The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse — Page 3
I am sure I can see the marks of little dirty feet."
Ik weet zeker dat ik de sporen van kleine vieze voetjes kan zien."
[Illustration: Marks of little feet]
[Illustratie: Sporen van kleine voetjes]
[Illustration: Babbitty Bumble]
[Illustratie: Babbitty Bumble]
Suddenly round a corner, she met Babbitty Bumble--"Zizz, Bizz, Bizzz!"
Plotseling om een hoek, ontmoette ze Babbitty Bumble--"Zizz, Bizz, Bizzz!"
said the bumble bee.
zei de hommel.
Mrs. Tittlemouse looked at her severely.
Mevrouw Tittlemouse keek haar streng aan.
She wished that she had a broom.
Ze wenste dat ze een bezem had.
"Good-day, Babbitty Bumble; I should be glad to buy some beeswax.
"Goedendag, Babbitty Bumble; ik zou graag wat bijenwas kopen.
But what are you doing down here?
Maar wat doe jij hier beneden?
Why do you always come in at a window, and say Zizz, Bizz, Bizzz?"
Waarom kom je altijd door een raam naar binnen, en zeg je Zizz, Bizz, Bizzz?"
Mrs. Tittlemouse began to get cross.
Mevrouw Tittlemouse begon boos te worden.
"Zizz, Wizz, Wizzz!" replied Babbitty Bumble in a peevish squeak.
"Zizz, Wizz, Wizzz!" antwoordde Babbitty Bumble met een geïrriteerd piepgeluid.
She sidled down a passage, and disappeared into a storeroom which had been used for acorns.
Ze schoof een gang in, en verdween in een voorraadkamer die voor eikels was gebruikt.
Mrs. Tittlemouse had eaten the acorns before Christmas; the storeroom ought to have been empty.
Mevrouw Tittlemouse had de eikels voor Kerstmis opgegeten; de voorraadkamer had leeg moeten zijn.
But it was full of untidy dry moss.
Maar het zat vol met slordig droog mos.
[Illustration: Full of moss]
[Illustratie: Vol met mos]
[Illustration: Bees nest]
[Illustratie: Bijennest]
Mrs. Tittlemouse began to pull out the moss.
Mevrouw Tittlemouse begon het mos eruit te trekken.
Three or four other bees put their heads out, and buzzed fiercely.
Drie of vier andere bijen staken hun hoofden naar buiten, en zoenden woest.
"I am not in the habit of letting lodgings; this is an intrusion!" said Mrs. Tittlemouse.
"Ik ben er niet aan gewend kamers te verhuren; dit is een inbraak!" zei mevrouw Tittlemouse.
"I will have them turned out--" "Buzz! Buzz! Buzzz!"--"I wonder who would help me?" "Bizz, Wizz, Wizzz!"
"Ik zal ze eruit laten zetten--" "Buzz! Buzz! Buzzz!"--"Ik vraag me af wie me zou helpen?" "Bizz, Wizz, Wizzz!"
--"I will not have Mr. Jackson; he never wipes his feet."
--"Ik wil meneer Jackson niet hebben; hij veegt nooit zijn voeten af."
Mrs. Tittlemouse decided to leave the bees till after dinner.
Mevrouw Tittlemouse besloot de bijen tot na het eten te laten zitten.
When she got back to the parlour, she heard some one coughing in a fat voice; and there sat Mr. Jackson himself!
Toen ze terugkwam in de salon, hoorde ze iemand hoesten met een dikke stem; en daar zat meneer Jackson zelf!
