The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin — Page 4
riddle-me-ree
Rätsel-mir-ree
Flour of England, fruit of Spain,
Mehl aus England, Frucht aus Spanien,
Met together in a shower of rain;
Trafen sich zusammen in einem Regenschauer;
Put in a bag tied round with a string,
In einen Beutel gesteckt, mit einer Schnur umgebunden,
If you'll tell me this riddle, I'll give you a ring!"
Wenn du mir dieses Rätsel löst, gebe ich dir einen Ring!"
Which was ridiculous of Nutkin, because he had not got any ring to give to Old Brown.
Was von Nutkin lächerlich war, denn er hatte keinen Ring, den er Altem Braun hätte geben können.
The other squirrels hunted up and down the nut bushes; but Nutkin gathered robin's pincushions off a briar bush, and stuck them full of pine-needle pins.
Die anderen Eichhörnchen suchten die Nusssträucher auf und ab ab; aber Nutkin sammelte Rotkehlchen-Nadelkissen von einem Dornenbusch und steckte sie voller Kiefernnadeln.
On the fifth day the squirrels brought a present of wild honey; it was so sweet and sticky that they licked their fingers as they put it down upon the stone.
Am fünften Tag brachten die Eichhörnchen wilden Honig als Geschenk; er war so süß und klebrig, dass sie sich die Finger leckten, als sie ihn auf den Stein legten.
They had stolen it out of a bumble bees' nest on the tippitty top of the hill.
Sie hatten ihn aus einem Hummelnnest auf der allerhöchsten Spitze des Hügels gestohlen.
But Nutkin skipped up and down, singing--
Aber Nutkin hüpfte auf und ab und sang:
"Hum-a-bum! buzz! buzz! Hum-a-bum buzz!
„Brumm-brumm! summ! summ! Brumm-brumm summ!
As I went over Tipple-tine
Als ich über Tipple-tine ging
I met a flock of bonny swine;
Traf ich eine Herde schöner Schweine;
Some yellow-nacked, some yellow backed!
Manche gelbgenackt, manche gelbgerückt!
They were the very bonniest swine
Sie waren die allerschönsten Schweine
That e'er went over Tipple-tine."
Die je über Tipple-tine gingen."
Old Mr. Brown turned up his eyes in disgust at the impertinence of Nutkin.
Alter Herr Braun verdrehte die Augen vor Ekel über die Unverschämtheit von Nutkin.
But he ate up the honey!
Aber er fraß den Honig auf!
The squirrels filled their little sacks with nuts.
Die Eichhörnchen füllten ihre kleinen Säcke mit Nüssen.
But Nutkin sat upon a big flat rock, and played ninepins with a crab apple and green fir-cones.
Aber Nutkin saß auf einem großen flachen Felsen und spielte Kegel mit einem Holzapfel und grünen Tannenzapfen.
On the sixth day, which was Saturday, the squirrels came again for the last time; they brought a new-laid egg in a little rush basket as a last parting present for Old Brown.
Am sechsten Tag, der ein Samstag war, kamen die Eichhörnchen ein letztes Mal wieder; sie brachten ein frisch gelegtes Ei in einem kleinen Binsenkörbchen als letztes Abschiedsgeschenk für Alten Braun.
