Treasure Island — Page 6
For in these fits he was the most overriding companion ever known; he would slap his hand on the table for silence all round; he would fly up in a passion of anger at a question, or sometimes because none was put, and so he judged the company was not following his story.
Denn in diesen Anfällen war er der herrschsüchtigste Gefährte, den man je gekannt hatte; er schlug mit der Hand auf den Tisch, um ringsum Stille zu gebieten; er geriet in einen Wutausbruch bei einer Frage, oder manchmal weil keine gestellt wurde, und so urteilte er, dass die Gesellschaft seiner Geschichte nicht folgte.
Nor would he allow anyone to leave the inn till he had drunk himself sleepy and reeled off to bed.
Auch erlaubte er niemandem, den Gasthof zu verlassen, bis er sich in den Schlaf getrunken hatte und taumelnd zu Bett gegangen war.
His stories were what frightened people worst of all.
Seine Geschichten waren es, die die Menschen am meisten erschreckten.
Dreadful stories they were--about hanging, and walking the plank, and storms at sea, and the Dry Tortugas, and wild deeds and places on the Spanish Main.
Schreckliche Geschichten waren es – über das Hängen, und das Über-die-Planke-Gehen, und Stürme auf See, und die Dry Tortugas, und wilde Taten und Orte auf dem Spanischen Main.
By his own account he must have lived his life among some of the wickedest men that God ever allowed upon the sea, and the language in which he told these stories shocked our plain country people almost as much as the crimes that he described.
Nach seiner eigenen Aussage musste er sein Leben unter einigen der gottlosesten Männer verbracht haben, die Gott je auf dem Meer geduldet hatte, und die Sprache, in der er diese Geschichten erzählte, erschreckte unsere schlichten Landleute beinahe ebenso sehr wie die Verbrechen, die er schilderte.
My father was always saying the inn would be ruined, for people would soon cease coming there to be tyrannized over and put down, and sent shivering to their beds; but I really believe his presence did us good.
Mein Vater sagte immer, der Gasthof würde ruiniert werden, denn die Leute würden bald aufhören, dorthin zu kommen, um tyrannisiert und niedergehalten zu werden und zitternd in ihre Betten geschickt zu werden; aber ich glaube wirklich, dass seine Anwesenheit uns gut tat.
Vocabulary
- Denn
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- diesen
- Demonstrative pronoun 'these' or 'those' (dative)
- Anfällen
- Fits or attacks, plural of Anfall
- herrschsüchtigste
- Most domineering or power-hungry (superlative adjective)
- Gefährte
- Companion or fellow traveler
- man
- Indefinite pronoun 'one' or 'you/people'
- je
- Ever; used in superlative comparisons
- gekannt
- Past participle of kennen; 'known'
- schlug
- Past tense of schlagen; 'hit' or 'struck'
- ringsum
- All around, on every side
- Stille
- Silence or stillness, absence of sound
- gebieten
- To command or order someone authoritatively
- geriet
- Past tense of geraten; 'fell into' a state
- Wutausbruch
- Outburst of rage or anger
- manchmal
- Sometimes, occasionally
- weil
- Subordinating conjunction meaning 'because'
- gestellt
- Past participle of stellen; 'placed' or 'asked'
- wurde
- Past tense of werden; 'became' or passive auxiliary
- urteilte
- Past tense of urteilen; 'judged' or 'concluded'
- dass
- Subordinating conjunction meaning 'that'
- Gesellschaft
- Society, company, or group of people
- Geschichte
- Story or history
- folgte
- Past tense of folgen; 'followed'
- erlaubte
- Past tense of erlauben; 'allowed' or 'permitted'
- niemandem
- Dative of niemand; 'to nobody'
- Gasthof
- Inn or tavern offering lodging and food
- verlassen
- To leave or abandon a place
- bis
- Preposition or conjunction meaning 'until' or 'by'
- Schlaf
- Sleep, the state of rest
- getrunken
- Past participle of trinken; 'drunk'
- taumelnd
- Staggering or reeling unsteadily
- Geschichten
- Stories or tales, plural of Geschichte
- meisten
- Superlative of viel; 'most'
- erschreckten
- Past tense of erschrecken; 'frightened' or 'alarmed'
- Schreckliche
- Terrible or horrific things (nominalized adjective)
- Hängen
- Hanging, execution by hanging
- Über-die-Planke-Gehen
- Walking the plank, pirate execution method
- Stürme
- Storms, plural of Sturm
- See
- Sea or lake depending on gender
- wilde
- Wild or savage (adjective, inflected form)
- Taten
- Deeds or acts, plural of Tat
- Orte
- Places or locations, plural of Ort
- Spanischen
- Spanish (adjective, dative inflection)
- eigenen
- Own (adjective, dative inflection)
- Aussage
- Statement or testimony given by someone
- musste
- Past tense of müssen; 'had to' or 'must have'
- einigen
- Some or a few (dative plural)
- gottlosesten
- Most godless or most wicked (superlative)
- verbracht
- Past participle of verbringen; 'spent' time
- Meer
- Sea or ocean
- geduldet
- Past participle of dulden; 'tolerated' or 'allowed'
- Sprache
- Language or speech
- erzählte
- Past tense of erzählen; 'narrated' or 'told'
- erschreckte
- Past tense of erschrecken; 'frightened' or 'startled'
- schlichten
- Simple or plain (adjective, inflected form)
- Landleute
- Country folk or rural people
- beinahe
- Almost or nearly
- ebenso
- Just as, equally so
- Verbrechen
- Crime or criminal act
- schilderte
- Past tense of schildern; 'described' or 'depicted'
- immer
- Always or ever
- würde
- Conditional form of werden; 'would'
- ruiniert
- Ruined or financially destroyed
- werden
- To become; future/passive auxiliary verb
- denn
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- Leute
- People, a general term for folks
- würden
- Conditional plural of werden; 'would'
- bald
- Soon, in a short time
- aufhören
- To stop or cease doing something
- dorthin
- To that place, in that direction
- tyrannisiert
- Tyrannized or oppressed by someone powerful
- niedergehalten
- Held down or suppressed by force
- zitternd
- Trembling or shaking with fear
- geschickt
- Sent; past participle of schicken
- glaube
- First person singular of glauben; 'I believe'
- wirklich
- Really or truly, in reality
- Anwesenheit
- Presence, being present in a place
- tat
- Past tense of tun; 'did'
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