The Tale of Tom Kitten — Page 2
Tabitha unwisely turned them out into the garden, to be out of the way while she made hot buttered toast.
Tabitha schickte sie unklugweise in den Garten, damit sie ihr nicht im Wege wären, während sie heiße Buttertoasts zubereitete.
"Now keep your frocks clean, children! You must walk on your hind legs.
„Haltet eure Kleider sauber, Kinder! Ihr müsst auf euren Hinterbeinen laufen.
Moppet and Mittens walked down the garden path unsteadily.
Moppet und Mittens gingen unsicher den Gartenweg entlang.
Presently they trod upon their pinafores and fell on their noses.
Bald darauf traten sie auf ihre Schürzen und fielen auf die Nasen.
When they stood up there were several green smears!
Als sie aufstanden, hatten sie mehrere grüne Flecken!
They turned their pinafores back to front, and went up with a skip and a jump; Moppet's white tucker fell down into the road.
Sie drehten ihre Schürzen verkehrt herum und hüpften und sprangen hinauf; Moppets weißes Halstuch fiel auf die Straße hinunter.
Tom Kitten was quite unable to jump when walking upon his hind legs in trousers.
Tom Kätzchen war beim Laufen auf seinen Hinterbeinen in seiner Hose überhaupt nicht in der Lage zu springen.
He came up the rockery by degrees, breaking the ferns, and shedding buttons right and left.
Er kletterte nach und nach den Steingarten hinauf, zerbrach dabei die Farne und verlor nach allen Seiten Knöpfe.
He was all in pieces when he reached the top of the wall.
Er war völlig zerzaust, als er die Mauerkrone erreichte.
Moppet and Mittens tried to pull him together; his hat fell off, and the rest of his buttons burst.
Moppet und Mittens versuchten ihn wieder in Ordnung zu bringen; sein Hut fiel herunter und die restlichen Knöpfe sprangen ab.
While they were in difficulties, there was a pit pat paddle pat! and the three Puddle-Ducks came along the hard high road, marching one behind the other and doing the goose step--pit pat paddle pat! pit pat waddle pat!
Während sie in Schwierigkeiten waren, ertönte ein Platsch-platsch-patsch-patsch! und die drei Pfützenenten kamen die feste Landstraße entlang, marschierten eine hinter der anderen im Stechschritt – Platsch-platsch-patsch-patsch! Platsch-watsch-patsch-patsch!
They stopped and stood in a row, and stared up at the kittens.
Sie blieben stehen, stellten sich in eine Reihe und starrten zu den Kätzchen hinauf.
They had very small eyes and looked surprised.
Sie hatten sehr kleine Augen und sahen überrascht aus.
Vocabulary
- schickte
- Sent someone to a place or on an errand.
- sie
- She, they, or formal you in German.
- unklugweise
- Unwisely, in a foolish or imprudent manner.
- in
- In, into; a common preposition of location.
- den
- The; definite article in accusative masculine form.
- Garten
- Garden; an outdoor area for plants or play.
- damit
- So that; conjunction expressing purpose or intent.
- ihr
- Her, their, or you (plural); German pronoun or possessive.
- nicht
- Not; basic negation word in German.
- im
- In the; contraction of in and dem.
- Wege
- Way, path; in the phrase im Wege sein, meaning in the way.
- wären
- Would be; subjunctive II form of sein.
- während
- While, during; conjunction or preposition of time.
- heiße
- Hot; adjective describing high temperature, here inflected.
- Buttertoasts
- Buttered toasts; slices of toast spread with butter.
- zubereitete
- Prepared, made ready; past tense of zubereiten.
- Haltet
- Keep, hold; imperative plural form of halten.
- eure
- Your; possessive pronoun for plural you in German.
- Kleider
- Clothes, dresses; garments worn on the body.
- sauber
- Clean, tidy; free from dirt or stains.
- Kinder
- Children; young people, offspring.
- Ihr
- You (plural); second-person plural pronoun in German.
- müsst
- Must, have to; second-person plural of müssen.
- auf
- On, upon, on top of; common German preposition.
- euren
- Your; possessive pronoun, accusative plural form.
- Hinterbeinen
- Hind legs; the rear legs of an animal.
- laufen
- To run or walk; to move on foot.
- und
- And; basic coordinating conjunction in German.
- gingen
- Went, walked; simple past tense of gehen.
- unsicher
- Unsteady, uncertain; lacking confidence or stability.
- Gartenweg
- Garden path; a walkway running through a garden.
- entlang
- Along; preposition indicating movement beside something.
- Bald
- Soon; in a short period of time.
- darauf
- After that, thereupon; referring to what follows.
- traten
- Stepped, trod; simple past tense of treten.
- ihre
- Their, her; possessive pronoun in German.
- Schürzen
- Aprons; protective garments worn over clothing.
- fielen
- Fell, dropped; simple past tense of fallen.
- die
- The; definite article or relative pronoun in German.
- Nasen
- Noses; the facial organs used for smelling.
- Als
- When, as; conjunction introducing a past-time clause.
- aufstanden
- Stood up, got up; simple past of aufstehen.
- hatten
- Had; simple past tense of haben.
- mehrere
- Several, a number of; more than two things.
- grüne
- Green; adjective describing the color green, inflected.
- Flecken
- Spots, stains; marks of dirt or color on a surface.
- Sie
- They or formal you; German third-person plural pronoun.
- drehten
- Turned, rotated; simple past tense of drehen.
- verkehrt
- Wrong way around, reversed; incorrectly oriented.
- herum
- Around; adverb indicating circular or reversed motion.
- hüpften
- Hopped, skipped; simple past tense of hüpfen.
- sprangen
- Jumped, leaped; simple past tense of springen.
- hinauf
- Up, upward; directional adverb indicating upward movement.
- weißes
- White; adjective for the color white, inflected neuter.
- Halstuch
- Neckerchief, scarf; a cloth worn around the neck.
- fiel
- Fell; third-person singular simple past of fallen.
- Straße
- Street, road; a public way for vehicles and pedestrians.
- hinunter
- Down, downward; directional adverb indicating downward movement.
- Kätzchen
- Kitten; a young or small cat.
- war
- Was; simple past tense of sein, third-person singular.
- beim
- While doing, at the; contraction of bei and dem.
- Laufen
- Running, walking; nominalized infinitive of laufen.
- seinen
- His; possessive pronoun in accusative masculine form.
- seiner
- His; possessive pronoun in genitive or dative form.
- Hose
- Trousers, pants; a garment covering the legs.
- überhaupt
- At all, in general; used for emphasis or negation.
- der
- The; definite article in nominative masculine or genitive forms.
- Lage
- Position, situation; the state or condition of something.
- zu
- To, too, closed; preposition or infinitive marker.
- springen
- To jump, to leap; movement through the air.
- Er
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun.
- kletterte
- Climbed; simple past tense of klettern.
- nach
- To, after, according to; a versatile German preposition.
- Steingarten
- Rock garden; a garden featuring stones and alpine plants.
- zerbrach
- Broke apart; simple past tense of zerbrechen.
- dabei
- In doing so, in the process; adverb of simultaneity.
- Farne
- Ferns; leafy non-flowering plants growing in damp places.
- verlor
- Lost; simple past tense of verlieren.
- allen
- All; pronoun or adjective in dative plural form.
- Seiten
- Sides, pages; directions or faces of an object.
- Knöpfe
- Buttons; small fasteners used on clothing.
- völlig
- Completely, totally; to an absolute or entire degree.
- zerzaust
- Disheveled, ruffled; having untidy or messed-up fur or hair.
- als
- When, as, than; conjunction used for comparisons and time.
- er
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun in German.
- Mauerkrone
- Top of the wall; the uppermost surface of a wall.
- erreichte
- Reached, arrived at; simple past tense of erreichen.
- versuchten
- Tried, attempted; simple past tense of versuchen.
- ihn
- Him; accusative form of the pronoun er.
- wieder
- Again, back; adverb indicating repetition or return.
- Ordnung
- Order, tidiness; a state of neatness and organization.
- bringen
- To bring; to carry or move something to a place.
- sein
- His or to be; possessive pronoun or infinitive of sein.
- Hut
- Hat; a head covering worn for warmth or style.
- herunter
- Down from, off; directional adverb for downward movement.
- restlichen
- Remaining, rest of; adjective describing what is left over.
- ab
- Off, away; separable prefix indicating removal or departure.
- Während
- While, during; conjunction or preposition indicating simultaneity.
- Schwierigkeiten
- Difficulties, troubles; challenging situations or problems.
- waren
- Were; simple past tense of sein, plural form.
- ertönte
- Rang out, sounded; simple past of ertönen, to resound.
- ein
- A, an; the indefinite article in German.
- drei
- Three; the cardinal number between two and four.
- Pfützenenten
- Puddle ducks; ducks that wade and dabble in puddles.
- kamen
- Came; simple past tense of kommen, to come.
- feste
- Firm, solid; adjective describing a hard or packed surface.
- Landstraße
- Country road; a road running through rural landscape.
- marschierten
- Marched; simple past tense of marschieren, to march.
- eine
- One, a; feminine indefinite article or numeral.
- hinter
- Behind, after; preposition indicating position at the rear.
- anderen
- Other, others; referring to a different or additional one.
- Stechschritt
- Goose step; a military marching style with stiff legs.
- blieben
- Stayed, remained; simple past tense of bleiben.
- stehen
- To stand; to be in an upright stationary position.
- stellten
- Placed, positioned; simple past tense of stellen.
- sich
- Themselves, oneself; reflexive pronoun in German.
- Reihe
- Row, line; a series of things arranged in order.
- starrten
- Stared, gazed; simple past tense of starren.
- sehr
- Very, very much; intensifying adverb in German.
- kleine
- Small, little; adjective describing something of small size.
- Augen
- Eyes; the organs used for seeing.
- sahen
- Looked, saw; simple past tense of sehen.
- überrascht
- Surprised, astonished; showing unexpected wonder or shock.
- aus
- Out of, from, off; common German preposition or prefix.
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