Vocabulary
- Rätsel
- A puzzle or riddle requiring a clever solution
- mir
- Dative pronoun meaning 'to me' or 'me'
- Mehl
- Finely ground grain powder used for baking
- aus
- Preposition meaning 'from' or 'out of'
- England
- Country in northwestern Europe, part of Britain
- Frucht
- Edible product of a plant, typically sweet
- Spanien
- Country on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe
- Trafen
- Past tense of 'treffen', meaning 'met' or 'encountered'
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'themselves' or 'each other'
- zusammen
- Adverb meaning 'together' or 'jointly'
- in
- Preposition indicating location or time, meaning 'in'
- einem
- Indefinite article in dative case, meaning 'a/an'
- Regenschauer
- A brief sudden fall of rain; a shower
- In
- Preposition indicating location or time, meaning 'in'
- einen
- Indefinite article in accusative case, meaning 'a/an'
- Beutel
- A small bag or pouch for carrying things
- gesteckt
- Past participle of 'stecken', meaning 'placed' or 'put inside'
- mit
- Preposition meaning 'with' indicating accompaniment
- einer
- Indefinite article in dative feminine, meaning 'a/an'
- Schnur
- A thin cord or string used for tying things
- umgebunden
- Past participle meaning 'tied around' something securely
- Wenn
- Conjunction meaning 'if' or 'when' in conditionals
- du
- Informal second-person singular pronoun meaning 'you'
- dieses
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' in neuter form
- löst
- Third-person singular present of 'lösen', meaning 'solves'
- gebe
- First-person singular subjunctive of 'geben', meaning 'give'
- ich
- First-person singular pronoun meaning 'I'
- dir
- Dative second-person singular pronoun meaning 'to you'
- Ring
- A circular band worn as jewelry or decoration
- Was
- Interrogative or relative pronoun meaning 'what'
- von
- Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'by'
- lächerlich
- Adjective meaning ridiculous, absurd, or laughable
- war
- Past tense of 'sein', meaning 'was'
- denn
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for' explaining reason
- er
- Third-person masculine singular pronoun meaning 'he'
- hatte
- Past tense of 'haben', meaning 'had'
- keinen
- Negative article in accusative case, meaning 'no' or 'none'
- den
- Definite article in accusative or dative plural case
- Altem
- Dative form of 'alt', referring to an old one
- hätte
- Subjunctive past of 'haben', meaning 'would have'
- geben
- Infinitive verb meaning 'to give' something to someone
- können
- Modal verb meaning 'to be able to' or 'can'
- Die
- Definite article for feminine or plural nouns, meaning 'the'
- anderen
- Adjective meaning 'other' or 'the rest of them'
- Eichhörnchen
- Small bushy-tailed rodent that climbs trees; squirrel
- suchten
- Past tense of 'suchen', meaning 'searched' or 'looked for'
- die
- Definite article for feminine or plural nouns, meaning 'the'
- Nusssträucher
- Nut-bearing bushes or shrubs found in forests
- auf
- Preposition meaning 'on', 'upon', or 'up'
- und
- Conjunction meaning 'and', connecting words or clauses
- ab
- Adverb or prefix meaning 'off', 'down', or 'away'
- aber
- Conjunction meaning 'but' indicating contrast or exception
- sammelte
- Past tense of 'sammeln', meaning 'collected' or 'gathered'
- Rotkehlchen
- Small bird with red breast; a robin
- Nadelkissen
- A small cushion used for sticking sewing needles into
- Dornenbusch
- A thorny bush or briar with sharp spines
- steckte
- Past tense of 'stecken', meaning 'stuck' or 'inserted'
- sie
- Third-person pronoun meaning 'she', 'they', or 'them'
- voller
- Adjective meaning 'full of' indicating abundance
- Kiefernnadeln
- Needle-like leaves from pine trees; pine needles
- Am
- Contraction of 'an dem', meaning 'on the'
- fünften
- Ordinal number meaning 'fifth' in a sequence
- Tag
- A period of 24 hours; a day
- brachten
- Past tense of 'bringen', meaning 'brought' something along
- wilden
- Inflected form of 'wild', meaning 'wild' or 'untamed'
- Honig
- Sweet sticky substance produced by bees; honey
- als
- Conjunction meaning 'as', 'when', or 'than'
- Geschenk
- An item given to someone as a present or gift
- so
- Adverb meaning 'so', 'thus', or 'as such'
- süß
- Adjective meaning sweet in taste or appearance
- klebrig
- Adjective meaning sticky, tacky, or adhesive in texture
