One sentence of «Le petit Chaperon rouge»
— La bonne mère-grand, qui était dans son lit, à cause qu’elle se trouvait un peu mal, lui cria : Tire la chevillette, la bobinette cherra.
The good grandmother, who was in bed because she was feeling a little unwell, called out to him: “Pull the peg, and the latch will fall.”
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
— Qui est là ?
“Who is there?”
“It is your granddaughter, Little Red Riding Hood,” said the Wolf, disguising his voice, “who is bringing you a cake and a little pot of butter that my mother is sending you.”
— Le Loup tira la chevillette, et la porte s’ouvrit.
The Wolf pulled the peg, and the door opened.
He threw himself upon the good woman and devoured her in no time at all, for he had not eaten in more than three days.
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| La | le | the (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.) |
| bonne | bon | good; kind (adj.); sentir bon — to smell sweet; de bon cœur — heartily |
| mère-grand | mère-grand | grandmother (n., f.) — Perrault’s word |
| qui | qui | who, which, that (rel./interr. pron.); à qui — to whom, whose; qui… qui — one… another |
| était | être | to be (v.); c’est — it is; also forms the past of some verbs: elle est venue — she came |
| dans | dans | in, into (prep.) |
| son | son | his, her, its (det.) — son, sa, ses; also le son, sound: à son de trompe; also bran (n., m.) — du son, rabbit bait |
| lit | lit | bed (n., m.) |
| à | à | to, at, in; with (prep.); c’est à… — it belongs to…; à boire — something to drink |
| cause | cause | cause, reason (n., f.); à cause de — because of; à cause que — because (archaic); être cause de — to be the cause of |
| qu | que | that, which, whom; than; how…! (conj./rel. pron.); ne… que — only |
| elle | elle | she, her; it (pron.) — elles, they, them (f.) |
| se | se | himself, herself, itself, themselves; each other (reflexive pron.); s’ also stands for si — if — in s’il, s’ils |
| trouvait | trouver | to find (v.); aller trouver — to go and see; se trouver — to be found, to be; il se trouva que — it turned out that |
| un | un | a, an; one (art./num.); l’un… l’autre — the one… the other; les unes… les autres — some… others |
| peu | peu | little (adv.); un peu — a little; si peu — so little; peu instruit — little schooled |
| mal | mal | badly, ill (adv.); se trouver mal — to feel unwell; harm, pain (n., m.) |
| lui | lui | him; to him, to her (pron.) |
| cria | crier | to cry out, shout, call (v.); crier au voleur — to cry “stop thief” |
| Tire | tirer | to pull, draw (v.) |
| chevillette | chevillette | little peg, latch-pin (n., f.) |
| bobinette | bobinette | little bobbin; the wooden latch of a cottage door (n., f.) — Perrault’s word |
| cherra | choir | to fall (v., archaic) — cherra, will fall |
Read «Le petit Chaperon rouge» in the room → Every word glossed where it stands, the English a tap away. The whole tale is free and asks for no account.