One sentence of «Les Fées»
« Oui dà, ma bonne mère, » lui dit la jeune fille ; et, rinçant aussitôt sa cruche, elle puisa de l’eau au plus bel endroit de la fontaine et la lui présenta, soutenant toujours la cruche, afin qu’elle bût plus aisément.
“Why, certainly, my good mother,” said the girl; and, rinsing her pitcher at once, she drew water from the finest spot in the fountain and offered it to her, holding up the pitcher all the while so that she could drink more easily.
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
The good woman, having drunk, said to her: “You are so good and so courteous that I cannot help giving you a gift”; for she was a fairy who had taken the form of a poor village woman, to see how far this girl’s courtesy would go.
“My gift to you,” the fairy went on, “is that with every word you speak, either a flower or a precious stone will come out of your mouth.”
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Oui | oui | yes (adv.) |
| dà | dà | (interj., archaic) oui dà — why yes, yes indeed; the old spelling of oui-da |
| ma | mon | my (mon, ma, mes) (poss. adj.) |
| bonne | bon | good; kind (adj.); sentir bon — to smell sweet; de bon cœur — heartily |
| mère | mère | mother (n., f.); ma bonne mère — good mother, to an old woman |
| lui | lui | him; to him, to her (pron.) |
| dit | dire | to say, tell (v.); on aurait dit — you would have said; se dire — to say to oneself |
| la | le | the (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.) |
| jeune | jeune | young (adj.); le plus jeune — the youngest |
| fille | fille | daughter; girl (n., f.); jeune fille — girl, young woman; petite fille — little girl; ma fille — my child |
| et | et | and (conj.) |
| rinçant | rincer | to rinse (v.) |
| aussitôt | aussitôt | at once, immediately (adv.) |
| sa | son | his, her, its (det.) — son, sa, ses; also le son, sound: à son de trompe; also bran (n., m.) — du son, rabbit bait |
| cruche | cruche | pitcher, jug (n., f.) |
| elle | elle | she, her; it (pron.) — elles, they, them (f.) |
| puisa | puiser | to draw (water) (v.) |
| de | de | of, from; some, any (prep./partitive art.) — du pain, de l’eau; pas de — no, not any; de… en… — from… to… |
| eau | eau | water (n., f.); être tout en eau — to be bathed in sweat |
| au | au | to the, at the, in the (à + le) (contr.); au secours ! — help! |
| plus | plus | more; most (adv.) — ne… plus, no longer; le plus, the most; plus de — no more; plus tôt — sooner |
| bel | beau | beautiful, handsome; fine (adj.) — bel before a vowel; un beau matin — one fine morning; à belles dents — with gusto |
| endroit | endroit | place, spot (n., m.) |
| fontaine | fontaine | fountain, spring (n., f.) |
| présenta | présenter | to present, offer (v.) |
| soutenant | soutenir | to hold up, support (v.) |
| toujours | toujours | always; still (adv.) |
| afin | afin | afin que — so that; afin de — in order to (adv.) |
| qu | que | that, which, whom; than; how…! (conj./rel. pron.); ne… que — only |
| bût | boire | to drink (v.); donner à boire — to give a drink; donner pour boire — to give a tip |
| aisément | aisément | easily (adv.) |
Read «Les Fées» in the room → Every word glossed where it stands, the English a tap away. This scene asks for no account.