- dass
- Subordinating conjunction meaning 'that' introducing a clause
- Finger
- One of the five digits on a human hand
- leckten
- Past tense of 'lecken', meaning 'licked' something clean
- ihn
- Accusative third-person masculine pronoun meaning 'him'
- Stein
- A hard solid mineral material; a rock or stone
- legten
- Past tense of 'legen', meaning 'placed' or 'laid down'
- Sie
- Third-person plural or formal second-person pronoun meaning 'they/you'
- hatten
- Past tense plural of 'haben', meaning 'had'
- Hummelnnest
- A nest belonging to bumblebees; bumblebee nest
- der
- Definite article for masculine or genitive feminine nouns
- allerhöchsten
- Superlative meaning 'the very highest' or 'topmost'
- Spitze
- The pointed top or tip of something elevated
- des
- Genitive definite article meaning 'of the'
- Hügels
- Genitive form of 'Hügel', meaning 'of the hill'
- gestohlen
- Past participle of 'stehlen', meaning 'stolen' by someone
- Aber
- Conjunction meaning 'but', introducing a contrasting idea
- hüpfte
- Past tense of 'hüpfen', meaning 'hopped' or 'skipped'
- sang
- Past tense of 'singen', meaning 'sang' a song
- Als
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'as' in past contexts
- über
- Preposition meaning 'over', 'above', or 'across'
- ging
- Past tense of 'gehen', meaning 'went' or 'walked'
- Traf
- Past tense of 'treffen', meaning 'met' or 'encountered'
- eine
- Indefinite article feminine nominative meaning 'a/an'
- Herde
- A group of animals moving or kept together; herd
- schöner
- Comparative or inflected form of 'schön', meaning 'beautiful'
- Schweine
- Plural of 'Schwein', meaning pigs or swine
- Manche
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'some' or 'certain ones'
- manche
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'some' referring to a group
- waren
- Past tense plural of 'sein', meaning 'were'
- allerschönsten
- Absolute superlative meaning 'the most beautiful of all'
- je
- Adverb meaning 'ever' or 'each' in context
- gingen
- Past tense plural of 'gehen', meaning 'went' or 'walked'
- Alter
- Noun or adjective meaning 'old man' or 'elder'
- Herr
- Noun meaning 'mister', 'sir', or 'gentleman'
- verdrehte
- Past tense of 'verdrehen', meaning 'rolled' or 'twisted'
- Augen
- Plural of 'Auge', meaning eyes on a face
- vor
- Preposition meaning 'before', 'in front of', or 'from'
- Ekel
- Strong feeling of disgust or revulsion toward something
- Unverschämtheit
- Noun meaning impertinence, impudence, or brazen rudeness
- fraß
- Past tense of 'fressen', meaning animals 'ate' greedily
- füllten
- Past tense of 'füllen', meaning 'filled' something up
- ihre
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'their' or 'her'
- kleinen
- Inflected form of 'klein', meaning 'small' or 'little'
- Säcke
- Plural of 'Sack', meaning bags or sacks for storage
- Nüssen
- Dative plural of 'Nuss', meaning nuts as food
- saß
- Past tense of 'sitzen', meaning 'sat' in a place
- großen
- Inflected form of 'groß', meaning 'large' or 'big'
- flachen
- Inflected form of 'flach', meaning 'flat' or 'level'
- Felsen
- A large rock or cliff face in nature
- spielte
- Past tense of 'spielen', meaning 'played' a game
- Kegel
- A cone shape or skittles pins used in bowling
- Holzapfel
- A wild crab apple; small sour apple from nature
- grünen
- Inflected form of 'grün', meaning 'green' in color
- Tannenzapfen
- A cone from a fir or pine tree; pinecone
- sechsten
- Ordinal number meaning 'sixth' in a sequence
- ein
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an' in German
- Samstag
- The sixth day of the week; Saturday
- kamen
- Past tense plural of 'kommen', meaning 'came' or 'arrived'
- letztes
- Adjective meaning 'last' or 'final' in a sequence
- Mal
- Noun meaning 'time' as in an instance or occasion
- wieder
- Adverb meaning 'again' or 'once more'
- frisch
- Adjective meaning fresh, newly made, or not stale
- gelegtes
- Inflected past participle of 'legen', meaning 'freshly laid'
- Ei
- An oval object laid by a bird; an egg
- Binsenkörbchen
- A small basket woven from rushes or reeds
- Abschiedsgeschenk
- A farewell gift given when saying goodbye to someone
- für
- Preposition meaning 'for' indicating purpose or recipient
- Alten
- Accusative or dative form of 'alt', meaning 'the old one'
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