The Tale of Two Bad Mice — Page 3
He put the ham in the middle of the floor, and hit it with the tongs and with the shovel--bang, bang, smash, smash!
Puso el jamón en el centro del suelo, y lo golpeó con las tenazas y con la pala--¡bang, bang, crash, crash!
The ham flew all into pieces, for underneath the shiny paint it was made of nothing but plaster!
¡El jamón saltó en pedazos, pues debajo de la brillante pintura no estaba hecho más que de yeso!
THEN there was no end to the rage and disappointment of Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca.
ENTONCES la rabia y la decepción de Pulgarcito y Hunca Munca no tuvieron límite.
They broke up the pudding, the lobsters, the pears and the oranges.
Destrozaron el pudín, las langostas, las peras y las naranjas.
As the fish would not come off the plate, they put it into the red-hot crinkly paper fire in the kitchen; but it would not burn either.
Como el pescado no se despegaba del plato, lo metieron en el fuego de papel arrugado al rojo vivo de la cocina; pero tampoco quería arder.
TOM THUMB went up the kitchen chimney and looked out at the top--there was no soot.
PULGARCITO subió por la chimenea de la cocina y se asomó por arriba--no había hollín.
WHILE Tom Thumb was up the chimney, Hunca Munca had another disappointment.
MIENTRAS Pulgarcito estaba subido en la chimenea, Hunca Munca sufrió otra decepción.
She found some tiny canisters upon the dresser, labelled--Rice--Coffee--Sago--but when she turned them upside down, there was nothing inside except red and blue beads.
Encontró unos pequeños botes sobre el aparador, etiquetados--Arroz--Café--Sagú--pero cuando los volcó boca abajo, no había nada dentro excepto cuentas rojas y azules.
THEN those mice set to work to do all the mischief they could--especially Tom Thumb!
ENTONCES aquellos ratones se pusieron a hacer todo el daño que pudieron--¡especialmente Pulgarcito!
He took Jane's clothes out of the chest of drawers in her bedroom, and he threw them out of the top floor window.
Sacó la ropa de Jane del cajón de su dormitorio y la arrojó por la ventana del último piso.
But Hunca Munca had a frugal mind.
Pero Hunca Munca tenía una mente ahorradora.
After pulling half the feathers out of Lucinda's bolster, she remembered that she herself was in want of a feather bed.
Después de arrancar la mitad de las plumas del almohadón de Lucinda, recordó que ella misma necesitaba un colchón de plumas.
WITH Tom Thumb's assistance she carried the bolster downstairs, and across the hearth-rug.
CON la ayuda de Pulgarcito, bajó el almohadón por las escaleras y lo arrastró por la alfombra de la chimenea.
It was difficult to squeeze the bolster into the mouse-hole; but they managed it somehow.
Era difícil meter el almohadón por el agujero del ratón; pero de algún modo lo lograron.
Vocabulary
- Puso
- Third person singular preterite of 'poner'; placed or put.
- jamón
- Cured or cooked ham, a common food item.
- centro
- The middle or central point of something.
- suelo
- The floor or ground surface.
- golpeó
- Hit or struck something forcefully.
- tenazas
- Metal tongs or pincers used for gripping.
- pala
- A shovel or flat-bladed tool for digging.
- saltó
- Jumped or leaped suddenly from a place.
- pedazos
- Pieces or fragments broken from a whole.
- pues
- Conjunction or adverb meaning well, since, or because.
- debajo
- Beneath or underneath something else.
- brillante
- Shiny, bright, or gleaming in appearance.
- pintura
- Paint or a painting applied to a surface.
- hecho
- Past participle of 'hacer'; made or done.
- yeso
- Plaster or gypsum used in construction.
- ENTONCES
- Adverb meaning then or at that moment.
- rabia
- Intense anger or fury felt strongly.
- decepción
- Disappointment or letdown after unmet expectations.
- tuvieron
- Third person plural preterite of 'tener'; they had.
- límite
- A boundary, limit, or restriction on something.
- Destrozaron
- They destroyed or smashed something completely apart.
- pudín
- A pudding or sweet dessert dish.
- langostas
- Lobsters or locusts depending on context.
- peras
- Pears, a sweet juicy fruit.
- naranjas
- Oranges, a round citrus fruit.
- pescado
- Fish as food, caught and prepared for eating.
- despegaba
- Was peeling off or detaching from a surface.
- plato
- A plate or dish used for serving food.
- metieron
- They put or inserted something into a place.
- fuego
- Fire or flame producing heat and light.
- papel
- Paper, a thin material used for writing.
- arrugado
- Crumpled, wrinkled, or creased in texture.
- rojo
- The color red.
- vivo
- Alive or vivid; in 'rojo vivo' means red-hot.
- cocina
- Kitchen or cooking stove in a home.
- tampoco
- Neither, nor, or not either in negation.
- quería
- Imperfect of 'querer'; wanted or wished to.
- arder
- To burn or blaze with flames.
- subió
- Climbed or went up to a higher place.
- chimenea
- A chimney or fireplace used for ventilation.
- asomó
- Peeked out or appeared briefly from somewhere.
- arriba
- Above or up, indicating higher position.
- hollín
- Black soot deposited by smoke in chimneys.
- MIENTRAS
- While or meanwhile, indicating simultaneous actions.
- subido
- Past participle of 'subir'; having climbed or risen.
- sufrió
- Suffered or endured something painful or difficult.
- Encontró
- Found or discovered something upon searching.
- pequeños
- Small or little in size.
- botes
- Jars, cans, or small containers for storing things.
- aparador
- A sideboard or dresser used for storing dishes.
- etiquetados
- Labeled or tagged with identifying information.
- Arroz
- Rice, a staple grain food eaten worldwide.
- Café
- Coffee, a popular hot beverage or its color.
- Sagú
- Sago, a starchy food derived from palm pith.
- cuando
- When, introducing a time clause or question.
- volcó
- Tipped over or overturned something causing spillage.
- boca
- Mouth or opening of a container.
- abajo
- Below or down, indicating a lower position.
- nada
- Nothing, not anything at all.
- dentro
- Inside or within a space or container.
- excepto
- Except or excluding something from a group.
- cuentas
- Beads or small decorative balls strung together.
- azules
- Blue-colored things, plural of azul.
- aquellos
- Those, referring to distant or previously mentioned things.
- ratones
- Mice, small rodents; plural of ratón.
- pusieron
- Third person plural preterite of 'poner'; they put.
- hacer
- To do or to make something.
- daño
- Damage or harm caused to something or someone.
- pudieron
- Third person plural preterite of 'poder'; they could.
- especialmente
- Especially or particularly, to a notable degree.
- Sacó
- Took out or removed something from a place.
- ropa
- Clothing or garments worn on the body.
- cajón
- A drawer in a piece of furniture.
- dormitorio
- A bedroom used for sleeping and resting.
- arrojó
- Threw or hurled something with force.
- ventana
- A window in a wall of a building.
- último
- Last or final in a sequence or order.
- piso
- A floor or story of a building.
- mente
- Mind or intellect used for thinking.
- ahorradora
- Thrifty or saving, tending to conserve resources.
- Después
- After or afterwards, indicating a later time.
- arrancar
- To pull out or tear away something forcefully.
- mitad
- Half or midpoint of something divided in two.
- plumas
- Feathers or pens; here feathers from a pillow.
- almohadón
- A large pillow or cushion for comfort.
- recordó
- Remembered or recalled something from memory.
- misma
- Herself or same, used for emphasis or reflexivity.
- necesitaba
- Needed or required something, imperfect tense.
- colchón
- A mattress used for sleeping on a bed.
- ayuda
- Help or assistance given to someone in need.
- bajó
- Went down or descended to a lower level.
- escaleras
- Stairs or staircase used for climbing floors.
- arrastró
- Dragged or pulled something along a surface.
- alfombra
- A rug or carpet covering a floor.
- difícil
- Difficult or hard, requiring effort to accomplish.
- meter
- To put into or insert something inside a space.
- agujero
- A hole or gap in a surface or material.
- ratón
- A mouse, a small rodent.
- algún
- Some or any, referring to an unspecified one.
- modo
- A way, manner, or method of doing something.
- lograron
- They managed or succeeded in achieving something.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →