The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin — Page 2
Then Twinkleberry and the other little squirrels each made a low bow, and said politely--
Toen maakten Twinkleberry en de andere kleine eekhoorntjes elk een diepe buiging en zeiden beleefd--
"Old Mr. Brown, will you favour us with permission to gather nuts upon your island?"
"Oude meneer Brown, wilt u ons de gunst verlenen om noten te mogen verzamelen op uw eiland?"
But Nutkin was excessively impertinent in his manners.
Maar Nutkin was buitengewoon onbeschaamd in zijn gedrag.
He bobbed up and down like a little red cherry, singing--
Hij wipte op en neer als een kleine rode kers en zong--
"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."
"Raad eens, raad eens, rot-tot-toot! Een klein mannetje, in een rood rood jak! Een staf in zijn hand, en een steen in zijn keel; Als je me dit raadsel oplost, geef ik je een cent."
Now this riddle is as old as the hills; Mr. Brown paid no attention whatever to Nutkin.
Dit raadsel is zo oud als de weg naar Rome; meneer Brown schonk geen enkele aandacht aan Nutkin.
He shut his eyes obstinately and went to sleep.
Hij sloot koppig zijn ogen en viel in slaap.
The squirrels filled their little sacks with nuts, and sailed away home in the evening.
De eekhoorntjes vulden hun kleine zakjes met noten en voeren 's avonds naar huis.
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--
Maar de volgende ochtend kwamen ze allemaal terug naar Uileneiland; en Twinkleberry en de anderen brachten een mooie dikke mol mee, en legden hem op de steen voor de deur van Oude Brown, en zeiden--
"Mr. Brown, will you favour us with your gracious permission to gather some more nuts?"
"Meneer Brown, wilt u ons de genadige toestemming verlenen om nog wat meer noten te verzamelen?"
But Nutkin, who had no respect, began to dance up and down, tickling old Mr. Brown with a nettle and singing--
Maar Nutkin, die geen enkel respect had, begon op en neer te dansen, terwijl hij oude meneer Brown kietelde met een brandnetel en zong--
"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!"
"Oude meneer B! Raad-maar-raad! Hitty Pitty binnen de muur, Hitty Pitty buiten de muur; Als je Hitty Pitty aanraakt, bijt Hitty Pitty je!"
Mr. Brown woke up suddenly and carried the mole into his house.
Meneer Brown werd plotseling wakker en droeg de mol zijn huis in.
He shut the door in Nutkin's face.
Hij smeet de deur dicht voor Nutkins neus.
Vocabulary
- Toen
- Then; at that time
- maakten
- Made; past tense of maken
- en
- And; connecting words or clauses
- de
- The; definite article for de-words
- andere
- Other; different ones
- kleine
- Small; little in size
- eekhoorntjes
- Little squirrels; diminutive plural of eekhoorn
- elk
- Each; every individual one
- een
- A; an; indefinite article
- diepe
- Deep; of great depth or intensity
- buiging
- Bow; bending forward as a gesture of respect
- zeiden
- Said; past tense plural of zeggen
- beleefd
- Politely; in a courteous manner
- Oude
- Old; elderly; aged
- meneer
- Mister; formal title for a man
- wilt
- Will; do you want; second person singular
- u
- You; formal second-person pronoun
- ons
- Us; first-person plural object pronoun
- gunst
- Favor; a kind act granted to someone
- verlenen
- To grant; to bestow a favor or permission
- om
- To; in order to; preposition
- noten
- Nuts; hard-shelled edible seeds
- te
- To; infinitive particle used before verbs
- mogen
- To be allowed; expressing permission
- verzamelen
- To collect; to gather things together
- op
- On; upon; preposition indicating position
- uw
- Your; formal possessive pronoun
- eiland
- Island; land surrounded by water
- Maar
- But; however; conjunction showing contrast
- was
- Was; past tense of zijn (to be)
- buitengewoon
- Extraordinarily; exceptionally beyond the ordinary
- onbeschaamd
- Shameless; impudent; showing no shame
- in
- In; inside; preposition of location
- zijn
- His; possessive pronoun; also to be
- gedrag
- Behavior; conduct; manner of acting
- Hij
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun
- wipte
- Hopped; bounced quickly; past tense of wippen
- neer
- Down; downward direction
- als
- As; like; when; conjunction or preposition
- rode
- Red; inflected form of rood
- kers
- Cherry; small red stone fruit
- zong
- Sang; past tense of zingen
- Raad
- Guess; council; imperative of raden
- eens
- Once; just; emphatic particle in Dutch
- raad
- Guess; advice; council noun
- rot
- Rotten; decayed; also used as mild insult
- tot
- Until; to; preposition indicating limit
- Een
- A; an; one; indefinite article or number
- klein
- Small; little; of small size
- mannetje
- Little man; small male figure
- rood
- Red; the color red
- jak
- Jacket; short coat or top garment
- staf
- Staff; stick; rod carried in hand
- hand
- Hand; the body part at arm's end
- steen
- Stone; rock; hard mineral material
- keel
- Throat; the passage inside the neck
- Als
- If; when; as; conditional conjunction
- je
- You; informal second-person singular pronoun
- me
- Me; first-person singular object pronoun
- dit
- This; demonstrative pronoun for nearby thing
- raadsel
- Riddle; puzzle; a question needing clever answer
- oplost
- Solve; dissolve; second person singular present
- geef
- Give; first-person singular or imperative of geven
- ik
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- cent
- Cent; a small coin of low denomination
- Dit
- This; demonstrative pronoun referring to nearby thing
- is
- Is; third-person singular present of zijn
- zo
- So; thus; in this way
- oud
- Old; aged; having existed a long time
- weg
- Road; path; also away
- naar
- To; toward; preposition of direction
- schonk
- Gave; poured; past tense of schenken
- geen
- No; not any; negating a noun
- enkele
- Any; single; not even one
- aandacht
- Attention; focus; mental concentration on something
- aan
- To; at; on; preposition of contact or direction
- sloot
- Ditch; narrow drainage channel; also closed (past)
- koppig
- Stubborn; headstrong; refusing to change one's mind
- ogen
- Eyes; plural of oog
- viel
- Fell; past tense of vallen
- slaap
- Sleep; the state of resting unconsciously
- De
- The; definite article for de-words
- vulden
- Filled; past tense plural of vullen
- hun
- Their; third-person plural possessive pronoun
- zakjes
- Little bags; small pouches; diminutive of zak
- met
- With; accompanied by; using
- voeren
- To feed; to carry; also food given to animals
- 's
- Contraction indicating time of day in Dutch
- avonds
- In the evening; during evening hours
- huis
- House; home; a place of residence
- volgende
- Next; following; coming after current one
- ochtend
- Morning; the early part of the day
- kwamen
- Came; past tense plural of komen
- ze
- They; she; third-person pronoun
- allemaal
- All; everyone; all of them together
- terug
- Back; returning to a previous place
- anderen
- Others; other people or things
- brachten
- Brought; past tense plural of brengen
- mooie
- Beautiful; pretty; nice-looking
- dikke
- Fat; thick; plump in size
- mol
- Mole; small burrowing ground animal
- mee
- Along; with; accompanying someone
- legden
- Laid; placed down; past tense of leggen
- hem
- Him; third-person singular masculine object pronoun
- voor
- Before; in front of; for
- deur
- Door; the entrance to a building or room
- van
- Of; from; belonging to
- Meneer
- Mister; sir; formal title for a man
- genadige
- Gracious; merciful; kind and forgiving
- toestemming
- Permission; consent; official approval to do something
- nog
- Still; yet; more; additional
- wat
- What; some; a little; interrogative or pronoun
- meer
- More; lake; additional amount or quantity
- die
- That; those; relative or demonstrative pronoun
- enkel
- Single; only; ankle; just one
- respect
- Respect; regard; esteem for someone
- had
- Had; past tense of hebben
- begon
- Began; past tense of beginnen
- dansen
- To dance; to move rhythmically to music
- terwijl
- While; whereas; at the same time as
- hij
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun
- oude
- Old; elderly; aged one
- kietelde
- Tickled; past tense of kietelen
- brandnetel
- Stinging nettle; a plant that causes skin irritation
- maar
- But; however; only; conjunction of contrast
- binnen
- Inside; within; indoors
- muur
- Wall; a vertical structure dividing spaces
- buiten
- Outside; outdoors; beyond the walls
- aanraakt
- Touches; makes contact with; third person singular
- bijt
- Bites; uses teeth to grip or cut
- werd
- Became; was; past tense of worden
- plotseling
- Suddenly; all at once; without warning
- wakker
- Awake; alert; no longer asleep
- droeg
- Carried; wore; past tense of dragen
- smeet
- Threw; flung; past tense of smijten
- dicht
- Shut; closed; also dense or close together
- neus
- Nose; the facial organ for smelling
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