The Scarlet Letter — Page 7
Over the entrance hovers an enormous specimen of the American eagle, with outspread wings, a shield before her breast, and, if I recollect aright, a bunch of intermingled thunderbolts and barbed arrows in each claw.
Sobre la entrada se cierne un enorme ejemplar del águila americana, con las alas extendidas, un escudo ante su pecho y, si mal no recuerdo, un manojo de rayos entremezclados y flechas con punta en cada garra.
With the customary infirmity of temper that characterizes this unhappy fowl, she appears, by the fierceness of her beak and eye, and the general truculency of her attitude, to threaten mischief to the inoffensive community; and especially to warn all citizens, careful of their safety, against intruding on the premises which she overshadows with her wings.
Con la habitual irritabilidad de carácter que distingue a esta desdichada ave, parece, por la fiereza de su pico y su mirada, y la truculencia general de su actitud, amenazar con causar daño a la inofensiva comunidad; y especialmente advertir a todos los ciudadanos, preocupados por su seguridad, que no se aventuren en los predios que ella ensombrece con sus alas.
Nevertheless, vixenly as she looks, many people are seeking, at this very moment, to shelter themselves under the wing of the federal eagle; imagining, I presume, that her bosom has all the softness and snugness of an eider-down pillow.
Sin embargo, por más ariscas que parezcan sus facciones, muchas personas buscan, en este preciso momento, cobijarse bajo el ala del águila federal; imaginando, supongo, que su seno tiene toda la suavidad y el abrigo de una almohada de plumón de éider.
But she has no great tenderness, even in her best of moods, and, sooner or later,—oftener soon than late,—is apt to fling off her nestlings, with a scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak, or a rankling wound from her barbed arrows.
Pero ella no tiene gran ternura, ni siquiera en sus mejores momentos, y, tarde o temprano —más temprano que tarde—, suele arrojar a sus polluelos, con un rasguño de su garra, un picotazo de su pico, o una herida irritante de sus flechas con punta.
The pavement round about the above-described edifice—which we may as well name at once as the Custom-House of the port—has grass enough growing in its chinks to show that it has not, of late days, been worn by any multitudinous resort of business.
El pavimento en torno al edificio antes descrito —que bien podemos nombrar de una vez como la Aduana del puerto— tiene suficiente hierba creciendo entre sus grietas como para demostrar que no ha sido, en los últimos tiempos, desgastado por ninguna afluencia multitudinaria de negocios.
In some months of the year, however, there often chances a forenoon when affairs move onward with a livelier tread.
En algunos meses del año, sin embargo, suele darse alguna mañana en que los asuntos avanzan con un paso más animado.
Vocabulary
- sobre
- on, above, or concerning; over
- la
- the (feminine singular article)
- entrada
- entrance, entry, or admission
- se
- reflexive pronoun; oneself or itself
- un
- a or an (masculine singular article)
- enorme
- enormous, huge, or very large
- ejemplar
- specimen, copy, or exemplary
- del
- of the or from the (contraction)
- águila
- eagle; large bird of prey
- americana
- American (feminine form)
- con
- with; accompanied by or having
- las
- the (feminine plural article)
- alas
- wings; appendages for flight
- extendidas
- extended, spread out, or stretched
- escudo
- shield; protective coat of arms
- ante
- before, in front of, facing
- su
- his, her, its, or your (formal)
- pecho
- chest or breast; front of body
- si
- if; conditional conjunction or particle
- mal
- bad, poorly, or evil; harm
- no
- no, not; negation
- recuerdo
- I remember; souvenir or memory
- manojo
- handful, bunch, or bundle
- de
- of, from; preposition indicating possession
- rayos
- rays or lightning bolts; beams
- flechas
- arrows; projectiles shot from bow
- punta
- point, tip, or sharp end
- en
- in, on, or at; preposition
- cada
- each or every; individual one
- garra
- claw, talon, or paw
- Con
- with; accompanied by or having
- habitual
- habitual, usual, or customary
- carácter
- character, nature, or temperament
- que
- that, which, or who; relative pronoun
- distingue
- distinguishes or characterizes; sets apart
- esta
- this (feminine) or is (verb estar)
- ave
- bird; feathered flying animal
- parece
- seems, appears, or looks like
- por
- by, for, through; preposition
- pico
- beak, peak, or mouth of bird
- mirada
- gaze, look, or glance
- general
- general, overall, or common
- actitud
- attitude, posture, or stance
- amenazar
- to threaten; to pose danger
- causar
- to cause, to bring about
- daño
- damage, harm, or injury
- comunidad
- community, group, or society
- especialmente
- especially, particularly, or specifically
- advertir
- to warn, notice, or inform
- todos
- all, everyone, or everybody
- los
- the (masculine plural article)
- ciudadanos
- citizens; members of state or country
- preocupados
- worried, concerned, or anxious
- seguridad
- security, safety, or certainty
- ella
- she or her; feminine pronoun
- sus
- his, her, its, their (plural)
- Sin
- without; absence of something
- embargo
- embargo or however (sin embargo)
- más
- more, most, or but (literary)
- parezcan
- seem or appear (subjunctive mood)
- facciones
- features, factions, or characteristics
- muchas
- many (feminine plural)
- personas
- people, persons, or individuals
- buscan
- seek, search for, or look for
- este
- this (masculine) or this one
- preciso
- precise, exact, or necessary
- momento
- moment, instant, or point in time
- bajo
- under, below, or low; short
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