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Illustration for The Ugly Duckling

Greek · Intermediate

Το ασχημόπαπο

Adapted from The Ugly Duckling

By Hans Christian Andersen

A young bird is rejected by the farmyard before discovering where he belongs.

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Intermediate sample in Greek

Scene 1

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Illustration for the scene “A duck waiting on her nest”

Scene 1 · Intermediate

Μια πάπια περιμένει στη φωλιά της

A duck waiting on her nest

Greek

Ήταν καλοκαίρι και η εξοχή έμοιαζε υπέροχη. Τα σπαρτά είχαν πάρει χρυσαφένιο χρώμα, η βρόμη ήταν ακόμη πράσινη και στα λιβάδια υψώνονταν σωροί από σανό. Ένας πελαργός περπατούσε στα μακριά κόκκινα πόδια του και φλυαρούσε στη γλώσσα που του είχε μάθει η μητέρα του, την αιγυπτιακή. Γύρω από τα χωράφια απλώνονταν μεγάλα δάση με βαθιές λιμνούλες.

English translation

It was summer, and the countryside looked wonderful. The crops had turned golden, the oats were still green, and stacks of hay rose in the meadows. A stork walked on his long red legs, chattering in the language his mother had taught him, Egyptian. Great forests with deep ponds stretched around the fields.

Greek

Δίπλα σε ένα βαθύ ποτάμι στεκόταν ένα παλιό αγροτόσπιτο. Ανάμεσα στο σπίτι και στην όχθη φύτρωναν κολλιτσίδες με τεράστια φύλλα. Κάτω από τα ψηλότερα χωρούσε να σταθεί όρθιο ακόμη κι ένα μικρό παιδί. Το μέρος ήταν άγριο και πυκνό, σαν την καρδιά ενός δάσους.

English translation

Beside a deep river stood an old farmhouse. Burdock plants with enormous leaves grew between the house and the bank. Even a small child could stand upright beneath the tallest leaves. The plants grew wild and thick there, as in the heart of a forest.

Greek

Εκεί, προστατευμένη από τον αέρα, μια πάπια καθόταν στη φωλιά της και περίμενε να σπάσουν τα αυγά της. Είχε αρχίσει να κουράζεται, γιατί τα μικρά αργούσαν να βγουν και σπάνια ερχόταν κανείς να της κάνει παρέα. Οι άλλες πάπιες προτιμούσαν να κολυμπούν στο ποτάμι παρά να ανεβαίνουν στη γλιστερή όχθη για μια κουβέντα κάτω από τα φύλλα.

English translation

There, sheltered from the wind, a duck sat on her nest, waiting for her eggs to hatch. She had begun to grow tired, for the little ones were slow to emerge and hardly anyone came to keep her company. The other ducks preferred swimming in the river to climbing the slippery bank for a chat under the leaves.

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