The Tale of Two Bad Mice — Page 2
A MINUTE afterwards, Hunca Munca, his wife, put her head out, too; and when she saw that there was no one in the nursery, she ventured out on the oilcloth under the coal-box.
EEN MINUUT later stak Hunca Munca, zijn vrouw, ook haar hoofd naar buiten; en toen ze zag dat er niemand in de kinderkamer was, waagde ze zich op het zeil onder de kolenbak.
THE doll's-house stood at the other side of the fire-place. Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca went cautiously across the hearthrug. They pushed the front door--it was not fast.
HET poppenhuis stond aan de andere kant van de open haard. Tom Duim en Hunca Munca liepen voorzichtig over het haardkleed. Ze duwden tegen de voordeur -- die was niet op slot.
TOM THUMB and Hunca Munca went upstairs and peeped into the dining-room. Then they squeaked with joy!
TOM DUIM en Hunca Munca gingen naar boven en keken de eetkamer in. Toen piepten ze van vreugde!
Such a lovely dinner was laid out upon the table! There were tin spoons, and lead knives and forks, and two dolly-chairs--all _so_ convenient!
Zo'n heerlijk diner lag uitgestald op de tafel! Er waren tinnen lepels, en loden messen en vorken, en twee poppenstoeltjes -- allemaal _zo_ handig!
TOM THUMB set to work at once to carve the ham. It was a beautiful shiny yellow, streaked with red.
TOM DUIM ging meteen aan de slag om de ham te snijden. Het was een prachtig glanzend geel, dooraderd met rood.
The knife crumpled up and hurt him; he put his finger in his mouth.
Het mes kreukelde op en deed hem pijn; hij stak zijn vinger in zijn mond.
"It is not boiled enough; it is hard. You have a try, Hunca Munca."
"Hij is niet genoeg gekookt; hij is hard. Probeer jij het maar, Hunca Munca."
HUNCA MUNCA stood up in her chair, and chopped at the ham with another lead knife.
HUNCA MUNCA stond op in haar stoel en hakte met een ander loden mes op de ham in.
"It's as hard as the hams at the cheesemonger's," said Hunca Munca.
"Hij is zo hard als de hammen bij de kaasboer," zei Hunca Munca.
THE ham broke off the plate with a jerk, and rolled under the table.
DE ham brak met een ruk van het bord en rolde onder de tafel.
"Let it alone," said Tom Thumb; "give me some fish, Hunca Munca!"
"Laat maar zitten," zei Tom Duim; "geef mij wat vis, Hunca Munca!"
HUNCA MUNCA tried every tin spoon in turn; the fish was glued to the dish.
HUNCA MUNCA probeerde om beurt elke tinnen lepel; de vis was vastgeplakt aan de schaal.
Then Tom Thumb lost his temper.
Toen verloor Tom Duim zijn geduld.
Vocabulary
- EEN
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- MINUUT
- A unit of time equal to sixty seconds
- later
- At a subsequent point in time
- stak
- Past tense of 'steken', meaning pushed or inserted
- zijn
- To be; also possessive pronoun meaning 'his'
- vrouw
- Woman or wife
- ook
- Also or too, indicating addition
- haar
- Her or hair, depending on context
- hoofd
- Head, the upper part of the body
- naar
- To or towards a place or direction
- buiten
- Outside or outdoors, beyond an enclosed space
- en
- Conjunction meaning 'and', connecting words or clauses
- toen
- Then or when, referring to a past moment
- ze
- She, they, or her depending on context
- zag
- Past tense of 'zien', meaning saw
- dat
- That, used as conjunction or demonstrative pronoun
- er
- There, used as expletive or locative pronoun
- niemand
- Nobody or no one, referring to absence of people
- in
- Preposition indicating location inside something
- de
- Definite article 'the' used with common nouns
- kinderkamer
- Children's room or nursery in a house
- was
- Past tense of 'zijn', meaning was
- waagde
- Past tense of 'wagen', meaning dared or ventured
- zich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning himself, herself, or itself
- op
- Preposition meaning on or up
- het
- Definite article 'the' used with neuter nouns
- zeil
- Oilcloth or linoleum floor covering
- onder
- Under or beneath something
- kolenbak
- Coal scuttle or box for holding coal
- HET
- Emphatic definite article 'the' for neuter nouns
- poppenhuis
- Dollhouse, a miniature house for toy dolls
- stond
- Past tense of 'staan', meaning stood or was located
- aan
- Preposition meaning at, on, or to
- andere
- Other or another, indicating a different one
- kant
- Side or edge of something
- van
- Preposition meaning of or from
- open
- Open, not closed or accessible
- haard
- Fireplace or hearth in a room
- Duim
- Thumb; also name meaning 'Thumb' for tiny character
- liepen
- Past tense of 'lopen', meaning walked or ran
- voorzichtig
- Carefully or cautiously, with great care
- over
- Preposition meaning over, across, or about
- haardkleed
- Hearth rug placed in front of a fireplace
- Ze
- They or she, subject pronoun in Dutch
- duwden
- Past tense of 'duwen', meaning pushed
- tegen
- Against or towards something
- voordeur
- Front door of a house or building
- die
- Relative pronoun or demonstrative meaning that or which
- niet
- Not, used to negate verbs or adjectives
- slot
- Lock on a door or gate
- DUIM
- Thumb; character name meaning tiny or small
- gingen
- Past tense of 'gaan', meaning went
- boven
- Above or upstairs in a building
- keken
- Past tense of 'kijken', meaning looked
- eetkamer
- Dining room where meals are eaten
- Toen
- Then, at that moment in the past
- piepten
- Past tense of 'piepen', meaning squeaked
- vreugde
- Joy or delight, a feeling of great happiness
- Zo'n
- Such a, indicating a remarkable or specific thing
- heerlijk
- Delicious or wonderful, expressing great pleasure
- diner
- Dinner, the main meal of the day
- lag
- Past tense of 'liggen', meaning lay or was lying
- uitgestald
- Displayed or laid out for viewing
- tafel
- Table, a piece of furniture with a flat surface
- Er
- There, used as expletive subject in sentences
- waren
- Past tense plural of 'zijn', meaning were
- tinnen
- Made of tin, describing a metal material
- lepels
- Spoons, utensils used for eating or stirring
- loden
- Made of lead, a heavy grey metal
- messen
- Knives, sharp utensils used for cutting food
- vorken
- Forks, pronged utensils used for eating
- twee
- Two, the number between one and three
- poppenstoeltjes
- Small doll chairs, miniature seats for toy figures
- allemaal
- All or everyone, referring to an entire group
- _zo_
- So or such, used for emphasis in sentences
- handig
- Handy, clever, or skillfully made
- ging
- Past tense of 'gaan', meaning went
- meteen
- Immediately or right away without delay
- slag
- Hit or blow; also used in phrases like 'aan de slag'
- om
- Around or in order to, used with infinitives
- ham
- Ham, a cured meat product from pork
- te
- To, used before infinitive verbs
- snijden
- To cut, using a knife or sharp object
- Het
- Definite article 'the' for neuter nouns
- een
- Indefinite article 'a' or 'an' before nouns
- prachtig
- Beautiful or magnificent, extremely attractive
- glanzend
- Shiny or gleaming, reflecting light brightly
- geel
- Yellow, the colour of the sun
- dooraderd
- Veined or streaked through with another colour
- met
- With, indicating accompaniment or means
- rood
- Red, the colour of blood or fire
- mes
- Knife, a sharp blade used for cutting
- kreukelde
- Past tense of 'kreuken', meaning crumpled or bent
- deed
- Past tense of 'doen', meaning did or caused
- hem
- Him, object pronoun referring to a male
- pijn
- Pain or hurt, a feeling of physical discomfort
- hij
- He, subject pronoun referring to a male
- vinger
- Finger, a digit on the human hand
- mond
- Mouth, the opening used for eating and speaking
- Hij
- He, subject pronoun referring to a male person
- is
- Is, third person singular of 'to be'
- genoeg
- Enough, a sufficient amount or degree
- gekookt
- Past participle of 'koken', meaning cooked or boiled
- hard
- Hard, firm, or difficult to cut or break
- Probeer
- Imperative of 'proberen', meaning try
- jij
- You, emphatic second person singular pronoun
- maar
- But or just, used for contrast or softening
- stoel
- Chair, a piece of furniture for sitting
- hakte
- Past tense of 'hakken', meaning chopped or hacked
- ander
- Other or another, a different one
- zo
- So or thus, indicating manner or degree
- als
- As or like, used for comparison
- hammen
- Plural of ham, cured pork meat products
- bij
- At, near, or with someone or something
- kaasboer
- Cheese seller or cheesemonger at a market
- zei
- Past tense of 'zeggen', meaning said
- DE
- Emphatic definite article 'the' for common nouns
- brak
- Past tense of 'breken', meaning broke
- ruk
- A sudden jerk or tug
- bord
- Plate or dish for serving food
- rolde
- Past tense of 'rollen', meaning rolled
- Laat
- Let or leave, imperative of 'laten'
- zitten
- To sit or to leave something alone
- geef
- Give, imperative form of 'geven'
- mij
- Me, first person singular object pronoun
- wat
- What or some, used as pronoun or determiner
- vis
- Fish, an aquatic animal eaten as food
- probeerde
- Past tense of 'proberen', meaning tried
- beurt
- Turn, one's opportunity to do something
- elke
- Every or each, referring to all individuals
- lepel
- Spoon, a utensil for eating or stirring
- vastgeplakt
- Stuck or glued firmly in place
- schaal
- Dish, bowl, or serving platter for food
- verloor
- Past tense of 'verliezen', meaning lost
- geduld
- Patience, the ability to wait calmly
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