The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies — Page 4
The Flopsy Bunnies followed at a safe distance.
Les Lapins Flopsy suivirent à une distance prudente.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
They watched him go into his house.
Ils le regardèrent entrer dans sa maison.
And then they crept up to the window to listen.
Et puis ils se glissèrent jusqu'à la fenêtre pour écouter.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Mr. McGregor threw down the sack on the stone floor in a way that would have been extremely painful to the Flopsy Bunnies, if they had happened to have been inside it.
M. McGregor jeta le sac sur le sol de pierre d'une façon qui aurait été extrêmement douloureuse pour les Lapins Flopsy, s'il s'était trouvé qu'ils eussent été à l'intérieur.
They could hear him drag his chair on the flags, and chuckle--
Ils pouvaient l'entendre traîner sa chaise sur les dalles, et ricaner --
"One, two, three, four, five, six leetle rabbits!" said Mr. McGregor.
« Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six p'tits lapins ! » dit M. McGregor.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
"Eh? What's that? What have they been spoiling now?" enquired Mrs. McGregor.
« Hein ? Qu'est-ce que c'est ? Qu'est-ce qu'ils ont encore abîmé ? » demanda Mme McGregor.
"One, two, three, four, five, six leetle fat rabbits!" repeated Mr. McGregor, counting on his fingers--"one, two, three--"
« Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six p'tits lapins bien gras ! » répéta M. McGregor, en comptant sur ses doigts -- « un, deux, trois -- »
"Don't you be silly; what do you mean, you silly old man?"
« Ne fais pas l'idiot ; qu'est-ce que tu veux dire, vieil idiot ? »
"In the sack! one, two, three, four, five, six!" replied Mr. McGregor.
« Dans le sac ! un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six ! » répondit M. McGregor.
(The youngest Flopsy Bunny got upon the window-sill.)
(Le plus jeune des Lapins Flopsy monta sur le rebord de la fenêtre.)
Mrs. McGregor took hold of the sack and felt it.
Mme McGregor saisit le sac et le tâta.
She said she could feel six, but they must be _old_ rabbits, because they were so hard and all different shapes.
Elle dit qu'elle pouvait en sentir six, mais que ce devaient être de _vieux_ lapins, parce qu'ils étaient si durs et tous de formes différentes.
"Not fit to eat; but the skins will do fine to line my old cloak."
« Pas bons à manger ; mais les peaux feront très bien l'affaire pour doubler mon vieux manteau. »
"Line your old cloak?" shouted Mr. McGregor--"I shall sell them and buy myself baccy!"
« Doubler ton vieux manteau ? » cria M. McGregor -- « Je vais les vendre et m'acheter du tabac ! »
"Rabbit tobacco! I shall skin them and cut off their heads."
« Du tabac de lapin ! Je vais les écorcher et leur couper la tête. »
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Mrs. McGregor untied the sack and put her hand inside.
Mme McGregor dénoua le sac et y mit la main.
When she felt the vegetables she became very very angry.
Quand elle sentit les légumes, elle devint très très en colère.
She said that Mr.
Elle dit que M.
Vocabulary
- Lapins
- Rabbits; small mammals often kept as pets
- suivirent
- Followed (past historic of 'suivre')
- distance
- Distance; space between two points or objects
- prudente
- Cautious, careful, showing good judgment
- Illustration
- Picture or image accompanying a text
- regardèrent
- Watched, looked at (past historic of 'regarder')
- entrer
- To enter, to go or come inside
- maison
- House; a building where people live
- puis
- Then, afterward; indicating sequence of events
- glissèrent
- Slipped, slid stealthily (past historic of 'glisser')
- jusqu'
- Up to, until; preposition indicating a limit
- fenêtre
- Window; an opening in a wall for light
- écouter
- To listen; to pay attention to sounds
- jeta
- Threw, tossed (past historic of 'jeter')
- sac
- Bag, sack; a container made of flexible material
- sol
- Floor or ground; the surface beneath one's feet
- pierre
- Stone; hard natural mineral material
- façon
- Way, manner; the style in which something is done
- aurait
- Would have; conditional of 'avoir'
- extrêmement
- Extremely; to a very great degree
- douloureuse
- Painful; causing physical or emotional pain
- trouvé
- Found; past participle of 'trouver'
- eussent
- Had (past subjunctive of 'avoir', literary form)
- intérieur
- Interior, inside; the inner part of something
- pouvaient
- Could; imperfect tense of 'pouvoir'
- entendre
- To hear; to perceive sound with the ears
- traîner
- To drag, to pull something along the ground
- chaise
- Chair; a seat with a back, for one person
- dalles
- Stone slabs or paving tiles on a floor
- ricaner
- To snicker, to laugh mockingly or scornfully
- lapins
- Rabbits; small burrowing mammals
- dit
- Said; past historic of 'dire'
- Hein
- Interjection meaning 'huh', 'eh', or 'right'
- encore
- Again, still, yet; indicating repetition or continuity
- abîmé
- Damaged, ruined; past participle of 'abîmer'
- demanda
- Asked; past historic of 'demander'
- gras
- Fat, plump; having a lot of flesh
- répéta
- Repeated; past historic of 'répéter'
- comptant
- Counting; present participle of 'compter'
- doigts
- Fingers; the digits on a human hand
- idiot
- Idiot, fool; a person lacking intelligence or sense
- veux
- Want; second person singular of 'vouloir'
- dire
- To say, to tell; expressing words or meaning
- vieil
- Old; masculine adjective before a vowel sound
- répondit
- Replied, answered; past historic of 'répondre'
- jeune
- Young; not old, early in life or existence
- monta
- Climbed, went up; past historic of 'monter'
- rebord
- Ledge, windowsill; a narrow projecting edge
- saisit
- Grabbed, seized; past historic of 'saisir'
- tâta
- Felt, touched gently; past historic of 'tâter'
- pouvait
- Could; imperfect singular of 'pouvoir'
- sentir
- To feel or to smell; perceiving through senses
- devaient
- Had to, must have; imperfect of 'devoir'
- _vieux_
- Old; emphasized adjective describing advanced age
- durs
- Hard, tough; resistant to pressure or touch
- tous
- All; referring to the entirety of a group
- formes
- Shapes, forms; the outward appearance of something
- différentes
- Different; not the same, varied in nature
- manger
- To eat; to consume food
- peaux
- Skins, hides; the outer covering of animals
- feront
- Will make; future tense plural of 'faire'
- affaire
- Matter, business; a thing or concern at hand
- doubler
- To line; to add a lining to clothing
- vieux
- Old; adjective describing something of advanced age
- manteau
- Coat; an outer garment worn over clothing
- Doubler
- To line; to add inner lining to a garment
- cria
- Shouted, cried out; past historic of 'crier'
- vendre
- To sell; to exchange goods or services for money
- acheter
- To buy; to obtain something in exchange for money
- tabac
- Tobacco; a plant used for smoking or chewing
- lapin
- Rabbit; a small fluffy burrowing mammal
- écorcher
- To skin; to remove the hide from an animal
- leur
- Possessive or indirect pronoun meaning 'their' or 'them'
- couper
- To cut; to divide with a sharp instrument
- tête
- Head; the upper part of the human body
- dénoua
- Untied, unfastened; past historic of 'dénouer'
- y
- Pronoun meaning 'there' or 'in it'
- mit
- Put, placed; past historic of 'mettre'
- main
- Hand; the body part at the end of an arm
- Quand
- When; conjunction or adverb of time
- sentit
- Felt or smelled; past historic of 'sentir'
- légumes
- Vegetables; edible plants grown for food
- devint
- Became; past historic of 'devenir'
- colère
- Anger; a strong feeling of displeasure or fury
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →