The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin — Page 2
Then Twinkleberry and the other little squirrels each made a low bow, and said politely--
Puis Twinkleberry et les autres petits écureuils firent chacun une profonde révérence, et dirent poliment :
"Old Mr. Brown, will you favour us with permission to gather nuts upon your island?"
« Vieux M. Brown, voudriez-vous nous accorder la permission de ramasser des noisettes sur votre île ? »
But Nutkin was excessively impertinent in his manners.
Mais Nutkin se montra excessivement impertinent dans ses façons.
He bobbed up and down like a little red cherry, singing--
Il sautillait de haut en bas comme une petite cerise rouge, en chantant :
"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."
« Devine, devine, rot-tot-tote ! Un tout petit bonhomme, en habit rouge vif ! Un bâton en main, et une pierre en gorge ; Si tu me dis cette devinette, je te donne un sou. »
Now this riddle is as old as the hills; Mr. Brown paid no attention whatever to Nutkin.
Or cette devinette est vieille comme le monde ; M. Brown ne prêta aucune attention à Nutkin.
He shut his eyes obstinately and went to sleep.
Il ferma les yeux obstinément et s'endormit.
The squirrels filled their little sacks with nuts, and sailed away home in the evening.
Les écureuils remplirent leurs petits sacs de noisettes, et rentrèrent chez eux en bateau le soir.
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--
Mais le lendemain matin, ils revinrent tous à l'île aux Chouettes ; et Twinkleberry et les autres apportèrent une belle taupe bien grasse, et la déposèrent sur la pierre devant la porte du vieux Brown, et dirent :
"Mr. Brown, will you favour us with your gracious permission to gather some more nuts?"
« M. Brown, voudriez-vous nous accorder votre gracieuse permission de ramasser encore quelques noisettes ? »
But Nutkin, who had no respect, began to dance up and down, tickling old Mr. Brown with a nettle and singing--
Mais Nutkin, qui n'avait aucun respect, se mit à danser en sautillant, chatouillant le vieux M. Brown avec une ortie et chantant :
"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!"
« Vieux M. B ! Devine-devinette ! Hitty Pitty dedans le mur, Hitty Pitty dehors le mur ; Si tu touches Hitty Pitty, Hitty Pitty te mordra ! »
Mr. Brown woke up suddenly and carried the mole into his house.
M. Brown se réveilla brusquement et emporta la taupe dans sa maison.
He shut the door in Nutkin's face.
Il ferma la porte au nez de Nutkin.
Vocabulary
- Puis
- pwee — Then, next; indicates sequence in time
- et
- ay — And; basic coordinating conjunction
- les
- lay — The; definite article for plural nouns
- autres
- oh-truh — Other, others; remaining ones in a group
- petits
- puh-tee — Small, little; plural masculine adjective
- écureuils
- ay-koo-ruh-ee — Squirrels; small bushy-tailed tree-dwelling rodents
- firent
- feer — Did, made; third person plural past historic of faire
- chacun
- sha-kuhn — Each one, every one; singular indefinite pronoun
- une
- oon — A, an; indefinite article for feminine singular nouns
- profonde
- proh-fohnd — Deep, profound; feminine adjective describing depth or intensity
- révérence
- ray-vay-rahns — Bow, curtsy; respectful gesture of greeting or farewell
- dirent
- deer — Said; third person plural past historic of dire
- poliment
- poh-lee-mah — Politely; in a courteous and respectful manner
- Vieux
- vyuh — Old; masculine adjective describing advanced age
- M.
- muh-syuh — Mr.; abbreviated title of respect for a man
- voudriez-vous
- voo-dree-ay voo — Would you like; polite conditional form of vouloir
- nous
- noo — We, us; first person plural pronoun
- accorder
- ah-kor-day — To grant, to give; allow something to someone
- la
- lah — The; definite article for feminine singular nouns
- permission
- pehr-mee-syohn — Permission; authorization to do something
- de
- duh — Of, from; preposition indicating origin or possession
- ramasser
- rah-mah-say — To gather, pick up; collect things from the ground
- des
- day — Some; partitive or plural indefinite article
- noisettes
- nwah-zet — Hazelnuts; small edible nuts from the hazel tree
- sur
- soor — On, upon; preposition indicating location above something
- votre
- voh-truh — Your; possessive adjective for formal or plural address
- île
- eel — Island; land surrounded entirely by water
- Mais
- may — But; coordinating conjunction expressing contrast or opposition
- se
- suh — Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun for third person
- montra
- mohn-trah — Showed, proved; past historic of montrer, to show
- excessivement
- ek-say-seev-mah — Excessively; to an extreme or unreasonable degree
- impertinent
- am-pehr-tee-nah — Impertinent, rude; disrespectfully bold or cheeky in manner
- dans
- dah — In, into; preposition indicating location or inclusion
- ses
- say — His, her, its; possessive adjective for plural nouns
- façons
- fah-sohn — Ways, manners; style or manner of behaving
- Il
- eel — He, it; third person masculine singular subject pronoun
- sautillait
- soh-tee-yay — Was hopping; imperfect of sautiller, to hop about
- haut
- oh — High, up; adjective or adverb indicating upward position
- en
- ah — In, on; preposition indicating manner, material, or location
- bas
- bah — Low, down; adjective or adverb indicating lower position
- comme
- kum — Like, as; conjunction or preposition making comparisons
- petite
- puh-teet — Small, little; feminine singular adjective of smallness
- cerise
- suh-reez — Cherry; small round red or dark fruit of cherry tree
- rouge
- roozh — Red; color adjective describing something of red hue
- chantant
- shahn-tah — Singing; present participle of chanter, to sing
- Devine
- duh-veen — Guess!; imperative of deviner, to guess a riddle
- devine
- duh-veen — Guess; imperative or present tense of deviner
- Un
- uhn — A, one; masculine indefinite article or number one
- tout
- too — All, very, quite; adjective or adverb of totality
- bonhomme
- boh-num — Little fellow, good man; friendly term for a small man
- habit
- ah-bee — Coat, formal dress; item of formal or old-fashioned clothing
- vif
- veef — Lively, bright; vivid or vibrant color or manner
- bâton
- bah-tohn — Stick, rod; long slender rigid piece of wood
- main
- mahn — Hand; part of the body at the end of the arm
- pierre
- pyehr — Stone, rock; hard solid mineral material found in nature
- gorge
- gorzh — Throat; the passage inside the neck for swallowing
- Si
- see — If; conditional conjunction introducing a hypothetical clause
- tu
- too — You; informal second person singular subject pronoun
- me
- muh — Me; first person singular object or reflexive pronoun
- dis
- dee — Tell, say; second person singular present of dire
- cette
- set — This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- devinette
- duh-vee-net — Riddle; a puzzle or question with a tricky answer
- je
- zhuh — I; first person singular subject pronoun
- te
- tuh — You; informal second person singular object pronoun
- donne
- dun — Give; first person singular present of donner
- un
- uhn — A, one; masculine indefinite article or numeral
- sou
- soo — Sou; old French coin of very small monetary value
- Or
- or — Now, but; conjunction introducing a new point or contrast
- est
- ay — Is; third person singular present of être, to be
- vieille
- vyay — Old; feminine adjective describing advanced age
- le
- luh — The; definite article for masculine singular nouns
- monde
- mohnd — World; the earth or all people in general
- ne
- nuh — Not; negative particle used with pas or other negatives
- prêta
- pray-tah — Paid, lent; past historic of prêter, to pay or lend
- aucune
- oh-koon — No, none; feminine negative adjective meaning not any
- attention
- ah-tah-syohn — Attention; the act of noticing or focusing on something
- à
- ah — To, at; preposition indicating direction, location, or purpose
- ferma
- fehr-mah — Closed; past historic of fermer, to close or shut
- yeux
- yuh — Eyes; plural of œil, the organs of sight
- obstinément
- ob-stee-nay-mah — Stubbornly; in a persistent and unyielding manner
- s'endormit
- sahn-dor-mee — Fell asleep; past historic reflexive of s'endormir
- Les
- lay — The; definite article for plural nouns
- remplirent
- rahm-pleer — Filled; past historic of remplir, to fill something up
- leurs
- lur — Their; possessive adjective for plural possession
- sacs
- sak — Bags, sacks; containers made of fabric or other material
- rentrèrent
- rahn-trehr — Returned home; past historic of rentrer, to go back
- chez
- shay — At home of; preposition meaning at someone's place
- eux
- uh — Them; third person masculine plural stress pronoun
- bateau
- bah-toh — Boat; a small watercraft used for travel or transport
- soir
- swahr — Evening; the period of day after afternoon before night
- lendemain
- lahnd-mahn — The next day; the day following a reference point
- matin
- mah-tahn — Morning; the early part of the day before noon
- ils
- eel — They; third person masculine plural subject pronoun
- revinrent
- ruh-vee-nruh — Came back; past historic of revenir, to return
- tous
- too — All; masculine plural adjective or pronoun meaning everyone
- l'
- luh/lah — The; elided definite article before a vowel sound
- aux
- oh — To the, at the; contraction of à and les
- Chouettes
- shwet — Owls; nocturnal birds of prey with large eyes
- apportèrent
- ah-por-tehr — Brought; past historic of apporter, to bring something
- belle
- bel — Beautiful, lovely; feminine adjective of beauty or attractiveness
- taupe
- tohp — Mole; small burrowing mammal with velvety fur
- bien
- byahn — Well, very; adverb indicating quality or degree
- grasse
- grahs — Fat, plump; feminine adjective describing fatness or richness
- déposèrent
- day-poh-zehr — Placed, deposited; past historic of déposer, to set down
- devant
- duh-vah — In front of, before; preposition indicating position ahead
- porte
- port — Door; an entrance or barrier that opens and closes
- du
- doo — Of the; contraction of de and le
- vieux
- vyuh — Old; masculine adjective before vowel or in plural form
- gracieuse
- grah-syuhz — Gracious; feminine adjective meaning elegant and kind
- encore
- ahn-kor — Again, still, yet; adverb indicating repetition or continuity
- quelques
- kel-kuh — Some, a few; indefinite adjective indicating small quantity
- qui
- kee — Who, which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- n'
- nuh — Not; elided negative particle before a vowel sound
- avait
- ah-vay — Had; third person singular imperfect of avoir, to have
- aucun
- oh-kuhn — No, none; masculine negative adjective meaning not any
- respect
- reh-speh — Respect; esteem or consideration shown toward someone
- mit
- mee — Put, began; past historic of mettre, to put or place
- danser
- dahn-say — To dance; to move rhythmically to music
- sautillant
- soh-tee-yah — Hopping; present participle of sautiller, skipping about lightly
- chatouillant
- sha-too-yah — Tickling; present participle of chatouiller, to tickle someone
- avec
- ah-vek — With; preposition expressing accompaniment or means
- ortie
- or-tee — Nettle; a stinging wild plant with irritating hairs
- Devine-devinette
- duh-veen duh-vee-net — Riddle-me-ree; playful phrase introducing a riddle or puzzle
- dedans
- duh-dah — Inside, within; adverb indicating interior location
- mur
- moor — Wall; a vertical structure dividing or enclosing a space
- dehors
- duh-or — Outside; adverb indicating exterior or outer location
- touches
- toosh — Touch; second person singular present of toucher
- mordra
- mor-drah — Will bite; future tense of mordre, to bite
- réveilla
- ray-vay-yah — Woke up; past historic of réveiller, to wake someone
- brusquement
- broos-kuh-mah — Suddenly, abruptly; in a sharp and unexpected manner
- emporta
- ahm-por-tah — Carried off, took away; past historic of emporter
- sa
- sah — His, her, its; possessive adjective for feminine singular noun
- maison
- meh-zohn — House, home; a building where people live
- au
- oh — To the, at the; contraction of à and le
- nez
- nay — Nose; the organ of smell on the face
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →