,

And Colan of the Sacred Tree,

Et Colan de l'Arbre Sacré,

From the old tribe on Usk.

De l'ancienne tribu de l'Usk.

The rook croaked homeward heavily,

Le freux croassait lourdement vers son gîte,

The west was clear and warm,

L'ouest était dégagé et chaud,

The smoke of evening food and ease

La fumée du repas du soir et du repos

Rose like a blue tree in the trees

S'élevait comme un arbre bleu parmi les arbres

When he came to Eldred's farm.

Lorsqu'il parvint à la ferme d'Eldred.

But Eldred's farm was fallen awry,

Mais la ferme d'Eldred était tombée en décrépitude,

Like an old cripple's bones,

Comme les os d'un vieux perclus,

And Eldred's tools were red with rust,

Et les outils d'Eldred étaient rouges de rouille,

And on his well was a green crust,

Et sur son puits se trouvait une croûte verte,

And purple thistles upward thrust,

Et des chardons violets poussaient vers le haut,

Between the kitchen stones.

Entre les pierres de la cuisine.

But smoke of some good feasting

Mais la fumée de quelque joyeux festin

Went upwards evermore,

S'élevait sans cesse vers le haut,

And Eldred's doors stood wide apart

Et les portes d'Eldred demeuraient grandes ouvertes

For loitering foot or labouring cart,

Pour le pied qui flânait ou la charrette qui peinait,

And Eldred's great and foolish heart

Et le grand et insouciant cœur d'Eldred

Stood open like his door.

Était ouvert comme sa porte.

Vocabulary

par: By; through; per; indicating agent or means.
dessus: Above; over; on top of something.
les: The; definite article for plural nouns.
étendues: Expanses; stretches; vast areas of land or sea.
et: And; conjunction connecting words or clauses.
plus: More; additional; furthermore; also used in comparisons.
haut: High; tall; elevated; at great height.
encore: Still; yet; again; once more; moreover.
traversa: Crossed; passed through; went across.
secoué: Shaken; jolted; moved violently or emotionally.
joie: Joy; happiness; gladness; delight; pleasure.
géants: Giants; very large or tall people.
sans: Without; lacking; devoid of something.
raison: Reason; cause; logic; rationale for something.
pentes: Slopes; inclines; hillsides; steep surfaces.
étendant: Extending; spreading; reaching out; stretching.
vers: Toward; to; in direction of; also poetry verses.
baies: Bays; coastal indentations; also berries as fruits.
ouest: West; western direction; cardinal direction opposite east.
nul: No; none; not any; null; void.
arbre: Tree; woody plant with trunk and branches.
est: Is; third person singular present of être.
jamais: Never; not ever; at no time.
battu: Beaten; struck; defeated; trodden upon.
vent: Wind; moving air; breeze; current of air.
lava: Washed; cleaned with water; rinsed thoroughly.
âme: Soul; spirit; essence; inner life.
corps: Body; physical form; main part; corpus.
mer: Sea; ocean; large body of salt water.
mit: Put; placed; set; past tense of mettre.
chants: Songs; chants; vocal music; melodies.
bière: Beer; alcoholic beverage made from grain.
chanta: Sang; produced musical sounds with voice.
lois: Laws; rules; regulations; legal statutes.
voix: Voice; sound produced by vocal cords.
haute: High; tall; elevated; loud volume.
cause: Cause; reason; purpose; legal case.
roi: King; male monarch; ruler of kingdom.
alla: Went; traveled; proceeded to location.
rassembler: Gather; assemble; collect together; unite.
hommes: Men; male humans; mankind; people.
grain: Grain; cereal; seeds; small particles.
séparé: Separated; divided; disconnected; parted.
balle: Ball; sphere; bullet; chaff from grain.
petit: Small; little; tiny; minor; young.
nombre: Number; quantity; count; numerical value.
ceux: Those; that ones; those people or things.
vivaient: Lived; existed; inhabited; were alive.
mourir: Die; pass away; cease living; perish.
riant: Laughing; smiling; cheerful; merry.
crânes: Skulls; heads; craniums; bone structures.
gisent: Lie; recline; are situated; rest.
batailles: Battles; fights; conflicts; military engagements.

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