The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck — Page 4
He said he loved eggs and ducklings; he should be proud to see a fine nestful in his wood-shed.
Il dit qu'il adorait les œufs et les canetons ; il serait fier de voir un beau nid bien garni dans son hangar à bois.
Jemima Puddle-duck came every afternoon; she laid nine eggs in the nest.
Jemima Canard-Flaque venait chaque après-midi ; elle pondit neuf œufs dans le nid.
They were greeny white and very large.
Ils étaient blanc verdâtre et très grands.
The foxy gentleman admired them immensely.
Le gentleman rusé les admirait énormément.
He used to turn them over and count them when Jemima was not there.
Il avait l'habitude de les retourner et de les compter quand Jemima n'était pas là.
At last Jemima told him that she intended to begin to sit next day--"and I will bring a bag of corn with me, so that I need never leave my nest until the eggs are hatched.
Finalement, Jemima lui dit qu'elle avait l'intention de commencer à couver le lendemain — « et j'apporterai un sac de grain avec moi, afin de n'avoir jamais à quitter mon nid jusqu'à ce que les œufs éclosent.
They might catch cold," said the conscientious Jemima.
Ils pourraient attraper froid », dit la consciencieuse Jemima.
"Madam, I beg you not to trouble yourself with a bag; I will provide oats.
« Madame, je vous prie de ne pas vous encombrer d'un sac ; je fournirai de l'avoine.
But before you commence your tedious sitting, I intend to give you a treat.
Mais avant que vous commenciez votre fastidieuse couvaison, j'ai l'intention de vous offrir un régal.
Let us have a dinner-party all to ourselves!
Faisons un dîner rien que pour nous deux !
"May I ask you to bring up some herbs from the farm-garden to make a savoury omelette?
« Puis-je vous demander de monter quelques herbes du jardin de la ferme pour faire une savoureuse omelette ?
Sage and thyme, and mint and two onions, and some parsley.
De la sauge et du thym, de la menthe et deux oignons, et un peu de persil.
I will provide lard for the stuff--lard for the omelette," said the hospitable gentleman with sandy whiskers.
Je fournirai du saindoux pour la farce — du saindoux pour l'omelette », dit le gentleman hospitalier aux favoris couleur de sable.
Jemima Puddle-duck was a simpleton: not even the mention of sage and onions made her suspicious.
Jemima Canard-Flaque était une simplette : même la mention de la sauge et des oignons ne la rendit pas méfiante.
She went round the farm-garden, nibbling off snippets of all the different sorts of herbs that are used for stuffing roast duck.
Elle fit le tour du jardin de la ferme, grignotant de petits brins de toutes les différentes sortes d'herbes que l'on utilise pour farcir le canard rôti.
And she waddled into the kitchen, and got two onions out of a basket.
Et elle se dandina jusqu'à la cuisine, et prit deux oignons dans un panier.
Vocabulary
- dit
- Said; past tense of 'dire' (to say)
- adorait
- Adored, loved deeply; imperfect tense of 'adorer'
- œufs
- Eggs; plural of 'œuf'
- canetons
- Ducklings; young ducks, plural of 'caneton'
- serait
- Would be; conditional tense of 'être'
- fier
- Proud; feeling satisfaction or pleasure in something
- voir
- To see; infinitive of a common French verb
- beau
- Beautiful, handsome; masculine adjective of beauty
- nid
- Nest; a bird's dwelling place for eggs
- garni
- Furnished, well-stocked; past participle of 'garnir'
- hangar
- Shed, hangar; a large storage or shelter building
- bois
- Wood; material from trees, or a wooded area
- venait
- Came, was coming; imperfect tense of 'venir'
- chaque
- Each, every; adjective indicating all items individually
- après-midi
- Afternoon; the period of day after midday
- pondit
- Laid (eggs); simple past tense of 'pondre'
- neuf
- Nine; the cardinal number nine
- blanc
- White; basic color adjective, masculine form
- verdâtre
- Greenish; adjective meaning somewhat or faintly green
- gentleman
- Gentleman; a refined, polite, well-mannered man
- rusé
- Cunning, sly, crafty; adjective describing clever trickery
- admirait
- Admired; imperfect tense of 'admirer' (to admire)
- énormément
- Enormously, greatly; adverb indicating a very large degree
- habitude
- Habit, custom; a regular repeated behavior or practice
- retourner
- To return, to go back; infinitive verb of returning
- compter
- To count; to enumerate or tally a number of things
- quand
- When; conjunction or adverb referring to time
- Finalement
- Finally, eventually; adverb indicating a last outcome
- intention
- Intention; a plan or aim to do something
- commencer
- To begin, to start; infinitive of a common verb
- couver
- To brood, to incubate; sitting on eggs to hatch them
- lendemain
- The next day, the following day; the day after
- apporterai
- Will bring; future tense of 'apporter' (to bring)
- sac
- Bag, sack; a container made of flexible material
- grain
- Grain; seeds used as food for birds or animals
- afin
- In order to; conjunction expressing purpose or goal
- jamais
- Never; adverb expressing total negation of frequency
- quitter
- To leave, to quit; to depart from a place
- jusqu'
- Until, up to; preposition elided before a vowel
- éclosent
- Hatch; third person plural present subjunctive of 'éclore'
- pourraient
- Could; conditional tense of 'pouvoir' (to be able)
- attraper
- To catch; to contract an illness or grab something
- froid
- Cold; low temperature or the sensation of coldness
- consciencieuse
- Conscientious; diligent, careful, thorough in one's duties
- Madame
- Madam, Mrs.; polite title for a woman
- prie
- Beg, request; first person present of 'prier'
- encombrer
- To clutter, to encumber; to block or burden with things
- fournirai
- Will provide; future tense of 'fournir' (to supply)
- avoine
- Oats; a cereal grain used as animal or human food
- avant
- Before; preposition or adverb indicating prior time
- commenciez
- Begin; second person plural imperfect or subjunctive of 'commencer'
- fastidieuse
- Tedious, tiresome; boring due to length or repetitiveness
- couvaison
- Incubation; the brooding period when eggs are hatched
- offrir
- To offer, to give; to present something as a gift
- régal
- Treat, feast; something especially enjoyable to eat
- Faisons
- Let's make, let's do; first person plural imperative of 'faire'
- dîner
- Dinner; the main evening meal, or to dine
- rien
- Nothing; pronoun expressing total absence or negation
- deux
- Two; the cardinal number two
- Puis-je
- May I; formal inverted question form of 'pouvoir'
- demander
- To ask, to request; to inquire or seek something
- monter
- To go up, to bring up; to climb or carry upward
- quelques
- Some, a few; adjective indicating a small number
- herbes
- Herbs; aromatic plants used for cooking or medicine
- jardin
- Garden; a cultivated outdoor space for plants
- ferme
- Farm; an agricultural property where animals are raised
- savoureuse
- Tasty, flavorful; feminine adjective describing delicious food
- omelette
- Omelette; a dish made from beaten eggs cooked in a pan
- sauge
- Sage; an aromatic herb commonly used in stuffing
- thym
- Thyme; a fragrant herb widely used in French cooking
- menthe
- Mint; a fragrant herb used in cooking and drinks
- oignons
- Onions; pungent bulb vegetables used widely in cooking
- peu
- A little, a few; adverb or adjective of small quantity
- persil
- Parsley; a common green herb used to garnish dishes
- saindoux
- Lard; rendered pig fat used for cooking or frying
- farce
- Stuffing; a seasoned mixture used to fill poultry
- hospitalier
- Hospitable; welcoming and generous to guests
- favoris
- Favorites; things preferred above others, plural of 'favori'
- couleur
- Color; the visual property of objects reflecting light
- sable
- Sand; granular material, or the color sandy beige
- simplette
- Simple-minded, naive; somewhat foolish or overly trusting
- même
- Even, same; adverb or adjective emphasizing identity
- mention
- Mention; a brief reference or remark about something
- rendit
- Made, rendered; simple past tense of 'rendre'
- méfiante
- Suspicious, wary; feminine adjective describing distrust
- fit
- Did, made; simple past tense of 'faire'
- tour
- Tour, round; a trip around or an inspection
- grignotant
- Nibbling; present participle of 'grignoter', to nibble
- brins
- Sprigs, blades, strands; small pieces of plants
- différentes
- Different, various; feminine plural adjective of variety
- sortes
- Sorts, kinds, types; varieties of a thing
- on
- One, we, they; indefinite subject pronoun in French
- utilise
- Uses; third person singular present of 'utiliser'
- farcir
- To stuff; to fill poultry or vegetables with stuffing
- canard
- Duck; a common waterbird often used in French cooking
- rôti
- Roasted; past participle of 'rôtir', cooked in an oven
- dandina
- Waddled; simple past of 'se dandiner', to sway walking
- cuisine
- Kitchen; the room where food is prepared and cooked
- prit
- Took; simple past tense of 'prendre' (to take)
- panier
- Basket; a container typically woven and used for carrying
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →