The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies — Page 1
It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is "soporific."
Si dice che l'effetto di mangiare troppa lattuga sia "soporifero".
_I_ have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then _I_ am not a rabbit.
_Io_ non mi sono mai sentita assonnata dopo aver mangiato la lattuga; ma del resto _io_ non sono un coniglio.
They certainly had a very soporific effect upon the Flopsy Bunnies!
Ebbero certamente un effetto molto soporifero sui Coniglietti Flopsy!
When Benjamin Bunny grew up, he married his Cousin Flopsy.
Quando Beniamino Coniglio crebbe, sposò la sua Cugina Flopsy.
They had a large family, and they were very improvident and cheerful.
Avevano una numerosa famiglia, ed erano molto spensierati e allegri.
I do not remember the separate names of their children; they were generally called the "Flopsy Bunnies."
Non ricordo i singoli nomi dei loro figli; erano generalmente chiamati i "Coniglietti Flopsy".
As there was not always quite enough to eat,--Benjamin used to borrow cabbages from Flopsy's brother, Peter Rabbit, who kept a nursery garden.
Poiché non c'era sempre abbastanza da mangiare,--Beniamino era solito prendere in prestito dei cavoli dal fratello di Flopsy, Pietro Coniglio, che gestiva un orto-vivaio.
Sometimes Peter Rabbit had no cabbages to spare.
A volte Pietro Coniglio non aveva cavoli da offrire.
When this happened, the Flopsy Bunnies went across the field to a rubbish heap, in the ditch outside Mr. McGregor's garden.
Quando ciò accadeva, i Coniglietti Flopsy attraversavano il campo fino a un mucchio di rifiuti, nel fosso fuori dal giardino del Signor McGregor.
Mr. McGregor's rubbish heap was a mixture.
Il mucchio di rifiuti del Signor McGregor era un miscuglio.
There were jam pots and paper bags, and mountains of chopped grass from the mowing machine (which always tasted oily), and some rotten vegetable marrows and an old boot or two.
C'erano vasi di marmellata e sacchetti di carta, e montagne di erba tagliata dalla falciatrice (che aveva sempre un sapore oleoso), e alcune zucche marce e uno o due vecchi stivali.
One day--oh joy!--there were a quantity of overgrown lettuces, which had "shot" into flower.
Un giorno--oh gioia!--c'era una gran quantità di lattughe cresciute troppo, che erano "scappate" in fiore.
The Flopsy Bunnies simply stuffed lettuces.
I Coniglietti Flopsy si rimpinzarono semplicemente di lattughe.
Vocabulary
- Si
- Reflexive or impersonal pronoun, used in Italian sentences
- dice
- It is said; third person singular of 'dire'
- che
- That; conjunction or relative pronoun
- l'
- Contracted definite article 'il/la' before vowel
- effetto
- Effect; result or consequence of something
- di
- Of; common Italian preposition indicating possession or origin
- mangiare
- To eat; basic verb for consuming food
- troppa
- Too much; feminine form of 'troppo'
- lattuga
- Lettuce; a common leafy green vegetable
- sia
- May be; subjunctive form of 'essere'
- soporifero
- Sleep-inducing; causing drowsiness or sleepiness
- Io
- I; first person singular subject pronoun
- non
- Not; basic Italian negation word
- mi
- Me; reflexive or indirect object pronoun
- sono
- I am / they are; form of 'essere'
- mai
- Never or ever; adverb of frequency
- sentita
- Felt; past participle of 'sentire', feminine form
- assonnata
- Sleepy; feeling drowsy, feminine adjective
- dopo
- After; preposition or adverb of time
- aver
- To have; shortened infinitive form of 'avere'
- mangiato
- Eaten; past participle of 'mangiare'
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- ma
- But; basic coordinating conjunction of contrast
- del
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'il'
- resto
- Rest; remainder; used in 'del resto' meaning 'besides'
- un
- A / an; masculine indefinite article
- coniglio
- Rabbit; a small furry burrowing animal
- Ebbero
- They had; third person plural past absolute of 'avere'
- certamente
- Certainly; adverb expressing certainty or confidence
- molto
- Very / much / many; common Italian intensifier
- sui
- On the; contraction of 'su' and 'i'
- Coniglietti
- Little rabbits; diminutive plural of 'coniglio'
- Quando
- When; conjunction or adverb of time
- Coniglio
- Rabbit; used here as part of a proper name
- crebbe
- Grew up; third person singular past absolute of 'crescere'
- sposò
- Married; third person singular past absolute of 'sposare'
- sua
- His / her; feminine possessive adjective
- Cugina
- Female cousin; feminine form of 'cugino'
- Avevano
- They had; third person plural imperfect of 'avere'
- una
- A / an; feminine indefinite article
- numerosa
- Large / numerous; feminine adjective describing a big group
- famiglia
- Family; group of related people living together
- ed
- And; variant of 'e' used before vowels
- erano
- They were; third person plural imperfect of 'essere'
- spensierati
- Carefree; free from worry or concern, plural masculine
- e
- And; basic Italian coordinating conjunction
- allegri
- Cheerful / merry; happy and lively, plural masculine
- Non
- Not; Italian negation word starting a sentence
- ricordo
- I remember / a memory; first person singular of 'ricordare'
- i
- The; masculine plural definite article
- singoli
- Individual / single; plural adjective meaning separate ones
- nomi
- Names; plural of 'nome'
- dei
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'i'
- loro
- Their / they / them; third person plural pronoun
- figli
- Children / sons; plural of 'figlio'
- generalmente
- Generally; adverb meaning in most cases
- chiamati
- Called / named; past participle of 'chiamare', plural
- Poiché
- Since / because; causal conjunction explaining a reason
- c'
- There; contracted form of 'ci' before vowel
- era
- There was / it was; third person singular imperfect of 'essere'
- sempre
- Always; adverb indicating constant or regular occurrence
- abbastanza
- Enough / quite; adverb of sufficiency or degree
- da
- From / by / since; versatile Italian preposition
- solito
- Usual; common in 'di solito' meaning usually
- prendere
- To take; common Italian verb for taking or getting
- in
- In / into; basic Italian preposition of location
- prestito
- Loan; used in 'in prestito' meaning borrowed
- cavoli
- Cabbages; plural of 'cavolo', leafy green vegetable
- dal
- From the; contraction of 'da' and 'il'
- fratello
- Brother; male sibling
- gestiva
- Managed / ran; third person singular imperfect of 'gestire'
- orto
- Vegetable garden; a plot for growing vegetables
- vivaio
- Nursery; place for growing young plants
- A
- To / at; basic Italian preposition
- volte
- Times; plural of 'volta', used in 'a volte' meaning sometimes
- aveva
- He/she had; third person singular imperfect of 'avere'
- offrire
- To offer; verb meaning to present or provide something
- ciò
- That / this; demonstrative pronoun referring to something mentioned
- accadeva
- It happened / used to happen; imperfect of 'accadere'
- attraversavano
- They crossed; third person plural imperfect of 'attraversare'
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- campo
- Field; open area of land, often for agriculture
- fino
- Until / up to; preposition used with 'a' for destinations
- a
- To / at; basic Italian preposition
- mucchio
- Heap / pile; a gathered mass of things
- rifiuti
- Rubbish / waste; discarded materials or garbage
- nel
- In the; contraction of 'in' and 'il'
- fosso
- Ditch; a narrow trench dug in the ground
- fuori
- Outside / out; adverb or preposition of location
- giardino
- Garden; outdoor area for growing plants
- Signor
- Mr.; Italian title of respect for adult men
- Il
- The; masculine singular definite article starting a phrase
- miscuglio
- Mixture / jumble; a disordered blend of various things
- vasi
- Jars / vases; plural of 'vaso', containers
- marmellata
- Jam / marmalade; sweet fruit preserve spread on bread
- sacchetti
- Small bags; diminutive plural of 'sacco'
- carta
- Paper; material used for writing or wrapping
- montagne
- Mountains / piles; plural of 'montagna'
- erba
- Grass / herb; green ground-covering plant
- tagliata
- Cut; past participle of 'tagliare', feminine form
- dalla
- From the / by the; contraction of 'da' and 'la'
- falciatrice
- Lawn mower; machine used to cut grass
- sapore
- Taste / flavour; sensory quality of food
- oleoso
- Oily; having the quality or texture of oil
- alcune
- Some; feminine plural indefinite adjective
- zucche
- Pumpkins / squashes; plural of 'zucca'
- marce
- Rotten; feminine plural adjective meaning decayed
- uno
- One; masculine numeral or indefinite article
- o
- Or; basic Italian disjunctive conjunction
- due
- Two; basic Italian numeral
- vecchi
- Old; masculine plural adjective meaning aged or worn
- stivali
- Boots; plural of 'stivale', footwear reaching the ankle
- Un
- A / one; masculine indefinite article beginning a phrase
- giorno
- Day; a period of twenty-four hours
- oh
- Oh; interjection expressing surprise or delight
- gioia
- Joy; feeling of great happiness or delight
- gran
- Great / large; shortened form of 'grande' before nouns
- quantità
- Quantity / amount; a measurable number or volume
- lattughe
- Lettuces; plural of 'lattuga', leafy green vegetable
- cresciute
- Grown; past participle of 'crescere', feminine plural
- troppo
- Too much / too; adverb or adjective of excess
- scappate
- Escaped / bolted; past participle of 'scappare', feminine plural
- fiore
- Flower; the bloom of a plant
- I
- The; masculine plural definite article
- si
- Themselves; reflexive pronoun, third person
- rimpinzarono
- They stuffed themselves; gorged greedily on food
- semplicemente
- Simply; adverb meaning in a plain or uncomplicated way
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