White nights, and other stories — Page 4
They had spared nothing, neither columns, nor cornices, and my poor little friend was as yellow as a canary.
No habían perdonado nada, ni columnas, ni cornisas, y mi pobre amiguito estaba tan amarillo como un canario.
It almost made me bilious.
Casi me puso bilioso.
And to this day I have not had the courage to visit my poor disfigured friend, painted the colour of the Celestial Empire.
Y hasta el día de hoy no he tenido el valor de visitar a mi pobre amigo desfigurado, pintado del color del Imperio Celestial.
So now you understand, reader, in what sense I am acquainted with all Petersburg.
Así que ahora comprende usted, lector, en qué sentido conozco todo Petersburgo.
I have mentioned already that I had felt worried for three whole days before I guessed the cause of my uneasiness.
Ya he mencionado que me sentí inquieto durante tres días enteros antes de adivinar la causa de mi malestar.
And I felt ill at ease in the street--this one had gone and that one had gone, and what had become of the other?--and at home I did not feel like myself either.
Y me sentía incómodo en la calle—este se había ido y aquel se había ido, ¿y qué había sido del otro?—y en casa tampoco me sentía yo mismo.
For two evenings I was puzzling my brains to think what was amiss in my corner; why I felt so uncomfortable in it.
Durante dos veladas estuve devanándome los sesos tratando de pensar qué andaba mal en mi rincón; por qué me sentía tan incómodo en él.
And in perplexity I scanned my grimy green walls, my ceiling covered with a spider's web, the growth of which Matrona has so successfully encouraged.
Y perplejo examiné mis sucias paredes verdes, mi techo cubierto de telarañas, cuyo crecimiento Matrona ha fomentado con tanto éxito.
I looked over all my furniture, examined every chair, wondering whether the trouble lay there (for if one chair is not standing in the same position as it stood the day before, I am not myself).
Repasé todos mis muebles, examiné cada silla, preguntándome si el problema estaba allí (pues si una silla no está en la misma posición que el día anterior, no soy yo mismo).
I looked at the window, but it was all in vain ... I was not a bit the better for it!
Miré por la ventana, pero todo fue en vano... ¡No me sentí ni un poco mejor por ello!
Vocabulary
- habían
- Third person plural past perfect of 'haber'
- perdonado
- Past participle of perdonar; forgiven or excused
- nada
- Nothing; not anything at all
- ni
- Neither; nor; not even
- columnas
- Columns; vertical architectural or structural supports
- cornisas
- Cornices; decorative molding along a building's upper edge
- pobre
- Poor; lacking wealth or evoking pity
- amiguito
- Little friend; affectionate diminutive of amigo
- estaba
- Was; third person singular imperfect of estar
- tan
- So; as; used in comparisons or intensification
- amarillo
- Yellow; the color yellow
- como
- Like; as; used in comparisons
- canario
- Canary; small yellow songbird
- Casi
- Almost; nearly; not quite
- puso
- Made; put; third person singular preterite of poner
- bilioso
- Bilious; irritable; causing nausea or bad temper
- hasta
- Until; up to; even
- día
- Day; a 24-hour period
- hoy
- Today; the current day
- he
- I have; first person singular present of haber
- tenido
- Past participle of tener; had or possessed
- valor
- Courage; bravery; also value or worth
- visitar
- To visit; to go see someone or somewhere
- amigo
- Friend; a person one knows and likes
- desfigurado
- Disfigured; having an altered or ruined appearance
- pintado
- Painted; covered with paint or color
- color
- Color; hue; visual property of objects
- Imperio
- Empire; a large realm ruled by an emperor
- Celestial
- Celestial; heavenly; relating to the sky or heaven
- Así
- So; thus; in this way
- ahora
- Now; at the present moment
- comprende
- Understands; third person singular present of comprender
- usted
- You; formal second person singular pronoun
- lector
- Reader; a person who reads
- qué
- What; which; interrogative or exclamatory word
- sentido
- Sense; meaning; direction or feeling
- conozco
