The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin — Page 2
Then Twinkleberry and the other little squirrels each made a low bow, and said politely--
Da machten Twinkleberry und die anderen kleinen Eichhörnchen eine tiefe Verbeugung und sagten höflich:
"Old Mr. Brown, will you favour us with permission to gather nuts upon your island?"
„Alter Herr Brown, würden Sie uns gnädigerweise erlauben, auf Ihrer Insel Nüsse zu sammeln?"
But Nutkin was excessively impertinent in his manners.
Aber Nutkin benahm sich äußerst unverschämt.
He bobbed up and down like a little red _cherry_, singing--
Er hüpfte auf und ab wie eine kleine rote _Kirsche_ und sang:
"Riddle me, riddle me, rot-tot-tote! A little wee man, in a red red coat! A staff in his hand, and a stone in his throat; If you'll tell me this riddle, I'll give you a groat."
„Rätsel mir, rätsel mir, ritt-tatt-tott! Ein kleines Männlein im roten roten Rock! Ein Stab in der Hand und ein Stein in der Kehle; Wenn du mir dies Rätsel löst, geb ich dir einen Groschen."
Now this riddle is as old as the hills; Mr. Brown paid no attention whatever to Nutkin.
Nun, dieses Rätsel ist uralt; Herr Brown schenkte Nutkin keinerlei Beachtung.
He shut his eyes obstinately and went to sleep.
Er schloss störrisch die Augen und schlief ein.
The squirrels filled their little sacks with nuts, and sailed away home in the evening.
Die Eichhörnchen füllten ihre kleinen Säcke mit Nüssen und segelten am Abend nach Hause.
But next morning they all came back again to Owl Island; and Twinkleberry and the others brought a fine fat mole, and laid it on the stone in front of Old Brown's doorway, and said--
Aber am nächsten Morgen kamen sie alle wieder zur Eulen-Insel; und Twinkleberry und die anderen brachten einen feinen fetten Maulwurf, legten ihn auf den Stein vor Alter Browns Türschwelle und sagten:
"Mr. Brown, will you favour us with your gracious permission to gather some more nuts?"
„Herr Brown, würden Sie uns gnädigerweise Ihre huldvolle Erlaubnis erteilen, noch mehr Nüsse zu sammeln?"
But Nutkin, who had no respect, began to dance up and down, tickling old Mr. Brown with a _nettle_ and singing--
Aber Nutkin, der keinerlei Respekt hatte, begann auf und ab zu tanzen, kitzelte den alten Herrn Brown mit einer _Brennnessel_ und sang:
"Old Mr. B! Riddle-me-ree! Hitty Pitty within the wall, Hitty Pitty without the wall; If you touch Hitty Pitty, Hitty Pitty will bite you!"
„Alter Herr B! Rätsel-mir-ree! Hitty Pitty drinnen in der Wand, Hitty Pitty draußen vor der Wand; Wenn du Hitty Pitty berührst, wird Hitty Pitty dich beißen!"
Mr. Brown woke up suddenly and carried the mole into his house.
Herr Brown erwachte plötzlich und trug den Maulwurf in sein Haus.
He shut the door in Nutkin's face.
Er schlug Nutkin die Tür vor der Nase zu.
Vocabulary
- Da
- There, then; indicates a place or moment
- machten
- Did, made; past tense of 'machen'
- und
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- anderen
- The others; referring to remaining people or things
- kleinen
- Small, little; adjective in declined form
- Eichhörnchen
- Squirrel; small bushy-tailed tree-climbing rodent
- eine
- A, an; indefinite article for feminine nouns
- tiefe
- Deep, low; adjective describing depth or profundity
- Verbeugung
- Bow; a respectful bending forward of the body
- sagten
- Said; past tense plural of 'sagen'
- höflich
- Politely, courteously; in a respectful manner
- Alter
- Old; adjective used as address for elderly person
- Herr
- Mister, sir; formal title of address for men
- würden
- Would; conditional auxiliary verb form
- Sie
- You; formal second-person pronoun
- uns
- Us; first-person plural accusative/dative pronoun
- gnädigerweise
- Graciously, mercifully; in a gracious or kind manner
- erlauben
- To allow, permit; granting permission to someone
- auf
- On, upon; preposition indicating location or direction
- Ihrer
- Your; formal possessive pronoun in genitive form
- Insel
- Island; land surrounded entirely by water
- Nüsse
- Nuts; plural of 'Nuss', hard-shelled edible seeds
- zu
- To, too, at; versatile preposition or infinitive marker
- sammeln
- To collect, gather; bringing things together in one place
- Aber
- But, however; coordinating conjunction showing contrast
- benahm
- Behaved; past tense of 'sich benehmen'
- sich
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
- äußerst
- Extremely, utterly; intensifying adverb at highest degree
- unverschämt
- Impudent, insolent; behaving with shameless rudeness
- Er
- He; third-person masculine singular pronoun
- hüpfte
- Hopped, skipped; past tense of 'hüpfen'
- ab
- Off, away; separable prefix indicating departure
- wie
- Like, as, how; comparison or question word
- rote
- Red; adjective in declined form
- Kirsche
- Cherry; small round red or dark fruit
- sang
- Sang; past tense of 'singen'
- Rätsel
- Riddle, puzzle; enigmatic question or mystery
- mir
- Me, to me; first-person singular dative pronoun
- rätsel
- Guess, riddle; imperative or verb form of 'rätseln'
- ritt
- Rode; past tense of 'reiten', to ride
- Ein
- A, an, one; indefinite article or numeral
- kleines
- Small, little; neuter adjective in declined form
- Männlein
- Little man; diminutive form of 'Mann'
- im
- In the; contraction of 'in dem'
- roten
- Red; adjective in declined dative or accusative form
- Rock
- Coat, skirt; an outer garment worn on the body
- Stab
- Staff, rod, stick; a long slender rigid implement
- in
- In, inside; preposition indicating location within something
- der
- The; definite article for masculine or genitive forms
- Hand
- Hand; the body part at the end of the arm
- ein
- A, one; indefinite article or numeral
- Stein
- Stone, rock; hard solid mineral material
- Kehle
- Throat; the front part of the neck internally
- Wenn
- If, when; conditional or temporal conjunction
- du
- You; informal second-person singular pronoun
- dies
- This; demonstrative pronoun referring to nearby thing
- löst
- Solves; second or third person of 'lösen'
- geb
- Give; informal shortened form of 'gebe'
- ich
- I; first-person singular nominative pronoun
- dir
- You, to you; informal second-person dative pronoun
- einen
- A, one; accusative masculine indefinite article
- Groschen
- Groschen; small old German coin of little value
- Nun
- Now, well; adverb indicating present moment or transition
- dieses
- This; demonstrative pronoun in genitive or neuter form
- ist
- Is; third-person singular present of 'sein'
- uralt
- Ancient, very old; extremely old and long-established
- schenkte
- Gave, gifted; past tense of 'schenken'
- keinerlei
- No kind of, none whatsoever; emphatic negation of any
- Beachtung
- Attention, heed; notice paid to something or someone
- schloss
- Closed, shut; past tense of 'schließen'
- störrisch
- Stubbornly, obstinately; in an uncooperative pigheaded manner
- Augen
- Eyes; plural of 'Auge', organs of sight
- schlief
- Slept; past tense of 'schlafen'
- Die
- The, they; definite article or demonstrative pronoun
- füllten
- Filled; past tense plural of 'füllen'
- ihre
- Their, her; possessive pronoun in declined form
- Säcke
- Sacks, bags; plural of 'Sack', large carrying bags
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or inclusion
- segelten
- Sailed; past tense plural of 'segeln'
- am
- At the, on the; contraction of 'an dem'
- Abend
- Evening; the time of day after afternoon
- nach
- After, to, toward; preposition of direction or time
- Hause
- Home; dative form of 'Haus', one's dwelling
- nächsten
- Next; adjective in declined form meaning following
- Morgen
- Morning; the early part of the day
- kamen
- Came; past tense plural of 'kommen'
- sie
- They, she; third-person pronoun singular or plural
- alle
- All, everyone; referring to an entire group
- wieder
- Again; adverb indicating repetition of an action
- zur
- To the; contraction of 'zu der'
- Eulen
- Owls; plural of 'Eule', nocturnal bird of prey
- brachten
- Brought; past tense plural of 'bringen'
- feinen
- Fine, splendid; adjective in declined accusative form
- fetten
- Fat, plump; adjective in declined accusative form
- Maulwurf
- Mole; small burrowing mammal with velvety fur
- legten
- Laid, placed; past tense plural of 'legen'
- ihn
- Him, it; third-person masculine accusative pronoun
- den
- The; definite article in accusative or dative form
- vor
- Before, in front of; preposition of position or time
- Türschwelle
- Doorstep, threshold; the sill at a door's base
- Ihre
- Your; formal possessive pronoun, capitalized formal form
- huldvolle
- Gracious, benevolent; showing kindly favor or condescension
- Erlaubnis
- Permission; formal authorization to do something
- erteilen
- To grant, issue; giving permission or an instruction officially
- noch
- Still, yet, even; adverb indicating continuation or addition
- mehr
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater quantity
- Respekt
- Respect; esteem and consideration shown toward someone
- hatte
- Had; past tense of 'haben'
- begann
- Began; past tense of 'beginnen'
- tanzen
- To dance; moving rhythmically to music
- kitzelte
- Tickled; past tense of 'kitzeln'
- alten
- Old; adjective in declined dative or accusative form
- Herrn
- Mister, gentleman; accusative/dative form of 'Herr'
- einer
- A, one; indefinite article in dative feminine form
- Brennnessel
- Stinging nettle; plant with fine hairs causing skin irritation
- drinnen
- Inside, indoors; adverb indicating interior location
- Wand
- Wall; an interior vertical surface of a room
- draußen
- Outside, outdoors; adverb indicating exterior location
- berührst
- Touch; second-person singular present of 'berühren'
- wird
- Will, becomes; third-person singular of 'werden'
- dich
- You; informal second-person singular accusative pronoun
- beißen
- To bite; using teeth to cut into something
- erwachte
- Woke up; past tense of 'erwachen'
- plötzlich
- Suddenly, all at once; happening without prior warning
- trug
- Carried, wore; past tense of 'tragen'
- sein
- His, its; possessive pronoun or infinitive 'to be'
- Haus
- House; a building used as a dwelling place
- schlug
- Hit, slammed; past tense of 'schlagen'
- Tür
- Door; a movable barrier in a wall or frame
- Nase
- Nose; the facial organ used for smelling and breathing
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