White nights, and other stories — Page 7
If I chanced to meet a long procession of waggoners walking lazily with the reins in their hands beside waggons loaded with regular mountains of furniture, tables, chairs, ottomans and sofas and domestic utensils of all sorts, frequently with a decrepit cook sitting on the top of it all, guarding her master's property as though it were the apple of her eye; or if I saw boats heavily loaded with household goods crawling along the Neva or Fontanka to the Black River or the Islands--the waggons and the boats were multiplied tenfold, a hundredfold, in my eyes.
Wenn ich zufällig einer langen Prozession von Fuhrleuten begegnete, die träge mit den Zügeln in den Händen neben Wagen hergingen, die mit regelrechten Bergen von Möbeln, Tischen, Stühlen, Ottomanen und Sofas und Haushaltsgeräten aller Art beladen waren, oft mit einer hinfälligen Köchin obenauf, die das Eigentum ihres Herrn hütete wie ihren Augapfel; oder wenn ich Boote sah, schwer beladen mit Hausrat, die auf der Newa oder der Fontanka zum Schwarzen Fluss oder zu den Inseln krochen – so vervielfältigten sich die Wagen und die Boote in meinen Augen um das Zehnfache, das Hundertfache.
I fancied that everything was astir and moving, everything was going in regular caravans to the summer villas.
Ich bildete mir ein, dass alles in Aufruhr und Bewegung war, alles in regelrechten Karawanen zu den Sommervillen zog.
It seemed as though Petersburg threatened to become a wilderness, so that at last I felt ashamed, mortified and sad that I had nowhere to go for the holidays and no reason to go away.
Es schien, als drohe Petersburg zur Einöde zu werden, sodass ich mich schließlich schämte, gekränkt und traurig war, dass ich nirgendwo hinfahren konnte für die Ferien und keinen Grund hatte wegzugehen.
I was ready to go away with every waggon, to drive off with every gentleman of respectable appearance who took a cab; but no one--absolutely no one--invited me; it seemed they had forgotten me, as though really I were a stranger to them!
Ich war bereit, mit jedem Wagen fortzugehen, mit jedem Herrn von achtbarem Aussehen, der eine Droschke nahm, davonzufahren; aber niemand – absolut niemand – lud mich ein; es schien, als hätten sie mich vergessen, als wäre ich ihnen wirklich ein Fremder!
I took long walks, succeeding, as I usually did, in quite forgetting where I was, when I suddenly found myself at the city gates.
Ich unternahm lange Spaziergänge und vergaß dabei, wie es mir gewöhnlich erging, völlig, wo ich war, als ich mich plötzlich an den Stadttoren wiederfand.
Instantly I felt lighthearted, and I passed the barrier and walked between cultivated fields and meadows, unconscious of fatigue, and feeling only all over as though a burden were falling off my soul.
Sogleich fühlte ich mich leichten Herzens, und ich passierte die Schranke und wanderte zwischen bestellten Feldern und Wiesen, ohne Erschöpfung zu spüren, und fühlte nur ringsum, als fiele eine Last von meiner Seele.
Vocabulary
- Wenn
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'if' in German
- ich
- First-person singular pronoun meaning 'I'
- zufällig
- By chance, accidentally, or coincidentally
- einer
- Indefinite article or pronoun meaning 'a' or 'one'
- langen
- Long, extended in length or duration
- Prozession
- A procession, a group moving in an orderly line
- von
- Preposition meaning 'of,' 'from,' or 'by'
- Fuhrleuten
- Carters or wagon drivers transporting goods
- begegnete
- Encountered or met someone while traveling
- die
- Definite article or relative pronoun meaning 'the' or 'who'
- träge
- Sluggish, slow-moving, or lethargic
- mit
- Preposition meaning 'with' or 'along with'
- den
- Definite article in dative or accusative case
- Zügeln
- Reins used to guide and control horses
- in
- Preposition meaning 'in,' 'into,' or 'inside'
- Händen
- Hands, the plural dative form of 'Hand'
- neben
- Preposition meaning 'beside' or 'next to'
- Wagen
- A wagon, cart, or vehicle for transporting goods
- hergingen
- Walked along beside something, proceeded on foot
- regelrechten
- Real, proper, or veritable; used for emphasis
- Bergen
- Mountains or large piles of something stacked high
- Möbeln
- Furniture, household items for furnishing rooms
- Tischen
- Tables, flat-surfaced furniture for dining or work
- Stühlen
- Chairs, seating furniture with a back and legs
- Ottomanen
- Ottomans, upholstered seats or footstools without backs
- und
- Conjunction meaning 'and,' connecting words or clauses
- Sofas
- Sofas or couches, upholstered seating furniture
- Haushaltsgeräten
- Household appliances or domestic utensils and devices
- aller
- Of all, genitive plural form of 'all'
- Art
- Kind, type, or sort of something
- beladen
- Loaded or laden with goods or cargo
- waren
- Past tense of 'sein,' meaning 'were'
- oft
- Often, frequently occurring or repeated
- hinfälligen
- Frail, decrepit, or feeble; physically weak
- Köchin
- A female cook employed in a household
- obenauf
- On top, positioned at the highest point
- das
- Definite article or demonstrative pronoun meaning 'the' or 'that'
- Eigentum
- Property or belongings owned by someone
- ihres
- Genitive form of 'ihr,' meaning 'her' or 'their'
- Herrn
- Master or employer, a man of authority
- hütete
- Guarded or watched over something carefully
- wie
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'like,' 'as,' or 'how'
- ihren
- Accusative form of 'ihr,' meaning 'her' or 'their'
- Augapfel
- Eyeball; also used metaphorically for something precious
- oder
- Conjunction meaning 'or,' offering an alternative
- wenn
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'if'
- Boote
- Boats, small watercraft for travel or transport
- sah
- Past tense of 'sehen,' meaning 'saw'
- schwer
- Heavy or difficult; laden with great weight
- Hausrat
- Household goods or domestic furnishings and belongings
- auf
- Preposition meaning 'on,' 'onto,' or 'upon'
- der
- Definite article meaning 'the' in various cases
- zum
- Contraction of 'zu dem,' meaning 'to the'
- Schwarzen
- Black, adjective in inflected form meaning 'black'
- Fluss
- A river, a large flowing body of water
- zu
- Preposition or particle meaning 'to,' 'too,' or 'at'
- Inseln
- Islands, land masses surrounded by water
- krochen
- Past tense of 'kriechen,' meaning 'crawled' or 'crept'
- so
- Adverb meaning 'so,' 'thus,' or 'in this way'
- vervielfältigten
- Multiplied or increased many times over
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself,' 'himself,' or 'themselves'
- meinen
- My, accusative or dative form of 'mein'
- Augen
- Eyes, the organs of sight on a face
- um
- Preposition meaning 'around,' 'by,' or 'at'
- Zehnfache
- Tenfold, multiplied by a factor of ten
- Hundertfache
- Hundredfold, multiplied by a factor of one hundred
- Ich
- First-person singular pronoun meaning 'I'
- bildete
- Past tense of 'bilden,' meaning 'formed' or 'imagined'
- mir
- Dative first-person pronoun meaning 'me' or 'myself'
- ein
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- dass
- Conjunction meaning 'that,' introducing a subordinate clause
- alles
- Everything, all things without exception
- Aufruhr
- Uproar, turmoil, or commotion; chaotic movement
- Bewegung
- Movement or motion; physical or social activity
- war
- Past tense of 'sein,' meaning 'was'
- Karawanen
- Caravans, groups traveling together across distances
- Sommervillen
- Summer villas or dachas for seasonal holiday stays
- zog
- Past tense of 'ziehen,' meaning 'moved' or 'pulled'
- Es
- Neuter pronoun meaning 'it,' used as subject
- schien
- Past tense of 'scheinen,' meaning 'seemed' or 'appeared'
- als
- Conjunction meaning 'as,' 'when,' or 'than'
- drohe
- Subjunctive of 'drohen,' meaning 'threatened' or 'loomed'
- zur
- Contraction of 'zu der,' meaning 'to the'
- Einöde
- A wasteland or wilderness; a desolate, empty place
- werden
- To become; also used to form future or passive tense
- sodass
- Conjunction meaning 'so that,' indicating result
- mich
- Accusative first-person pronoun meaning 'me'
- schließlich
- Finally, eventually, or in the end
- schämte
- Past tense of 'schämen,' felt ashamed or embarrassed
- gekränkt
- Hurt, offended, or wounded in one's feelings
- traurig
- Sad, sorrowful, or filled with melancholy
- nirgendwo
- Nowhere, not in any place or direction
- hinfahren
- To travel or drive somewhere, to go to a place
- konnte
- Past tense of 'können,' meaning 'could' or 'was able'
- für
- Preposition meaning 'for,' indicating purpose or benefit
- Ferien
- Vacation or holidays, a period of rest and leisure
- keinen
- No, not any; accusative form of 'kein'
- Grund
- Reason, ground, or basis for something
- hatte
- Past tense of 'haben,' meaning 'had'
- wegzugehen
- To go away or leave a place
- bereit
- Ready or prepared to do something
- jedem
- Dative form of 'jeder,' meaning 'every' or 'each'
- fortzugehen
- To leave, go away, or depart from somewhere
- achtbarem
- Respectable or decent; worthy of regard
- Aussehen
- Appearance or look; how someone or something looks
- eine
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an' (feminine)
- Droschke
- A droshky, a light horse-drawn carriage for hire
- nahm
- Past tense of 'nehmen,' meaning 'took'
- davonzufahren
- To drive away or ride off from a place
- aber
- Conjunction meaning 'but,' indicating contrast
- niemand
- Nobody, no one; not a single person
- absolut
- Absolutely, completely, without any exception
- lud
- Past tense of 'laden' or 'einladen,' meaning 'invited'
- es
- Neuter third-person pronoun meaning 'it'
- hätten
- Subjunctive of 'haben,' meaning 'would have'
- sie
- Pronoun meaning 'she,' 'they,' or formal 'you'
- vergessen
- Forgotten; past participle of 'vergessen'
- wäre
- Subjunctive of 'sein,' meaning 'would be'
- ihnen
- Dative pronoun meaning 'them' or formal 'you'
- wirklich
- Really, truly, or genuinely; an emphasis word
- Fremder
- A stranger or foreigner; someone unknown or alien
- unternahm
- Past tense of 'unternehmen,' meaning 'undertook' or 'went on'
- lange
- Long or for a long time; duration or length
- Spaziergänge
- Walks or strolls taken for leisure or pleasure
- vergaß
- Past tense of 'vergessen,' meaning 'forgot'
- dabei
- In the process, while doing so, or at the same time
- gewöhnlich
- Usually, ordinarily, or as a matter of habit
- erging
- Past tense of 'ergehen,' went along or wandered about
- völlig
- Completely, entirely, or totally without exception
- wo
- Where; interrogative or relative adverb of place
- plötzlich
- Suddenly, unexpectedly, or all at once
- an
- Preposition meaning 'at,' 'on,' or 'to'
- Stadttoren
- City gates, large gateways marking entry to a city
- wiederfand
- Found oneself again somewhere; rediscovered one's location
- Sogleich
- Immediately, right away, or at once
- fühlte
- Past tense of 'fühlen,' meaning 'felt'
- leichten
- Light, easy, or not heavy; adjective in inflected form
- Herzens
- Of the heart; genitive form of 'Herz'
- passierte
- Past tense of 'passieren,' meaning 'passed' or 'crossed'
- Schranke
- A barrier, gate, or boundary marking a limit
- wanderte
- Past tense of 'wandern,' meaning 'wandered' or 'hiked'
- zwischen
- Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among'
- bestellten
- Cultivated or tilled; prepared land for growing crops
- Feldern
- Fields, open areas of land for farming or nature
- Wiesen
- Meadows, grassy open fields or pastures
- ohne
- Preposition meaning 'without,' lacking something
- Erschöpfung
- Exhaustion or fatigue; a state of extreme tiredness
- spüren
- To feel, sense, or perceive something physically
- nur
- Only, just, or merely; limiting what is stated
- ringsum
- All around, on every side, in every direction
- fiele
- Subjunctive of 'fallen,' meaning 'would fall' or 'drop'
- Last
- A burden, load, or heavy weight to be carried
- meiner
- Genitive or dative form of 'mein,' meaning 'my'
- Seele
- Soul or spirit; the inner emotional or spiritual self
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