The Tale of Benjamin Bunny — Page 2
Peter," said little Benjamin, in a whisper, "who has got your clothes?"
«Pietro,» disse il piccolo Beniamino, sottovoce, «chi ha preso i tuoi vestiti?»
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.
Pietro rispose: «Lo spaventapasseri nel giardino del signor McGregor,» e descrisse come era stato inseguito per tutto il giardino, e aveva perso le scarpe e il cappotto.
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.
Il piccolo Beniamino si sedette accanto al suo cugino e lo assicurò che il signor McGregor era uscito in calesse, e anche la signora McGregor; e certamente per tutta la giornata, perché indossava il suo cappellino più bello.
Peter said he hoped that it would rain.
Pietro disse che sperava che sarebbe piovuto.
At this point old Mrs. Rabbit's voice was heard inside the rabbit hole, calling: "Cotton-tail! Cotton-tail! fetch some more camomile!"
A questo punto si sentì la voce della vecchia signora Coniglia dall'interno della tana, che chiamava: «Codarotonda! Codarotonda! porta ancora un po' di camomilla!»
Peter said he thought he might feel better if he went for a walk.
Pietro disse che pensava di potersi sentire meglio se fosse andato a fare una passeggiata.
They went away hand in hand, and got upon the flat top of the wall at the bottom of the wood.
Se ne andarono mano nella mano, e salirono sulla sommità piatta del muro in fondo al bosco.
From here they looked down into Mr. McGregor's garden.
Da qui guardarono giù nel giardino del signor 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.
Il cappotto e le scarpe di Pietro erano chiaramente visibili sullo spaventapasseri, sormontato da un vecchio berretto scozzese del signor 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."
Il piccolo Beniamino disse: «Sgusciare sotto un cancello rovina i vestiti; il modo giusto per entrare è scendere lungo un pero.»
Peter fell down head first; but it was of no consequence, as the bed below was newly raked and quite soft.
Pietro cadde a testa in giù; ma non ebbe conseguenze, poiché l'aiuola sottostante era stata appena rastrellata ed era abbastanza morbida.
It had been sown with lettuces.
Era stata seminata con lattughe.
They left a great many odd little footmarks all over the bed, especially little Benjamin, who was wearing clogs.
Lasciarono moltissime strane piccole impronte su tutta l'aiuola, specialmente il piccolo Beniamino, che indossava zoccoli.
Vocabulary
- disse
- He/she said; past tense of dire
- piccolo
- Small, little; describing something of small size
- sottovoce
- In a low voice, softly, barely above a whisper
- chi
- Who; interrogative or relative pronoun
- ha
- Has; third person singular of avere
- preso
- Taken; past participle of prendere
- tuoi
- Your; possessive adjective masculine plural form
- vestiti
- Clothes, garments; plural of vestito
- rispose
- He/she replied; past tense of rispondere
- Lo
- Him/it; direct object pronoun masculine singular
- spaventapasseri
- Scarecrow; a figure placed in fields to frighten birds
- nel
- In the; contraction of in and il
- giardino
- Garden; an outdoor space for growing plants
- del
- Of the; contraction of di and il
- signor
- Mister, Mr.; title of respect for a man
- descrisse
- He/she described; past tense of descrivere
- come
- How, as, like; conjunction or adverb of manner
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- stato
- Been; past participle of essere, also state/status
- inseguito
- Chased, pursued; past participle of inseguire
- per
- For, through, by; common Italian preposition
- tutto
- Everything, all; referring to the whole of something
- aveva
- He/she had; third person singular imperfect of avere
- perso
- Lost; past participle of perdere
- scarpe
- Shoes; plural of scarpa, footwear
- cappotto
- Coat, overcoat; an outer garment worn for warmth
- si
- Reflexive pronoun; himself, herself, itself, themselves
- sedette
- He/she sat down; past tense of sedersi
- accanto
- Next to, beside; preposition indicating proximity
- al
- To the; contraction of a and il
- suo
- His, her, its; possessive adjective singular form
- cugino
- Cousin; a relative who shares a grandparent
- lo
- Him/it; direct object pronoun masculine singular
- assicurò
- He/she assured; past tense of assicurare
- che
- That, which, who; conjunction or relative pronoun
- uscito
- Gone out, exited; past participle of uscire
- calesse
- Gig, light carriage; a horse-drawn two-wheeled vehicle
- anche
- Also, too, even; additive adverb or conjunction
- signora
- Mrs., madam; title of respect for a woman
- certamente
- Certainly, surely; adverb expressing confidence
- tutta
- All, whole; feminine singular form of tutto
- giornata
- Day, whole day; an entire day's duration
- perché
- Because, why; conjunction or interrogative adverb
- indossava
- She/he was wearing; imperfect tense of indossare
- cappellino
- Little hat; a small decorative hat or bonnet
- più
- More, most; comparative or superlative adverb
- bello
- Beautiful, handsome, nice; describing attractive things
- sperava
- He/she hoped; imperfect tense of sperare
- sarebbe
- Would be; conditional of essere
- piovuto
- Rained; past participle of piovere
- questo
- This; demonstrative adjective or pronoun masculine singular
- punto
- Point, moment; a specific position or instant in time
- sentì
- He/she heard/felt; past tense of sentire
- voce
- Voice; the sound produced by a person speaking
- della
- Of the; contraction of di and la
- vecchia
- Old woman, old; feminine adjective or noun
- dall'
- From the; contraction of da and l'
- interno
- Inside, interior; the inner part of something
- tana
- Burrow, den, lair; an animal's underground home
- chiamava
- Was calling; imperfect tense of chiamare
- porta
- Bring; imperative of portare, also door (noun)
- ancora
- Still, yet, again; adverb indicating continuation
- po'
- A little, a bit; shortened form of poco
- camomilla
- Chamomile; a herbal tea made from chamomile flowers
- pensava
- Was thinking; imperfect tense of pensare
- potersi
- To be able to; reflexive infinitive of potere
- sentire
- To feel, to hear; infinitive verb of sensation
- meglio
- Better; comparative adverb from bene
- se
- If; conditional conjunction introducing a hypothesis
- fosse
- Were, had been; imperfect subjunctive of essere
- andato
- Gone; past participle of andare
- fare
- To do, to make; common Italian infinitive verb
- passeggiata
- Walk, stroll; a leisurely walk outdoors
- Se
- If; conditional conjunction introducing a hypothesis
- ne
- Of it, from there; partitive or locative pronoun
- andarono
- They went; past tense of andare third person plural
- mano
- Hand; the body part at the end of the arm
- nella
- In the; contraction of in and la
- salirono
- They climbed, went up; past tense of salire
- sulla
- On the; contraction of su and la
- sommità
- Top, summit; the highest point of something
- piatta
- Flat; feminine adjective describing a level surface
- muro
- Wall; a solid vertical structure of stone or brick
- fondo
- Bottom, back, end; the lowest or furthest part
- bosco
- Wood, forest; a small wooded area with trees
- Da
- From, since; Italian preposition of origin or point
- qui
- Here; adverb indicating this place or location
- guardarono
- They looked; past tense of guardare third person plural
- giù
- Down, below; adverb indicating downward direction
- erano
- They were; imperfect tense of essere third person plural
- chiaramente
- Clearly, obviously; adverb derived from chiaro
- visibili
- Visible; plural adjective meaning able to be seen
- sullo
- On the; contraction of su and lo
- sormontato
- Topped, surmounted; past participle of sormontare
- da
- By, from; preposition indicating agent or origin
- vecchio
- Old; adjective describing something of advanced age
- berretto
- Cap, beret; a soft flat-topped hat
- scozzese
- Scottish, tartan; relating to Scotland or its patterns
- Sgusciare
- To slip through, wriggle; to pass through a narrow space
- sotto
- Under, below; preposition indicating position beneath
- cancello
- Gate; a hinged barrier at an entrance
- rovina
- Ruin; the remains of a damaged or decayed structure
- modo
- Way, manner; method or means of doing something
- giusto
- Right, correct, fair; adjective meaning proper or exact
- entrare
- To enter; infinitive meaning to go or come inside
- è
- Is; third person singular present of essere
- scendere
- To go down, descend; infinitive of downward movement
- lungo
- Along, long; preposition or adjective of length
- pero
- Pear tree; a tree that produces pears
- cadde
- He/she fell; past tense of cadere
- testa
- Head; the uppermost part of the human body
- ma
- But; conjunction expressing contrast or opposition
- ebbe
- Had; past tense of avere third person singular
- conseguenze
- Consequences; the results or effects of an action
- poiché
- Since, because; conjunction expressing reason or cause
- aiuola
- Flower bed; a small garden plot for growing plants
- sottostante
- Underlying, below; adjective meaning situated underneath
- stata
- Been; past participle of essere feminine form
- appena
- Just, barely, hardly; adverb of very recent time
- rastrellata
- Raked; past participle of rastrellare
- abbastanza
- Enough, quite, fairly; adverb of sufficient degree
- morbida
- Soft; feminine adjective describing a yielding texture
- Era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- seminata
- Sown, seeded; past participle of seminare
- lattughe
- Lettuces; plural of lattuga, a leafy green vegetable
- Lasciarono
- They left behind; past tense of lasciare plural
- moltissime
- Very many, a great number; superlative of molte
- strane
- Strange, odd; feminine plural adjective for unusual things
- piccole
- Small, little; feminine plural adjective
- impronte
- Prints, tracks; marks left by feet or paws
- su
- On, upon, up; preposition indicating surface or position
- specialmente
- Especially, particularly; adverb emphasizing something notable
- zoccoli
- Hooves, clogs; hard coverings of animal feet or wooden shoes
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