The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin — Page 2
Then Twinkleberry and the other little squirrels each made a low bow, and said politely--
Entonces Twinkleberry y las otras ardillitas hicieron cada una una reverencia, y dijeron cortésmente:
"Old Mr. Brown, will you favour us with permission to gather nuts upon your island?"
«El señor Brown, ¿nos concedería usted el permiso de recoger nueces en su isla?»
But Nutkin was excessively impertinent in his manners.
Pero Nutkin era sumamente impertinente en sus modales.
He bobbed up and down like a little red _cherry_, singing--
Saltaba de arriba abajo como una pequeña _cereza_ roja, cantando:
"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."
«¡Adivina, adivina, adivinanza! ¡Un hombrecillo con un abrigo muy rojo! Un bastón en la mano y una piedra en la garganta; si me dices este acertijo, te daré una moneda.»
Now this riddle is as old as the hills; Mr. Brown paid no attention whatever to Nutkin.
Pues bien, este acertijo es tan viejo como el mundo; el señor Brown no prestó ninguna atención a Nutkin.
He shut his eyes obstinately and went to sleep.
Cerró los ojos obstinadamente y se durmió.
The squirrels filled their little sacks with nuts, and sailed away home in the evening.
Las ardillas llenaron sus pequeños sacos de nueces y se marcharon a casa al atardecer.
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--
Pero a la mañana siguiente todos regresaron a la Isla del Búho; y Twinkleberry y los demás trajeron un topo gordo y hermoso, y lo colocaron sobre la piedra frente a la entrada del viejo Brown, y dijeron:
"Mr. Brown, will you favour us with your gracious permission to gather some more nuts?"
«Señor Brown, ¿nos concedería usted su amable permiso para recoger más nueces?»
But Nutkin, who had no respect, began to dance up and down, tickling old Mr. Brown with a _nettle_ and singing--
Pero Nutkin, que no tenía ningún respeto, comenzó a saltar de arriba abajo, haciendo cosquillas al viejo señor Brown con una _ortiga_ y cantando:
"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!"
«¡El viejo señor B! ¡Adivina si puedes! Hitty Pitty dentro de la pared, Hitty Pitty fuera de la pared; ¡si tocas a Hitty Pitty, Hitty Pitty te morderá!»
Mr. Brown woke up suddenly and carried the mole into his house.
El señor Brown se despertó de repente y llevó el topo a su casa.
He shut the door in Nutkin's face.
Le cerró la puerta en las narices a Nutkin.
Vocabulary
- Entonces
- Used to indicate sequence or consequence; meaning 'then' or 'so'
- y
- Basic conjunction meaning 'and', connecting words or phrases
- las
- Definite article, feminine plural, meaning 'the'
- otras
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'other' or 'the others'
- ardillitas
- Diminutive plural of 'ardilla', meaning 'little squirrels'
- hicieron
- Third person plural preterite of 'hacer', meaning 'they did/made'
- cada
- Adjective meaning 'each' or 'every', used before nouns
- una
- Indefinite article or numeral, feminine singular, meaning 'a' or 'one'
- reverencia
- A bow or curtsy made as a sign of respect
- dijeron
- Third person plural preterite of 'decir', meaning 'they said'
- cortésmente
- Adverb meaning 'politely' or 'courteously' in manner
- El
- Definite article, masculine singular, meaning 'the'
- señor
- Respectful title for a man, meaning 'mister' or 'sir'
- nos
- First person plural object pronoun meaning 'us' or 'to us'
- concedería
- Conditional form of 'conceder', meaning 'would grant' or 'would allow'
- usted
- Formal second person singular pronoun meaning 'you'
- el
- Definite article, masculine singular, meaning 'the'
- permiso
- Noun meaning 'permission' or 'authorization' to do something
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'about' in Spanish
- recoger
- Verb meaning 'to pick up', 'to gather', or 'to collect'
- nueces
- Plural of 'nuez', meaning 'nuts', especially walnuts
- en
- Preposition meaning 'in', 'on', or 'at' in Spanish
- su
