The Tale of Benjamin Bunny — Page 2
Peter," said little Benjamin, in a whisper, "who has got your clothes?"
« Pierre, » dit le petit Benjamin, en chuchotant, « qui a pris tes habits ? »
Peter replied, "The scarecrow in Mr. McGregor's garden," and described how he had been chased about the garden, and had dropped his shoes and coat.
Pierre répondit : « L'épouvantail dans le jardin de M. McGregor, » et il raconta comment il avait été pourchassé dans le jardin, et avait perdu ses souliers et son manteau.
Little Benjamin sat down beside his cousin and assured him that Mr. McGregor had gone out in a gig, and Mrs. McGregor also; and certainly for the day, because she was wearing her best bonnet.
Le petit Benjamin s'assit à côté de son cousin et l'assura que M. McGregor était sorti en cabriolet, et Mme McGregor également ; et certainement pour la journée, car elle portait son plus beau chapeau.
Peter said he hoped that it would rain.
Pierre dit qu'il espérait qu'il pleuvrait.
At this point old Mrs. Rabbit's voice was heard inside the rabbit hole, calling: "Cotton-tail! Cotton-tail! fetch some more camomile!"
À ce moment, la voix de la vieille Mme Lapin se fit entendre à l'intérieur du terrier, appelant : « Queue-de-coton ! Queue-de-coton ! va chercher encore de la camomille ! »
Peter said he thought he might feel better if he went for a walk.
Pierre dit qu'il pensait qu'il se sentirait mieux s'il allait se promener.
They went away hand in hand, and got upon the flat top of the wall at the bottom of the wood.
Ils partirent main dans la main, et grimpèrent sur le sommet plat du mur au bas du bois.
From here they looked down into Mr. McGregor's garden.
De là, ils regardèrent en bas dans le jardin de M. McGregor.
Peter's coat and shoes were plainly to be seen upon the scarecrow, topped with an old tam-o'-shanter of Mr. McGregor's.
Le manteau et les souliers de Pierre étaient bien visibles sur l'épouvantail, coiffé d'un vieux béret de M. McGregor.
Little Benjamin said: "It spoils people's clothes to squeeze under a gate; the proper way to get in is to climb down a pear-tree."
Le petit Benjamin dit : « Ça abîme les habits des gens de se glisser sous un portail ; la bonne façon d'entrer est de descendre le long d'un poirier. »
Peter fell down head first; but it was of no consequence, as the bed below was newly raked and quite soft.
Pierre tomba la tête la première ; mais cela n'avait pas d'importance, car la plate-bande en dessous venait d'être ratissée et était bien molle.
It had been sown with lettuces.
Elle avait été semée de laitues.
They left a great many odd little footmarks all over the bed, especially little Benjamin, who was wearing clogs.
Ils laissèrent de nombreuses petites empreintes de pas bizarres partout sur la plate-bande, surtout le petit Benjamin, qui portait des sabots.
Vocabulary
- dit
- Said; past tense of dire (to say)
- petit
- Small, little; describing size or age
- en
- In, while; preposition or gerund marker
- chuchotant
- Whispering; present participle of chuchoter
- qui
- Who, which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- a
- Has; third person singular of avoir (to have)
- pris
- Taken; past participle of prendre (to take)
- tes
- Your; possessive adjective (plural, informal)
- habits
- Clothes, garments worn on the body
- répondit
- Replied; simple past of répondre (to answer)
- L'épouvantail
- The scarecrow; figure placed to scare birds away
- dans
- In, inside; preposition indicating location
- jardin
- Garden; outdoor space for growing plants
- de
- Of, from; very common French preposition
- M.