Vocabulary
- Ik
- First person singular pronoun meaning 'I'
- weet
- Know; first person present tense of weten
- zeker
- Certain, sure, definitely
- dat
- That; conjunction or demonstrative pronoun
- de
- The; definite article for common gender nouns
- sporen
- Tracks, traces, or footprints left behind
- van
- Of, from; common Dutch preposition
- kleine
- Small, little; adjective in inflected form
- vieze
- Dirty, filthy; adjective in inflected form
- voetjes
- Little feet; diminutive plural of voet
- kan
- Can, am able to; modal verb
- zien
- To see, to perceive visually
- Illustratie
- Illustration; a picture accompanying a text
- Sporen
- Tracks or traces; plural of spoor
- Plotseling
- Suddenly, all at once, without warning
- om
- Around, at, in order to; preposition
- een
- A, an; indefinite article
- hoek
- Corner, angle of a room or street
- ontmoette
- Met, encountered; past tense of ontmoeten
- ze
- She, they, her; personal pronoun
- zei
- Said; past tense of zeggen
- hommel
- Bumblebee; large furry buzzing bee
- Mevrouw
- Mrs., madam; polite title for a woman
- keek
- Looked, glanced; past tense of kijken
- haar
- Her; possessive or object pronoun
- streng
- Strictly, sternly; severe in manner
- aan
- At, on, to; common Dutch preposition
- Ze
- She or they; personal pronoun
- wenste
- Wished, desired; past tense of wensen
- bezem
- Broom; tool used for sweeping floors
- had
- Had; past tense of hebben
- Goedendag
- Good day; formal Dutch greeting
- zou
- Would; conditional form of zullen
- graag
- Gladly, with pleasure; willingly
- wat
- What, some, a little
- bijenwas
- Beeswax; wax produced by honeybees
- kopen
- To buy, to purchase something
- Maar
- But; conjunction indicating contrast
- doe
- Do; imperative or present tense of doen
- jij
- You; emphatic second person singular pronoun
- hier
- Here; indicating this place or location
- beneden
- Below, downstairs, underneath
- Waarom
- Why; interrogative adverb asking for reason
- kom
- Come; imperative or present tense of komen
- je
- You, your; informal second person pronoun
- altijd
- Always, at all times
- door
- Through, by means of; preposition
- raam
- Window; glass opening in a wall
- naar
- To, toward; preposition of direction
- binnen
- Inside, indoors, within
- en
- And; coordinating conjunction
- zeg
- Say; imperative form of zeggen
- begon
- Began; past tense of beginnen
- boos
- Angry, mad, cross
- te
- To; infinitive marker or preposition
- worden
- To become, to get; auxiliary verb
- antwoordde
- Answered, replied; past tense of antwoorden
- met
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment
- geïrriteerd
- Irritated, annoyed, agitated
- piepgeluid
- Squeaking sound, high-pitched noise
- schoof
- Shoved, slid; past tense of schuiven
- gang
- Hallway, corridor inside a building
- in
- In, into; preposition of location
- verdween
- Disappeared, vanished; past tense of verdwijnen
- voorraadkamer
- Pantry, storeroom for food supplies
- die
- That, which, who; relative or demonstrative pronoun
- voor
- For, before, in front of
- eikels
- Acorns; seeds from oak trees
- was
- Was; past tense of zijn
- gebruikt
- Used; past participle of gebruiken
- Kerstmis
- Christmas; Christian holiday on December 25th
- opgegeten
- Eaten up; past participle of opeten
- leeg
- Empty, vacant, containing nothing
- moeten
- Must, have to; modal verb of obligation
- zijn
- To be; infinitive or possessive pronoun
- het
- The, it; neuter definite article or pronoun
- zat
- Sat, was full; past tense of zitten/zitten
- vol
- Full, filled, packed with something
- slordig
- Messy, untidy, careless in appearance
- droog
- Dry, not wet or moist
- mos
- Moss; soft green plant on damp surfaces
- Vol
- Full; adjective indicating no empty space
- Bijennest
- Beehive, bee nest; home of bees
- eruit
- Out of it; directional particle combination
- trekken
- To pull, to draw, to move away
- Drie
- Three; the number 3
- of
- Or; conjunction offering an alternative
- vier
- Four; the number 4
- andere
- Other, different; adjective in inflected form
- bijen
- Bees; plural of bij
- staken
- Stuck out, stopped; past tense of steken/staken
- hun
- Their; third person plural possessive pronoun
- hoofden
- Heads; plural of hoofd
- buiten
- Outside, outdoors, beyond
- zoenden
- Buzzed, hummed; past tense of zoemen
- woest
- Furious, wild, fiercely angry
- ben
- Am; first person present tense of zijn
- er
- There, it; expletive or locative pronoun
- niet
- Not; negation word
- gewend
- Accustomed, used to something
- kamers
- Rooms; plural of kamer
- verhuren
- To rent out, to let rooms or property
- dit
- This; neuter demonstrative pronoun
- inbraak
- Break-in, burglary, unlawful entry
- mevrouw
- Mrs., madam; polite title for a woman
- zal
- Shall, will; future auxiliary verb
- laten
- To let, to allow, to have done
- zetten
- To put, to set, to place something
- vraag
- Question; or ask, present tense of vragen
- me
- Me; first person singular object pronoun
- af
- Off, down; separable verb particle
- wie
- Who; interrogative or relative pronoun
- helpen
- To help, to assist someone
- wil
- Want, wish; present tense of willen
- meneer
- Mr., sir; polite title for a man
- hebben
- To have; infinitive of auxiliary verb
- hij
- He; third person masculine singular pronoun
- veegt
- Sweeps, wipes; present tense of vegen
- nooit
- Never, not ever
- voeten
- Feet; plural of voet
- besloot
- Decided; past tense of besluiten
- tot
- Until, up to, to; preposition
- na
- After, following in time
- eten
- To eat; also meal, food
- zitten
- To sit, to be seated
- Toen
- Then, when; temporal conjunction or adverb
- terugkwam
- Came back; past tense of terugkomen
- salon
- Living room, parlor, sitting room
- hoorde
- Heard; past tense of horen
- iemand
- Someone, somebody; indefinite pronoun
- hoesten
- To cough, to make a coughing sound
- dikke
- Thick, fat; adjective in inflected form
- stem
- Voice; sound produced when speaking
- daar
- There; indicating a distant place
- zelf
- Self, oneself; emphasizing pronoun
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