Russian · Intermediate
Adapted from Thumbelina
A tiny girl is carried far from home and meets creatures who want to decide her future.
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Scene 1 · Intermediate
Жила одна женщина, которая больше всего на свете мечтала о маленьком ребёнке. Но её желание всё никак не исполнялось. Наконец она решила обратиться к фее.
Once there was a woman who wished for a little child more than anything in the world. But her wish never seemed to come true. At last she decided to ask a fairy for help.
— Мне так хочется маленького ребёнка! — сказала женщина. — Не подскажете ли вы, где его найти?
“How I wish I had a little child!” the woman said. “Could you tell me where to find one?”
— Это легко устроить, — ответила фея. — Возьми ячменное зёрнышко. Оно совсем не такое, как зёрна ячменя, которые растут в поле и которые клюют куры. Посади его в цветочный горшок и посмотри, что получится.
“That is easily arranged,” the fairy replied. “Take a barleycorn. It is quite different from the barley that grows in the fields and that chickens peck at. Plant it in a flowerpot and see what happens.”
— Спасибо, — сказала женщина.
“Thank you,” said the woman.
За необычное зёрнышко она заплатила фее двенадцать шиллингов.
She paid the fairy twelve shillings for the unusual grain.
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