The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck — Page 2
[Illustration]
[Illustratie]
Jemima Puddle-duck was not much in the habit of flying.
Jemima Waterplas-eend was niet erg gewend om te vliegen.
She ran downhill a few yards flapping her shawl, and then she jumped off into the air.
Ze rende een paar meter bergafwaarts met haar sjaal flappend, en toen sprong ze de lucht in.
[Illustration]
[Illustratie]
She flew beautifully when she had got a good start.
Ze vloog prachtig wanneer ze eenmaal een goede aanloop had genomen.
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.
Ze scheerde over de boomtoppen totdat ze een open plek in het midden van het bos zag, waar de bomen en het struikgewas waren gekapt.
[Illustration]
[Illustratie]
Jemima alighted rather heavily, and began to waddle about in search of a convenient dry nesting-place.
Jemima landde nogal zwaar, en begon rond te waggelen op zoek naar een geschikte droge nestplaats.
She rather fancied a tree-stump amongst some tall fox-gloves.
Ze had wel oog voor een boomstronk tussen enkele hoge vingerhoedskruiden.
But--seated upon the stump, she was startled to find an elegantly dressed gentleman reading a newspaper.
Maar--zittend op de stronk, schrok ze op toen ze een elegant geklede heer een krant zag lezen.
He had black prick ears and sandy coloured whiskers.
Hij had zwarte spitse oren en zandkleurige bakkebaarden.
"Quack?" said Jemima Puddle-duck, with her head and her bonnet on one side--"Quack?"
"Kwak?" zei Jemima Waterplas-eend, met haar hoofd en haar hoedje opzij--"Kwak?"
[Illustration]
[Illustratie]
The gentleman raised his eyes above his newspaper and looked curiously at Jemima--
De heer hief zijn ogen op boven zijn krant en keek nieuwsgierig naar Jemima--
"Madam, have you lost your way?" said he.
"Mevrouw, bent u de weg kwijt?" zei hij.
He had a long bushy tail which he was sitting upon, as the stump was somewhat damp.
Hij had een lange pluizige staart waarop hij zat, omdat de stronk enigszins vochtig was.
Jemima thought him mighty civil and handsome.
Jemima vond hem buitengewoon beleefd en knap.
She explained that she had not lost her way, but that she was trying to find a convenient dry nesting-place.
Ze legde uit dat ze de weg niet kwijt was, maar dat ze op zoek was naar een geschikte droge nestplaats.
[Illustration]
[Illustratie]
"Ah! is that so? indeed!" said the gentleman with sandy whiskers, looking curiously at Jemima.
"Ah! is dat zo? werkelijk!" zei de heer met de zandkleurige bakkebaarden, terwijl hij nieuwsgierig naar Jemima keek.
He folded up the newspaper, and put it in his coat-tail pocket.
Hij vouwde de krant op en stak hem in de slip van zijn jas.
Jemima complained of the superfluous hen.
Jemima klaagde over de opdringerige hen.
"Indeed! how interesting! I wish I could meet with that fowl.
"Werkelijk! hoe interessant! Ik zou die vogel graag eens willen ontmoeten.
Vocabulary
- Illustratie
- A picture or drawing accompanying a text
- Waterplas-eend
- Puddle-duck, a type of dabbling duck
- was
- Was; past tense of 'zijn' (to be)
- niet
- Not; basic negation word in Dutch
- erg
- Very; also means bad depending on context
- gewend
- Accustomed, used to something
- om
- To; preposition used before infinitive verbs
- te
- To; infinitive marker before a verb
- vliegen
- To fly; movement through the air
- Ze
- She or they; personal pronoun in Dutch
- rende
- Ran; past tense of 'rennen' (to run)
- een
- A or an; indefinite article in Dutch
- paar
- A few; small indefinite number of things
- meter
- Metre; unit of length measurement
- bergafwaarts
- Downhill; moving in a downward direction
- met
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment
- haar
- Her; possessive pronoun or personal pronoun
- sjaal
- Scarf; a piece of cloth worn around neck
- flappend
- Flapping; waving or fluttering in the wind
- en
- And; basic coordinating conjunction in Dutch
- toen
- Then; at that moment in the past
- sprong
- Jumped; past tense of 'springen' (to jump)
- de
- The; definite article for de-words in Dutch
- lucht
- Air or sky; the atmosphere above ground
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or direction
- vloog
- Flew; past tense of 'vliegen' (to fly)
- prachtig
- Beautifully or magnificently; wonderfully well
- wanneer
- When; conjunction or adverb of time
- eenmaal
- Once; when one has managed to do something
- goede
- Good; adjective inflected form of 'goed'
- aanloop
- Running start; initial run before taking off
- had
- Had; past tense of 'hebben' (to have)
- genomen
- Taken; past participle of 'nemen' (to take)
- scheerde
- Skimmed; flew very low and close over something
- over
- Over; preposition indicating passing above something
- boomtoppen
- Treetops; the uppermost parts of trees
- totdat
- Until; conjunction indicating end point in time
- open
- Open; clear, not covered or obstructed
- plek
- Spot or place; a specific location or area
- het
- The; definite article for het-words in Dutch
- midden
- Middle or center; the central part of something
- van
- Of or from; common preposition in Dutch
- bos
- Forest or wood; an area with many trees
- zag
- Saw; past tense of 'zien' (to see)
- waar
- Where; relative pronoun or adverb of place
- bomen
- Trees; plural of 'boom' (tree)
- struikgewas
- Undergrowth or shrubbery; low woody vegetation
- waren
- Were; past plural of 'zijn' (to be)
- gekapt
- Cut down; felled, said of trees or shrubs
- landde
- Landed; came down and settled on ground
- nogal
- Rather or quite; moderately, to a notable degree
- zwaar
- Heavy; with great weight or force
- begon
- Began; past tense of 'beginnen' (to begin)
- rond
- Around; in circles or in various directions
- waggelen
- To waddle; walk with a swaying motion
- op
- On; preposition indicating position on a surface
- zoek
- Search; looking for something ('op zoek naar')
- naar
- To or toward; also used in 'looking for'
- geschikte
- Suitable; appropriate or fitting for a purpose
- droge
- Dry; free from moisture or wetness
- nestplaats
- Nesting place; a location suitable for a nest
- wel
- Indeed or certainly; emphatic affirmative particle
- oog
- Eye; the organ of sight, or attention
- voor
- For or in front of; common Dutch preposition
- boomstronk
- Tree stump; the remaining base of a felled tree
- tussen
- Between or among; indicating position in between
- enkele
- Some or a few; a small number of things
- hoge
- Tall or high; inflected form of 'hoog'
- Maar
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or exception
- zittend
- Sitting; present participle of 'zitten' (to sit)
- stronk
- Stump; short form of 'boomstronk' (tree stump)
- schrok
- Startled; past tense of 'schrikken' (to be startled)
- elegant
- Elegantly; in a stylish and graceful manner
- geklede
- Dressed; wearing clothing, inflected past participle
- heer
- Gentleman; a polite term for a man
- krant
- Newspaper; a printed publication of news
- lezen
- To read; the act of reading a text
- Hij
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun
- zwarte
- Black; inflected form of 'zwart' (black)
- spitse
- Pointed; sharp and tapering to a point
- oren
- Ears; plural of 'oor' (ear)
- bakkebaarden
- Sideburns or whiskers; facial hair on the cheeks
- zei
- Said; past tense of 'zeggen' (to say)
- hoofd
- Head; the upper part of the body
- hoedje
- Small hat; diminutive of 'hoed' (hat)
- opzij
- To the side; sideways or aside
- hief
- Raised; past tense of 'heffen' (to lift)
- zijn
- His or to be; possessive pronoun or verb
- ogen
- Eyes; plural of 'oog' (eye)
- boven
- Above or over; preposition indicating higher position
- keek
- Looked; past tense of 'kijken' (to look)
- nieuwsgierig
- Curiously; with curiosity and inquisitiveness
- Mevrouw
- Madam or Mrs; polite address for a woman
- bent
- Are; second-person singular form of 'zijn'
- u
- You; formal second-person pronoun in Dutch
- weg
- Away or road; also lost or gone
- kwijt
- Lost; no longer knowing where something is
- hij
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun
- lange
- Long; inflected form of 'lang' (long/tall)
- pluizige
- Fluffy or bushy; soft and full of fluff
- staart
- Tail; the rear appendage of an animal
- waarop
- On which; relative pronoun combining 'waar' and 'op'
- zat
- Sat; past tense of 'zitten' (to sit)
- omdat
- Because; conjunction giving a reason or cause
- enigszins
- Somewhat or slightly; to a small degree
- vochtig
- Damp or moist; slightly wet
- vond
- Found or thought; past tense of 'vinden'
- hem
- Him; object form of 'hij' (he)
- buitengewoon
- Extraordinarily; exceptionally, beyond the ordinary
- beleefd
- Polite or courteous; showing good manners
- knap
- Handsome or clever; attractive or capable
- legde
- Put or laid down; past tense of 'leggen'
- uit
- Out; also used in 'uitleggen' (to explain)
- dat
- That; conjunction or demonstrative pronoun
- maar
- But or only; conjunction showing contrast
- is
- Is; third-person singular present of 'zijn'
- zo
- So or like that; manner or degree adverb
- werkelijk
- Really or truly; expressing genuine truth or surprise
- terwijl
- While; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions
- vouwde
- Folded; past tense of 'vouwen' (to fold)
- stak
- Put or stuck; past tense of 'steken'
- jas
- Coat or jacket; an outer garment worn over clothes
- klaagde
- Complained; past tense of 'klagen' (to complain)
- opdringerige
- Pushy or intrusive; overly forward or obtrusive
- hen
- Hens; female chickens, or them (pronoun)
- Werkelijk
- Really; exclamation expressing surprise or interest
- hoe
- How; adverb asking about manner or degree
- interessant
- Interesting; worthy of attention or curiosity
- Ik
- I; first-person singular pronoun in Dutch
- zou
- Would; conditional form of 'zullen'
- die
- That or those; demonstrative or relative pronoun
- vogel
- Bird; a feathered winged animal
- graag
- Gladly or would like to; expressing desire
- eens
- Once or sometime; used to soften a request
- willen
- To want; expressing desire or intention
- ontmoeten
- To meet; to encounter someone for the first time
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →