The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck — Page 3
I would teach it to mind its own business!"
Ik zou het leren zich met zijn eigen zaken te bemoeien!"
"But as to a nest--there is no difficulty: I have a sackful of feathers in my wood-shed.
"Maar wat een nest betreft--daar is geen bezwaar: ik heb een zak vol veren in mijn houtschuur.
No, my dear madam, you will be in nobody's way.
Nee, mijn beste mevrouw, u zult niemand tot last zijn.
You may sit there as long as you like," said the bushy long-tailed gentleman.
U mag er zo lang zitten als u wilt," zei de heer met de pluizige lange staart.
He led the way to a very retired, dismal-looking house amongst the fox-gloves.
Hij ging voor naar een zeer afgelegen, somber uitziend huisje tussen de vingerhoedskruiden.
It was built of faggots and turf, and there were two broken pails, one on top of another, by way of a chimney.
Het was gebouwd van takkenbossen en turf, en er stonden twee gebroken emmers, de een op de ander, als schoorsteen.
"This is my summer residence; you would not find my earth--my winter house--so convenient," said the hospitable gentleman.
"Dit is mijn zomerverblijf; u zou mijn hol--mijn winterhuis--niet zo aangenaam vinden," zei de gastvrije heer.
There was a tumble-down shed at the back of the house, made of old soap-boxes.
Achter het huis stond een vervallen schuurtje, gemaakt van oude zeepkisten.
The gentleman opened the door, and showed Jemima in.
De heer opende de deur en liet Jemima binnen.
The shed was almost quite full of feathers--it was almost suffocating; but it was comfortable and very soft.
Het schuurtje was bijna helemaal vol veren--het was bijna verstikkend; maar het was behaaglijk en zeer zacht.
Jemima Puddle-duck was rather surprised to find such a vast quantity of feathers.
Jemima Poeldraak was nogal verbaasd zulk een grote hoeveelheid veren aan te treffen.
But it was very comfortable; and she made a nest without any trouble at all.
Maar het was zeer behaaglijk; en ze maakte zonder enige moeite een nest.
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.
Toen ze naar buiten kwam, zat de heer met de zandkleurige bakkebaarden op een blok hout de krant te lezen--althans hij had hem uitgespreid, maar hij keek over de bovenkant ervan heen.
He was so polite, that he seemed almost sorry to let Jemima go home for the night.
Hij was zo beleefd, dat hij het bijna jammer leek te vinden Jemima voor de nacht naar huis te laten gaan.
He promised to take great care of her nest until she came back again next day.
Hij beloofde goed voor haar nest te zorgen totdat ze de volgende dag weer terugkwam.
Vocabulary
- zou
- Would; past tense form of 'zullen'
- leren
- To learn; to teach
- zich
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
- eigen
- Own; belonging to oneself
- zaken
- Affairs, matters, business
- bemoeien
- To meddle, interfere, or concern oneself with
- nest
- Nest; a bird's or animal's dwelling place
- betreft
- Concerns, regards; third person of 'betreffen'
- bezwaar
- Objection, obstacle, or problem
- zak
- Bag, sack, or pocket
- vol
- Full; filled to capacity
- veren
- Feathers; plural of 'veer'
- houtschuur
- Woodshed; a shed for storing firewood
- beste
- Dear, best; used as polite address
- mevrouw
- Mrs., madam; polite address for a woman
- u
- You; formal second person pronoun
- zult
- Will; second person singular of 'zullen'
- niemand
- Nobody, no one; negative indefinite pronoun
- last
- Burden, nuisance, trouble
- mag
- May, is allowed; form of 'mogen'
- lang
- Long; tall; of great length or duration
- zitten
- To sit; to be seated
- wilt
- Want; second person singular of 'willen'
- zei
- Said; past tense of 'zeggen'
- heer
- Mister, gentleman, lord
- pluizige
- Fluffy, fuzzy; soft and covered with fluff
- staart
