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.
Ora la gamba veniva tagliata al ginocchio, ora all'anca; ora era una sorta di creatura mostruosa che non aveva mai avuto che una sola gamba, e quella nel mezzo del corpo.
To see him leap and run and pursue me over hedge and ditch was the worst of nightmares.
Vederlo saltare e correre e inseguirmi attraverso siepi e fossi era il peggiore degli incubi.
And altogether I paid pretty dear for my monthly fourpenny piece, in the shape of these abominable fancies.
E in tutto pagai piuttosto caro il mio quattro penny mensile, sotto forma di queste abominevoli fantasie.
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.
Ma sebbene fossi così terrorizzato dall'idea dell'uomo di mare con una gamba sola, avevo molto meno paura del capitano stesso di chiunque altro lo conoscesse.
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.
C'erano notti in cui beveva molto più rum e acqua di quanto la sua testa potesse reggere; e allora a volte se ne stava seduto a cantare le sue malvagie, vecchie e selvagge canzoni di mare, senza badare a nessuno; ma a volte chiedeva da bere per tutti e costringeva l'intera compagnia tremante ad ascoltare le sue storie o a fare il coro al suo canto.
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.
Spesso ho sentito la casa tremare con "Yo-ho-ho, e una bottiglia di rum", con tutti i vicini che si univano con tutta la loro energia, con la paura della morte addosso, e ognuno cantando più forte dell'altro per non attirare l'attenzione.
Vocabulary
- Ora
- Now; at this moment in time
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- gamba
- Leg; the lower limb of the body
- veniva
- Was coming; imperfect tense of venire
- tagliata
- Cut off; severed at a certain point
- al
- At the; contraction of a and il
- ginocchio
- Knee; the joint of the leg
- ora
- Now; used again for emphasis
- all'
- At the; elided form before vowel
- anca
- Hip; the joint connecting leg to torso
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- una
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- sorta
- Sort, kind; a type of something
- di
- Of; common Italian preposition
- creatura
- Creature; a living or imagined being
- mostruosa
- Monstrous; frightening and grotesque in nature
- che
- That, which, who; relative conjunction
- non
- Not; negation word in Italian
- aveva
- Had; third person singular imperfect of avere
- mai
- Never; at no time ever
- avuto
- Had; past participle of avere
- sola
- Alone; without others, solitary
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- quella
- That one; feminine demonstrative pronoun
- nel
- In the; contraction of in and il
- mezzo
- Middle, half; the center of something
- del
- Of the; contraction of di and il
- corpo
- Body; the physical frame of a being
- Vederlo
- To see him; infinitive with clitic pronoun
- saltare
- To jump; to leap over something
- correre
- To run; to move quickly on foot
- inseguirmi
- To chase me; to pursue someone closely
- attraverso
- Through; across or passing inside something
- siepi
- Hedges; dense shrub borders or fences
- fossi
- Ditches; narrow trenches dug in ground
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- peggiore
- Worst; the most bad or terrible thing
- degli
- Of the; contraction of di and gli
- incubi
- Nightmares; terrifying dreams during sleep
- E
- And; coordinating conjunction beginning sentence
- in
- In; basic Italian locative preposition
- tutto
- All, everything; the totality of something
- pagai
- I paid; first person singular past of pagare
- piuttosto
- Rather, quite; to a considerable degree
- caro
- Dear, expensive; costly or beloved
- mio
- My; first person singular possessive adjective
- quattro
- Four; the number 4
- mensile
- Monthly; occurring or paid every month
- sotto
- Under, below; beneath something
- forma
- Form, shape; the manner of something
- queste
- These; feminine plural demonstrative adjective
- abominevoli
- Abominable; extremely unpleasant or horrifying
- fantasie
- Fantasies; vivid imaginative mental visions
- Ma
- But; adversative coordinating conjunction
- sebbene
- Although; even though, concessive conjunction
- così
- So, thus; in this way or degree
- terrorizzato
- Terrified; filled with extreme fear
- dall'
- From the; elided contraction before vowel
- idea
- Idea; a thought or mental concept
- dell'
- Of the; elided contraction before vowel
- uomo
- Man; an adult male human being
- mare
- Sea; large body of salt water
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment
- avevo
- I had; first person singular imperfect of avere
- molto
- Very, much; a large amount or degree
- meno
- Less; a smaller amount or degree
- paura
- Fear; a feeling of anxiety or dread
- capitano
- Captain; the commander of a ship
- stesso
- Same, himself; identical or emphatic self
- chiunque
- Anyone, whoever; any person at all
- altro
- Other, another; a different person or thing
- lo
- Him, it; masculine singular direct object pronoun
- conoscesse
- Knew; imperfect subjunctive of conoscere
- C'
- There; elided form of ci before erano
- erano
- Were; third person plural imperfect of essere
- notti
- Nights; the dark hours after sunset
- cui
- Which, whom; relative pronoun after preposition
- beveva
- Drank; third person singular imperfect of bere
- più
- More; a greater quantity or degree
- acqua
- Water; the clear drinkable liquid
- quanto
- As much as, how much; quantity comparison
- sua
- His, her; third person singular possessive
- testa
- Head; the uppermost part of the body
- potesse
- Could; imperfect subjunctive of potere
- reggere
- To hold, bear; to support or withstand
- allora
- Then, at that time; in those circumstances
- a
- To, at; basic Italian preposition
- volte
- Times; instances or occasions of something
- se
- If; conditional conjunction in Italian
- ne
- Of it, from there; partitive/locative clitic
- stava
- Was staying; imperfect of stare
- seduto
- Seated, sitting; in a sitting position
- cantare
- To sing; to produce musical vocal sounds
- le
- The; feminine plural definite article
- sue
- His, her; feminine plural possessive adjective
- malvagie
- Wicked, evil; morally bad or vicious
- vecchie
- Old; feminine plural adjective for age
- selvagge
- Wild, savage; fierce and uncivilized
- canzoni
- Songs; musical compositions with lyrics
- senza
- Without; lacking something or someone
- badare
- To pay attention; to mind or care about
- nessuno
- No one, nobody; not any person
- ma
- But; adversative coordinating conjunction
- chiedeva
- Asked for; imperfect of chiedere
- da
- From, by; Italian preposition of origin
- bere
- To drink; to consume liquid
- per
- For; Italian preposition of purpose or benefit
- tutti
- Everyone, all; every person present
- costringeva
- Forced, compelled; imperfect of costringere
- l'
- The; elided definite article before vowel
- intera
- Entire, whole; complete without exception
- compagnia
- Company; a group of people together
- tremante
- Trembling, shaking; quivering from fear
- ad
- To; form of a before vowel
- ascoltare
- To listen; to pay attention to sound
- storie
- Stories; narrative accounts or tales
- o
- Or; disjunctive coordinating conjunction
- fare
- To do, make; general-purpose action verb
- coro
- Chorus; a group singing together
- suo
- His, her; masculine singular possessive adjective
- canto
- Song, singing; vocal musical performance
- Spesso
- Often; frequently, many times
- ho
- I have; first person singular of avere
- sentito
- Heard, felt; past participle of sentire
- casa
- House, home; a place of residence
- tremare
- To tremble, shake; to vibrate from fear
- bottiglia
- Bottle; a container for liquids
- i
- The; masculine plural definite article
- vicini
- Neighbors; people living nearby
- si
- Themselves; reflexive pronoun
- univano
- Joined together; imperfect of unirsi
- tutta
- All, entire; feminine singular of tutto
- loro
- Their, them; third person plural pronoun
- energia
- Energy; vigorous strength or effort
- della
- Of the; contraction of di and la
- morte
- Death; the end of life
- addosso
- On oneself; upon or against one's body
- ognuno
- Everyone, each one; every single person
- cantando
- Singing; present participle of cantare
- forte
- Loud, strong; with great force or volume
- attirare
- To attract, draw; to pull attention toward
- attenzione
- Attention; the act of noticing something
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