- Abbreviation for Monsieur meaning Mister
- et
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- il
- He, it; third person masculine singular pronoun
- raconta
- Recounted, told a story; simple past of raconter
- comment
- How; adverb asking about manner or way
- avait
- Had; imperfect tense of avoir (to have)
- été
- Been; past participle of être (to be)
- pourchassé
- Chased, pursued relentlessly by someone
- perdu
- Lost; past participle of perdre (to lose)
- ses
- His, her, its; possessive adjective (plural)
- souliers
- Shoes; footwear worn on the feet
- son
- His, her, its; possessive adjective (singular)
- manteau
- Coat; outer garment worn for warmth
- s'assit
- Sat down; reflexive simple past of s'asseoir
- à
- At, to; very common French preposition
- côté
- Side, next to; indicating proximity or position
- cousin
- Cousin; male relative sharing grandparents
- l'assura
- Assured him/her; simple past of assurer
- que
- That, which; conjunction or relative pronoun
- était
- Was; imperfect tense of être (to be)
- sorti
- Gone out; past participle of sortir (to go out)
- cabriolet
- Light horse-drawn carriage with two wheels
- Mme
- Abbreviation for Madame meaning Mrs or Ms
- également
- Also, equally; adverb meaning likewise or too
- certainement
- Certainly, definitely; adverb expressing confidence
- pour
- For, in order to; common French preposition
- journée
- Day, the whole day; entire daytime period
- car
- Because, for; conjunction explaining a reason
- elle
- She, it; third person feminine singular pronoun
- portait
- Was wearing; imperfect tense of porter
- plus
- More, most; adverb of degree or comparison
- beau
- Beautiful, fine; adjective for masculine nouns
- chapeau
- Hat; head covering worn as accessory or protection
- qu'il
- That he; contraction of que + il
- espérait
- Was hoping; imperfect tense of espérer
- pleuvrait
- Would rain; conditional of pleuvoir (to rain)
- À
- At, to; preposition used at sentence beginning
- ce
- This, that; demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- moment
- Moment, instant; a particular point in time
- voix
- Voice; sound produced by speaking or singing
- vieille
- Old; feminine adjective describing an elderly person
- Lapin
- Rabbit; small furry mammal with long ears
- se
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
- fit
- Made, did; simple past of faire (to do/make)
- entendre
- To hear; to perceive sounds with the ears
- l'intérieur
- The interior, inside; the inner part of something
- du
- Of the; contraction of de + le
- terrier
- Burrow; underground tunnel where rabbits live
- appelant
- Calling; present participle of appeler (to call)
- va
- Go; imperative or present tense of aller
- chercher
- To fetch, look for; to search or go get
- encore
- Again, still, more; adverb of repetition or continuation
- camomille
- Chamomile; herb used to make soothing tea
- pensait
- Thought; imperfect tense of penser (to think)
- sentirait
- Would feel; conditional of sentir (to feel)
- mieux
- Better; comparative adverb of bien (well)
- s'il
- If he; contraction of si + il
- allait
- Was going; imperfect tense of aller (to go)
- promener
- To take a walk; to stroll or wander outside
- Ils
- They; third person masculine plural pronoun
- partirent
- Left, departed; simple past of partir (to leave)
- main
- Hand; the part of the body at the wrist
- grimpèrent
- Climbed; simple past of grimper (to climb)
- sur
- On, upon; preposition indicating position above
- sommet
- Top, summit; the highest point of something
- plat
- Flat, level; adjective describing a smooth surface
- mur
- Wall; vertical structure made of stone or brick
- au
- At the, to the; contraction of à + le
- bas
- Bottom, low; opposite of high or top
- bois
- Woods, forest; area densely covered with trees
- De
- From, of; preposition indicating origin or belonging
- là
- There; adverb indicating a place or position
- regardèrent
- Looked at, watched; simple past of regarder
- étaient
- Were; imperfect tense of être (plural subject)
- bien
- Well, clearly; adverb meaning good or clearly visible
- visibles
- Visible; able to be seen clearly from a distance
- l'épouvantail
- The scarecrow; figure set in fields to frighten birds
- coiffé
- Wearing on the head; adorned with a hat
- d'un
- Of a, with a; contraction of de + un
- vieux
- Old; masculine adjective describing age of things
- béret
- Beret; soft flat round cap worn on the head
- Ça
- That, it; informal demonstrative pronoun
- abîme
- Damages, ruins; harms or spoils something significantly
- des
- Some, of the; partitive or plural article
- gens
- People; persons in general, a group of individuals
- glisser
- To slide, slip; to move smoothly along a surface
- sous
- Under, beneath; preposition indicating position below
- portail
- Gate; large entrance door or barrier to a property
- bonne
- Good; feminine adjective indicating quality or suitability
- façon
- Way, manner; a method or style of doing something
- d'entrer
- Of entering; infinitive phrase meaning to go in
- est
- Is; third person singular present of être (to be)
- descendre
- To go down, climb down; to move to a lower level
- long
- Along, down; preposition or adjective indicating length
- poirier
- Pear tree; tree that bears pear fruit
- tomba
- Fell; simple past of tomber (to fall)
- tête
- Head; upper part of the body above the neck
- première
- First; feminine ordinal adjective indicating order
- mais
- But; coordinating conjunction expressing contrast
- cela
- That, this; demonstrative pronoun referring to something
- n'avait
- Did not have; negative imperfect of avoir
- pas
- Not; negation particle used with ne
- d'importance
- Of importance; significance or matter in context
- plate-bande
- Flower bed; strip of cultivated garden ground
- dessous
- Underneath, below; adverb indicating lower position
- venait
- Was coming; imperfect of venir (to come)
- d'être
- Of being, just been; infinitive phrase with de
- ratissée
- Raked; past participle of ratisser (to rake soil)
- molle
- Soft, yielding; feminine adjective describing texture
- Elle
- She, it; feminine third person singular pronoun
- semée
- Sown, seeded; past participle of semer (to sow)
- laitues
- Lettuces; leafy green vegetables grown in gardens
- laissèrent
- Left behind; simple past of laisser (to leave)
- nombreuses
- Numerous, many; feminine adjective indicating large quantity
- petites
- Small, little; feminine plural adjective of petit
- empreintes
- Footprints, imprints; marks left on a surface
- bizarres
- Strange, odd; adjective describing unusual appearance
- partout
- Everywhere; adverb indicating all places or directions
- surtout
- Especially, above all; adverb emphasizing importance
- sabots
- Clogs, wooden shoes; also hooves of an animal
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →