The Wonderful Wizard of Oz — Page 2
Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere.
Nemmeno l'erba era verde, perché il sole aveva bruciato le cime dei lunghi fili d'erba finché non erano diventati dello stesso colore grigio che si vedeva ovunque.
Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.
Un tempo la casa era stata dipinta, ma il sole aveva fatto scrostare la vernice e le piogge l'avevano lavata via, e ora la casa era grigia e spenta come tutto il resto.
When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife.
Quando zia Em era venuta lì a vivere, era una giovane e graziosa sposa.
The sun and wind had changed her, too.
Il sole e il vento l'avevano cambiata anche lei.
They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also.
Avevano tolto il luccichio dai suoi occhi lasciandoli di un grigio spento; avevano tolto il rosso dalle sue guance e dalle sue labbra, e anche quelle erano diventate grigie.
She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now.
Era magra e sparuta, e ormai non sorrideva mai.
When Dorothy, who was an orphan, first came to her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child's laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever Dorothy's merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at.
Quando Dorothy, che era orfana, era venuta da lei per la prima volta, zia Em era rimasta così sconvolta dalla risata della bambina che si metteva a urlare e a premere la mano sul cuore ogni volta che la voce allegra di Dorothy le giungeva alle orecchie; e guardava ancora la bambina con stupore che potesse trovare qualcosa di cui ridere.
Uncle Henry never laughed.
Lo zio Henry non rideva mai.
He worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was.
Lavorava sodo dalla mattina alla sera e non sapeva cosa fosse la gioia.
He was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots, and he looked stern and solemn, and rarely spoke.
Era grigio anche lui, dalla lunga barba agli stivali rozzi, e aveva un aspetto severo e solenne, e parlava raramente.
It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings.
Era Toto che faceva ridere Dorothy, e la salvava dal diventare grigia come tutto ciò che la circondava.
Vocabulary
- Nemmeno
- nem-ME-no — Not even; used to emphasize a negative statement
- l'
- l' — Elided form of definite article il/la before vowels
- erba
- ER-ba — Grass; low green plants covering ground
- era
- E-ra — Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- verde
- VER-de — Green; the color of grass and leaves
- perché
- per-KÉ — Because; introduces a reason or cause
- il
- il — The; masculine singular definite article
- sole
- SO-le — Sun; the star at the center of our solar system
- aveva
- a-VE-va — Had; third person singular imperfect of avere
- bruciato
- bru-CHA-to — Burned; scorched or damaged by intense heat
- le
- le — The; feminine plural definite article
- cime
- CHI-me — Tips; tops or pointed ends of something
- dei
- DE-i — Of the; masculine plural partitive article
- lunghi
- LUN-gi — Long; having great length, masculine plural form
- fili
- FI-li — Blades; thin strands or threads of grass
- d'
- d' — Of; elided preposition di before a vowel
- finché
- fin-KÉ — Until; up to the point when something happens
- non
- non — Not; standard negation word in Italian
- erano
- E-ra-no — Were; third person plural imperfect of essere
- diventati
- di-ven-TA-ti — Become; past participle of diventare, masculine plural
- dello
- DEL-lo — Of the; masculine singular articulated preposition
- stesso
- STES-so — Same; identical, used for comparison
- colore
- co-LO-re — Color; the visual appearance of an object
- grigio
- GRI-jo — Gray; dull neutral color between black and white
- che
- ke — That/which; relative pronoun or conjunction
- si
- si — Reflexive/impersonal pronoun, oneself or one
- vedeva
- ve-DE-va — Could see; third person singular imperfect of vedere
- ovunque
- o-VUN-kwe — Everywhere; in every place without exception
- Un
- un — A/an; masculine singular indefinite article
- tempo
- TEM-po — Time; a period or point in the past
- la
- la — The; feminine singular definite article
- casa
- CA-sa — House; a building where people live
- stata
- STA-ta — Been; past participle of essere, feminine form
- dipinta
- di-PIN-ta — Painted; covered with paint, feminine past participle
- ma
- ma — But; conjunction indicating contrast or opposition
- fatto
- FAT-to — Made/done; past participle of fare
- scrostare
- scro-STA-re — To peel off; to cause paint or coating to flake
- vernice
- ver-NI-che — Paint/varnish; coating applied to surfaces
- e
- e — And; basic coordinating conjunction
- piogge
- PIOG-ge — Rains; plural of pioggia, precipitation events
- avevano
- a-VE-va-no — Had; third person plural imperfect of avere
- lavata
- la-VA-ta — Washed; cleaned with water, feminine past participle
- via
- VI-a — Away; indicating removal or departure from place
- ora
- O-ra — Now; at the present moment in time
- grigia
- GRI-ja — Gray; dull neutral color, feminine singular form
- spenta
- SPEN-ta — Dull/dim; lacking brightness or vitality, feminine
- come
- CO-me — Like/as; used for comparison between things
- tutto
- TUT-to — Everything/all; the entirety of something
- resto
- RE-sto — Rest/remainder; what is left of something
- Quando
- KWAN-do — When; at the time that something occurred
- zia
- ZI-a — Aunt; a parent's sister or uncle's wife
- venuta
- ve-NU-ta — Come; feminine past participle of venire
- lì
- lì — There; at that specific place already mentioned
- a
- a — To/at; basic Italian preposition of place or direction
- vivere
- VI-ve-re — To live; to reside or be alive somewhere
- una
- U-na — A/an; feminine singular indefinite article
- giovane
- JO-va-ne — Young; at an early stage of life
- graziosa
- gra-TSIO-sa — Pretty/graceful; attractive and charming, feminine form
- sposa
- SPO-sa — Bride/wife; a woman recently married or betrothed
- Il
- il — The; masculine singular definite article
- vento
- VEN-to — Wind; moving air, often metaphor for hardship
- cambiata
- cam-BIA-ta — Changed; transformed, feminine past participle of cambiare
- anche
- AN-ke — Also/too; in addition to what was mentioned
- lei
- le-i — Her/she; third person singular feminine pronoun
- Avevano
- a-VE-va-no — They had; third person plural imperfect of avere
- tolto
- TOL-to — Taken away/removed; past participle of togliere
- luccichio
- luc-chi-KI-o — Sparkle/gleam; a bright shimmering light or shine
- dai
- da-i — From the; masculine plural articulated preposition
- suoi
- SWO-i — Her/his; possessive adjective, masculine plural form
- occhi
- OK-ki — Eyes; the organs used for seeing
- lasciandoli
- la-SHAND-o-li — Leaving them; gerund of lasciare with clitic pronoun
- di
- di — Of; basic preposition indicating possession or quality
- un
- un — A; masculine singular indefinite article
- spento
- SPEN-to — Dull/extinguished; lacking light or life, masculine
- rosso
- ROS-so — Red; the color of blood and fire
- dalle
- DAL-le — From the; feminine plural articulated preposition
- sue
- SU-e — Her; possessive adjective, feminine plural form
- guance
- GWAN-che — Cheeks; the fleshy parts on sides of the face
- labbra
- LAB-bra — Lips; the fleshy parts surrounding the mouth
- quelle
- KWEL-le — Those; feminine plural demonstrative adjective/pronoun
- diventate
- di-ven-TA-te — Become; past participle of diventare, feminine plural
- grigie
- GRI-je — Gray; dull color, feminine plural adjectival form
- Era
- E-ra — She was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- magra
- MA-gra — Thin/lean; having little body fat, feminine form
- sparuta
- spa-RU-ta — Gaunt/haggard; thin and worn-looking, feminine form
- ormai
- or-MA-i — By now/anymore; indicating a current definitive state
- sorrideva
- sor-ri-DE-va — Smiled; third person singular imperfect of sorridere
- mai
- ma-i — Never/ever; used in negation or questions
- orfana
- OR-fa-na — Orphan; a child whose parents have both died
- da
- da — From/since/by; versatile Italian preposition
- per
- per — For/through/by; preposition indicating purpose or means
- prima
- PRI-ma — First/before; earliest in order or time
- volta
- VOL-ta — Time/turn; an instance or occurrence of something
- rimasta
- ri-MA-sta — Remained; feminine past participle of rimanere
- così
- co-ZÌ — So/thus; in this way or to such a degree
- sconvolta
- scon-VOL-ta — Overwhelmed/shaken; deeply disturbed, feminine past participle
- dalla
- DAL-la — From the; feminine singular articulated preposition
- risata
- ri-SA-ta — Laugh; a burst of laughter from someone
- della
- DEL-la — Of the; feminine singular articulated preposition
- bambina
- bam-BI-na — Little girl; a young female child
- metteva
- met-TE-va — Would put/set; third person singular imperfect of mettere
- urlare
- ur-LA-re — To scream/shout; to cry out loudly in distress
- premere
- PRE-me-re — To press; to push firmly against something
- mano
- MA-no — Hand; the body part at the end of the arm
- sul
- sul — On the; masculine singular articulated preposition
- cuore
- KWO-re — Heart; the organ or center of emotion
- ogni
- ON-yi — Every/each; referring to all members of a group
- voce
- VO-che — Voice; the sound produced by a person speaking
- allegra
- al-LE-gra — Cheerful/merry; happy and lively, feminine form
- giungeva
- jun-JE-va — Reached/arrived; third person singular imperfect of giungere
- alle
- AL-le — To the; feminine plural articulated preposition
- orecchie
- o-REK-kie — Ears; the organs used for hearing sounds
- guardava
- gwar-DA-va — Looked/watched; third person singular imperfect of guardare
- ancora
- an-CO-ra — Still/yet/again; indicating continuation or repetition
- con
- con — With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- stupore
- stu-PO-re — Amazement/astonishment; a state of great surprise
- potesse
- po-TES-se — Could; third person singular imperfect subjunctive of potere
- trovare
- tro-VA-re — To find; to discover or locate something
- qualcosa
- kwal-CO-sa — Something; an unspecified thing or matter
- cui
- KWI — Which/whom; relative pronoun after prepositions
- ridere
- RI-de-re — To laugh; to express amusement with sound
- Lo
- lo — The; masculine singular definite article before z/s+cons
- zio
- ZI-o — Uncle; a parent's brother or aunt's husband
- Lavorava
- la-vo-RA-va — Worked; third person singular imperfect of lavorare
- sodo
- SO-do — Hard; firmly and with great effort
- mattina
- mat-TI-na — Morning; the early part of the day
- sera
- SE-ra — Evening; the later part of the day
- sapeva
- sa-PE-va — Knew; third person singular imperfect of sapere
- cosa
- CO-sa — Thing/what; an object or matter
- fosse
- FOS-se — Was; third person singular imperfect subjunctive of essere
- gioia
- JO-ia — Joy; a feeling of great happiness and pleasure
- lui
- LU-i — He/him; third person singular masculine pronoun
- lunga
- LUN-ga — Long; having great length, feminine singular form
- barba
- BAR-ba — Beard; facial hair on the chin and cheeks
- agli
- AL-yi — To the; masculine plural articulated preposition
- stivali
- sti-VA-li — Boots; sturdy footwear covering the ankle or leg
- rozzi
- ROT-tsi — Rough/coarse; lacking refinement or polish, plural
- aspetto
- as-PET-to — Appearance/aspect; the way someone or something looks
- severo
- se-VE-ro — Severe/stern; strict and unsmiling in manner
- solenne
- so-LEN-ne — Solemn; serious and dignified in manner
- parlava
- par-LA-va — Spoke/talked; third person singular imperfect of parlare
- raramente
- ra-ra-MEN-te — Rarely; seldom, not often occurring
- faceva
- fa-CHE-va — Did/made; third person singular imperfect of fare
- salvava
- sal-VA-va — Saved; third person singular imperfect of salvare
- dal
- dal — From the; masculine singular articulated preposition
- diventare
- di-ven-TA-re — To become; to transform into something different
- ciò
- CHO — That/what; a demonstrative pronoun referring to things
- circondava
- cir-con-DA-va — Surrounded; third person singular imperfect of circondare
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