- Tail; the rear appendage of an animal
- ging
- Went; past tense of 'gaan'
- zeer
- Very, extremely; intensifying adverb
- afgelegen
- Remote, secluded, far away from other places
- somber
- Gloomy, dark, dreary in appearance or mood
- uitziend
- Looking, appearing; present participle of 'uitzien'
- huisje
- Small house, cottage; diminutive of 'huis'
- tussen
- Between, among; preposition of position
- vingerhoedskruiden
- Foxgloves; tall flowering plants with bell-shaped blooms
- gebouwd
- Built, constructed; past participle of 'bouwen'
- takkenbossen
- Bundles of branches, faggots, twigs tied together
- turf
- Peat; compressed organic material used as fuel
- stonden
- Stood; past tense plural of 'staan'
- gebroken
- Broken; past participle of 'breken'
- emmers
- Buckets, pails; plural of 'emmer'
- schoorsteen
- Chimney; vertical structure for smoke ventilation
- zomerverblijf
- Summer residence, holiday cottage for warm months
- hol
- Den, burrow, hollow; animal's sheltered living place
- winterhuis
- Winter house; dwelling used during cold months
- aangenaam
- Pleasant, agreeable, comfortable
- vinden
- To find; to consider or think something
- gastvrije
- Hospitable; welcoming and generous to guests
- Achter
- Behind, at the back of; preposition of position
- stond
- Stood; past tense singular of 'staan'
- vervallen
- Dilapidated, run-down, decayed from neglect
- schuurtje
- Small shed; diminutive of 'schuur'
- zeepkisten
- Soapboxes, wooden crates for soap or goods
- opende
- Opened; past tense of 'openen'
- deur
- Door; an entrance or exit panel
- liet
- Let, allowed; past tense of 'laten'
- binnen
- Inside, in; indicating entry or interior
- bijna
- Almost, nearly; close to but not quite
- helemaal
- Completely, entirely, totally, all the way
- verstikkend
- Suffocating, stifling; dangerously lacking fresh air
- behaaglijk
- Cozy, comfortable, snug and pleasantly warm
- zacht
- Soft, gentle, mild; not hard or loud
- nogal
- Rather, quite, fairly; moderately adverb
- verbaasd
- Surprised, astonished, taken aback
- zulk
- Such; of that kind or degree
- hoeveelheid
- Amount, quantity, a measured portion of something
- treffen
- To meet, encounter; to find or come across
- zonder
- Without; preposition indicating absence
- enige
- Any, some; only one, a little bit of
- moeite
- Effort, trouble, difficulty
- Toen
- Then, when; temporal conjunction or adverb
- buiten
- Outside, outdoors; exterior of a building
- kwam
- Came; past tense of 'komen'
- zat
- Sat; past tense of 'zitten'
- zandkleurige
- Sand-coloured; having a beige or tan colour
- bakkebaarden
- Sideburns, whiskers; facial hair on the cheeks
- blok
- Block; a solid piece of wood or other material
- hout
- Wood; timber material from trees
- krant
- Newspaper; a printed daily publication
- lezen
- To read; to look at written text
- althans
- At least, or rather; qualifying what was just said
- uitgespreid
- Spread out, unfolded; past participle of 'uitspreiden'
- keek
- Looked; past tense of 'kijken'
- bovenkant
- Top, upper side; the highest surface of something
- ervan
- Of it, from it; combined pronoun 'er' and 'van'
- heen
- Away, past; directional particle indicating movement
- beleefd
- Politely, courteously; in a well-mannered way
- jammer
- Pity, shame; unfortunately, what a pity
- leek
- Seemed, appeared; past tense of 'lijken'
- nacht
- Night; the dark hours after sunset
- laten
- To let, allow, leave; causative verb
- beloofde
- Promised; past tense of 'beloven'
- zorgen
- To take care of; to ensure or provide for
- totdat
- Until; conjunction indicating a time limit
- volgende
- Next, following; the one that comes after
- weer
- Again; also weather; once more
- terugkwam
- Came back, returned; past tense of 'terugkomen'
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