The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin — Page 6
Old Brown carried Nutkin into his house, and held him up by the tail, intending to skin him; but Nutkin pulled so very hard that his tail broke in two, and he dashed up the staircase and escaped out of the attic window.
Le vieux Brun porta Nutkin dans sa maison, et le tint par la queue, avec l'intention de l'écorcher ; mais Nutkin tira si fort que sa queue se cassa en deux, et il monta l'escalier en courant et s'échappa par la fenêtre du grenier.
And to this day, if you meet Nutkin up a tree and ask him a riddle, he will throw sticks at you, and stamp his feet and scold, and shout--
Et encore aujourd'hui, si vous rencontrez Nutkin perché dans un arbre et que vous lui posez une devinette, il vous lancera des bâtons, tapera des pieds et grognera, et criera --
"Cuck-cuck-cuck-cur-r-r-cuck-k-k!"
« Cuck-cuck-cuck-cur-r-r-cuck-k-k ! »
Vocabulary
- vieux
- Old, aged; describing something or someone of advanced age.
- Brun
- Brown; a color or a proper name meaning brown.
- porta
- Carried or brought; past tense of 'porter'.
- dans
- In, inside; preposition indicating location or time.
- sa
- His, her, its; feminine singular possessive adjective.
- maison
- House, home; a building where people live.
- tint
- Held, kept; past tense of 'tenir'.
- par
- By, through; preposition indicating means or agent.
- queue
- Tail; the rear appendage of an animal.
- avec
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means.
- intention
- Intention, purpose; a plan or aim in mind.
- écorcher
- To skin, flay; to strip the hide from an animal.
- mais
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or opposition.
- tira
- Pulled, tugged; past tense of 'tirer'.
- si
- So, if; adverb of degree or conditional conjunction.
- fort
- Hard, strongly; with great force or intensity.
- se
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun.
- cassa
- Broke, snapped; past tense of 'casser'.
- monta
- Went up, climbed; past tense of 'monter'.
- escalier
- Staircase, stairs; a set of steps inside a building.
- courant
- Running; present participle of 'courir', moving fast.
- échappa
- Escaped, fled; past tense of 'échapper'.
- fenêtre
- Window; an opening in a wall fitted with glass.
- grenier
- Attic, loft; the uppermost storage space of a building.
- encore
- Still, yet, again; adverb indicating continuation or repetition.
- aujourd'hui
- Today; referring to the current day.
- rencontrez
- Meet, encounter; second person plural of 'rencontrer'.
- perché
- Perched; sitting or resting on a high or narrow place.
- arbre
- Tree; a tall woody plant with branches and leaves.
- lui
- Him, her; third person singular indirect object pronoun.
- posez
- Ask, pose; second person plural of 'poser'.
- devinette
- Riddle, puzzle; a question meant to be guessed.
- lancera
- Will throw, launch; future tense of 'lancer'.
- bâtons
- Sticks, clubs; small rod-shaped pieces of wood.
- tapera
- Will tap, hit; future tense of 'taper'.
- pieds
- Feet; the lower extremities used for standing and walking.
- grognera
- Will grunt, grumble; future tense of 'grogner'.
- criera
- Will shout, cry out; future tense of 'crier'.
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