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Illustration for The Nightingale

French · Beginner

Le Rossignol

Adapted from The Nightingale

By Hans Christian Andersen

An emperor discovers the song of a living nightingale, then learns its value after replacing it with a machine.

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Beginner sample in French

Scene 1

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Illustration for the scene “The porcelain palace”

Scene 1 · Beginner

Le palais de porcelaine

The porcelain palace

French

Il y a longtemps, en Chine, un empereur vivait dans un palais magnifique. Tout était en porcelaine : c'était très beau, mais très fragile. Il fallait faire attention en touchant les murs.

English translation

Long ago, in China, an emperor lived in a magnificent palace. Everything was made of porcelain: it was very beautiful, but very fragile. You had to be careful when touching the walls.

French

Dans le jardin poussaient des fleurs étonnantes. De petites cloches d'argent y étaient attachées pour attirer l'attention. Le jardin était si grand que même le jardinier ne savait pas où il finissait.

English translation

In the garden grew astonishing flowers. Tiny silver bells were attached to them to attract attention. The garden was so large that even the gardener didn’t know where it ended.

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