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', 'your', or 'their'
- isla
- Noun meaning 'island', a land mass surrounded by water
- Pero
- Conjunction meaning 'but', introducing a contrasting idea
- era
- Third person singular imperfect of 'ser', meaning 'was'
- sumamente
- Adverb meaning 'extremely' or 'highly', intensifying an adjective
- impertinente
- Adjective meaning 'impertinent', rude or disrespectful in behavior
- sus
- Plural possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'their'
- modales
- Plural noun meaning 'manners', referring to social behavior
- Saltaba
- Third person singular imperfect of 'saltar', meaning 'was jumping'
- arriba
- Adverb meaning 'up' or 'above', indicating upward direction
- abajo
- Adverb meaning 'down' or 'below', indicating downward direction
- como
- Conjunction or preposition meaning 'like', 'as', or 'how'
- pequeña
- Feminine adjective meaning 'small' or 'little' in size
- _cereza_
- Noun meaning 'cherry', a small round red or dark fruit
- roja
- Feminine adjective meaning 'red', describing color of something
- cantando
- Gerund of 'cantar', meaning 'singing', ongoing vocal activity
- Adivina
- Imperative of 'adivinar', meaning 'guess!' as a command
- adivinanza
- Noun meaning 'riddle' or 'puzzle', a question requiring clever answer
- Un
- Indefinite article, masculine singular, meaning 'a' or 'one'
- hombrecillo
- Diminutive of 'hombre', meaning 'little man' affectionately or mockingly
- con
- Preposition meaning 'with', indicating accompaniment or possession
- un
- Indefinite article, masculine singular, meaning 'a' or 'one'
- abrigo
- Noun meaning 'coat' or 'overcoat', a warm outer garment
- muy
- Adverb meaning 'very', used to intensify adjectives or adverbs
- rojo
- Masculine adjective meaning 'red', describing color of something
- bastón
- Noun meaning 'cane' or 'walking stick', used for support
- la
- Definite article or pronoun, feminine singular, meaning 'the' or 'her'
- mano
- Noun meaning 'hand', the body part at the end of the arm
- piedra
- Noun meaning 'stone' or 'rock', a solid mineral material
- garganta
- Noun meaning 'throat', the passage inside the front of the neck
- si
- Conjunction meaning 'if', introducing a conditional clause
- me
- First person singular object pronoun meaning 'me' or 'to me'
- dices
- Second person singular present of 'decir', meaning 'you say/tell'
- este
- Masculine singular demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'this'
- acertijo
- Noun meaning 'riddle' or 'puzzle', a question with a tricky answer
- te
- Second person singular object pronoun meaning 'you' or 'to you'
- daré
- First person singular future of 'dar', meaning 'I will give'
- moneda
- Noun meaning 'coin' or 'currency', a piece of metal money
- Pues
- Conjunction or filler meaning 'well', 'since', or 'then'
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well' or 'good', indicating satisfactory manner
- es
- Third person singular present of 'ser', meaning 'is'
- tan
- Adverb meaning 'so' or 'as', used in comparisons or intensifying
- viejo
- Adjective meaning 'old', referring to age of a person or thing
- mundo
- Noun meaning 'world', referring to the earth or society generally
- no
- Negation word meaning 'no' or 'not', used to deny or refuse
- prestó
- Third person singular preterite of 'prestar', meaning 'paid' or 'lent'
- ninguna
- Feminine indefinite pronoun or adjective meaning 'none' or 'no'
- atención
- Noun meaning 'attention', the act of focusing one's mind
- a
- Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'by' in various contexts
- Cerró
- Third person singular preterite of 'cerrar', meaning 'he/she closed'
- los
- Definite article, masculine plural, meaning 'the'
- ojos
- Plural noun meaning 'eyes', the organs used for seeing
- obstinadamente
- Adverb meaning 'stubbornly' or 'obstinately', refusing to change
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive or pronominal verbs
- durmió
- Third person singular preterite of 'dormir', meaning 'fell asleep'
- Las
- Definite article, feminine plural, meaning 'the'
- ardillas
- Plural noun meaning 'squirrels', small bushy-tailed tree-climbing rodents
- llenaron
- Third person plural preterite of 'llenar', meaning 'they filled'
- pequeños
- Masculine plural adjective meaning 'small' or 'little' in size
- sacos
- Plural noun meaning 'sacks' or 'bags', used to carry things
- marcharon
- Third person plural preterite of 'marchar', meaning 'they marched/left'
- casa
- Noun meaning 'house' or 'home', a place where people live
- al
- Contraction of 'a' and 'el', meaning 'to the'
- atardecer
- Noun meaning 'dusk' or 'evening', time when sun sets
- mañana
- Noun or adverb meaning 'morning' or 'tomorrow' in Spanish
- siguiente
- Adjective meaning 'following' or 'next', referring to what comes after
- todos
- Masculine plural adjective or pronoun meaning 'all' or 'everyone'
- regresaron
- Third person plural preterite of 'regresar', meaning 'they returned'
- Isla
- Noun meaning 'island', land surrounded entirely by water
- del
- Contraction of 'de' and 'el', meaning 'of the'
- Búho
- Noun meaning 'owl', a nocturnal bird known for wisdom
- demás
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'the rest' or 'the others'
- trajeron
- Third person plural preterite of 'traer', meaning 'they brought'
- topo
- Noun meaning 'mole', a small burrowing mammal with velvety fur
- gordo
- Adjective meaning 'fat' or 'plump', describing a large round body
- hermoso
- Adjective meaning 'beautiful' or 'handsome', very attractive in appearance
- lo
- Third person masculine singular object pronoun meaning 'him' or 'it'
- colocaron
- Third person plural preterite of 'colocar', meaning 'they placed/positioned'
- sobre
- Preposition meaning 'on', 'over', or 'about' in Spanish
- frente
- Noun meaning 'forehead' or 'front', the forward-facing part
- entrada
- Noun meaning 'entrance' or 'entry', a way into a place
- Señor
- Respectful title for a man, meaning 'mister', 'sir', or 'lord'
- amable
- Adjective meaning 'kind' or 'friendly', pleasant in manner toward others
- para
- Preposition meaning 'for', 'in order to', or 'by' a deadline
- más
- Adverb meaning 'more', used in comparisons or to show greater degree
- que
- Conjunction or relative pronoun meaning 'that', 'which', or 'than'
- tenía
- Third person singular imperfect of 'tener', meaning 'had' or 'was having'
- ningún
- Masculine indefinite adjective meaning 'no' or 'none', before nouns
- respeto
- Noun meaning 'respect', a feeling of admiration or deference
- comenzó
- Third person singular preterite of 'comenzar', meaning 'he/she began'
- saltar
- Infinitive verb meaning 'to jump' or 'to leap' over something
- haciendo
- Gerund of 'hacer', meaning 'doing' or 'making', ongoing action
- cosquillas
- Plural noun meaning 'tickles', the sensation of being tickled
- _ortiga_
- Noun meaning 'nettle', a stinging wild plant with serrated leaves
- puedes
- Second person singular present of 'poder', meaning 'you can'
- dentro
- Adverb or preposition meaning 'inside' or 'within' a space
- pared
- Noun meaning 'wall', a vertical structure enclosing a space
- fuera
- Adverb meaning 'outside' or 'out', indicating position beyond a boundary
- tocas
- Second person singular present of 'tocar', meaning 'you touch'
- morderá
- Third person singular future of 'morder', meaning 'it will bite'
- despertó
- Third person singular preterite of 'despertar', meaning 'woke up'
- repente
- Used in phrase 'de repente', meaning 'suddenly' or 'all at once'
- llevó
- Third person singular preterite of 'llevar', meaning 'took' or 'carried'
- Le
- Third person singular indirect object pronoun meaning 'to him/her'
- cerró
- Third person singular preterite of 'cerrar', meaning 'closed' or 'shut'
- puerta
- Noun meaning 'door', a movable barrier for closing an opening
- narices
- Plural of 'nariz', meaning 'nostrils' or colloquially 'nose'
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