Won from the Waves — Page 1
ON THE PIER.
AUF DEM PIER.
It was a gloomy evening.
Es war ein düsterer Abend.
A small group of fishermen were standing--at the end of a rough wooden pier projecting out into the water and forming the southern side of the mouth of a small river.
Eine kleine Gruppe von Fischern stand am Ende eines rauen hölzernen Piers, der ins Wasser hinausragte und die südliche Seite der Mündung eines kleinen Flusses bildete.
A thick mist, which drove in across the German Ocean, obscured the sky, and prevented any object being seen beyond a few hundred fathoms from the shore, on which the dark leaden-coloured waves broke lazily in with that sullen-sounding roar which often betokens the approach of a heavy gale.
Ein dichter Nebel, der über die Nordsee hereintrieb, verdunkelte den Himmel und verhinderte, dass man jenseits einiger hundert Faden vom Ufer irgendetwas erkennen konnte, wo die dunklen bleigrauen Wellen träge mit jenem dumpfen Grollen hereinbrachen, das oft das Herannahen eines schweren Sturms ankündigt.
On the north side of the river was a wide extent of sandy ground, where the vegetation consisted of stunted furze-bushes and salt-loving plants with leaves of a dull pale green, growing among patches of coarse grass, the roots of which assisted to keep the sand from being blown away by the fierce wintry gales which blew across it.
Auf der Nordseite des Flusses erstreckte sich ein weites Stück sandigen Bodens, auf dem die Vegetation aus verkümmertem Stechginster und salzliebenden Pflanzen mit Blättern von einem stumpfen Hellgrün bestand, die zwischen Flecken von grobem Gras wuchsen, dessen Wurzeln dazu beitrugen, den Sand davor zu bewahren, von den heftigen winterlichen Stürmen fortgeblasen zu werden, die darüber hinwegfegten.
On the right hand of the fishermen as they looked seaward, and beyond an intervening level space, rose a line of high cliffs of light clay and sand extending far to the southward, with a narrow beach at their base.
Zur Rechten der Fischer, während sie seewärts blickten, und jenseits eines dazwischenliegenden ebenen Geländes erhob sich eine Reihe hoher Klippen aus hellem Lehm und Sand, die sich weit nach Süden erstreckten, mit einem schmalen Strand an ihrem Fuß.
Parallel with the river was a green bank, on the sides of which were perched several cottages, the materials composing them showing that they were the abodes of the hardy men who gained their livelihood on the salt deep.
Parallel zum Fluss verlief ein grüner Damm, an dessen Hängen mehrere Hütten thronten, deren Baumaterialien zeigten, dass sie die Behausungen jener abgehärteten Männer waren, die ihren Lebensunterhalt auf der salzigen Tiefe verdienten.
The palings which surrounded them, the sheds and outhouses, and even the ornaments with which they were decorated, were evidently portions of wrecks.
Die Zäune, die sie umgaben, die Schuppen und Nebengebäude und sogar die Verzierungen, mit denen sie geschmückt waren, waren offensichtlich Teile von Wracks.
