Treasure Island — Page 5
Now the leg would be cut off at the knee, now at the hip; now he was a monstrous kind of a creature who had never had but the one leg, and that in the middle of his body.
Tantôt la jambe était coupée au genou, tantôt à la hanche ; tantôt il était une sorte de créature monstrueuse qui n'avait jamais eu qu'une seule jambe, et celle-là au milieu du corps.
To see him leap and run and pursue me over hedge and ditch was the worst of nightmares.
Le voir bondir, courir et me poursuivre par-dessus haies et fossés était le pire des cauchemars.
And altogether I paid pretty dear for my monthly fourpenny piece, in the shape of these abominable fancies.
Et en somme, je payais assez cher ma pièce de quatre sous mensuelle, sous la forme de ces abominables fantasmes.
But though I was so terrified by the idea of the seafaring man with one leg, I was far less afraid of the captain himself than anybody else who knew him.
Mais bien que je fusse si terrifié par l'idée du marin à la jambe unique, j'avais bien moins peur du capitaine lui-même que n'importe qui d'autre parmi ceux qui le connaissaient.
There were nights when he took a deal more rum and water than his head would carry; and then he would sometimes sit and sing his wicked, old, wild sea-songs, minding nobody; but sometimes he would call for glasses round and force all the trembling company to listen to his stories or bear a chorus to his singing.
Il y avait des nuits où il buvait beaucoup plus de rhum et d'eau que sa tête n'en pouvait supporter ; et alors il lui arrivait parfois de s'asseoir et de chanter ses vieilles et sauvages chansons de marin, sans se soucier de personne ; mais parfois il réclamait une tournée de verres et forçait toute la compagnie tremblante à écouter ses histoires ou à reprendre le refrain de ses chants.
Often I have heard the house shaking with "Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum," all the neighbours joining in for dear life, with the fear of death upon them, and each singing louder than the other to avoid remark.
Souvent j'ai entendu la maison résonner de « Yo-ho-ho, et une bouteille de rhum », tous les voisins reprenant en chœur de toutes leurs forces, la peur de la mort sur le visage, et chacun chantant plus fort que l'autre pour ne pas se faire remarquer.
Vocabulary
- Tantôt
- Sometimes; used to contrast two alternating situations
- jambe
- Leg; the lower limb of the human body
- était
- Was; third person singular imperfect of être
- coupée
- Cut off; severed from the body
- genou
- Knee; the joint in the middle of the leg
- tantôt
- Sometimes; alternating with a previous tantôt
- hanche
- Hip; the joint connecting leg to torso
- sorte
- Sort, kind; a type or variety of something
- créature
- Creature; a living being, often strange or fearsome
- monstrueuse
- Monstrous; horrifying or grotesquely abnormal in appearance
- jamais
- Never; at no time, used in negation
- eu
- Had; past participle of avoir
- seule
- Single, alone; only one, without others
- celle-là
- That one; demonstrative pronoun referring to a thing
- milieu
- Middle; the center or midpoint of something
- corps
- Body; the physical frame of a living being
- voir
- To see; to perceive with one's eyes
- bondir
- To leap, to spring; to jump suddenly forward
- courir
- To run; to move swiftly on foot
- poursuivre
- To chase, to pursue; to follow someone relentlessly
- par-dessus
- Over, above; crossing over something from above
- haies
- Hedges; rows of shrubs forming a boundary
- fossés
- Ditches; long narrow trenches dug in the ground
- pire
- The worst; superlative of bad or terrible
- cauchemars
- Nightmares; frightening dreams experienced during sleep
- somme
- Sum, total; in all, overall conclusion
- payais
- Was paying; imperfect of payer, to pay
- assez
- Enough, fairly; a sufficient or moderate amount
- cher
- Dearly, expensively; at a high cost or price
- pièce
- Coin, piece; a unit of currency or small payment
- sous
- Old French coins; small currency units of little value
- mensuelle
- Monthly; occurring or paid once every month
- forme
- Form, shape; the manner in which something appears
- abominables
- Abominable; extremely horrible or deeply disgusting
- fantasmes
- Fantasies, phantoms; disturbing mental images or visions
- fusse
- Was; imperfect subjunctive of être
- terrifié
- Terrified; overcome with extreme fear or dread
- l'idée
- The idea; a thought or mental concept
- marin
- Sailor, seafarer; a person who works at sea
- unique
- Unique, one-legged; the only one of its kind
- moins
- Less; a smaller degree or amount than before
- peur
- Fear; the feeling of being afraid or frightened
- capitaine
- Captain; the commander of a ship or vessel
- lui-même
- Himself; reflexive emphatic pronoun for a male
- n'importe
- No matter, any; used in n'importe qui or quoi
- d'autre
- Other, else; referring to a different person or thing
- parmi
- Among; in the middle of a group
- ceux
- Those; masculine plural demonstrative pronoun
- connaissaient
- Knew; imperfect of connaître, to know someone
- nuits
- Nights; the dark periods between sunset and sunrise
- où
- Where, when; relative or interrogative adverb
- buvait
- Was drinking; imperfect of boire, to drink
- beaucoup
- A lot, much; a large quantity or degree
- rhum
- Rum; a strong alcoholic drink made from sugarcane
- tête
- Head; the upper part of the human body
- pouvait
- Could; imperfect of pouvoir, to be able
- supporter
- To bear, to endure; to tolerate something difficult
- alors
- Then, so; indicating consequence or a moment in time
- arrivait
- Happened; imperfect of arriver meaning to happen
- parfois
- Sometimes, occasionally; not always but at times
- s'asseoir
- To sit down; reflexive verb meaning to take a seat
- chanter
- To sing; to produce musical sounds with the voice
- vieilles
- Old; feminine plural adjective meaning aged or ancient
- sauvages
- Wild, savage; untamed, rough, or uncivilized in nature
- chansons
- Songs; musical compositions intended to be sung
- sans
- Without; preposition indicating the absence of something
- soucier
- To care, to worry; to concern oneself about something
- personne
- Nobody, no one; used in negative constructions
- réclamait
- Demanded; imperfect of réclamer, to demand or claim
- tournée
- Round of drinks; a set of drinks bought for everyone
- verres
- Glasses; drinking vessels, or their contents
- forçait
- Forced; imperfect of forcer, to compel someone
- compagnie
- Company, group; people gathered together in one place
- tremblante
- Trembling; shaking with fear or anxiety
- écouter
- To listen; to pay attention to sounds or speech
- histoires
- Stories, tales; accounts of real or imagined events
- reprendre
- To take up again; to resume or join in something
- refrain
- Chorus, refrain; the repeated section of a song
- chants
- Songs, chants; pieces sung or chanted by a group
- Souvent
- Often; frequently, many times
- entendu
- Heard; past participle of entendre, to hear
- maison
- House; a building used as a home or dwelling
- résonner
- To resound, to echo; to fill with a loud sound
- bouteille
- Bottle; a container for liquids, especially alcohol
- tous
- All, everyone; masculine plural of tout
- voisins
- Neighbors; people living nearby in a community
- reprenant
- Taking up again; present participle of reprendre
- chœur
- Chorus, choir; a group singing together in unison
- forces
- Strength, forces; power or energy exerted by someone
- mort
- Death; the state of being dead or dying
- visage
- Face; the front part of a person's head
- chacun
- Each one, everyone; each individual person separately
- chantant
- Singing; present participle of chanter
- fort
- Loudly, strongly; with great force or volume
- faire
- To make, to do; common French action verb
- remarquer
- To notice; to observe or draw attention to something
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