The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse — Page 2
There were yards and yards of sandy passages, leading to storerooms and nut-cellars and seed-cellars, all amongst the roots of the hedge.
Il y avait des mètres et des mètres de couloirs sablonneux, menant à des réserves et des caves à noix et des caves à graines, tout parmi les racines de la haie.
[Illustration: In the pantry]
[Illustration : Dans le garde-manger]
[Illustration: In bed]
[Illustration : Au lit]
There was a kitchen, a parlour, a pantry, and a larder.
Il y avait une cuisine, un salon, un garde-manger et un cellier.
Also, there was Mrs. Tittlemouse's bedroom, where she slept in a little box bed!
Il y avait aussi la chambre de Madame Tittlemouse, où elle dormait dans un petit lit clos !
Mrs. Tittlemouse was a most terribly tidy particular little mouse, always sweeping and dusting the soft sandy floors.
Madame Tittlemouse était une petite souris absolument terriblement ordonnée et méticuleuse, toujours en train de balayer et d'épousseter les doux parquets sablonneux.
Sometimes a beetle lost its way in the passages.
Parfois un scarabée se perdait dans les couloirs.
"Shuh! shuh! little dirty feet!" said Mrs. Tittlemouse, clattering her dust-pan.
« Ouste ! ouste ! petites pattes sales ! » dit Madame Tittlemouse, en faisant claquer sa pelle à poussière.
[Illustration: Shooing a beetle]
[Illustration : Chassant un scarabée]
[Illustration: A ladybird]
[Illustration : Une coccinelle]
And one day a little old woman ran up and down in a red spotty cloak.
Et un jour une petite vieille femme courut en tous sens dans une cape rouge à pois.
"Your house is on fire, Mother Ladybird! Fly away home to your children!"
« Votre maison est en feu, Mère Coccinelle ! Rentrez vite chez vous auprès de vos enfants ! »
Another day, a big fat spider came in to shelter from the rain.
Un autre jour, une grosse araignée replète entra pour s'abriter de la pluie.
"Beg pardon, is this not Miss Muffet's?"
« Pardon, n'est-ce pas là chez Mademoiselle Muffet ? »
"Go away, you bold bad spider! Leaving ends of cobweb all over my nice clean house!"
« Allez-vous-en, vilaine mauvaise araignée ! Laissant des bouts de toile d'araignée partout dans ma belle maison propre ! »
[Illustration: Spider]
[Illustration : Araignée]
[Illustration: Out the window]
[Illustration : Par la fenêtre]
She bundled the spider out at a window.
Elle expulsa l'araignée par une fenêtre.
He let himself down the hedge with a long thin bit of string.
Il se laissa descendre le long de la haie avec un long et mince bout de ficelle.
Mrs. Tittlemouse went on her way to a distant storeroom, to fetch cherry-stones and thistle-down seed for dinner.
Madame Tittlemouse reprit son chemin vers une réserve éloignée, pour aller chercher des noyaux de cerise et des graines de chardon pour le dîner.
All along the passage she sniffed, and looked at the floor.
Tout le long du couloir elle reniflait et regardait le sol.
"I smell a smell of honey; is it the cowslips outside, in the hedge?
« Je sens une odeur de miel ; sont-ce les coucous dehors, dans la haie ?
Vocabulary
- y
- ee — Adverbial pronoun meaning 'there' or 'in it'.
- avait
- aveh — Past tense of 'avoir'; 'there was/were' in context.
- mètres
- metr — Unit of length; meters.
- couloirs
- koolwar — Plural of couloir; narrow passageways or corridors.
- sablonneux
- sablonuh — Adjective meaning sandy, full of sand.
- menant
- muhnahn — Present participle of mener; leading or going toward.
- réserves
- rehzairv — Storage rooms or reserves for supplies and food.
- caves
- kahv — Underground cellars used for storage.
- noix
- nwah — Nuts, typically walnuts; small hard-shelled edible seeds.
- graines
- Seeds; small plant reproductive units used as food.
- tout
- too — Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all', 'everything', 'whole'.
- parmi
- parmee — Preposition meaning 'among' or 'amongst'.
- racines
- rahseen — Roots of plants growing underground.
