The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck — Page 3
I would teach it to mind its own business!"
Gli insegnerei a farsi i fatti suoi!"
"But as to a nest--there is no difficulty: I have a sackful of feathers in my wood-shed.
"Ma per quanto riguarda un nido--non c'è alcuna difficoltà: ho un sacco pieno di piume nel mio ripostiglio della legna.
No, my dear madam, you will be in nobody's way.
No, mia cara signora, non darà fastidio a nessuno.
You may sit there as long as you like," said the bushy long-tailed gentleman.
Può stare lì quanto vuole," disse il signore dalla folta coda lunga.
He led the way to a very retired, dismal-looking house amongst the fox-gloves.
Egli aprì la strada verso una casa molto appartata e dall'aspetto tetro, in mezzo alle digitali.
It was built of faggots and turf, and there were two broken pails, one on top of another, by way of a chimney.
Era costruita con fascine e zolle di terra, e c'erano due secchi rotti, uno sopra l'altro, a mo' di camino.
"This is my summer residence; you would not find my earth--my winter house--so convenient," said the hospitable gentleman.
"Questa è la mia residenza estiva; non troverebbe la mia tana--la mia casa invernale--così comoda," disse il cortese signore.
There was a tumble-down shed at the back of the house, made of old soap-boxes.
Sul retro della casa c'era un capanno cadente, costruito con vecchie casse di sapone.
The gentleman opened the door, and showed Jemima in.
Il signore aprì la porta e fece entrare Jemima.
The shed was almost quite full of feathers--it was almost suffocating; but it was comfortable and very soft.
Il capanno era quasi completamente pieno di piume--era quasi soffocante; ma era comodo e molto morbido.
Jemima Puddle-duck was rather surprised to find such a vast quantity of feathers.
Jemima Puddle-duck fu piuttosto sorpresa di trovare una così grande quantità di piume.
But it was very comfortable; and she made a nest without any trouble at all.
Ma era molto comodo; e fece un nido senza alcuna difficoltà.
When she came out, the sandy whiskered gentleman was sitting on a log reading the newspaper--at least he had it spread out, but he was looking over the top of it.
Quando uscì, il signore dai baffi color sabbia era seduto su un tronco a leggere il giornale--o almeno lo aveva aperto davanti a sé, ma stava guardando al di sopra di esso.
He was so polite, that he seemed almost sorry to let Jemima go home for the night.
Era così cortese, che sembrava quasi dispiaciuto di lasciar tornare Jemima a casa per la notte.
He promised to take great care of her nest until she came back again next day.
Promise di prendersi grande cura del suo nido fino a quando non fosse tornata il giorno seguente.
Vocabulary
- insegnerei
- I would teach; first person conditional of insegnare
- farsi
- Reflexive infinitive of fare; to make oneself, to become
- fatti
- Facts, deeds, or affairs; plural of fatto
- quanto
- How much, as much as; used in quantity expressions
- riguarda
- Concerns, regards; third person singular of riguardare
- nido
- A nest; home or shelter for birds or small animals
- alcuna
- Any, no; feminine singular indefinite adjective in negative context
- difficoltà
- Difficulty, trouble; a challenging situation or obstacle
- sacco
- A sack or bag; colloquially 'a lot' of something
- pieno
- Full, filled; adjective describing something at capacity
- piume
- Feathers or plumes; soft covering of birds
- ripostiglio
- A storage closet or small storage room
- legna
- Firewood; wood cut and stored for burning
- cara
- Dear, beloved; affectionate adjective for feminine noun
- signora
- Mrs., ma'am; polite title for an adult woman
- darà
- Will give; third person singular future of dare
- fastidio
- Annoyance, bother; inconvenience or irritation caused to someone
- nessuno
- Nobody, no one; indefinite pronoun indicating absence of people
- stare
- To stay, remain, or be; common Italian verb
- lì
- There; adverb indicating a place away from the speaker
- disse
- Said; third person singular past of dire
- signore
- Sir, gentleman, lord; polite title for an adult man
- folta
- Thick, dense, bushy; adjective describing dense vegetation or fur
- coda
- Tail; the rear appendage of an animal
- Egli
- He; formal third person singular masculine subject pronoun
- aprì
- Opened; third person singular past of aprire
- strada
