Treasure Island — Page 8
He never wrote or received a letter, and he never spoke with any but the neighbours, and with these, for the most part, only when drunk on rum.
Nunca escribió ni recibió una carta, y nunca habló con nadie más que con los vecinos, y con estos, en su mayor parte, solo cuando estaba borracho de ron.
The great sea-chest none of us had ever seen open.
El gran baúl marinero ninguno de nosotros lo había visto abierto jamás.
He was only once crossed, and that was towards the end, when my poor father was far gone in a decline that took him off.
Solo una vez se le llevó la contraria, y fue hacia el final, cuando mi pobre padre estaba muy avanzado en la enfermedad que se lo llevó.
Dr. Livesey came late one afternoon to see the patient, took a bit of dinner from my mother, and went into the parlour to smoke a pipe until his horse should come down from the hamlet, for we had no stabling at the old Benbow.
El doctor Livesey llegó una tarde ya entrada a ver al enfermo, tomó un poco de cena con mi madre y pasó al salón a fumar una pipa hasta que su caballo bajara de la aldea, pues no teníamos caballerizas en el viejo Benbow.
I followed him in, and I remember observing the contrast the neat, bright doctor, with his powder as white as snow and his bright, black eyes and pleasant manners, made with the coltish country folk, and above all, with that filthy, heavy, bleared scarecrow of a pirate of ours, sitting, far gone in rum, with his arms on the table.
Lo seguí adentro, y recuerdo haber observado el contraste que ofrecía el pulcro y distinguido doctor, con sus polvos tan blancos como la nieve, sus vivos ojos negros y sus modales agradables, frente a la gente rústica del campo, y sobre todo frente a ese sucio, pesado y legañoso espantapájaros de pirata que teníamos allí, sentado, muy bebido de ron, con los brazos sobre la mesa.
Suddenly he--the captain, that is--began to pipe up his eternal song:
De repente él —el capitán, es decir— empezó a entonar su eterna canción:
"Fifteen men on the dead man's chest-- Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest-- Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"
«¡Quince hombres sobre el cofre del muerto! ¡Yo-ho-ho, y una botella de ron! ¡La bebida y el diablo acabaron con el resto! ¡Yo-ho-ho, y una botella de ron!»
At first I had supposed "the dead man's chest" to be that identical big box of his upstairs in the front room, and the thought had been mingled in my nightmares with that of the one-legged seafaring man.
Al principio había supuesto que «el cofre del muerto» era ese mismo gran baúl suyo que estaba arriba en la habitación delantera, y ese pensamiento se había mezclado en mis pesadillas con el del marinero con una sola pierna.
Vocabulary
- Nunca
- Never; used to express negation in time
- escribió
- He/she wrote; past tense of escribir
- ni
- Nor; neither; used in negative constructions
- recibió
- He/she received; past tense of recibir
- carta
- Letter; written message sent to someone
- nunca
- Never; negates occurrence at any time
- habló
- He/she spoke; past tense of hablar
- nadie
- Nobody; no one; indefinite negative pronoun
- más
- More; comparative adverb or adjective
- vecinos
- Neighbors; people living nearby
- estos
- These; demonstrative pronoun masculine plural
- mayor
- Greater; older; larger in degree or age
- parte
- Part; portion or section of a whole
- solo
- Only; alone; just; solitary
- cuando
- When; temporal conjunction or adverb
- estaba
- Was/were; imperfect of estar indicating state
- borracho
- Drunk; intoxicated from alcohol
- ron
- Rum; alcoholic spirit distilled from sugarcane
- gran
- Great; large; impressive before a noun
- baúl
- Trunk; large chest for storing belongings
- marinero
- Sailor; person who works on a ship
- ninguno
- None; not one; negative indefinite pronoun
- había
- Had; imperfect of haber used in past perfect
- visto
- Seen; past participle of ver
- abierto
- Opened; past participle of abrir
- jamás
- Ever; never; emphatic negative time adverb
- Solo
- Only; just; used as limiting adverb
- vez
- Time; instance; occurrence of an event
- llevó
- Carried; took; brought; past tense of llevar
- contraria
- Contrary; opposite; disagreeing with someone
- fue
- Was/went; past tense of ser or ir
- hacia
- Toward; in the direction of something
- final
- End; final part or conclusion
- pobre
- Poor; unfortunate; lacking money or luck
- padre
- Father; male parent
- avanzado
- Advanced; progressed; far along in development
- enfermedad
- Illness; disease; medical condition affecting health
- doctor
- Doctor; medical professional who treats patients
- llegó
- Arrived; came; past tense of llegar
- tarde
- Late; afternoon; not on time
- ya
- Already; now; soon; expresses timing
- entrada
- Entry; entrance; beginning of a period
- ver
- To see; infinitive verb of seeing
- enfermo
- Sick person; ill; patient suffering disease
- tomó
- Took; had; past tense of tomar
- poco
- A little; small amount of something
- cena
- Dinner; evening meal
- madre
- Mother; female parent
- pasó
- Passed; went; happened; past tense of pasar
- salón
- Living room; lounge; large reception room
- fumar
- To smoke; to inhale tobacco smoke
- pipa
- Pipe; smoking instrument for tobacco
- hasta
- Until; up to; as far as
- caballo
- Horse; large domesticated riding animal
- bajara
- Would go down; imperfect subjunctive of bajar
- aldea
- Village; small rural settlement
- pues
- Well; since; then; connective discourse word
- teníamos
- We had; imperfect tense of tener
- caballerizas
- Stables; buildings where horses are kept
- viejo
- Old; aged; elderly person or thing
- seguí
- I followed; past tense of seguir
- adentro
- Inside; within; toward the interior
- recuerdo
- I remember; memory; souvenir
- haber
- To have; auxiliary infinitive used with participles
- observado
- Observed; noticed; past participle of observar
- contraste
- Contrast; striking difference between two things
- ofrecía
- Offered; presented; imperfect of ofrecer
- pulcro
- Neat; tidy; impeccably clean in appearance
- distinguido
- Distinguished; refined; elegant in manner
- polvos
- Powders; also used for powdered wig reference
- tan
- So; as; such; intensifying adverb
- blancos
- White; plural adjective describing color
- como
- Like; as; how; comparative conjunction
- nieve
- Snow; frozen white precipitation
- vivos
- Bright; lively; vivid in color or manner
- ojos
- Eyes; organs of sight
- negros
- Black; dark-colored; plural adjective
- modales
- Manners; social behavior and etiquette
- agradables
- Pleasant; agreeable; nice in nature
- frente
- In front of; forehead; facing something
- gente
- People; persons in general
- rústica
- Rustic; rural; rough and unsophisticated
- campo
- Countryside; field; rural area
- sobre
- On; about; over; above
- todo
- Everything; all; every
- ese
- That; demonstrative adjective masculine singular
- sucio
- Dirty; filthy; unclean
- pesado
- Heavy; annoying; slow-moving or burdensome
- legañoso
- Bleary-eyed; having eye discharge or crust
- espantapájaros
- Scarecrow; figure placed to frighten birds away
- pirata
- Pirate; seafaring criminal who attacks ships
- allí
- There; in that place over there
- sentado
- Seated; sitting; past participle of sentar
- bebido
- Drunk; intoxicated; past participle of beber
- brazos
- Arms; upper limbs of the body
- mesa
- Table; flat-surfaced piece of furniture
- repente
- Sudden; de repente means suddenly
- capitán
- Captain; commander of a ship or group
- decir
- To say; to tell; infinitive of speaking
- empezó
- Began; started; past tense of empezar
- entonar
- To intone; to sing or chant a melody
- eterna
- Eternal; everlasting; never-ending
- canción
- Song; musical composition with lyrics
- Quince
- Fifteen; the number 15
- hombres
- Men; adult male human beings
- cofre
- Chest; treasure box or coffer
- muerto
- Dead; deceased person
- botella
- Bottle; glass container for liquids
- bebida
- Drink; beverage; something to consume
- diablo
- Devil; demon; evil supernatural being
- acabaron
- They finished; ended; past tense of acabar
- resto
- Rest; remainder; what is left over
- principio
- Beginning; start; principle or origin
- supuesto
- Supposed; assumed; of course (por supuesto)
- era
- Was; imperfect tense of ser
- mismo
- Same; himself; very; identical
- suyo
- His/hers/its; possessive pronoun
- arriba
- Above; upstairs; up there
- habitación
- Room; bedroom; chamber in a building
- delantera
- Front; forward part or position
- pensamiento
- Thought; idea; mental reflection
- mezclado
- Mixed; blended; combined with something else
- pesadillas
- Nightmares; frightening dreams during sleep
- sola
- Alone; by herself; solitary feminine form
- pierna
- Leg; lower limb of the human body
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