The Tale of Benjamin Bunny — Page 5
He took a tremendous jump off the top of the wall on to the top of the cat, and cuffed it off the basket, and kicked it into the greenhouse, scratching off a handful of fur.
Fece un salto enorme dalla cima del muro sulla schiena del gatto, e lo allontanò dalla cesta con un colpo, e lo cacciò nella serra a calci, strappandogli una manciata di pelo.
The cat was too much surprised to scratch back.
Il gatto era troppo sorpreso per graffiare a sua volta.
[Illustration]
[Illustrazione]
[Illustration]
[Illustrazione]
When old Mr. Bunny had driven the cat into the greenhouse, he locked the door.
Quando il vecchio Signor Coniglio ebbe cacciato il gatto nella serra, chiuse la porta a chiave.
Then he came back to the basket and took out his son Benjamin by the ears, and whipped him with the little switch.
Poi tornò alla cesta e tirò fuori il figlio Beniamino per le orecchie, e lo frustò con il piccolo ramoscello.
Then he took out his nephew Peter.
Poi tirò fuori il nipote Pietro.
Then he took out the handkerchief of onions, and marched out of the garden.
Poi tirò fuori il fazzoletto con le cipolle, e uscì dal giardino a passo marziale.
[Illustration]
[Illustrazione]
When Mr. McGregor returned about half an hour later he observed several things which perplexed him.
Quando il Signor McGregor tornò circa mezz'ora dopo, osservò alcune cose che lo lasciarono perplesso.
It looked as though some person had been walking all over the garden in a pair of clogs--only the footmarks were too ridiculously little!
Sembrava che qualcuno avesse camminato per tutto il giardino con un paio di zoccoli -- solo che le impronte erano ridicolmente troppo piccole!
Also he could not understand how the cat could have managed to shut herself up _inside_ the greenhouse, locking the door upon the _outside_.
Inoltre non riusciva a capire come il gatto avesse potuto rinchiudersi _dentro_ la serra, chiudendo la porta dall'_esterno_.
[Illustration]
[Illustrazione]
[Illustration]
[Illustrazione]
When Peter got home his mother forgave him, because she was so glad to see that he had found his shoes and coat.
Quando Pietro arrivò a casa sua madre lo perdonò, perché era così felice di vedere che aveva ritrovato le sue scarpe e il suo cappotto.
Cotton-tail and Peter folded up the pocket-handkerchief, and old Mrs. Rabbit strung up the onions and hung them from the kitchen ceiling, with the bunches of herbs and the rabbit-tobacco.
Codacotone e Pietro piegarono il fazzoletto, e la vecchia Signora Coniglio infilzò le cipolle e le appese al soffitto della cucina, insieme ai mazzi di erbe aromatiche e al tabacco di coniglio.
Vocabulary
- Fece
- He/she did or made (past tense of fare)
- salto
- A jump or leap
- enorme
- Enormous, very large in size
- dalla
- Contraction of da and la: from the
- cima
- Top, summit, or peak of something
- muro
- A wall, typically made of stone or brick
- sulla
- Contraction of su and la: on the
- schiena
- The back of a person or animal
- gatto
- A cat, domestic feline animal
- lo
- Direct object pronoun: him, it
- allontanò
- Drove away, moved something or someone away
- cesta
- A basket, typically woven and used for carrying
- colpo
- A hit, blow, or strike
- cacciò
- Chased away, drove out or expelled someone
- nella
- Contraction of in and la: in the
- serra
- A greenhouse for growing plants
- calci
- Kicks, blows delivered with the foot
- strappandogli
- Tearing from him, ripping away from someone
- manciata
- A handful, the amount held in one hand
- pelo
- Fur or hair, especially of an animal
- era
- Was, past imperfect tense of essere
- troppo
- Too much, excessively
- sorpreso
- Surprised, caught off guard or astonished
- graffiare
- To scratch, to claw at something
- volta
- A turn or time, an instance of something
- Illustrazione
- An illustration or picture in a book
- Quando
- Conjunction or adverb meaning when
- vecchio
- Old, elderly; used as adjective or noun
- Signor
- Mister, a title of respect for a man
- Coniglio
- Rabbit, a small furry hopping animal
- ebbe
- Had, past historic tense of avere
- cacciato
- Chased out, expelled or driven away
- chiuse
- Closed, shut (past tense of chiudere)
- porta
- A door or gate of a building
- chiave
- A key used for locking or unlocking
- Poi
- Then, afterwards, subsequently
- tornò
- Returned, went or came back somewhere
- tirò
- Pulled or drew something toward oneself
- fuori
- Outside, out, beyond a boundary
- figlio
- Son, a male child of a parent
- orecchie
- Ears, the hearing organs on the head
- frustò
- Whipped, struck repeatedly with a switch
- piccolo
- Small, little in size or age
- ramoscello
- A small twig or slender branch
- nipote
- Nephew, niece, or grandchild depending on context
- fazzoletto
- A handkerchief or small cloth for wiping
- cipolle
- Onions, pungent bulb vegetables used in cooking
- uscì
- Went out, exited from a place
- giardino
- A garden, outdoor space for growing plants
- passo
- Step or pace, manner of walking
- marziale
- Martial, military in manner or style
- circa
- About, approximately, roughly
- mezz'
- Half, as in half an hour (mezza)
- ora
- Hour or now, depending on context
- dopo
- After, afterwards, later in time
- osservò
- Observed, noticed or watched carefully
- alcune
- Some, a few (feminine plural)
- cose
- Things, objects or matters in general
- lasciarono
- Left him, caused someone to feel a state
- perplesso
- Perplexed, puzzled or confused
- Sembrava
- It seemed, appeared to be something
- qualcuno
- Someone, somebody, an unspecified person
- avesse
- Had (subjunctive form of avere)
- camminato
- Walked, past participle of camminare
- tutto
- All, everything, entirely
- paio
- A pair or couple of something
- zoccoli
- Hooves of an animal or wooden clogs
- solo
- Only, alone, just
- impronte
- Footprints or impressions left on a surface
- erano
- Were, past imperfect of essere (plural)
- ridicolmente
- Ridiculously, in an absurdly small or silly way
- piccole
- Small, little (feminine plural adjective)
- Inoltre
- Furthermore, moreover, in addition
- riusciva
- Was able to, managed to do something
- capire
- To understand, to comprehend something
- come
- How, as, like
- potuto
- Been able to, past participle of potere
- rinchiudersi
- To lock oneself inside, to shut oneself in
- _dentro_
- Inside, within an enclosed space
- chiudendo
- Closing, shutting (gerund of chiudere)
- _esterno_
- Outside, the exterior of something
- arrivò
- Arrived, reached a destination
- casa
- House or home, place of residence
- madre
- Mother, a female parent
- perdonò
- Forgave, pardoned someone for a wrongdoing
- perché
- Because or why, depending on context
- così
- So, thus, in this way
- felice
- Happy, glad, joyful
- vedere
- To see, to look at something
- aveva
- Had, past imperfect tense of avere
- ritrovato
- Found again, recovered something previously lost
- sue
- His/her (feminine plural possessive adjective)
- scarpe
- Shoes, footwear worn on the feet
- cappotto
- An overcoat, a long outer garment
- piegarono
- Folded, bent or creased something flat
- vecchia
- Old woman or old (feminine adjective)
- Signora
- Mrs., a polite title for a woman
- infilzò
- Skewered, threaded or pierced onto something
- appese
- Hung up, suspended from above
- soffitto
- Ceiling, the upper inner surface of a room
- cucina
- Kitchen, room where food is prepared
- insieme
- Together, along with, at the same time
- mazzi
- Bunches or bundles of plants or flowers
- erbe
- Herbs or grasses, aromatic or medicinal plants
- aromatiche
- Aromatic, having a pleasant fragrance or scent
- tabacco
- Tobacco, dried plant leaves used for smoking
- coniglio
- Rabbit, a small furry animal with long ears
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