One sentence of «Les Fées»
La cadette était le vrai portrait de son père pour la douceur et l’honnêteté.
The younger was the very image of her father in gentleness and courtesy.
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters: the elder was so like her in temper and in face that whoever saw her saw the mother.
Elles étaient toutes deux si désagréables et si orgueilleuses, qu’on ne pouvait vivre avec elles.
They were both so disagreeable and so proud that no one could live with them.
As people naturally love their own likeness, this mother doted on her elder daughter and, at the same time, had a dreadful aversion to the younger.
Elle la faisait manger à la cuisine et travailler sans cesse.
She made her eat in the kitchen and work without rest.
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.) |
| cadette | cadet | younger, youngest (adj.); la cadette — the younger daughter (n.) |
| était | être | to be (v.); c’est — it is; also forms the past of some verbs: elle est venue — she came |
| vrai | vrai | true, real; very (adj.) |
| portrait | portrait | portrait, likeness (n., m.); le vrai portrait de — the very image of |
| de | de | of, from; some, any (prep./partitive art.) — du pain, de l’eau; pas de — no, not any; de… en… — from… to… |
| 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 |
| père | père | father (n., m.) |
| pour | pour | for; in order to (prep.); pour moi — as for me; pour sa sœur — as for her sister |
| douceur | douceur | gentleness, sweetness (n., f.) |
| et | et | and (conj.) |
| honnêteté | honnêteté | courtesy, good manners; honesty (n., f.) — in Perrault chiefly politeness |
Read «Les Fées» in the room → Every word glossed where it stands, the English a tap away. This scene asks for no account.