The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle — Page 3
The grass was short and green, and there were clothes--props cut from bracken stems, with lines of plaited rushes, and a heap of tiny clothes pins--but no pocket-handkerchiefs!
L'erba era corta e verde, e c'erano dei panni—sostegni tagliati da steli di felce, con fili di giunchi intrecciati, e un mucchio di piccoli mollette da bucato—ma nessun fazzoletto!
But there was something else--a door! straight into the hill; and inside it some one was singing--
Ma c'era qualcos'altro—una porta! dritta dentro la collina; e all'interno qualcuno stava cantando—
"Lily-white and clean, oh! With little frills between, oh! Smooth and hot--red rusty spot Never here be seen, oh!"
«Bianca come il giglio e pulita, oh! Con piccoli volant in mezzo, oh! Liscia e calda—macchia rossa arrugginita qui non sia mai vista, oh!»
Lucie, knocked--once--twice, and interrupted the song.
Lucie bussò—una volta—due volte, e interruppe il canto.
A little frightened voice called out "Who's that?"
Una vocina spaventata chiamò «Chi è?»
Lucie opened the door: and what do you think there was inside the hill?--a nice clean kitchen with a flagged floor and wooden beams--just like any other farm kitchen.
Lucie aprì la porta: e cosa pensate ci fosse dentro la collina?—una bella cucina pulita con un pavimento di lastre e travi di legno—proprio come qualsiasi altra cucina di fattoria.
Only the ceiling was so low that Lucie's head nearly touched it; and the pots and pans were small, and so was everything there.
Solo il soffitto era così basso che la testa di Lucie lo sfiorava quasi; e le pentole e le padelle erano piccole, e così era tutto il resto.
There was a nice hot singey smell; and at the table, with an iron in her hand stood a very stout short person staring anxiously at Lucie.
C'era un bel profumo caldo di bruciaticcio; e al tavolo, con un ferro in mano, stava una persona molto robusta e bassa che fissava Lucie con aria ansiosa.
Her print gown was tucked up, and she was wearing a large apron over her striped petticoat.
Il suo vestito di cotone stampato era rimboccato, e indossava un ampio grembiule sopra la sua sottogonna a righe.
Her little black nose went sniffle, sniffle, snuffle, and her eyes went twinkle, twinkle; and underneath her cap--where Lucie had yellow curls--that little person had PRICKLES!
Il suo nasino nero andava sniff, sniff, snuff, e i suoi occhi scintillavano, scintillavano; e sotto la sua cuffia—dove Lucie aveva i riccioli gialli—quella piccola persona aveva le SPINE!
"Who are you?" said Lucie. "Have you seen my pocket-handkins?"
«Chi sei?» disse Lucie. «Hai visto i miei fazzolettini?»
The little person made a bob-curtsey--"Oh, yes, if you please'm; my name is Mrs. Tiggy-winkle; oh, yes if you please'm, I'm an excellent clear-starcher!"
La piccola persona fece un inchino—«Oh, sì, con permesso; mi chiamo la signora Tiggy-winkle; oh, sì, con permesso, sono un'eccellente inamitatrice!»
Vocabulary
- erba
- Grass or herb growing on the ground
- era
- Past tense of 'essere'; was
- corta
- Short in length or height
- verde
- The color green
- erano
- Third person plural past tense of essere; they were
- dei
- Partitive article meaning some of the
- panni
- Clothes or laundry items to be washed
- sostegni
- Supports or props holding something up
- tagliati
- Cut or trimmed into a specific shape
- steli
- Stems or stalks of plants
- felce
- A fern plant found in forests
- fili
- Threads or thin strands of material
- giunchi
- Rushes or reed-like marsh plants
- intrecciati
- Woven or braided together into a pattern
- mucchio
- A pile or heap of objects
- piccoli
- Small in size or quantity
- mollette
- Small clips used to hang laundry
- bucato
- Laundry or washing of clothes
- nessun
- No or not any; used before nouns
- fazzoletto
- A handkerchief used to wipe face
- qualcos'
- Contraction of qualcosa; something else
- altro
- Other or another thing or person
- porta
- A door or entrance to a building
- dritta
- Straight or directly positioned without curves
- dentro
- Inside or within a space or object
- collina
- A hill or small elevated landform
- interno
- The interior or inside of something
- qualcuno
- Someone or somebody; an unspecified person
- stava
- Imperfect of stare; was doing something
- cantando
- Singing; gerund of cantare
- Bianca
- White; also used as a proper name
- come
- As or like; used in comparisons
- giglio
- A lily flower, often white and fragrant
- pulita
- Clean or tidy; free from dirt
- volant
- Ruffle or frill on clothing (from French)
- mezzo
- Middle or center of something
- Liscia
- Smooth or sleek surface without wrinkles
- calda
- Warm or hot in temperature
- macchia
- A stain or spot on a surface
- rossa
- Red; feminine form of the color
- arrugginita
- Rusty; covered or affected by rust
- qui
- Here; in this place
- sia
- Subjunctive of essere; may be or is
- mai
- Never or ever in a time context
- vista
- Seen; past participle of vedere
- bussò
- Knocked on a door; past tense of bussare
- volta
- Time or occasion; once, twice, etc.
- due
- The number two
- volte
- Times or occasions; plural of volta
- interruppe
- Interrupted; past tense of interrompere
- canto
- Song or singing; act of vocal music
- vocina
- A little voice; diminutive of voce
- spaventata
- Frightened or scared; filled with fear
- chiamò
- Called out; past tense of chiamare
- Chi
- Who; interrogative pronoun asking identity
- aprì
- Opened; past tense of aprire
- cosa
- Thing or what; used in questions
- pensate
- You think; second person plural of pensare
- ci
- There or us; reflexive or locative pronoun
- fosse
- Imperfect subjunctive of essere; there was
- bella
- Beautiful or lovely; feminine adjective
- cucina
- Kitchen; room where food is prepared
- pavimento
- Floor or flooring of a room
- lastre
- Slabs or flat stone tiles on floor
- travi
- Beams of wood in ceiling or structure
- legno
- Wood; material from trees used in building
- proprio
- Exactly or just like; emphasizes similarity
- qualsiasi
- Any or whatever; used for general reference
- altra
- Other; feminine form of altro
- fattoria
- A farm or farmhouse in the countryside
- Solo
- Only or just; indicating a single exception
- soffitto
- Ceiling; upper interior surface of a room
- così
- So or thus; used in comparisons or conclusions
- basso
- Low or short in height
- testa
- Head; the upper part of the body
- sfiorava
- Grazed or barely touched something lightly
- quasi
- Almost or nearly; close to but not quite
- pentole
- Pots used for cooking on the stove
- padelle
- Pans or frying pans used for cooking
- piccole
- Small; feminine plural of piccolo
- tutto
- Everything or all; totality of something
- resto
- The rest or remainder of something
- bel
- Beautiful or nice; apocopated form of bello
- profumo
- A pleasant scent or fragrance in air
- caldo
- Warm or hot; referring to temperature
- bruciaticcio
- Smell of something slightly burnt or scorched
- tavolo
- A table used for eating or working
- ferro
- Iron; the metal or a clothes iron
- mano
- Hand; the body part at arm's end
- persona
- A person or individual human being
- molto
- Very or a lot; indicates high degree
- robusta
- Sturdy or stout; physically strong and solid
- bassa
- Short or low; feminine form of basso
- fissava
- Was staring or gazing fixedly at something
- aria
- Air or expression on someone's face
- ansiosa
- Anxious or worried about something uncertain
- suo
- His, her, or its; possessive adjective
- vestito
- A dress or outfit worn as clothing
- cotone
- Cotton; a soft natural fabric material
- stampato
- Printed with a pattern or design
- rimboccato
- Rolled or tucked up at the hem
- indossava
- Was wearing; imperfect of indossare
- ampio
- Wide or ample; spacious and large
- grembiule
- An apron worn to protect clothing
- sopra
- Above or on top of something
- sua
- Her or his; feminine possessive adjective
- sottogonna
- A petticoat or underskirt worn beneath dress
- righe
- Stripes or lines on fabric or paper
- nasino
- Little nose; diminutive of naso
- nero
- Black; the darkest color
- andava
- Was going; imperfect of andare
- suoi
- His or her; masculine plural possessive
- occhi
- Eyes; the organs used for seeing
- scintillavano
- Were sparkling or twinkling brightly
- sotto
- Under or below something
- cuffia
- A cap or bonnet worn on head
- dove
- Where; interrogative or relative adverb of place
- aveva
- Had; imperfect of avere
- riccioli
- Curls or ringlets of hair
- gialli
- Yellow; masculine plural adjective of color
- quella
- That; feminine demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- piccola
- Small or little; feminine form of piccolo
- SPINE
- Spines or thorns; sharp pointed protrusions
- sei
- You are; second person singular of essere
- disse
- Said; past tense of dire
- Hai
- You have; second person singular of avere
- visto
- Seen; past participle of vedere
- miei
- My; masculine plural possessive adjective
- fazzolettini
- Little handkerchiefs; diminutive plural of fazzoletto
- fece
- Made or did; past tense of fare
- inchino
- A bow made as a gesture of respect
- sì
- Yes; affirmative response
- permesso
- Permission or excuse me when entering
- mi
- Me or myself; first person singular pronoun
- chiamo
- My name is; first person of chiamarsi
- signora
- Mrs. or madam; polite title for a woman
- sono
- I am or they are; form of essere
- eccellente
- Excellent or outstanding in quality or skill
- inamitatrice
- A woman who starches and irons clothes professionally
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →