The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin — Page 3
Presently a little thread of blue _smoke_ from a wood fire came up from the top of the tree, and Nutkin peeped through the key-hole and sang--
Bald stieg ein dünnes Fädchen blauem _Rauch_ von einem Holzfeuer aus der Baumkrone auf, und Nüsschen spähte durch das Schlüsselloch und sang:
"A house full, a hole full! And you cannot gather a bowl-full!"
„Ein Haus voll, ein Loch voll! Und eine Schüssel voll kannst du nicht sammeln!"
The squirrels searched for nuts all over the island and filled their little sacks.
Die Eichhörnchen suchten auf der ganzen Insel nach Nüssen und füllten ihre kleinen Säcke.
But Nutkin gathered oak-apples--yellow and scarlet--and sat upon a beech-stump playing marbles, and watching the door of old Mr. Brown.
Aber Nüsschen sammelte Galläpfel – gelbe und scharlachrote – und saß auf einem Buchenstumpf, spielte Murmeln und beobachtete die Tür des alten Herrn Braun.
On the third day the squirrels got up very early and went fishing; they caught seven fat minnows as a present for Old Brown.
Am dritten Tag standen die Eichhörnchen sehr früh auf und gingen angeln; sie fingen sieben fette Elritzen als Geschenk für den alten Braun.
They paddled over the lake and landed under a crooked chestnut tree on Owl Island.
Sie paddelten über den See und landeten unter einem krummen Kastanienbaum auf der Euselinsel.
Twinkleberry and six other little squirrels each carried a fat minnow; but Nutkin, who had no nice manners, brought no present at all.
Funkelbeere und sechs andere kleine Eichhörnchen trugen je eine fette Elritze; aber Nüsschen, der keine guten Manieren hatte, brachte überhaupt kein Geschenk mit.
He ran in front, singing--
Er lief voraus und sang:
"The man in the wilderness said to me, 'How many strawberries grow in the sea?' I answered him as I thought good-- 'As many red herrings as grow in the wood.'"
„Der Mann in der Wildnis sagte zu mir: ‚Wie viele Erdbeeren wachsen im Meer?' Ich antwortete ihm, wie es mir gut schien: ‚So viele Heringe, wie im Wald wachsen.'
But old Mr. Brown took no interest in riddles--not even when the answer was provided for him.
Aber der alte Herr Braun zeigte kein Interesse an Rätseln – nicht einmal dann, wenn die Antwort bereits für ihn geliefert wurde.
On the fourth day the squirrels brought a present of six fat beetles, which were as good as plums in _plum-pudding_ for Old Brown.
Am vierten Tag brachten die Eichhörnchen ein Geschenk von sechs fetten Käfern, die für den alten Braun so gut waren wie Pflaumen im _Pflaumenpudding_.
Each beetle was wrapped up carefully in a dock-leaf, fastened with a pine-needle pin.
Jeder Käfer war sorgfältig in ein Ampferblatt gewickelt und mit einer Kiefernnadel als Stecknadel befestigt.
But Nutkin sang as rudely as ever-- "Old Mr. B!
Aber Nüsschen sang so unhöflich wie eh und je: „Alter Herr B!
Vocabulary
- Bald
- Soon; in a short time from now
- stieg
- Rose, climbed; past tense of steigen
- ein
- A, an; indefinite article or prefix meaning 'in'
- dünnes
- Thin, slender; adjective describing something of little thickness
- Fädchen
- Little thread; diminutive form of Faden
- blauem
- Blue; dative inflected form of blau
- Rauch
- Smoke; visible gas produced by burning material
- von
- From, of, by; common German preposition
- einem
- A, an; dative form of indefinite article ein
- Holzfeuer
- Wood fire; a fire burning with wood as fuel
- aus
- Out of, from; preposition indicating origin or exit
- der
- The; definite article, masculine nominative or genitive plural
- Baumkrone
- Treetop, tree crown; the upper foliage of a tree
- auf
- On, onto, up; versatile German preposition
- und
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- Nüsschen
- Little nut; diminutive of Nuss, small nut
- spähte
- Peeped, spied; past tense of spähen, to peer
- durch
- Through; preposition indicating movement or passage
- das
- The; neuter definite article or relative pronoun
- Schlüsselloch
- Keyhole; the hole in a lock for a key
- sang
- Sang; past tense of singen, to sing
- Ein
- A, one; indefinite article or numeral
- Haus
- House; a building used as a dwelling
- voll
- Full of; adjective meaning filled or packed with something
- Loch
- Hole; an opening or gap in a surface
- Und
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- eine
- A, one; feminine indefinite article
- Schüssel
- Bowl, dish; a deep rounded container for food
- kannst
- Can; second person singular of können, to be able
- du
- You; informal second person singular pronoun
- nicht
- Not; basic negation word in German
- sammeln
- To collect, gather; to bring things together
- Die
- The; feminine or plural definite article
- Eichhörnchen
- Squirrel; small bushy-tailed tree-climbing rodent
- suchten
- Searched, looked for; past tense of suchen
- ganzen
- Whole, entire; inflected form of ganz
- Insel
- Island; a piece of land surrounded by water
- nach
- After, to, for; preposition with various meanings
- Nüssen
- Nuts; dative plural of Nuss
- füllten
- Filled; past tense of füllen, to fill something
- ihre
- Their, her; possessive pronoun third person
- kleinen
- Small, little; inflected form of klein
- Säcke
- Sacks, bags; plural of Sack, a large carrying bag
- Aber
- But; coordinating conjunction expressing contrast
- sammelte
- Collected, gathered; past tense of sammeln
- gelbe
- Yellow; inflected form of gelb describing color
- scharlachrote
- Scarlet red; bright crimson or vivid red in color
- saß
- Sat; past tense of sitzen, to sit
- spielte
- Played; past tense of spielen, to play
- Murmeln
- Marbles; small glass balls used as toys in games
- beobachtete
- Observed, watched; past tense of beobachten
- die
- The; feminine or plural definite article
- Tür
- Door; a movable barrier closing an entrance
- des
- Of the; genitive masculine or neuter definite article
- alten
- Old; inflected form of alt in dative or genitive
- Herrn
- Mister, gentleman; genitive or dative form of Herr
- Braun
- Brown; a surname or the color brown
- Am
- On the, at the; contraction of an dem
- dritten
- Third; ordinal number, inflected form of dritte
- Tag
- Day; a 24-hour period of time
- standen
- Stood; past tense of stehen, to stand
- sehr
- Very; adverb intensifying adjectives or other adverbs
- früh
- Early; at an early hour or early in the morning
- gingen
- Went; past tense of gehen, to go or walk
- angeln
- To fish, go fishing; to catch fish with a rod
- sie
- They, she; third person pronoun singular or plural
- fingen
- Caught; past tense of fangen, to catch
- sieben
- Seven; the number 7
- fette
- Fat, plump; inflected form of fett
- als
- As, when, than; conjunction used in comparisons or time
- Geschenk
- Gift, present; something given to another person
- für
- For; preposition indicating purpose or recipient
- den
- The; accusative masculine or dative plural definite article
- Sie
- They, you; formal pronoun or third person plural
- paddelten
- Paddled; past tense of paddeln, to paddle a boat
- über
- Over, across, about; preposition with various meanings
- See
- Lake; an inland body of standing water
- landeten
- Landed; past tense of landen, to arrive ashore
- unter