Vocabulary
- AUF
- On, upon, or at a surface or location
- DEM
- Dative definite article for masculine and neuter nouns
- PIER
- A pier or jetty extending into water
- Es
- It; neuter personal pronoun
- war
- Was; past tense of 'sein' (to be)
- ein
- A, an; indefinite article for masculine or neuter nouns
- düsterer
- Gloomy, dark, or dismal in character
- Abend
- Evening; the time after sunset
- Eine
- A, an; indefinite article for feminine nouns
- kleine
- Small, little; adjective describing size
- Gruppe
- A group or cluster of people or things
- von
- Of, from; preposition indicating origin or belonging
- Fischern
- Fishermen; people who fish professionally
- stand
- Stood; past tense of 'stehen' (to stand)
- am
- At the, on the; contraction of an dem
- Ende
- End, tip, or conclusion of something
- eines
- Of a; genitive indefinite article for masculine or neuter
- rauen
- Rough, coarse; adjective describing texture or surface
- hölzernen
- Wooden; made of wood
- Piers
- Pier's; genitive form of pier or jetty
- der
- The; definite article or relative pronoun (masculine)
- ins
- Into the; contraction of in das
- Wasser
- Water; liquid essential for life
- hinausragte
- Projected outward, extended out into something
- und
- And; coordinating conjunction linking elements
- die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- südliche
- Southern; relating to or facing the south
- Seite
- Side or page of something
- Mündung
- Mouth or estuary of a river
- kleinen
- Small, little; declined adjective form
- Flusses
- River's; genitive form of Fluss (river)
- bildete
- Formed, constituted; past tense of 'bilden'
- Ein
- A, an; indefinite article for masculine or neuter nouns
- dichter
- Dense, thick; describing a heavy concentration of something
- Nebel
- Fog or mist obscuring visibility
- über
- Over, above, across; versatile preposition
- hereintrieb
- Drifted or blew inward toward a location
- verdunkelte
- Darkened, obscured; past tense of 'verdunkeln'
- den
- The; definite article in accusative masculine or dative plural
- Himmel
- Sky or heaven above the earth
- verhinderte
- Prevented, hindered; past tense of 'verhindern'
- dass
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing a clause
- man
- One, you; indefinite pronoun referring to people generally
- jenseits
- Beyond, on the other side of something
- einiger
- Some, a few; indefinite pronoun in genitive form
- hundert
- Hundred; the number 100
- vom
- From the; contraction of von dem
- Ufer
- Shore, bank, or riverbank
- irgendetwas
- Anything, something; indefinite pronoun for objects
- erkennen
- To recognize or make out something visually
- konnte
- Could; past tense of 'können' (to be able)
- wo
- Where; interrogative or relative adverb of place
- dunklen
- Dark; declined adjective form of dunkel
- bleigrauen
- Lead-grey in color; dull grey like lead
- Wellen
- Waves; undulations of water on a surface
- träge
- Sluggish, lazy; moving slowly or lethargically
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- jenem
- That; demonstrative pronoun in dative masculine form
- dumpfen
- Muffled, dull; describing a low rumbling sound
- Grollen
- Rumbling, grumbling sound; low threatening noise
- hereinbrachen
- Broke in, surged inward; past tense of 'hereinbrechen'
- das
- That, which; relative pronoun or neuter definite article
- oft
- Often, frequently; adverb of frequency
- Herannahen
- Approach, drawing near; noun form of herannahen
- schweren
- Heavy, severe; declined adjective of schwer
- Sturms
- Storm's; genitive of Sturm (storm)
- ankündigt
- Announces, heralds; present tense of 'ankündigen'
- Auf
- On, upon; preposition of location or direction
- Nordseite
- North side; the side facing north
- des
- Of the; genitive definite article for masculine or neuter
- erstreckte
- Extended, stretched out; past tense of 'erstrecken'
- sich
- Itself, themselves; reflexive pronoun
- weites
- Wide, vast; declined adjective describing large expanse
- Stück
- Piece, stretch, or section of something
- sandigen
- Sandy; covered with or consisting of sand
- Bodens
- Ground's, soil's; genitive of Boden (ground, soil)
- auf
- On, upon; preposition indicating position or surface
- dem
- The; dative definite article for masculine and neuter
- Vegetation
- Vegetation; plant life growing in an area
- aus
- Out of, from; preposition of origin or material
- verkümmertem
- Stunted, withered; grown poorly due to harsh conditions
- Pflanzen
- Plants; living organisms in the plant kingdom
- Blättern
- Leaves; foliage of plants or pages of a book
- einem
- A, an; indefinite article in dative form
- stumpfen
- Dull, muted; lacking brightness or sharpness
- Hellgrün
- Light green; a pale shade of green color
- bestand
- Consisted of; past tense of 'bestehen aus'
- zwischen
- Between, among; preposition of spatial position
- Flecken
- Patches, spots; small areas of a different substance
- grobem
- Coarse, rough; declined adjective in dative form
- Gras
- Grass; common ground-covering green plant
- wuchsen
- Grew; past tense plural of 'wachsen' (to grow)
- dessen
- Whose, of which; genitive relative pronoun masculine or neuter
- Wurzeln
- Roots; underground parts of a plant anchoring it
- dazu
- For that purpose; used to indicate an action's aim
- beitrugen
- Contributed; past tense plural of 'beitragen'
- Sand
- Sand; granular material found on beaches and deserts
- davor
- In front of it, from it; locative or referential adverb
- zu
- To, at, too; preposition or infinitive particle
- bewahren
- To protect, preserve, or keep something safe
- heftigen
- Violent, fierce, intense; declined adjective of heftig
- winterlichen
- Wintry; relating to or characteristic of winter
- Stürmen
- Storms; plural dative form of Sturm
- fortgeblasen
- Blown away; past participle of 'fortblasen'
- werden
- To become; also used to form passive or future tenses
- darüber
- Over it, about it; adverb referring to something above
- hinwegfegten
- Swept over; past tense of 'hinwegfegen' (sweep across)
- Zur
- To the; contraction of zu der (dative feminine)
- Rechten
- Right side; to the right of someone
- Fischer
- Fisherman or fishermen; person who fishes
- während
- While, during; conjunction or preposition of time
- sie
- She, they, or formal you; personal pronoun
- blickten
- Looked, glanced; past tense of 'blicken'
- ebenen
- Flat, level; declined adjective of eben
- Geländes
- Terrain's, landscape's; genitive of Gelände
- erhob
- Rose, elevated; past tense of 'erheben' (to rise)
- eine
- A, an; indefinite article for feminine nominative nouns
- Reihe
- Row, series, line of things or people
- hoher
- High, tall; declined adjective in genitive or strong form
- Klippen
- Cliffs; steep rock faces along a coast
- hellem
- Light, bright; dative declined form of hell
- Lehm
- Clay, loam; a type of moist earthy soil
- weit
- Far, wide; adverb or adjective of distance or breadth
- nach
- To, after, according to; preposition of direction or time
- Süden
- South; the direction opposite to north
- erstreckten
- Extended, stretched; past tense plural of 'erstrecken'
- schmalen
- Narrow; declined adjective of schmal
- Strand
- Beach, shore; sandy or pebbly coastal area
- an
- At, on, to; preposition of location or direction
- ihrem
- Her, their; dative possessive pronoun
- Fuß
- Foot; the lower extremity of leg or base of object
- Parallel
- Parallel; running alongside without meeting
- zum
- To the; contraction of zu dem
- Fluss
- River; a large natural stream of water
- verlief
- Ran, extended; past tense of 'verlaufen' (to run along)
- grüner
- Green; declined adjective in nominative masculine strong form
- Damm
- Dam or embankment; barrier holding back water
- Hängen
- Slopes, hillsides; plural dative of Hang
- mehrere
- Several, a number of; indefinite plural adjective
- Hütten
- Huts, cabins; small simple dwellings or shelters
- deren
- Whose, of which; genitive relative pronoun (feminine or plural)
- Baumaterialien
- Building materials; substances used in construction
- zeigten
- Showed, indicated; past tense of 'zeigen'
- Behausungen
- Dwellings, abodes; places where people live
- jener
- Those, that; demonstrative pronoun referring to specific people
- abgehärteten
- Hardened, toughened; accustomed to harsh conditions
- Männer
- Men; plural of Mann (man)
- waren
- Were; past tense plural of 'sein' (to be)
- ihren
- Their, her; accusative or dative possessive pronoun
- Lebensunterhalt
- Livelihood; the means by which one earns a living
- salzigen
- Salty; tasting of or containing salt
- Tiefe
- Depth, deep; referring to the sea's deep waters
- verdienten
- Earned; past tense plural of 'verdienen' (to earn)
- Die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- Zäune
- Fences; barriers made of posts and wire or boards
- umgaben
- Surrounded, enclosed; past tense of 'umgeben'
- Schuppen
- Sheds; small outbuildings used for storage
- Nebengebäude
- Outbuildings, annexes; secondary buildings on a property
- sogar
- Even, in fact; emphatic adverb adding emphasis
- Verzierungen
- Decorations, ornaments; items used for embellishment
- denen
- Which, whom; dative plural relative or demonstrative pronoun
- geschmückt
- Decorated, adorned; past participle of 'schmücken'
- offensichtlich
- Obviously, evidently; clearly apparent to observers
- Teile
- Parts, pieces; sections of a larger whole
- Wracks
- Wrecks; remains of destroyed ships or vehicles
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