The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies — Page 2
By degrees, one after another, they were overcome with slumber, and lay down in the mown grass.
A poco a poco, uno dopo l'altro, furono sopraffatti dal sonno e si distesero sull'erba tagliata.
Benjamin was not so much overcome as his children.
Benjamin non era così sopraffatto come i suoi figli.
Before going to sleep he was sufficiently wide awake to put a paper bag over his head to keep off the flies.
Prima di addormentarsi era abbastanza sveglio da mettere un sacchetto di carta sulla testa per tenere lontane le mosche.
The little Flopsy Bunnies slept delightfully in the warm sun.
I piccoli Coniglietti Flopsy dormivano deliziosamente nel caldo sole.
From the lawn beyond the garden came the distant clacketty sound of the mowing machine.
Dal prato oltre il giardino giungeva il lontano rumore sferragliante della falciatrice.
The bluebottles buzzed about the wall, and a little old mouse picked over the rubbish among the jam pots.
Le mosche ronzavano intorno al muro, e un vecchio topolino frugava tra i rifiuti in mezzo ai vasi di marmellata.
(I can tell you her name, she was called Thomasina Tittlemouse, a woodmouse with a long tail.)
(Posso dirvi il suo nome, si chiamava Thomasina Tittlemouse, un topo di bosco con una lunga coda.)
She rustled across the paper bag, and awakened Benjamin Bunny.
Frusciò attraverso il sacchetto di carta e svegliò Benjamin Bunny.
The mouse apologized profusely, and said that she knew Peter Rabbit.
Il topolino si scusò profusamente e disse che conosceva Peter Rabbit.
While she and Benjamin were talking, close under the wall, they heard a heavy tread above their heads; and suddenly Mr. McGregor emptied out a sackful of lawn mowings right upon the top of the sleeping Flopsy Bunnies!
Mentre lei e Benjamin stavano parlando, vicino al muro, udirono un passo pesante sopra le loro teste; e improvvisamente il Signor McGregor svuotò un sacco pieno di erba tagliata proprio sopra i Coniglietti Flopsy che dormivano!
Benjamin shrank down under his paper bag.
Benjamin si rannicchiò sotto il suo sacchetto di carta.
The mouse hid in a jam pot.
Il topolino si nascose in un vaso di marmellata.
The little rabbits smiled sweetly in their sleep under the shower of grass; they did not awake because the lettuces had been so soporific.
I piccoli conigli sorridevano dolcemente nel loro sonno sotto la pioggia di erba; non si svegliarono perché le lattughe erano state così soporifere.
They dreamt that their mother Flopsy was tucking them up in a hay bed.
Sognavano che la loro madre Flopsy li stesse rimboccando in un letto di fieno.
Mr. McGregor looked down after emptying his sack.
Il Signor McGregor guardò in basso dopo aver svuotato il suo sacco.
He saw some funny little brown tips of ears sticking up through the lawn mowings.
Vide alcune buffe punte di orecchie marroni che spuntavano attraverso l'erba tagliata.
Vocabulary
- A
- a — Preposition meaning 'at' or 'to' in Italian
- poco
- poco — A little; a small amount of something
- a
- a — Preposition meaning 'at' or 'to' in Italian
- uno
- uno — The number one; indefinite article 'a/an'
- dopo
- dopo — After; following in time or sequence
- l'
- l' — Elided definite article 'the' before vowel
- altro
- altro — Another; other; a different one
- furono
- furono — They were; third person plural past tense of essere
- sopraffatti
- sopraffatti — Overwhelmed; overcome by a strong force or sensation
- dal
- dal — Contraction of 'da' and 'il', meaning 'from the'
- sonno
- sonno — Sleep; the state of rest and unconsciousness
- e
- e — Conjunction meaning 'and', linking words or clauses
- si
- si — Reflexive pronoun meaning 'themselves' or 'oneself'
- distesero
- distesero — They lay down; stretched out on a surface
- sull'
- sull' — Contraction of 'su' and 'l'', meaning 'on the'
- erba
- erba — Grass; green plants covering the ground
- tagliata
- tagliata — Cut; trimmed, as in freshly mowed grass
- non
- non — Negation word meaning 'not' in Italian
- era
- era — He/she/it was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- così
- così — So; thus; in this way or to such a degree
- sopraffatto
- sopraffatto — Overwhelmed; overcome by a powerful feeling or force
- come
- come — As; like; how; used in comparisons
- i
- i — Definite article 'the' used with masculine plural nouns
- suoi
- suoi — His; her; possessive adjective for third person singular
- figli
- figli — Children; sons; offspring of a parent
- Prima
- prima — Before; earlier in time or sequence
- di
- di — Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from' in Italian
- addormentarsi
- addormentarsi — To fall asleep; to drift into sleep
- abbastanza
- abbastanza — Enough; sufficiently; quite a lot
- sveglio
- sveglio — Awake; alert; not sleeping
- da
- da — Preposition meaning 'from', 'by', or 'since'
- mettere
- mettere — To put; to place something somewhere
- un
- un — Indefinite article 'a' or 'an' for masculine nouns
- sacchetto
- sacchetto — A small bag or pouch used to hold things
- carta
- carta — Paper; a thin material used for writing or wrapping
- sulla
- sulla — Contraction of 'su' and 'la', meaning 'on the'
- testa
- testa — Head; the upper part of the body
- per
- per — For; in order to; through; preposition of purpose
- tenere
- tenere — To keep; to hold; to maintain something
- lontane
- lontane — Far away; distant; kept at a distance
- le
- le — Definite article 'the' for feminine plural nouns
- mosche
- mosche — Flies; small buzzing insects often found outdoors
- I
- i — Definite article 'the' for masculine plural nouns
- piccoli
- piccoli — Small; little; young; diminutive in size
- Coniglietti
- coniglietti — Little rabbits; small young bunnies
- dormivano
- dormivano — They were sleeping; imperfect tense of dormire
- deliziosamente
- deliziosamente — Delightfully; in a wonderfully pleasant manner
- nel
- nel — Contraction of 'in' and 'il', meaning 'in the'
- caldo
- caldo — Warm; hot; describing a comfortable heat
- sole
- sole — Sun; the star providing light and warmth
- Dal
- dal — Contraction of 'da' and 'il', meaning 'from the'
- prato
- prato — Meadow; a grassy open field or lawn
- oltre
- oltre — Beyond; past; on the other side of
- il
- il — Definite article 'the' for masculine singular nouns
- giardino
- giardino — Garden; an outdoor area for growing plants
- giungeva
- giungeva — It was coming; arriving from a distance
- lontano
- lontano — Far; distant; from a place far away
- rumore
- rumore — Noise; a sound, often loud or disruptive
- sferragliante
- sferragliante — Clanking; rattling metallic noise of machinery
- della
- della — Contraction of 'di' and 'la', meaning 'of the'
- falciatrice
- falciatrice — Mowing machine; device used to cut grass
- Le
- le — Definite article 'the' for feminine plural nouns
- ronzavano
- ronzavano — They were buzzing; humming sound of insects
- intorno
- intorno — Around; surrounding; in the vicinity of
- al
- al — Contraction of 'a' and 'il', meaning 'to the'
- muro
- muro — Wall; a solid vertical structure dividing spaces
- vecchio
- vecchio — Old; aged; having existed for a long time
- topolino
- topolino — Little mouse; a small rodent
- frugava
- frugava — Was rummaging; searching through things messily
- tra
- tra — Among; between; in the middle of things
- rifiuti
- rifiuti — Refuse; rubbish; discarded waste materials
- in
- in — Preposition meaning 'in' or 'inside' something
- mezzo
- mezzo — Middle; half; in the midst of something
- ai
- ai — Contraction of 'a' and 'i', meaning 'to the'
- vasi
- vasi — Jars; pots; containers used for preserving food
- marmellata
- marmellata — Jam; sweet fruit preserve spread on bread
- Posso
- posso — I can; I am able to do something
- dirvi
- dirvi — To tell you all; inform you plural
- suo
- suo — His; her; possessive adjective third person singular
- nome
- nome — Name; the word used to identify someone
- chiamava
- chiamava — Was called; her name was; imperfect of chiamarsi
- topo
- topo — Mouse; rat; a small rodent animal
- bosco
- bosco — Wood; forest; a wooded natural area
- con
- con — With; accompanied by; together with something
- una
- una — Indefinite article 'a' or 'an' for feminine nouns
- lunga
- lunga — Long; extended in length or duration
- coda
- coda — Tail; the appendage at the rear of an animal
- Frusciò
- frusciò — It rustled; made a soft swishing sound
- attraverso
- attraverso — Through; across; from one side to another
- svegliò
- svegliò — Woke up; awakened someone from sleep
- Il
- il — Definite article 'the' for masculine singular nouns
- scusò
- scusò — Apologized; excused himself profusely
- profusamente
- profusamente — Profusely; abundantly; with great expression
- disse
- disse — He/she said; past tense of dire
- che
- che — That; which; conjunction linking clauses
- conosceva
- conosceva — He/she knew; was acquainted with someone
- Mentre
- mentre — While; during the time that something happens
- lei
- lei — She; her; third person singular feminine pronoun
- stavano
- stavano — They were; imperfect of stare indicating ongoing action
- parlando
- parlando — Talking; speaking; present participle of parlare
- vicino
- vicino — Near; close by; nearby in proximity
- udirono
- udirono — They heard; perceived a sound with their ears
- passo
- passo — Step; footstep; the sound of someone walking
- pesante
- pesante — Heavy; weighty; having great weight or force
- sopra
- sopra — Above; over; on top of something
- loro
- loro — Their; them; third person plural pronoun
- teste
- teste — Heads; plural of testa, upper body part
- improvvisamente
- improvvisamente — Suddenly; unexpectedly; without prior warning
- Signor
- signor — Mister; Mr.; a title of address for a man
- svuotò
- svuotò — Emptied; poured out the contents of a container
- sacco
- sacco — Sack; a large bag used to carry things
- pieno
- pieno — Full; filled completely with something
- proprio
- proprio — Right on top; exactly; one's own; directly onto
- rannicchiò
- rannicchiò — Curled up; huddled into a small ball shape
- sotto
- sotto — Under; beneath; below something
- nascose
- nascose — Hid; concealed; past tense of nascondere
- vaso
- vaso — Jar; pot; container used for storing things
- conigli
- conigli — Rabbits; plural of coniglio, fluffy hopping animals
- sorridevano
- sorridevano — They were smiling; expressing happiness on face
- dolcemente
- dolcemente — Sweetly; gently; in a soft pleasant manner
- la
- la — Definite article 'the' for feminine singular nouns
- pioggia
- pioggia — Rain; water falling from clouds in the sky
- svegliarono
- svegliarono — They woke up; awakened from their sleep
- perché
- perché — Because; why; used to give or ask reasons
- lattughe
- lattughe — Lettuces; leafy green vegetables eaten in salads
- erano
- erano — They were; third person plural imperfect of essere
- state
- state — Been; past participle of essere, feminine plural
- soporifere
- soporifere — Sleep-inducing; causing drowsiness and sleepiness
- Sognavano
- sognavano — They were dreaming; having dreams while asleep
- madre
- madre — Mother; a female parent
- li
- li — Them; third person masculine plural direct object pronoun
- stesse
- stesse — Was; subjunctive imperfect of stare indicating ongoing action
- rimboccando
- rimboccando — Tucking in; folding bedding snugly around someone
- letto
- letto — Bed; furniture for sleeping and resting
- fieno
- fieno — Hay; dried grass used as animal bedding or food
- guardò
- guardò — He/she looked; glanced; past tense of guardare
- basso
- basso — Down; low; toward the ground or lower position
- aver
- aver — Having; infinitive of avere used in compound forms
- svuotato
- svuotato — Emptied; past participle of svuotare
- Vide
- vide — He/she saw; past tense of vedere
- alcune
- alcune — Some; a few; an unspecified number of things
- buffe
- buffe — Funny; odd; comical in appearance
- punte
- punte — Tips; points; pointed ends of something
- orecchie
- orecchie — Ears; the organs used for hearing sounds
- marroni
- marroni — Brown; a dark earthy color
- spuntavano
- spuntavano — Were poking out; emerging from underneath something
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