The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin — Page 2
Then Twinkleberry and the other little squirrels each made a low bow, and said politely--
Poi Twinkleberry e gli altri scoiattolini fecero ciascuno un profondo inchino, e dissero cortesemente--
"Old Mr. Brown, will you favour us with permission to gather nuts upon your island?"
«Vecchio signor Brown, ci farebbe il favore di concederci il permesso di raccogliere noci sulla sua isola?»
But Nutkin was excessively impertinent in his manners.
Ma Nutkin era eccessivamente impertinente nei suoi modi.
He bobbed up and down like a little red _cherry_, singing--
Saltellava su e giù come una piccola _ciliegia_ rossa, 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."
«Indovinami, indovinami, rot-tot-tote! Un omino piccino, in un rosso rosso cappotto! Un bastone in mano e un sasso in gola; Se mi dici questo indovinello, ti darò un soldo.»
Now this riddle is as old as the hills; Mr. Brown paid no attention whatever to Nutkin.
Ora questo indovinello è vecchio come il mondo; il signor Brown non prestò la minima attenzione a Nutkin.
He shut his eyes obstinately and went to sleep.
Chiuse ostinatamente gli occhi e si addormentò.
The squirrels filled their little sacks with nuts, and sailed away home in the evening.
Gli scoiattoli riempirono i loro sacchetti di noci e navigarono verso casa la sera.
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--
Ma il mattino seguente tornarono tutti sull'Isola del Gufo; e Twinkleberry e gli altri portarono una bella talpa grassa, e la deposero sulla pietra davanti alla porta del vecchio Brown, e dissero--
"Mr. Brown, will you favour us with your gracious permission to gather some more nuts?"
«Signor Brown, ci farebbe il favore di concederci la sua graziosissima autorizzazione a raccogliere ancora delle noci?»
But Nutkin, who had no respect, began to dance up and down, tickling old Mr. Brown with a _nettle_ and singing--
Ma Nutkin, che non aveva alcun rispetto, cominciò a saltellare su e giù, solleticando il vecchio signor Brown con un'_ortica_ e 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!"
«Vecchio signor B! Indovinello-mi-rì! Hitty Pitty dentro il muro, Hitty Pitty fuori dal muro; Se tocchi Hitty Pitty, Hitty Pitty ti morderà!»
Mr. Brown woke up suddenly and carried the mole into his house.
Il signor Brown si svegliò di soprassalto e portò la talpa in casa sua.
He shut the door in Nutkin's face.
Gli sbatté la porta in faccia a Nutkin.
Vocabulary
- Poi
- Then, afterward; used to indicate sequence
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- gli
- The (masculine plural); also indirect pronoun 'to him'
- altri
- Others; the remaining ones
- scoiattolini
- Little squirrels; diminutive plural of scoiattolo
- fecero
- They did/made; past tense of fare
- ciascuno
- Each one; every single individual
- un
- A, an; indefinite article masculine singular
- profondo
- Deep, profound; describing depth or intensity
- inchino
- A bow; respectful bending of the body
- dissero
- They said; past tense of dire
- cortesemente
- Politely, courteously; in a respectful manner
- Vecchio
- Old; adjective describing advanced age
- signor
- Mister, sir; polite title for a man
- ci
- Us, to us; first person plural pronoun
- farebbe
- Would do/make; conditional tense of fare
- il
- The; definite article masculine singular
- favore
- Favor, kindness; a helpful act
- di
- Of, from; very common Italian preposition
- concederci
- To grant us; infinitive with pronoun attached
- permesso
- Permission, permit; authorization to do something
- raccogliere
- To gather, collect, pick; harvesting items
- noci
- Nuts, walnuts; plural of noce
- sulla
- On the; contraction of su and la
- sua
- His, her, its; possessive adjective singular
- isola
- Island; a land mass surrounded by water
- Ma
- But; adversative coordinating conjunction
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- eccessivamente
- Excessively, too much; beyond acceptable limits
- impertinente
- Impertinent, rude; showing disrespectful behavior
- nei
- In the; contraction of in and i
- suoi
- His, her; possessive adjective masculine plural
- modi
- Manners, ways; plural of modo
- Saltellava
- Was hopping/skipping; imperfect tense of saltellare
- su
- On, up; common Italian preposition
- giù
- Down; indicating downward direction
- come
- Like, as, how; comparison or manner word
- una
- A, an; indefinite article feminine singular
- piccola
- Small, little; feminine adjective of size
- _ciliegia_
- Cherry; small round red fruit
- rossa
- Red; feminine adjective describing color
- cantando
- Singing; present participle of cantare
- Indovinami
- Guess for me; imperative of indovinare with pronoun
- indovinami
- Guess for me; repeated imperative form
- Un
- A, an; indefinite masculine article
- omino
- Little man; diminutive of uomo
- piccino
- Tiny, very small; affectionate diminutive adjective
- in
- In, into; common Italian preposition
- rosso
- Red; masculine adjective describing color
- cappotto
- Coat, overcoat; warm outer garment
- bastone
- Stick, cane, staff; long walking or support rod
- mano
- Hand; the body part at the end of the arm
- sasso
- Stone, rock; a solid piece of mineral
- gola
- Throat; the passage inside the neck
- Se
- If; conditional conjunction introducing hypothesis
- mi
- Me, to me; first person singular pronoun
- dici
- You say, you tell; present tense of dire
- questo
- This; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- indovinello
- Riddle, puzzle; a question requiring clever answer
- ti
- You, to you; second person singular pronoun
- darò
- I will give; future tense of dare
- soldo
- Penny, coin; a small unit of money
- Ora
- Now; indicating the present moment
- è
- Is; third person singular present of essere
- vecchio
- Old man, old; adjective or noun for aged person
- mondo
- World; the earth or a vast realm
- non
- Not; basic negation word
- prestò
- Paid, lent; past tense of prestare
- la
- The; definite article feminine singular
- minima
- Minimum, slightest; smallest possible amount
- attenzione
- Attention; mental focus directed at something
- a
- To, at; very common Italian preposition
- Chiuse
- Closed; past tense of chiudere
- ostinatamente
- Stubbornly, obstinately; in a persistent unyielding way
- occhi
- Eyes; plural of occhio
- si
- Himself, herself, oneself; reflexive pronoun
- addormentò
- Fell asleep; past tense of addormentarsi
- Gli
- The (plural); definite article masculine plural
- scoiattoli
- Squirrels; plural of scoiattolo
- riempirono
- They filled; past tense of riempire
- i
- The; definite article masculine plural
- loro
- Their, them; third person plural pronoun
- sacchetti
- Little bags, sacks; plural diminutive of sacco
- navigarono
- They sailed, navigated; past tense of navigare
- verso
- Toward; preposition indicating direction
- casa
- Home, house; where one lives
- sera
- Evening; the late part of the day
- mattino
- Morning; the early part of the day
- seguente
- Following, next; the one that comes after
- tornarono
- They returned; past tense of tornare
- tutti
- All, everyone; the complete group
- sull'
- On the; contraction of su and l'
- Isola
- Island; land surrounded by water
- del
- Of the; contraction of di and il
- Gufo
- Owl; nocturnal bird of prey
- portarono
- They brought, carried; past tense of portare
- bella
- Beautiful, lovely; feminine adjective of beauty
- talpa
- Mole; small burrowing mammal
- grassa
- Fat, plump; feminine adjective describing size
- deposero
- They placed, deposited; past tense of deporre
- pietra
- Stone, rock; a hard mineral piece
- davanti
- In front of; indicating position before something
- alla
- To the, at the; contraction of a and la
- porta
- Door; an entrance or exit barrier
- Signor
- Mister, sir; polite masculine title
- graziosissima
- Most gracious; superlative of graziosa
- autorizzazione
- Authorization, permission; official approval granted
- ancora
- Still, again, yet; indicating continuation or repetition
- delle
- Of the, some; contraction of di and le
- che
- That, which, who; very common relative conjunction
- aveva
- Had; third person singular imperfect of avere
- alcun
- Any, no; used in negative contexts
- rispetto
- Respect; regard and consideration for others
- cominciò
- Began, started; past tense of cominciare
- saltellare
- To hop, skip; to jump about lightly
- solleticando
- Tickling; present participle of solleticare
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- un'
- A, an; elided feminine indefinite article
- _ortica_
- Nettle; stinging wild plant
- Indovinello
- Riddle; a puzzling question to be solved
- dentro
- Inside, within; indicating interior position
- muro
- Wall; a vertical structure dividing spaces
- fuori
- Outside, out; indicating exterior position
- dal
- From the; contraction of da and il
- tocchi
- You touch; present subjunctive/indicative of toccare
- morderà
- Will bite; future tense of mordere
- Il
- The; definite article masculine singular
- svegliò
- Woke up; past tense of svegliarsi
- soprassalto
- Sudden start, jolt; waking with a startle
- portò
- Brought, carried; past tense of portare
- sbatté
- Slammed, banged; past tense of sbattere
- faccia
- Face; the front part of the head
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