- I know; first person singular present of conocer
- todo
- All; everything; entire
- Ya
- Already; now; used for emphasis or timing
- mencionado
- Mentioned; previously referred to
- sentí
- I felt; first person singular preterite of sentir
- inquieto
- Uneasy; restless; anxious or troubled
- durante
- During; throughout a period of time
- tres
- Three; the number 3
- días
- Days; plural of día; periods of 24 hours
- enteros
- Whole; entire; complete without exception
- antes
- Before; previously; earlier in time
- adivinar
- To guess; to figure out something unknown
- causa
- Cause; reason; the origin of something
- malestar
- Unease; discomfort; general feeling of illness or unrest
- sentía
- Felt; experienced; first person singular imperfect of sentir
- incómodo
- Uncomfortable; uneasy; not at ease
- calle
- Street; a public road in a town or city
- este
- This; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- había
- Had; third person singular past perfect of haber
- ido
- Gone; past participle of ir; having departed
- aquel
- That; that one over there; distal demonstrative
- sido
- Been; past participle of ser; having been
- otro
- Another; other; a different one
- casa
- House; home; a place where people live
- tampoco
- Neither; not either; also not
- mismo
- Myself; same; used for emphasis or reflexivity
- Durante
- During; throughout a given period of time
- dos
- Two; the number 2
- veladas
- Evenings; social gatherings held in the evening
- estuve
- I was; first person singular preterite of estar
- devanándome
- Racking my brain; puzzling intensely over something
- sesos
- Brains; mind; also animal brains as food
- tratando
- Trying; attempting; present participle of tratar
- pensar
- To think; to reflect or consider something
- andaba
- Was going; walked; imperfect of andar
- mal
- Bad; badly; wrong; not well
- rincón
- Corner; a small secluded or enclosed space
- por
- For; by; through; basic Spanish preposition
- perplejo
- Perplexed; confused; puzzled by something unclear
- examiné
- I examined; I inspected carefully; preterite of examinar
- sucias
- Dirty; unclean; soiled; feminine plural adjective
- paredes
- Walls; interior vertical surfaces of a room
- verdes
- Green; the color green; plural adjective
- techo
- Ceiling; roof; the upper inner surface of a room
- cubierto
- Covered; coated; past participle of cubrir
- telarañas
- Cobwebs; spider webs found in neglected spaces
- cuyo
- Whose; of which; relative possessive pronoun
- crecimiento
- Growth; increase in size or development
- ha
- Has; third person singular present of haber
- fomentado
- Fostered; encouraged; promoted the growth of something
- tanto
- So much; so many; to such a degree
- éxito
- Success; a favorable or desired outcome
- Repasé
- I reviewed; I went over again; preterite of repasar
- todos
- All; every; all of them
- muebles
- Furniture; movable household items like chairs and tables
- cada
- Each; every; used to refer to items individually
- silla
- Chair; a seat with a back for one person
- preguntándome
- Asking myself; wondering; reflexive gerund of preguntar
- si
- If; whether; conditional subordinating conjunction
- problema
- Problem; an issue or difficulty to be resolved
- allí
- There; in that place; distal adverb of place
- pues
- Well; since; because; discourse filler or causal conjunction
- está
- Is; third person singular present of estar
- misma
- Same; herself; used for emphasis, feminine form
- posición
- Position; placement or location of something
- anterior
- Previous; former; earlier in time or order
- soy
- I am; first person singular present of ser
- Miré
- I looked; I glanced; preterite of mirar
- ventana
- Window; an opening in a wall that lets in light
- pero
- But; however; basic adversative conjunction
- fue
- Was; went; third person singular preterite of ser/ir
- vano
- Vain; useless; without result or success
- poco
- Little; a small amount or degree
- mejor
- Better; superior in quality or condition
- ello
- It; that; neuter third person pronoun referring to ideas
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