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Illustration for The Ugly Duckling

Italian · Intermediate

Il brutto anatroccolo

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 Italian

Scene 1

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

Scene 1 · Intermediate

Un'anatra in attesa nel suo nido

A duck waiting on her nest

Italian

È una splendida estate in campagna. Nei campi si vedono il grano dorato, l'avena ancora verde e i mucchi di fieno raccolti nei prati. Una cicogna cammina sulle lunghe zampe rosse, chiacchierando nella lingua egiziana che ha imparato da sua madre. Intorno ai campi si estendono grandi boschi con stagni profondi: è un vero piacere passeggiare da quelle parti.

English translation

It is a splendid summer in the countryside. In the fields, you can see golden wheat, oats that are still green, and piles of hay gathered in the meadows. A stork walks on her long red legs, chatting in the Egyptian language she learned from her mother. Great woods stretch around the fields, with deep ponds: it is a real pleasure to stroll around there.

Italian

Accanto a un fiume sorge una bella casa colonica, antica e soleggiata. Tra la casa e la riva crescono piante di bardana dalle foglie enormi; sotto le più grandi potrebbe stare in piedi un bambino piccolo. Lì la vegetazione è così fitta che sembra di essere nel cuore di un bosco.

English translation

Beside a river stands a beautiful farmhouse, old and sunlit. Between the house and the riverbank, burdock plants with enormous leaves grow; a small child could stand beneath the biggest ones. The plants grow so thickly there that it seems like the heart of a forest.

Italian

In questo rifugio un'anatra cova le sue uova. Aspetta da tanto che i piccoli escano dal guscio e comincia a perdere la pazienza. Per di più, riceve poche visite: le altre anatre preferiscono nuotare nel fiume piuttosto che salire sulla riva scivolosa per farle compagnia sotto le foglie.

English translation

In this shelter, a duck is sitting on her eggs. She has been waiting a long time for the little ones to hatch, and she is beginning to lose patience. What’s more, she gets few visitors: the other ducks would rather swim in the river than climb the slippery bank to keep her company under the leaves.

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