The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin — Page 3
Presently a little thread of blue _smoke_ from a wood fire came up from the top of the tree, and Nutkin peeped through the key-hole and sang--
Poco dopo un sottile filo di fumo azzurro di un fuoco di legna salì dalla cima dell'albero, e Nutkin sbirciò dal buco della serratura e cantò--
"A house full, a hole full! And you cannot gather a bowl-full!"
"Una casa piena, un buco pieno! E non puoi raccogliere una ciotola piena!"
The squirrels searched for nuts all over the island and filled their little sacks.
Gli scoiattoli cercarono noci per tutta l'isola e riempirono i loro sacchetti.
But Nutkin gathered oak-apples--yellow and scarlet--and sat upon a beech-stump playing marbles, and watching the door of old Mr. Brown.
Ma Nutkin raccoglieva galle di quercia -- gialle e scarlatte -- e sedeva su un ceppo di faggio a giocare a biglie, guardando la porta del vecchio signor Brown.
On the third day the squirrels got up very early and went fishing; they caught seven fat minnows as a present for Old Brown.
Il terzo giorno gli scoiattoli si alzarono molto presto e andarono a pescare; catturarono sette grassi pesciolini come regalo per il vecchio Brown.
They paddled over the lake and landed under a crooked chestnut tree on Owl Island.
Attraversarono il lago a remi e sbarcarono sotto un castagno storto sull'Isola dei Gufi.
Twinkleberry and six other little squirrels each carried a fat minnow; but Nutkin, who had no nice manners, brought no present at all.
Twinkleberry e altri sei piccoli scoiattoli portavano ciascuno un grasso pesciolino; ma Nutkin, che non aveva buone maniere, non portò alcun regalo.
He ran in front, singing--
Corse avanti, cantando--
"The man in the wilderness said to me, 'How many strawberries grow in the sea?' I answered him as I thought good-- 'As many red herrings as grow in the wood.'"
"L'uomo nel deserto mi disse: 'Quante fragole crescono nel mare?' Gli risposi come credevo giusto -- 'Tante aringhe affumicate quante ne crescono nel bosco.'"
But old Mr. Brown took no interest in riddles--not even when the answer was provided for him.
Ma il vecchio signor Brown non mostrava alcun interesse per gli indovinelli -- nemmeno quando la risposta gli veniva fornita.
On the fourth day the squirrels brought a present of six fat beetles, which were as good as plums in _plum-pudding_ for Old Brown.
Il quarto giorno gli scoiattoli portarono in regalo sei grassi coleotteri, che per il vecchio Brown erano buoni come le prugne nel budino di prugne.
Each beetle was wrapped up carefully in a dock-leaf, fastened with a pine-needle pin.
Ogni coleottero era avvolto con cura in una foglia di romice, fissata con uno spillo ricavato da un ago di pino.
But Nutkin sang as rudely as ever-- "Old Mr. B!
Ma Nutkin cantò in modo sgarbato come sempre -- "Vecchio signor B!
Vocabulary
- Poco
- A small amount; not much
- dopo
- After, later, or afterwards in time
- un
- Indefinite article: a or an
- sottile
- Thin, slender, or subtle in quality
- filo
- Thread, wire, or thin strand of material
- di
- Preposition meaning of, from, or by
- fumo
- Smoke produced by burning something
- azzurro
- Sky blue; a bright light blue color
- fuoco
- Fire; the combustion of burning material
- legna
- Firewood; wood cut for burning
- salì
- Rose, went up; past tense of salire
- dalla
- Contraction of da and la meaning from the
- cima
- Top, summit, or peak of something
- dell'
- Contraction of di and the definite article
- albero
- Tree; a large woody plant
- e
- Conjunction meaning and, connecting words or clauses
- sbirciò
- Peeked, glanced furtively at something
- dal
- Contraction of da and il meaning from the
- buco
- Hole, gap, or opening in a surface
- della
- Contraction of di and la meaning of the
- serratura
- Lock; the mechanism for securing a door
- cantò
- Sang; past tense of cantare, to sing
- Una
- Feminine indefinite article meaning a or an
- casa
- House or home; a place where one lives
- piena
- Full, filled; feminine form of pieno
- pieno
- Full, filled; masculine adjective indicating fullness
- E
- Conjunction meaning and, connecting words or clauses
- non
- Not; negation word used before verbs
- puoi
- You can; second person singular of potere
- raccogliere
- To pick up, gather, or collect items
- una
- Feminine indefinite article meaning a or an
- ciotola
- Bowl; a round open container for food
- Gli
- Definite article or pronoun meaning the or to him
- scoiattoli
- Squirrels; small bushy-tailed tree-dwelling rodents
- cercarono
- Searched, looked for; past tense of cercare
- noci
- Nuts; plural of noce, hard-shelled tree fruit
- per
- Preposition meaning for, through, or in order to
- tutta
- All, entire, whole; feminine form of tutto
- l'
- Definite article elided before a vowel
- isola
- Island; a land mass surrounded by water
- riempirono
- Filled up; past tense of riempire
- i
- Masculine plural definite article meaning the
- loro
- Their, theirs; third person plural possessive pronoun
- sacchetti
- Small bags or pouches; plural of sacchetto
- Ma
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or exception
- raccoglieva
- Was gathering, collecting; imperfect tense of raccogliere
- quercia
- Oak tree; a large hardwood tree
- gialle
- Yellow; feminine plural form of giallo
- scarlatte
- Scarlet, bright red; feminine plural adjective
- sedeva
- Was sitting; imperfect tense of sedere
- su
- On, upon, or above; common Italian preposition
- ceppo
- Tree stump; the base remaining after cutting
- faggio
- Beech tree; a smooth-barked deciduous tree
- a
- Preposition meaning at, to, or in
- giocare
- To play; to engage in games or sport
- biglie
- Marbles; small spherical balls used in games
- guardando
- Looking at, watching; present participle of guardare
- la
- Feminine singular definite article meaning the
- porta
- Door; an entrance to a building or room
- del
- Contraction of di and il meaning of the
- vecchio
- Old, elderly; adjective describing advanced age
- signor
- Mr., Mister; polite title used before a name
- Il
- Masculine singular definite article meaning the
- terzo
- Third; the ordinal number following second
- giorno
- Day; a 24-hour period of time
- gli
- Masculine plural article or indirect pronoun to him
- si
- Reflexive pronoun meaning himself, herself, or themselves
- alzarono
- Got up, rose; past tense of alzarsi
- molto
- Very, much, a lot; common adverb of degree
- presto
- Early, soon, quickly; adverb indicating speed or time
- andarono
- Went; past tense of andare, to go
- pescare
- To fish; to catch fish in water
- catturarono
- Caught, captured; past tense of catturare
- sette
- Seven; the cardinal number between six and eight
- grassi
- Fat, plump; masculine plural adjective
- pesciolini
- Small fish; diminutive plural of pesciolino
- come
- As, like, how; common Italian comparison word
- regalo
- Gift, present; something given to another person
- il
- Masculine singular definite article meaning the
- Attraversarono
- Crossed, went across; past tense of attraversare
- lago
- Lake; a large inland body of water
- remi
- Oars; paddles used to row a boat
- sbarcarono
- Landed, disembarked; past tense of sbarcare
- sotto
- Under, below, beneath; common Italian preposition
- castagno
- Chestnut tree; a large tree with spiny fruit
- storto
- Crooked, bent, twisted; adjective describing distortion
- sull'
- Contraction of su and the article meaning on the
- Isola
- Island; a land mass surrounded by water
- dei
- Contraction of di and i meaning of the
- Gufi
- Owls; plural of gufo, a nocturnal bird
- altri
- Other, others; masculine plural of altro
- sei
- Six; the cardinal number between five and seven
- piccoli
- Small, little; masculine plural adjective
- portavano
- Were carrying, brought; imperfect tense of portare
- ciascuno
- Each one, every one; distributive pronoun or adjective
- grasso
- Fat, plump; adjective or noun meaning fat
- pesciolino
- Small fish; diminutive of pesce, a fish
- ma
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or exception
- che
- That, who, which; versatile relative conjunction
- aveva
- Had; third person singular imperfect of avere
- buone
- Good; feminine plural form of buono
- maniere
- Manners, ways; plural of maniera
- portò
- Brought, carried; past tense of portare
- alcun
- Any, no; adjective used in negative contexts
- Corse
- Ran; past tense of correre, to run
- avanti
- Forward, ahead; adverb indicating direction
- cantando
- Singing; present participle of cantare
- L'
- Definite article elided before a vowel
- uomo
- Man; an adult male human being
- nel
- Contraction of in and il meaning in the
- deserto
- Desert; a dry, barren, sandy landscape
- mi
- Me, to me; first person singular pronoun
- disse
- Said, told; past tense of dire
- Quante
- How many; feminine plural interrogative adjective
- fragole
- Strawberries; plural of fragola, a sweet red fruit
- crescono
- Grow; third person plural present of crescere
- mare
- Sea; a large body of salt water
- risposi
- I replied, answered; past tense of rispondere
- credevo
- I believed, thought; imperfect tense of credere
- giusto
- Right, correct, fair; common adjective
- Tante
- So many, as many; feminine plural of tanto
- aringhe
- Herrings; plural of aringa, a type of fish
- affumicate
- Smoked; feminine plural past participle of affumicare
- quante
- As many as; feminine plural of quanto
- ne
- Of them, some; partitive or pronoun particle
- bosco
- Wood, forest; a small wooded area
- mostrava
- Was showing, displayed; imperfect tense of mostrare
- interesse
- Interest; curiosity or attention toward something
- indovinelli
- Riddles; plural of indovinello, a puzzling question
- nemmeno
- Not even, neither; strong negative adverb
- quando
- When; conjunction or adverb of time
- risposta
- Answer, reply; noun from rispondere
- veniva
- Was coming, was given; imperfect of venire
- fornita
- Provided, supplied; feminine past participle of fornire
- quarto
- Fourth; ordinal number following third
- portarono
- Brought, carried; past tense of portare
- in
- In, into; common Italian preposition of place
- coleotteri
- Beetles; plural of coleottero, a type of insect
- erano
- Were; third person plural imperfect of essere
- buoni
- Good; masculine plural adjective
- le
- Feminine plural definite article or indirect pronoun
- prugne
- Plums; plural of prugna, a sweet stone fruit
- budino
- Pudding; a soft sweet dessert dish
- Ogni
- Every, each; adjective used with singular nouns
- coleottero
- Beetle; a hard-shelled insect of order Coleoptera
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- avvolto
- Wrapped, enveloped; past participle of avvolgere
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- cura
- Care, attention; noun meaning careful treatment
- foglia
- Leaf; a flat green part of a plant
- fissata
- Fixed, fastened; feminine past participle of fissare
- uno
- One; masculine indefinite article or cardinal number
- spillo
- Pin; a small pointed fastening device
- ricavato
- Obtained, derived; past participle of ricavare
- da
- From, by, since; common Italian preposition
- ago
- Needle; a thin pointed sewing instrument
- pino
- Pine tree; an evergreen coniferous tree
- modo
- Way, manner, mode; how something is done
- sgarbato
- Rude, impolite, discourteous; adjective describing bad manners
- sempre
- Always, ever; adverb indicating continuity
- Vecchio
- Old; adjective or noun for an elderly person
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