- haie
- eh — A hedge; a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes.
- Illustration
- eelustrasiohn — A picture or drawing accompanying a text.
- garde-manger
- gard mahnjeh — A pantry or larder for storing food supplies.
- lit
- lee — A bed; furniture used for sleeping.
- cuisine
- kweezeen — A kitchen; the room where food is prepared.
- salon
- salohn — A living room or sitting room in a home.
- cellier
- selyeh — A storeroom or cellar for keeping food and provisions.
- aussi
- ohsee — Adverb meaning 'also', 'too', or 'as well'.
- chambre
- shahmbr — A bedroom; private room used for sleeping.
- Madame
- madam — French title of respect for a woman; Mrs or Madam.
- où
- oo — Relative adverb meaning 'where' or 'in which'.
- dormait
- dormeh — Imperfect tense of dormir; she was sleeping or used to sleep.
- petit
- puhtee — Adjective meaning small, little, or tiny in size.
- clos
- kloh — An enclosed space or small private area.
- était
- ehteh — Imperfect tense of être; was or used to be.
- petite
- puhteet — Feminine form of petit; small, little, tiny.
- souris
- sooree — A mouse; small rodent commonly found in fields and homes.
- absolument
- absoloomahn — Adverb meaning absolutely, completely, or entirely.
- terriblement
- tereebluhmahn — Adverb meaning terribly or extremely, intensifying a quality.
- ordonnée
- ordoneh — Adjective meaning tidy, organized, or well-ordered.
- méticuleuse
- mehteekuluhz — Adjective meaning meticulous, extremely careful and precise.
- toujours
- toojoor — Adverb meaning always or still; continuously recurring.
- train
- trahn — Used in 'en train de' meaning in the process of doing.
- balayer
- balehyeh — To sweep; to clean a floor using a broom.
- épousseter
- epoosuteh — To dust; to remove dust from surfaces with a cloth.
- doux
- doo — Adjective meaning soft, gentle, or smooth in texture.
- parquets
- parkeh — Wooden floorboards or hardwood flooring in a room.
- Parfois
- parfwah — Adverb meaning sometimes or occasionally.
- scarabée
- skarabeh — A beetle; a type of hard-shelled insect.
- perdait
- pairdeh — Imperfect tense of perdre; was losing or getting lost.
- Ouste
- oost — Exclamation meaning 'shoo!' or 'get out!'; dismissing someone.
- pattes
- pat — Paws or legs of an animal; small animal feet.
- sales
- sal — Adjective meaning dirty, filthy, or unclean.
- dit
- dee — Past tense of dire; said or stated.
- faisant
- fuhzahn — Present participle of faire; doing or making something.
- claquer
- klakeh — To snap, slam, or clap; to make a sharp noise.
- pelle
- pel — A shovel or small dustpan used for collecting debris.
- poussière
- poosyair — Dust; fine dry particles settling on surfaces.
- Chassant
- shahsahn — Present participle of chasser; chasing or driving away.
- coccinelle
- koksenel — A ladybug or ladybird; small red spotted beetle insect.
- jour
- joor — Day; a 24-hour period or daylight time.
- vieille
- vyehy — Feminine form of vieux; old, aged, elderly.
- femme
- fam — A woman; adult female person.
- courut
- kooroo — Past historic of courir; ran quickly somewhere.
- tous
- too — Masculine plural of tout; all, every direction or person.
- sens
- sahn — Directions or senses; 'tous sens' means every direction.
- cape
- kap — A sleeveless outer garment worn over the shoulders.
- rouge
- rooj — Adjective meaning red in color.
- pois
- pwah — Peas; small round seeds or polka dot patterns.
- Votre
- votr — Possessive adjective meaning your (formal or plural).
- maison
- mehzohn — A house or home; a building where people live.
- feu
- fuh — Fire; burning flames or a blaze causing destruction.
- Mère
- mair — Mother; a female parent or maternal figure.
- Coccinelle
- koksenel — Ladybug; small spotted beetle; also used as a proper name.
- Rentrez
- rahntray — Imperative of rentrer; go back home, return inside.
- vite
- veet — Adverb meaning quickly or fast.
- chez
- sheh — Preposition meaning at the home of or to someone's place.
- auprès
- ohpreh — Preposition meaning near, close to, or beside someone.
- vos
- voh — Possessive adjective meaning your (plural or formal, plural noun).
- enfants
- ahnfahn — Children; young sons and daughters.
- autre
- ohtr — Adjective or pronoun meaning other or another.
- grosse
- grohs — Feminine form of gros; big, large, fat, or heavy.
- araignée
- arenyeh — A spider; an eight-legged arachnid insect that spins webs.
- replète
- ruhplet — Adjective meaning plump or well-fed; full after eating.
- entra
- ahntra — Past historic of entrer; entered or came inside.
- abriter
- ahbreeteh — To shelter or take cover from weather or danger.
- pluie
- plwee — Rain; water falling from clouds in drops.
- Pardon
- pardohn — Excuse me or pardon; polite expression asking forgiveness.
- est-ce
- es — Interrogative structure meaning 'is it' or 'is this'.
- là
- lah — Adverb meaning there or here; indicating a location.
- Mademoiselle
- madmwahzel — Title for an unmarried woman; Miss.
- Allez-vous-en
- aleh voo zahn — Imperative phrase meaning go away or leave at once.
- vilaine
- veelan — Feminine adjective meaning nasty, ugly, or wicked.
- mauvaise
- mohvez — Feminine adjective meaning bad, evil, or unpleasant.
- Laissant
- lehsahn — Present participle of laisser; leaving behind or letting remain.
- bouts
- boo — Ends or bits; small pieces or scraps of something.
- toile
- twahl — A web or fabric; spider silk or woven cloth.
- partout
- partoo — Adverb meaning everywhere or all over.
- belle
- bel — Feminine adjective meaning beautiful, lovely, or fine.
- propre
- propr — Adjective meaning clean, tidy, or one's own.
- Araignée
- arenyeh — Spider; eight-legged creature that spins webs.
- Par
- par — Preposition meaning by, through, or via.
- fenêtre
- fuhnehtr — A window; an opening in a wall letting in light.
- expulsa
- ekspulsa — Past historic of expulser; expelled or threw out forcibly.
- laissa
- lehsa — Past historic of laisser; let, allowed, or left behind.
- descendre
- desahndr — To go down, descend, or lower oneself.
- long
- lohn — Adjective meaning long; along the length of something.
- mince
- mahns — Adjective meaning thin, slim, or slender.
- bout
- boo — An end, tip, or small piece of something.
- ficelle
- feesel — String or thin twine; a long thin thread or cord.
- reprit
- ruphree — Past historic of reprendre; resumed or took up again.
- chemin
- shuhmahn — A path or road; a route taken to reach a destination.
- vers
- vair — Preposition meaning toward or in the direction of.
- réserve
- rehzairv — A storeroom or supply reserve for keeping provisions.
- éloignée
- ehlwanyeh — Feminine adjective meaning distant, far away, or remote.
- aller
- aleh — To go; infinitive of the verb indicating movement.
- chercher
- shayrsheh — To look for or fetch; to search for something needed.
- noyaux
- nwahyoh — Plural of noyau; pits or stones of fruit like cherries.
- cerise
- A cherry; small red sweet or sour fruit.
- chardon
- shahrdohn — A thistle; a prickly wild plant with purple flowers.
- dîner
- deeneh — Dinner; the main evening meal of the day.
- Tout
- too — Adjective meaning all or the whole; everything together.
- couloir
- koolwar — A corridor or narrow passageway inside a building.
- reniflait
- ruhneefleh — Imperfect of renifler; was sniffing or smelling around.
- regardait
- ruhgardeh — Imperfect of regarder; was looking at or watching.
- sol
- sol — The ground or floor; the surface underfoot.
- odeur
- odur — A smell or odor; a scent detected by the nose.
- miel
- myel — Honey; sweet sticky substance made by bees.
- sont-ce
- sohn — Interrogative structure meaning 'are these' or 'are they'.
- coucous
- kookoo — Cuckoos; birds known for their distinctive two-note call.
- dehors
- duhor — Outside; outdoors or beyond the interior of a place.
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