The Tale of Tom Kitten — Page 3

English → Fr Full Text Level 2/10

Then the two duck-birds, Rebeccah and Jemima Puddle-Duck, picked up the hat and tucker and put them on.

Puis les deux canards, Rebeccah et Jemima Puddle-Duck, ramassèrent le chapeau et le fichu et les mirent.

Mittens laughed so that she fell off the wall.

Mittens rit tellement qu'elle tomba du mur.

Moppet and Tom descended after her; the pinafores and all the rest of Tom's clothes came off on the way down.

Moppet et Tom descendirent après elle ; les tabliers et tout le reste des vêtements de Tom se détachèrent en chemin.

"Come! Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck," said Moppet--"Come and help us to dress him! Come and button up Tom!"

« Venez ! Monsieur Drake Puddle-Duck, » dit Moppet -- « Venez nous aider à l'habiller ! Venez boutonner Tom ! »

Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck advanced in a slow sideways manner, and picked up the various articles.

Monsieur Drake Puddle-Duck s'avança lentement de côté, et ramassa les différents articles.

But he put them on _himself!_ They fitted him even worse than Tom Kitten.

Mais il les mit _lui-même !_ Ils lui allaient encore moins bien qu'à Tom Kitten.

"It's a very fine morning!" said Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck.

« C'est une très belle matinée ! » dit Monsieur Drake Puddle-Duck.

And he and Jemima and Rebeccah Puddle-Duck set off up the road, keeping step--pit pat, paddle pat! pit pat, waddle pat!

Et lui, Jemima et Rebeccah Puddle-Duck partirent sur la route, en cadence -- pit pat, patapon ! pit pat, patapon !

Then Tabitha Twitchit came down the garden and found her kittens on the wall with no clothes on.

Puis Tabitha Twitchit descendit dans le jardin et trouva ses chatons sur le mur sans vêtements.

She pulled them off the wall, smacked them, and took them back to the house.

Elle les tira du mur, les gifla, et les ramena à la maison.

"My friends will arrive in a minute, and you are not fit to be seen; I am affronted," said Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit.

« Mes amis vont arriver dans un instant, et vous n'êtes pas présentables ; je suis offensée, » dit Madame Tabitha Twitchit.

She sent them upstairs; and I am sorry to say she told her friends that they were in bed with the measles; which was not true.

Elle les envoya à l'étage ; et je suis désolé de dire qu'elle raconta à ses amis qu'ils étaient au lit avec la rougeole ; ce qui n'était pas vrai.

Quite the contrary; they were not in bed: _not_ in the least.

Bien au contraire ; ils n'étaient pas au lit : _pas_ du tout.

Somehow there were very extraordinary noises over-head, which disturbed the dignity and repose of the tea party.

Il y avait comme des bruits très extraordinaires au-dessus, qui troublèrent la dignité et le calme de la réunion autour du thé.

Vocabulary

Puis: pwee — Then, afterward; used to indicate sequence of events.
les: lay — The; definite article for plural nouns.
deux: duh — Two; the number 2.
canards: kah-nar — Ducks; common water birds.
et: ay — And; basic coordinating conjunction.
ramassèrent: rah-mah-sair — Picked up, gathered; past tense of ramasser.
le: luh — The; definite article for singular masculine nouns.
chapeau: shah-poh — Hat; a head covering worn outdoors.
fichu: fee-shoo — Ruined, done for; also a type of neckerchief.
mirent: meer — Put on, placed; past tense of mettre.
rit: ree — Laughed; past tense of rire, to laugh.
tellement: tel-mahn — So much, so very; intensifying adverb.
qu': kuh — That; conjunction used before a vowel sound.
elle: el — She, her; third person singular feminine pronoun.
tomba: tohn-bah — Fell; past tense of tomber, to fall.
du: dew — Of the, from the; contraction of de + le.
mur: myoor — Wall; a vertical structure dividing spaces.
descendirent: deh-sahn-deer — Came down, descended; past tense of descendre.
après: ah-pray — After, afterward; preposition or adverb of time.
tabliers: tah-blee-ay — Aprons; garments worn to protect clothing.
tout: too — All, everything; adjective or pronoun of totality.
reste: rest — Rest, remainder; what is left over.
des: day — Some, of the; indefinite plural article.
vêtements: vet-mahn — Clothes, clothing; items worn on the body.
de: duh — Of, from; very common French preposition.
se: suh — Themselves, oneself; reflexive pronoun.
détachèrent: day-tah-shair — Came undone, detached; past tense of détacher.
en: ahn — In, on, while; versatile preposition or adverb.
chemin: shuh-man — Path, way, road; route taken while traveling.
Venez: vuh-nay — Come! (plural/formal); imperative of venir.
Monsieur: muh-syuh — Mister, sir; formal title for an adult man.
Drake: drayk — Drake; a male duck, used as a proper name.
dit: dee — Said; past tense of dire, to say.
nous: noo — We, us; first person plural pronoun.
aider: ay-day — To help; infinitive verb meaning to assist someone.
à: ah — To, at, in; very common French preposition.
l': luh/lah — The; elided definite article before a vowel.
habiller: ah-bee-yay — To dress, to clothe; putting clothes on someone.
boutonner: boo-toh-nay — To button up; to fasten buttons on clothing.
s': suh — Himself, herself; elided reflexive pronoun.
avança: ah-vahn-sah — Advanced, stepped forward; past tense of avancer.
lentement: lahnt-mahn — Slowly; adverb describing slow movement or pace.
côté: koh-tay — Side; the lateral part of something or direction.
ramassa: rah-mah-sah — Picked up; past tense of ramasser, to collect.
différents: dee-fay-rahn — Different, various; not the same, varied items.
articles: ar-teekl — Items, articles; individual objects or things.
Mais: may — But; conjunction expressing contrast or opposition.
il: eel — He, it; third person singular masculine pronoun.
mit: mee — Put on; past tense of mettre, to put.
_lui-même: lwee-mem — Himself; emphatic reflexive pronoun for he/him.
Ils: eel — They; third person plural masculine pronoun.
lui: lwee — Him, to him; indirect object pronoun.
allaient: ah-lay — Were going, were fitting; imperfect of aller.
encore: ahn-kor — Still, even, again; adverb of continuity or emphasis.
moins: mwan — Less; comparative adverb indicating reduced degree.
bien: byan — Well, good; adverb indicating quality or manner.
C': say — It is, this is; elided demonstrative pronoun.
est: ay — Is; third person singular of être, to be.
une: ewn — A, an; indefinite article for feminine nouns.
très: tray — Very; adverb intensifying adjectives or other adverbs.
belle: bel — Beautiful, lovely; feminine form of beau.
matinée: mah-tee-nay — Morning; the period of time before midday.
Et: ay — And; coordinating conjunction joining clauses or words.
partirent: par-teer — Left, departed; past tense of partir, to leave.
sur: syoor — On, upon, along; preposition of position or direction.
la: lah — The; definite article for singular feminine nouns.
route: root — Road, route; a path used for travel.
cadence: kah-dahns — Rhythm, cadence; regular beat or marching pace.
descendit: deh-sahn-dee — Went down, came down; past tense of descendre.
dans: dahn — In, into; preposition indicating location inside something.
jardin: zhar-dan — Garden; an outdoor area for plants or play.
trouva: troo-vah — Found; past tense of trouver, to find.
ses: say — His, her, its; possessive adjective for plural nouns.
chatons: shah-tohn — Kittens; young cats, plural of chaton.
sans: sahn — Without; preposition indicating absence of something.
Elle: el — She; third person singular feminine subject pronoun.
tira: tee-rah — Pulled; past tense of tirer, to pull or tug.
gifla: zhee-flah — Slapped; past tense of gifler, to slap someone.
ramena: rahm-nah — Brought back; past tense of ramener, to bring back.
maison: may-zohn — House, home; a building where people live.
Mes: may — My; possessive adjective for plural nouns.
amis: ah-mee — Friends; plural of ami, a friend.
vont: vohn — Are going; third person plural of aller, to go.
arriver: ah-ree-vay — To arrive; infinitive meaning to come or show up.
un: uhn — A, an, one; indefinite article for masculine nouns.
instant: an-stahn — Instant, moment; a very brief period of time.
vous: voo — You (plural/formal); second person plural pronoun.
n': nuh — Not; elided negative particle used with pas.
êtes: et — Are; second person plural of être, to be.
pas: pah — Not; negative particle used with ne/n'.
présentables: pray-zahn-tabl — Presentable; suitable to be seen by guests.
je: zhuh — I; first person singular subject pronoun.
suis: swee — Am; first person singular of être, to be.
offensée: oh-fahn-say — Offended, disgraced; feeling hurt by someone's behavior.
Madame: mah-dahm — Madam, Mrs.; polite title for an adult woman.
envoya: ahn-vwah-yah — Sent; past tense of envoyer, to send.
étage: ay-tahzh — Floor, story; a level of a building upstairs.
désolé: day-zoh-lay — Sorry, distressed; feeling regret or disappointment.
dire: deer — To say, to tell; basic infinitive of communication.
raconta: rah-kohn-tah — Told, recounted; past tense of raconter, to narrate.
ils: eel — They; third person plural masculine subject pronoun.
étaient: ay-tay — Were; imperfect tense of être, to be.
au: oh — At the, in the; contraction of à + le.
lit: lee — Bed; furniture used for sleeping.
avec: ah-vek — With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means.
rougeole: roozh-ol — Measles; a contagious childhood illness with rash.
ce: suh — This, that, it; demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
qui: kee — Who, which, that; relative or interrogative pronoun.
était: ay-tay — Was; third person singular imperfect of être.
vrai: vray — True; adjective meaning correct or real.
Bien: byan — Well, indeed; adverb affirming or emphasizing something.
contraire: kohn-trair — Contrary, opposite; the opposite side or meaning.
_pas_: pah — Not at all; emphatic negative, italicized for stress.
Il: eel — He, it; third person singular masculine pronoun.
y: ee — There, it; adverbial pronoun replacing a place.
avait: ah-vay — Had, there was; imperfect of avoir, to have.
comme: kohm — Like, as, such as; conjunction of comparison.
bruits: brwee — Noises, sounds; plural of bruit, a sound.
extraordinaires: eks-trah-or-dee-nair — Extraordinary, unusual; beyond what is ordinary or expected.
au-dessus: oh-duh-sew — Above, overhead; adverb or preposition meaning upstairs.
troublèrent: troo-blair — Disturbed, troubled; past tense of troubler, to disrupt.
dignité: dee-nyee-tay — Dignity; the quality of being worthy of respect.
calme: kahlm — Calm, quiet; peaceful and undisturbed state.
réunion: ray-ew-nyohn — Meeting, gathering; a group coming together socially.
autour: oh-toor — Around; preposition or adverb indicating surrounding.
thé: tay — Tea; a hot beverage made from infused leaves.

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