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!
Il posa le jambon au milieu du plancher, et le frappa avec les pincettes et avec la pelle--bang, bang, vlan, vlan !
The ham flew all into pieces, for underneath the shiny paint it was made of nothing but plaster!
Le jambon vola en morceaux, car sous la peinture brillante il n'était fait que de plâtre !
THEN there was no end to the rage and disappointment of Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca.
ALORS il n'y eut pas de limite à la rage et à la déception de Tom Pouce et Hunca Munca.
They broke up the pudding, the lobsters, the pears and the oranges.
Ils brisèrent le pudding, les homards, les poires et les oranges.
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.
Comme le poisson ne voulait pas se détacher de l'assiette, ils le mirent dans le feu de papier froissé brûlant de la cuisine ; mais il ne voulait pas brûler non plus.
TOM THUMB went up the kitchen chimney and looked out at the top--there was no soot.
TOM POUCE monta dans la cheminée de la cuisine et regarda par le haut--il n'y avait pas de suie.
WHILE Tom Thumb was up the chimney, Hunca Munca had another disappointment.
PENDANT que Tom Pouce était dans la cheminée, Hunca Munca eut une autre déception.
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.
Elle trouva de petites boîtes sur le buffet, étiquetées--Riz--Café--Sagou--mais quand elle les retourna, il n'y avait rien à l'intérieur sauf des perles rouges et bleues.
THEN those mice set to work to do all the mischief they could--especially Tom Thumb!
ALORS ces souris se mirent au travail pour faire toutes les bêtises qu'elles pouvaient--surtout Tom Pouce !
He took Jane's clothes out of the chest of drawers in her bedroom, and he threw them out of the top floor window.
Il sortit les vêtements de Jane de la commode dans sa chambre, et il les jeta par la fenêtre du dernier étage.
But Hunca Munca had a frugal mind.
Mais Hunca Munca avait l'esprit économe.
After pulling half the feathers out of Lucinda's bolster, she remembered that she herself was in want of a feather bed.
Après avoir arraché la moitié des plumes du traversin de Lucinda, elle se souvint qu'elle-même avait besoin d'un lit de plumes.
WITH Tom Thumb's assistance she carried the bolster downstairs, and across the hearth-rug.
AVEC l'aide de Tom Pouce, elle porta le traversin en bas de l'escalier, et à travers le tapis de foyer.
It was difficult to squeeze the bolster into the mouse-hole; but they managed it somehow.
Il était difficile de faire passer le traversin dans le trou de souris ; mais ils y parvinrent d'une façon ou d'une autre.
Vocabulary
- posa
- Past tense of 'poser'; placed or set down
- jambon
- A cured or cooked meat from a pig's leg
- milieu
- The middle or center of a space or group
- plancher
- The floor of a room or building
- frappa
- Past tense of 'frapper'; struck or hit something
- pincettes
- Small tongs used to handle fireplace coals
- pelle
- A shovel or scoop, often used at a fireplace
- vlan
- French onomatopoeia for a sharp slapping noise
- vola
- Past tense of 'voler'; flew apart or flew away
- morceaux
- Plural of 'morceau'; pieces or fragments of something
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- peinture
- Paint or painting applied to a surface
- brillante
- Shiny, bright, or glossy in appearance
- plâtre
- Plaster, a white powder used in construction
- eut
- Past historic of 'avoir'; there was or had
- limite
- A boundary or maximum extent of something
- rage
- Intense anger or fury felt by someone
- déception
- A feeling of disappointment or letdown
- Pouce
- Thumb; used here as part of a character's name
- brisèrent
- Past tense of 'briser'; broke or smashed things
- pudding
- A sweet steamed or baked dessert dish
- homards
- Plural of 'homard'; lobsters, large crustaceans
- poires
- Plural of 'poire'; pears, a sweet juicy fruit
- oranges
- Plural of 'orange'; round citrus fruits
- poisson
- A fish or general term for seafood
- détacher
- To detach, remove, or come loose from something
- assiette
- A plate used for serving or eating food
- mirent
- Past tense of 'mettre'; put or placed something
- feu
- Fire, flames, or a burning blaze
- papier
- Paper, a thin material used for writing
- froissé
- Crumpled, creased, or crinkled paper or fabric
- brûlant
- Burning hot or blazing intensely
- cuisine
- A kitchen, or the art of cooking food
- brûler
- To burn or be consumed by fire
- POUCE
- Thumb; part of a character's name here
- monta
- Past tense of 'monter'; went up or climbed
- cheminée
- A chimney or fireplace in a building
- haut
- The top or upper part of something
- suie
- Black powdery residue left by burning in chimneys
- PENDANT
- Preposition meaning 'during' or 'for' a time period
- trouva
- Past tense of 'trouver'; found or discovered something
- boîtes
- Plural of 'boîte'; boxes or containers
- buffet
- A sideboard or cabinet for storing dishes
- étiquetées
- Labeled or tagged with identifying information
- Riz
- Rice, a common starchy grain food
- Café
- Coffee, a popular hot beverage
- Sagou
- Sago, a starch extracted from tropical palms
- retourna
- Past tense of 'retourner'; turned over or returned
- rien
- Pronoun meaning 'nothing' or 'anything'
- intérieur
- The inside or interior of a space
- sauf
- Preposition meaning 'except' or 'apart from'
- perles
- Plural of 'perle'; beads or pearls
- souris
- A mouse or mice, small rodents
- travail
- Work or labor performed to accomplish a task
- bêtises
- Plural of 'bêtise'; foolish acts or mischief
- surtout
- Adverb meaning 'especially' or 'above all'
- sortit
- Past tense of 'sortir'; took out or went out
- vêtements
- Plural of 'vêtement'; clothes or garments worn
- commode
- A chest of drawers or dresser for storing clothes
- chambre
- A bedroom or private room in a house
- jeta
- Past tense of 'jeter'; threw or tossed something
- fenêtre
- A window in a wall or building
- dernier
- Last or final in a sequence or order
- étage
- A floor or storey of a building
- esprit
- Mind, spirit, or wit of a person
- économe
- Thrifty, frugal, or careful with resources
- arraché
- Past participle of 'arracher'; torn out or pulled off
- moitié
- Half or one of two equal parts
- plumes
- Plural of 'plume'; feathers or quill pens
- traversin
- A bolster pillow placed across a bed
- souvint
- Past tense of 'se souvenir'; remembered or recalled
- elle-même
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'herself'
- besoin
- A need or necessity required by someone
- lit
- A bed used for sleeping or resting
- aide
- Help, assistance, or support given to someone
- porta
- Past tense of 'porter'; carried or brought something
- bas
- Low or down; the bottom of something
- escalier
- A staircase or flight of stairs in a building
- travers
- Across or through, used in 'à travers'
- tapis
- A rug or carpet covering a floor
- foyer
- A hearth, lobby, or entrance hall of a building
- difficile
- Difficult, hard, or challenging to accomplish
- passer
- To pass, go through, or cross something
- trou
- A hole or opening in a surface
- parvinrent
- Past tense of 'parvenir'; managed to succeed in doing
- façon
- A way, manner, or method of doing something
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