- Under, below, among; preposition indicating position
- krummen
- Crooked, bent; inflected form of krumm
- Kastanienbaum
- Chestnut tree; a large deciduous tree bearing chestnuts
- sechs
- Six; the number 6
- andere
- Other, others; adjective or pronoun indicating difference
- kleine
- Small, little; inflected form of klein
- trugen
- Carried, bore; past tense of tragen
- je
- Each, ever; adverb meaning each one or at any time
- aber
- But, however; coordinating conjunction showing contrast
- keine
- No, none; negative article meaning not any
- guten
- Good; inflected form of gut in dative or accusative
- Manieren
- Manners; polite social behavior and etiquette
- hatte
- Had; past tense of haben, to have
- brachte
- Brought; past tense of bringen, to bring
- überhaupt
- At all, in general; adverb emphasizing negation or generality
- kein
- No, not a; negative indefinite article
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or inclusion
- Er
- He; third person masculine singular pronoun
- lief
- Ran, walked; past tense of laufen, to run
- voraus
- Ahead, in advance; adverb meaning in front or beforehand
- Der
- The; masculine definite article in nominative case
- Mann
- Man; an adult male person
- in
- In, into; preposition indicating location or direction
- Wildnis
- Wilderness; wild, uncultivated natural land
- sagte
- Said; past tense of sagen, to say or tell
- zu
- To, too, at; preposition or infinitive marker
- mir
- Me, to me; dative form of ich
- Wie
- How, like, as; interrogative or comparative adverb
- viele
- Many, how many; adjective or pronoun indicating quantity
- Erdbeeren
- Strawberries; red sweet fruits grown low to the ground
- wachsen
- To grow; to increase in size or develop naturally
- im
- In the; contraction of in dem
- Meer
- Sea, ocean; a large body of salt water
- Ich
- I; first person singular nominative pronoun
- antwortete
- Answered, replied; past tense of antworten
- ihm
- Him, to him; dative form of er
- wie
- How, as, like; conjunction or interrogative adverb
- es
- It; third person neuter singular pronoun
- gut
- Good, well; adjective or adverb meaning favorable
- schien
- Seemed, shone; past tense of scheinen
- So
- So, thus, in that way; adverb of manner or degree
- Heringe
- Herrings; small oily ocean fish often eaten smoked
- Wald
- Forest, woods; a large area covered with trees
- alte
- Old; inflected nominative form of alt
- Herr
- Mister, lord, gentleman; formal title for a man
- zeigte
- Showed, demonstrated; past tense of zeigen
- Interesse
- Interest; curiosity or concern about something
- an
- At, on, to; preposition indicating position or direction
- Rätseln
- Riddles, puzzles; dative plural of Rätsel
- einmal
- Once, one time; adverb meaning a single occurrence
- dann
- Then, at that time; adverb of time or consequence
- wenn
- When, if; subordinating conjunction of time or condition
- Antwort
- Answer, reply; a response to a question or riddle
- bereits
- Already; adverb indicating something has happened before
- ihn
- Him; accusative form of er, third person masculine
- geliefert
- Delivered, supplied; past participle of liefern
- wurde
- Was, became; past tense auxiliary of werden
- vierten
- Fourth; ordinal number, inflected form of vierte
- brachten
- Brought; past tense plural of bringen, to bring
- fetten
- Fat, plump; inflected dative or accusative form of fett
- Käfern
- Beetles; dative plural of Käfer, a beetle insect
- so
- So, thus, like this; adverb of manner or degree
- waren
- Were; past tense plural of sein, to be
- Pflaumen
- Plums; dark oval sweet fruits with a stone inside
- Jeder
- Every, each; indefinite pronoun or determiner
- Käfer
- Beetle; a hard-shelled insect of the order Coleoptera
- war
- Was; past tense singular of sein, to be
- sorgfältig
- Carefully, thoroughly; done with great attention and care
- gewickelt
- Wrapped; past participle of wickeln, to wrap or wind
- einer
- A, one; dative or genitive feminine indefinite article
- Stecknadel
- Pin; a thin pointed metal fastener used in sewing
- befestigt
- Attached, fastened; past participle of befestigen
- unhöflich
- Rude, impolite; lacking good manners or courtesy
- eh
- Anyway, before; colloquial adverb meaning regardless
- Alter
- Age, old man; noun meaning age or informal term for fellow
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