- A road, street, or path leading somewhere
- verso
- Toward; preposition indicating direction
- appartata
- Secluded, isolated, set apart from others
- aspetto
- Appearance, look; how something or someone looks
- tetro
- Gloomy, dark, dismal; adjective for somber appearance
- mezzo
- Middle, half; in the middle of a place or group
- digitali
- Foxgloves; tall flowering plants with tubular blossoms
- costruita
- Built, constructed; feminine past participle of costruire
- fascine
- Bundles of sticks or brushwood used in construction
- zolle
- Clods of earth, turfs; chunks of soil with roots
- terra
- Earth, ground, soil; the material making up the ground
- secchi
- Buckets or pails; containers for carrying liquid or material
- rotti
- Broken, damaged; masculine plural past participle of rompere
- sopra
- Above, on top of; preposition indicating position
- mo'
- Short for 'modo'; manner, way, in the manner of
- camino
- Fireplace or chimney; structure for fire and smoke
- residenza
- Residence, dwelling place; where someone lives
- estiva
- Summer; feminine adjective relating to the summer season
- troverebbe
- Would find; third person conditional of trovare
- tana
- Den, lair, burrow; shelter for wild animals
- invernale
- Winter, wintry; adjective relating to the winter season
- comoda
- Comfortable, convenient; feminine adjective for ease
- cortese
- Polite, courteous, kind; adjective for gracious behavior
- retro
- Back, rear; the back side of a building or object
- capanno
- Shed, hut; small simple outdoor shelter or outbuilding
- cadente
- Crumbling, falling down; adjective for a dilapidated structure
- casse
- Crates, boxes, cases; large containers for storing items
- sapone
- Soap; cleansing substance used for washing
- porta
- Door or gate; movable barrier at an entrance
- fece
- Made, did; third person singular past of fare
- entrare
- To enter, go in; infinitive verb of entering a place
- quasi
- Almost, nearly; adverb indicating near completion
- completamente
- Completely, entirely; adverb of total degree
- soffocante
- Suffocating, stifling; adjective for overwhelming or stuffy conditions
- comodo
- Comfortable, convenient; adjective for ease and comfort
- morbido
- Soft, gentle; adjective describing a smooth or tender texture
- fu
- Was; third person singular simple past of essere
- piuttosto
- Rather, quite, somewhat; adverb expressing moderate degree
- sorpresa
- Surprised or surprise; adjective or noun for unexpected events
- trovare
- To find; infinitive verb meaning to locate or discover
- quantità
- Quantity, amount; the measure of how much there is
- senza
- Without; preposition indicating absence of something
- uscì
- Went out, exited; third person singular past of uscire
- baffi
- Whiskers, moustache; facial hair or animal whiskers
- sabbia
- Sand; fine granular material found on beaches or deserts
- seduto
- Seated, sitting; past participle of sedere
- tronco
- Tree trunk; the main woody stem of a tree
- leggere
- To read; infinitive verb meaning to read text
- giornale
- Newspaper; printed daily publication with news
- almeno
- At least; adverb expressing a minimum condition
- aperto
- Opened, open; past participle of aprire
- davanti
- In front of, before; adverb or preposition of position
- sé
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun, third person
- stava
- Was staying or was doing; imperfect of stare
- guardando
- Looking, watching; gerund of guardare
- esso
- It, him; third person singular neuter or masculine pronoun
- sembrava
- Seemed, appeared; third person imperfect of sembrare
- dispiaciuto
- Sorry, regretful; past participle of dispiacere, feeling regret
- lasciar
- To let, to leave; shortened infinitive of lasciare
- tornare
- To return, come back; infinitive of tornare
- notte
- Night; the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise
- prendersi
- To take care of oneself or something; reflexive of prendere
- cura
- Care, attention; looking after someone or something
- fino
- Until, up to; preposition or adjective of limit
- fosse
- Were, would be; third person imperfect subjunctive of essere
- tornata
- Returned; feminine past participle of tornare
- giorno
- Day; a 24-hour period or the daytime hours
- seguente
- Following, next; adjective indicating the subsequent day or item
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