War and Peace — Page 3
The little princess went round the table with quick, short, swaying steps, her workbag on her arm, and gaily spreading out her dress sat down on a sofa near the silver samovar, as if all she was doing was a pleasure to herself and to all around her.
La piccola principessa girò intorno al tavolo con passi rapidi, brevi e ondeggianti, la borsa da lavoro al braccio, e allargando allegramente il vestito si sedette su un divano vicino al samovar d'argento, come se tutto ciò che stava facendo fosse un piacere per sé stessa e per tutti coloro che la circondavano.
"I have brought my work," said she in French, displaying her bag and addressing all present.
«Ho portato il mio lavoro,» disse in francese, mostrando la borsa e rivolgendosi a tutti i presenti.
"Mind, Annette, I hope you have not played a wicked trick on me," she added, turning to her hostess.
«Bada, Annette, spero che tu non mi abbia giocato un brutto tiro,» aggiunse, rivolgendosi alla padrona di casa.
"You wrote that it was to be quite a small reception, and just see how badly I am dressed."
«Hai scritto che doveva essere un ricevimento molto piccolo, e guarda come sono vestita male.»
And she spread out her arms to show her short-waisted, lace-trimmed, dainty gray dress, girdled with a broad ribbon just below the breast.
E allargò le braccia per mostrare il suo grazioso abito grigio a vita corta, ornato di pizzo, cinto da un largo nastro appena sotto il seno.
"Soyez tranquille, Lise, you will always be prettier than anyone else," replied Anna Pávlovna.
«Soyez tranquille, Lise, sarete sempre più bella di chiunque altra,» rispose Anna Pávlovna.
"You know," said the princess in the same tone of voice and still in French, turning to a general, "my husband is deserting me? He is going to get himself killed.
«Sapete,» disse la principessa con lo stesso tono di voce e ancora in francese, rivolgendosi a un generale, «mio marito mi sta abbandonando? Sta andando a farsi ammazzare.
Tell me what this wretched war is for?" she added, addressing Prince Vasíli, and without waiting for an answer she turned to speak to his daughter, the beautiful Hélène.
Ditemi a cosa serve questa miserabile guerra?» aggiunse, rivolgendosi al principe Vasíli, e senza aspettare una risposta si voltò a parlare con sua figlia, la bella Hélène.
"What a delightful woman this little princess is!" said Prince Vasíli to Anna Pávlovna.
«Che donna deliziosa è questa piccola principessa!» disse il principe Vasíli ad Anna Pávlovna.
One of the next arrivals was a stout, heavily built young man with close-cropped hair, spectacles, the light-colored breeches fashionable at that time, a very high ruffle, and a brown dress coat.
Uno dei successivi arrivati era un giovane robusto, di corporatura massiccia, con i capelli tagliati corti, gli occhiali, i pantaloni color chiaro allora di moda, un jabot molto alto e un abito marrone.
Vocabulary
- piccola
- Small, little; feminine adjective
- principessa
- Princess; a female member of royalty
- girò
- She/he turned, went around (past tense)
- intorno
- Around, surrounding something or someone
- tavolo
- Table; a piece of furniture for dining
- passi
- Steps, paces; movements of the feet
- rapidi
- Quick, fast; rapid in movement
- brevi
- Short, brief; of little duration or length
- ondeggianti
- Swaying, undulating; moving in a wave-like manner
- borsa
- Bag, purse; a carrying accessory
- lavoro
- Work, job; professional or manual activity
- braccio
- Arm; the upper limb of the human body
- allargando
- Spreading, widening; making broader or larger
- allegramente
- Cheerfully, merrily; in a happy, lively manner
- vestito
- Dress, outfit; a garment worn on the body
- sedette
- She/he sat down (simple past tense)
- divano
- Sofa, couch; an upholstered piece of furniture
- vicino
- Near, close to; in proximity to something
- argento
- Silver; a precious metallic element
- tutto
- Everything, all; totality of things
- ciò
- That, this; demonstrative pronoun for things
- stava
- Was (doing); imperfect of 'stare'
- facendo
- Doing; gerund of 'fare'
- fosse
- Were, was; imperfect subjunctive of 'essere'
- piacere
- Pleasure, delight; enjoyment or satisfaction
- sé
- Herself, himself, oneself; reflexive pronoun
- stessa
- Herself, same; intensive/reflexive feminine adjective
- tutti
- All, everyone; plural masculine of 'tutto'
- coloro
- Those people, they; demonstrative pronoun for people
- circondavano
- Surrounded, encircled; imperfect of 'circondare'
- portato
- Brought, carried; past participle of 'portare'
- disse
- Said, told; simple past of 'dire'
- francese
- French; relating to France or its language
- mostrando
- Showing, displaying; gerund of 'mostrare'
- rivolgendosi
- Turning to, addressing; reflexive gerund of 'rivolgersi'
- presenti
- Those present; people in attendance
- Bada
- Watch out, be careful; imperative of 'badare'
- spero
- I hope; first person singular of 'sperare'
- abbia
- Has/have; present subjunctive of 'avere'
- giocato
- Played, tricked; past participle of 'giocare'
- brutto
- Bad, ugly; unpleasant or unattractive
- tiro
- Trick, shot; a cunning or mischievous act
- aggiunse
- Added, said further; simple past of 'aggiungere'
- padrona
- Hostess, mistress; female owner or host
- casa
- House, home; a place of residence
- scritto
- Written; past participle of 'scrivere'
- doveva
- Had to, was supposed to; imperfect of 'dovere'
- essere
- To be; fundamental Italian infinitive verb
- ricevimento
- Reception, party; a formal social gathering
- molto
- Very, much; adverb of degree or quantity
- piccolo
- Small, little; masculine adjective of size
- guarda
- Look, see; imperative of 'guardare'
- vestita
- Dressed; feminine past participle of 'vestire'
- male
- Badly, poorly; adverb indicating poor quality
- allargò
- Spread out, widened; simple past of 'allargare'
- braccia
- Arms; plural of 'braccio', upper body limbs
- mostrare
- To show, display; infinitive of 'mostrare'
- grazioso
- Graceful, charming; pleasing in appearance or manner
- abito
- Dress, outfit; a garment, especially formal attire
- grigio
- Gray; a neutral color between black and white
- vita
- Waist, life; midsection of the body
- corta
- Short; feminine adjective describing brief length
- ornato
- Adorned, decorated; embellished with ornaments
- pizzo
- Lace; delicate ornamental fabric trim
- cinto
- Encircled, belted; past participle of 'cingere'
- largo
- Wide, broad; of great extent or breadth
- nastro
- Ribbon, band; a strip of decorative fabric
- appena
- Just, barely, hardly; scarcely or just below
- sotto
- Under, below; preposition indicating lower position
- seno
- Bosom, chest, breast; upper front of the body
- sarete
- You will be; future tense of 'essere'
- sempre
- Always, ever; at all times
- più
- More, most; comparative adverb of degree
- bella
- Beautiful; feminine adjective of beauty
- chiunque
- Anyone, whoever; indefinite pronoun
- altra
- Other, another; feminine indefinite adjective
- rispose
- Replied, answered; simple past of 'rispondere'
- Sapete
- You know; second person plural of 'sapere'
- stesso
- Same, himself; intensive or reflexive adjective
- tono
- Tone, manner; quality of voice or expression
- voce
- Voice; the sound produced by a person speaking
- ancora
- Still, yet, again; adverb of time or repetition
- generale
- General; a high-ranking military officer
- marito
- Husband; a male spouse in a marriage
- sta
- Is (doing); third person singular of 'stare'
- abbandonando
- Abandoning, leaving; gerund of 'abbandonare'
- andando
- Going; gerund of 'andare'
- farsi
- To get oneself, become; reflexive infinitive of 'fare'
- ammazzare
- To kill, slay; to cause someone's death
- Ditemi
- Tell me; imperative plural of 'dire' + 'mi'
- cosa
- What, thing; interrogative or noun
- serve
- Serves, is useful; third person of 'servire'
- miserabile
- Miserable, wretched; causing great suffering or distress
- guerra
- War; armed conflict between nations or groups
- principe
- Prince; a male member of royal family
- senza
- Without; preposition indicating absence of something
- aspettare
- To wait, expect; to remain until something happens
- risposta
- Answer, reply; a response to a question
- voltò
- Turned; simple past of 'voltare'
- parlare
- To speak, talk; to communicate verbally
- figlia
- Daughter; a female child of a parent
- donna
- Woman, lady; an adult female person
- deliziosa
- Delightful, delicious; extremely pleasing or charming
- successivi
- Following, subsequent; coming after in sequence
- arrivati
- Arrivals, arrived; past participle plural of 'arrivare'
- giovane
- Young; a person of youthful age
- robusto
- Robust, sturdy; physically strong and healthy
- corporatura
- Build, physique; overall bodily structure and size
- massiccia
- Massive, solid; of great size or bulk
- capelli
- Hair; the strands growing on a person's head
- tagliati
- Cut; past participle of 'tagliare'
- corti
- Short; plural adjective describing brief length
- occhiali
- Glasses, spectacles; optical lenses worn on the face
- pantaloni
- Trousers, pants; garment covering the legs
- color
- Color, colored; hue or shade of something
- chiaro
- Light, clear; pale in color or brightness
- allora
- Then, at that time; referring to a past moment
- moda
- Fashion, style; popular trend in clothing
- alto
- Tall, high; of great height or elevation
- marrone
- Brown; a dark reddish-brown color
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