The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck — Page 2
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Jemima Puddle-duck was not much in the habit of flying.
Jemima Watschel-Ente hatte nicht die Gewohnheit zu fliegen.
She ran downhill a few yards flapping her shawl, and then she jumped off into the air.
Sie lief ein paar Meter den Hügel hinunter und schlug dabei mit ihrem Schal, und dann sprang sie in die Luft.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
She flew beautifully when she had got a good start.
Sie flog wunderschön, wenn sie erst einmal einen guten Anlauf genommen hatte.
She skimmed along over the tree-tops until she saw an open place in the middle of the wood, where the trees and brushwood had been cleared.
Sie glitt über die Baumwipfel dahin, bis sie eine offene Stelle in der Mitte des Waldes sah, wo die Bäume und das Unterholz gerodet worden waren.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Jemima alighted rather heavily, and began to waddle about in search of a convenient dry nesting-place.
Jemima landete ziemlich schwerfällig und begann umherzuwatscheln, auf der Suche nach einem geeigneten trockenen Nistplatz.
She rather fancied a tree-stump amongst some tall fox-gloves.
Sie mochte besonders einen Baumstumpf zwischen einigen hohen Fingerhutpflanzen.
But--seated upon the stump, she was startled to find an elegantly dressed gentleman reading a newspaper.
Aber – auf dem Stumpf sitzend, erschrak sie, als sie einen elegant gekleideten Herrn fand, der eine Zeitung las.
He had black prick ears and sandy coloured whiskers.
Er hatte schwarze Spitzohren und sandfarben Schnurrbart.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The gentleman raised his eyes above his newspaper and looked curiously at Jemima--
Der Herr hob die Augen über seine Zeitung und blickte Jemima neugierig an –
He had a long bushy tail which he was sitting upon, as the stump was somewhat damp.
Er hatte einen langen buschigen Schwanz, auf dem er saß, da der Stumpf etwas feucht war.
Jemima thought him mighty civil and handsome.
Jemima hielt ihn für äußerst höflich und gutaussehend.
She explained that she had not lost her way, but that she was trying to find a convenient dry nesting-place.
Sie erklärte, dass sie sich nicht verlaufen hatte, sondern dass sie versuchte, einen geeigneten trockenen Nistplatz zu finden.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
He folded up the newspaper, and put it in his coat-tail pocket.
Er faltete die Zeitung zusammen und steckte sie in seine Rockschoßtasche.
Jemima complained of the superfluous hen.
Jemima beklagte sich über die überflüssige Henne.
"Indeed! how interesting! I wish I could meet with that fowl.
„Tatsächlich! Wie interessant! Ich wünschte, ich könnte dieses Geflügel kennenlernen.
Vocabulary
- Watschel-Ente
- A waddling duck, duck that waddles when walking
- hatte
- Past tense of 'haben'; had
- nicht
- Negation word meaning 'not'
- die
- Definite article or relative pronoun meaning 'the' or 'that'
- Gewohnheit
- A habit or customary practice one follows regularly
- zu
- Preposition or particle meaning 'to' or 'too'
- fliegen
- To fly, to move through the air
- Sie
- Third-person pronoun 'she' or formal 'you'
- lief
- Past tense of 'laufen'; ran or walked
- ein
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- paar
- A few, a small number of something
- Meter
- Unit of length equal to approximately 3.28 feet
- den
- Definite article accusative masculine form 'the'
- Hügel
- A hill, a small elevated landform
- hinunter
- Directional adverb meaning 'down' or 'downward'
- und
- Coordinating conjunction meaning 'and'
- schlug
- Past tense of 'schlagen'; beat, flapped, or struck
- dabei
- Adverb meaning 'in doing so' or 'at the same time'
- mit
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- ihrem
- Possessive pronoun dative form meaning 'her' or 'their'
- Schal
- A scarf worn around the neck or head
- dann
- Adverb meaning 'then' or 'after that'
- sprang
- Past tense of 'springen'; jumped or leaped
- sie
- Personal pronoun meaning 'she', 'they', or formal 'you'
- in
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'into'
- Luft
- Air or the atmosphere surrounding the earth
- flog
- Past tense of 'fliegen'; flew through the air
- wunderschön
- Beautifully, wonderfully, in a stunning manner
- wenn
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'if'
- erst
- Adverb meaning 'first', 'only', or 'not until'
- einmal
- Adverb meaning 'once' or 'one time'
- einen
- Indefinite article accusative masculine form 'a'
- guten
- Adjective inflected form of 'gut'; good
- Anlauf
- A running start taken before jumping or flying
- genommen
- Past participle of 'nehmen'; taken
- glitt
- Past tense of 'gleiten'; glided or slid smoothly
- über
- Preposition meaning 'over', 'above', or 'across'
- Baumwipfel
- Treetops, the uppermost crowns or tips of trees
- dahin
- Adverb meaning 'along', 'onward', or 'to there'
- bis
- Preposition or conjunction meaning 'until' or 'to'
- eine
- Indefinite article feminine nominative form 'a'
- offene
- Adjective meaning 'open' or 'cleared', not enclosed
- Stelle
- A place, spot, or position in a location
- der
- Definite article masculine nominative or genitive 'the'
- Mitte
- The middle or center of something
- des
- Definite article genitive form meaning 'of the'
- Waldes
- Genitive form of 'Wald'; of the forest
- sah
- Past tense of 'sehen'; saw or noticed
- wo
- Relative or interrogative adverb meaning 'where'
- Bäume
- Plural of 'Baum'; trees
- das
- Definite article neuter nominative/accusative 'the'
- Unterholz
- Undergrowth, low shrubs and plants beneath trees
- gerodet
- Past participle of 'roden'; cleared of trees or vegetation
- worden
- Auxiliary past participle used in passive constructions
- waren
- Past tense plural of 'sein'; were
- landete
- Past tense of 'landen'; landed on the ground
- ziemlich
- Adverb meaning 'quite', 'rather', or 'fairly'
- schwerfällig
- Clumsily, heavily, in an awkward or ungainly manner
- begann
- Past tense of 'beginnen'; began or started
- umherzuwatscheln
- To waddle around aimlessly in various directions
- auf
- Preposition meaning 'on', 'upon', or 'in search of'
- Suche
- A search or quest for something desired
- nach
- Preposition meaning 'after', 'to', or 'for'
- einem
- Indefinite article dative form 'a' or 'an'
- geeigneten
- Adjective meaning 'suitable', 'appropriate', or 'fitting'
- trockenen
- Adjective inflected form of 'trocken'; dry
- Nistplatz
- A nesting spot where a bird lays eggs
- mochte
- Past tense of 'mögen'; liked or wanted
- besonders
- Adverb meaning 'especially', 'particularly', 'in particular'
- Baumstumpf
- A tree stump, the base remaining after felling
- zwischen
- Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among'
- einigen
- Adjective meaning 'some' or 'a few' (plural)
- hohen
- Adjective inflected form of 'hoch'; tall or high
- Fingerhutpflanzen
- Foxglove plants with tall spikes of tubular flowers
- Aber
- Conjunction meaning 'but' or 'however'
- dem
- Definite article dative masculine or neuter 'the'
- Stumpf
- A stump, the remaining base of a cut tree
- sitzend
- Present participle of 'sitzen'; sitting
- erschrak
- Past tense of 'erschrecken'; was startled or frightened
- als
- Conjunction meaning 'when', 'as', or 'than'
- elegant
- Elegantly, in a stylish and refined manner
- gekleideten
- Past participle adjective of 'kleiden'; dressed, attired
- Herrn
- Accusative/genitive of 'Herr'; gentleman or mister
- fand
- Past tense of 'finden'; found or discovered
- Zeitung
- A newspaper containing news and articles
- las
- Past tense of 'lesen'; read a text or newspaper
- Er
- Personal pronoun meaning 'he'
- schwarze
- Adjective inflected form of 'schwarz'; black
- Spitzohren
- Pointed ears, ears that come to a sharp tip
- sandfarben
- Sand-colored, having a pale yellowish-beige color
- Schnurrbart
- A mustache, facial hair grown above the upper lip
- Der
- Definite article masculine nominative meaning 'the'
- Herr
- A gentleman, mister, or male person of standing
- hob
- Past tense of 'heben'; lifted or raised
- Augen
- Plural of 'Auge'; eyes
- seine
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'his' or 'its'
- blickte
- Past tense of 'blicken'; looked or glanced at
- neugierig
- Curiously, with interest and inquisitiveness
- an
- Preposition meaning 'at', 'on', or 'to'
- langen
- Adjective inflected form of 'lang'; long
- buschigen
- Adjective inflected form of 'buschig'; bushy, thick
- Schwanz
- A tail, the rear appendage of an animal
- er
- Personal pronoun meaning 'he'
- saß
- Past tense of 'sitzen'; sat or was seated
- da
- Adverb meaning 'there', 'here', or 'then'
- etwas
- Pronoun or adverb meaning 'something' or 'somewhat'
- feucht
- Damp, moist, slightly wet
- war
- Past tense singular of 'sein'; was
- hielt
- Past tense of 'halten'; held, considered, or regarded
- ihn
- Personal pronoun accusative masculine meaning 'him'
- für
- Preposition meaning 'for' or 'as'
- äußerst
- Adverb meaning 'extremely' or 'most' (superlative)
- höflich
- Polite, courteous, well-mannered in behavior
- gutaussehend
- Good-looking, attractive, handsome in appearance
- erklärte
- Past tense of 'erklären'; explained or declared
- dass
- Subordinating conjunction meaning 'that'
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'herself', 'himself', or 'itself'
- verlaufen
- To get lost, to stray from one's intended path
- sondern
- Conjunction meaning 'but rather' after a negation
- versuchte
- Past tense of 'versuchen'; tried or attempted
- finden
- To find, to locate or discover something sought
- faltete
- Past tense of 'falten'; folded neatly together
- zusammen
- Adverb meaning 'together' or 'up' (when folding)
- steckte
- Past tense of 'stecken'; put, placed, or tucked into
- Rockschoßtasche
- A coat-tail pocket in the back of a jacket
- beklagte
- Past tense of 'beklagen'; lamented or complained about
- überflüssige
- Adjective meaning 'superfluous', 'unnecessary', or 'surplus'
- Henne
- A hen, a female domestic bird or fowl
- Tatsächlich
- Adverb meaning 'really', 'indeed', or 'actually'
- Wie
- Interrogative adverb meaning 'how' or 'what like'
- interessant
- Interesting, engaging, worthy of attention or curiosity
- Ich
- First-person singular pronoun meaning 'I'
- wünschte
- Past tense of 'wünschen'; wished or desired
- ich
- First-person singular pronoun meaning 'I'
- könnte
- Subjunctive II of 'können'; could, would be able to
- dieses
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' (genitive/neuter)
- Geflügel
- Poultry, domesticated birds kept for eggs or meat
- kennenlernen
- To get to know someone, to become acquainted with
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