White nights, and other stories — Page 11

English → De Full Text Level 7/10

The girl flew straight as an arrow,

Das Mädchen flog geradewegs wie ein Pfeil,

with the timid haste one sees in all girls who do not want any one to volunteer to accompany them home at night, and no doubt the staggering gentleman would not have pursued her, if my good luck had not prompted him.

mit der scheuen Hast, die man bei allen Mädchen beobachtet, die nicht wollen, dass sich jemand freiwillig erbietet, sie nachts nach Hause zu begleiten, und ohne Zweifel hätte der torkelnde Herr sie nicht verfolgt, wenn mein gutes Glück ihn nicht dazu veranlasst hätte.

Suddenly, without a word to any one, the gentleman set off and flew full speed in pursuit of my unknown lady.

Plötzlich, ohne ein Wort an irgendjemanden zu richten, machte sich der Herr auf und flog mit voller Geschwindigkeit der unbekannten Dame nach.

She was racing like the wind, but the staggering gentleman was overtaking--overtook her.

Sie lief wie der Wind, aber der torkelnde Herr holte sie ein -- holte sie ein.

The girl uttered a shriek, and ... I bless my luck for the excellent knotted stick, which happened on that occasion to be in my right hand.

Das Mädchen stieß einen Schrei aus, und ... ich preise mein Glück wegen des vortrefflichen Knotenstock, der sich bei jener Gelegenheit zufällig in meiner rechten Hand befand.

In a flash I was on the other side of the street; in a flash the obtrusive gentleman had taken in the position, had grasped the irresistible argument, fallen back without a word, and only when we were very far away protested against my action in rather vigorous language.

Im Nu war ich auf der anderen Seite der Straße; im Nu hatte der zudringliche Herr die Lage begriffen, das unwiderlegbare Argument erfasst, sich wortlos zurückgezogen, und erst als wir sehr weit entfernt waren, protestierte er gegen mein Vorgehen in ziemlich kräftiger Sprache.

But his words hardly reached us.

Aber seine Worte drangen kaum zu uns.

She took my arm without a word, still trembling with excitement and terror.

Sie nahm wortlos meinen Arm, noch immer zitternd vor Aufregung und Schrecken.

Oh, obtrusive gentleman! How I blessed you at that moment!

Oh, zudringlicher Herr! Wie sehr pries ich Sie in jenem Augenblick!

I stole a glance at her, she was very charming and dark--I had guessed right.

Ich warf ihr einen verstohlenen Blick zu, sie war sehr reizend und dunkelhaarig -- ich hatte richtig geraten.

On her black eyelashes there still glistened a tear--from her recent terror or her former grief--I don't know.

Auf ihren schwarzen Wimpern glitzerte noch eine Träne -- ob von ihrem jüngsten Schrecken oder ihrem früheren Kummer -- ich weiß es nicht.

Vocabulary

Das: The (neuter singular article).
Mädchen: Girl; young woman.
flog: Flew (past tense of fliegen).
geradewegs: Directly; straight ahead without stopping.
wie: How; as; like.
ein: A; an (indefinite article).
Pfeil: Arrow; projectile shot from bow.
mit: With; accompanied by.
der: The (feminine singular or plural article).
scheuen: Shy; fearful; hesitant about something.
Hast: Haste; hurry; rapid speed.
die: The; she; it (feminine or plural).
man: One; you; people in general.
bei: At; near; with; during.
allen: All; everyone; whole; entire group.
beobachtet: Observed; noticed; watched carefully.
nicht: Not; negation word in German.
wollen: Want; wish; intend; will; desire.
dass: That; conjunction introducing subordinate clause.
sich: Itself; herself; himself; oneself; reflexive pronoun.
jemand: Someone; anybody; anyone; a person.
freiwillig: Voluntarily; willingly; of own accord.
sie: She; her; they; them (pronouns).
nachts: At night; during nighttime hours.
nach: To; towards; after; according to.
Hause: Home; house (dative form nach Hause).
zu: To; at; too; towards; in.
begleiten: Accompany; escort; go along with.
und: And; conjunction joining words or clauses.
ohne: Without; lacking; in the absence of.
Zweifel: Doubt; uncertainty; question; misgiving.
hätte: Would have; conditional past of haben.
Herr: Mister; sir; gentleman; master.
verfolgt: Pursued; chased; followed after someone.
wenn: If; when; whenever; in case.
mein: My; mine (possessive adjective/pronoun).
gutes: Good; kind; favorable; positive (neuter).
Glück: Luck; fortune; happiness; chance.
ihn: Him; it (masculine accusative pronoun).
dazu: For that; to that; in addition.
Plötzlich: Suddenly; all at once; unexpectedly.
Wort: Word; speech; remark; statement.
an: At; on; to; in; by.
richten: Direct; turn; aim; address someone.
machte: Made; did (past tense of machen).
auf: On; upon; up; at; open.
voller: Full of; filled with; complete.
Geschwindigkeit: Speed; velocity; swiftness; quickness.
unbekannten: Unknown; unfamiliar; strange (accusative feminine).
Dame: Lady; woman; female person of rank.
Sie: You (formal); she; they (capitalized).
lief: Ran; went running (past of laufen).
Wind: Wind; breeze; air current; gale.
aber: But; however; yet; still.
holte: Caught; fetched; got; retrieved.
stieß: Pushed; thrust; emitted; uttered sound.
einen: A; an (masculine accusative indefinite article).
Schrei: Cry; scream; shout; shriek; yell.
aus: Out; from; made of; finished.
ich: I; me (first person singular pronoun).
preise: Praise; commend; speak highly of.
wegen: Because of; due to; on account.
des: The (genitive neuter or masculine article).
jener: That; those (demonstrative adjective/pronoun).
Gelegenheit: Opportunity; occasion; chance; moment.
zufällig: Accidentally; by chance; coincidentally.
in: In; into; within; during.
meiner: My (feminine singular possessive adjective).
rechten: Right; correct; righteous; law.
Hand: Hand; palm; limb; side.
befand: Found; located; situated (past of befinden).
Im: In the; in (contraction of in dem).

← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →