Dubliners | Progressive Translation Books for French A1 Students

Dubliners | Progressive Translation Books for French A1 Students

Unlock the potential of this modern translation approach, designed to enhance your language learning experience. By allowing you to choose your difficulty level, it guarantees a personalized challenge that's suited to your progress. This method promotes comprehension by encouraging you to infer the meaning of new words from context, rather than relying heavily on direct translations. Though some translations are obscured to stimulate guessing, it's perfectly fine to consult a dictionary when needed. This technique combines challenge and support, making language learning fun and effective. Explore these translated classics to enjoy literature while advancing your language skills.

THESISTERS
Therewas
aucun
no
hopeforhimthis
fois
time
:
itwasthethirdstroke.
Nuit
Night
afternightIhadpassedthe
maison
house
(itwasvacationtime)
et
and
studiedthelightedsquareofwindow:
et
and
nightafternightIhadfounditlightedin
la
the
sameway,faintlyandevenly.
Ifhewas
mort
dead
,Ithought,Iwould
verrais
see
thereflectionofcandlesonthedarkenedblindforI
savais
knew
thattwocandlesmustbesetatthe
tête
head
ofacorpse.
Hehadoften
dit
said
tome:
“Iamnot
longtemps
long
forthisworld,”andIhad
pensé
thought
hiswordsidle.
NowI
savais
knew
theyweretrue.
Every
soir
night
asIgazedupatthewindowI
disais
said
softlytomyselfthe
mot
word
paralysis.
Ithadalways
sonné
sounded
strangelyinmyears,
comme
like
thewordgnomonin
le
the
Euclidandthewordsimonyin
le
the
Catechism.
Butnowit
sonnait
sounded
tomelikethe
nom
name
ofsomemaleficentandsinfulbeing.
Itfilledmewithfear,
et
and
yetIlongedtobenearertoit
et
and
tolookuponitsdeadly
œuvre
work
.
OldCotterwassittingat
le
the
fire,smoking,whenIcamedownstairstosupper.
Whilemyauntwasladling
hors
out
mystirabouthesaid,as
si
if
returningtosomeformerremarkof
son
his:
.
“No,Iwouldn’tsayhewas
exactement
exactly
...
buttherewas
quelque chose
something
queer...
therewas
quelque chose
something
uncannyabouthim.
I’ll
dire
tell
youmyopinion....”
Hebegantopuffathispipe,nodoubtarranginghisopinioninhis
esprit
mind
.
Tiresomeoldfool!
Whenwe
connu
knew
himfirstheusedtoberatherinteresting,
parlant
talking
offaintsandworms;
mais
but
Isoongrewtiredofhim
et
and
hisendlessstoriesabout
la
the
distillery.
“Ihavemy
propre
own
theoryaboutit,”he
dit
said
.
“Ithinkitwasoneof
ces
those
...
peculiarcases....
Butit’s
difficile
hard
tosay....”
Hebegantopuffagainathispipe
sans
without
givingushistheory.
My
oncle
uncle
sawmestaringand
dit
said
tome:.
“Well,soyourold
ami
friend
isgone,you’llbe
désolé
sorry
tohear.”
“Who?”
said
Je
I
.
“FatherFlynn.”
“Ishedead?”
“MrCotterherehasjust
dire
told
us.
Hewaspassingby
la
the
house.”
IknewthatIwas
sous
under
observationsoIcontinued
manger
eating
asifthenewshadnotinterestedme.
My
oncle
uncle
explainedtooldCotter.
“Theyoungster
et
and
heweregreatfriends.
The
vieux
old
chaptaughthimagreatdeal,mindyou;
et
and
theysayhehad
un
a
greatwishforhim.”
“Godhavemercyonhissoul,”
dit
said
myauntpiously.
OldCotter
regardé
looked
atmeforawhile.
I
sentais
felt
thathislittlebeadyblackeyeswereexaminingme
mais
but
Iwouldnotsatisfyhimbylookingupfrommyplate.
He
retourné
returned
tohispipeandfinallyspatrudelyinto
la
the
grate.
“Iwouldn’tlike
enfants
children
ofmine,”hesaid,“tohave
trop
too
muchtosayto
un
a
manlikethat.”
“Howdoyoumean,MrCotter?”
demandé
asked
myaunt.
“WhatI
veux dire
mean
is,”saidoldCotter,“it’s
mauvais
bad
forchildren.
Myidea
est
is
:
letayounglad
courir
run
aboutandplaywith
jeune
young
ladsofhisownage
et
and
notbe....
AmIright,Jack?”
“That’smyprinciple,too,”
dit
said
myuncle.
“Lethim
apprendre
learn
toboxhiscorner.
That’swhatI’m
toujours
always
sayingtothatRosicrucian
là-bas
there
:
takeexercise.
Why,whenIwas
un
a
nippereverymorningofmy
vie
life
Ihadacoldbath,winter
et
and
summer.
Andthat’swhat
tient
stands
tomenow.
Educationisall
très
very
fineandlarge....
MrCotter
pourrait
might
takeapickofthatlegmutton,”headdedtomyaunt.
“No,no,notforme,”
dit
said
oldCotter.
Myaunt
apporté
brought
thedishfromthe
coffre-fort
safe
andputitonthetable.
“But
pourquoi
why
doyouthinkit’snot
bon
good
forchildren,MrCotter?”
she
demandé
asked
.
“It’sbadforchildren,”
dit
said
oldCotter,“becausetheirmindsaresoimpressionable.
Quand
When
childrenseethingslikethat,you
savez
know
,ithasaneffect....”
IcrammedmymouthwithstiraboutforfearImight
donner
give
utterancetomyanger.
Tiresome
vieux
old
red-nosedimbecile!
Itwas
tard
late
whenIfellasleep.
ThoughIwasangrywith
vieux
old
Cotterforalludingtomeasa
enfant
child
,Ipuzzledmyheadtoextractmeaningfromhisunfinishedsentences.
In
le
the
darkofmyroomIimagined
que
that
Isawagaintheheavygrey
visage
face
oftheparalytic.
Idrew
les
the
blanketsovermyhead
et
and
triedtothinkofChristmas.
Mais
But
thegreyfacestill
suivait
followed
me.
Itmurmured;
andI
compris
understood
thatitdesiredtoconfess
quelque chose
something
.
Ifeltmysoulrecedingintosomepleasant
et
and
viciousregion;
andthereagainI
trouvé
found
itwaitingforme.
Itbegantoconfesstomeinamurmuringvoice
et
and
Iwonderedwhyitsmiledcontinually
et
and
whythelipsweresomoistwithspittle.
Mais
But
thenIrememberedthatithad
mort
died
ofparalysisandI
senti
felt
thatItoowassmilingfeeblyasiftoabsolve
le
the
simoniacofhissin.
The
lendemain
next
morningafterbreakfastIwentdowntolookatthe
petit
little
houseinGreatBritain
Rue
Street
.
Itwasanunassumingshop,registered
sous
under
thevaguenameofDrapery.
La
The
draperyconsistedmainlyofchildren’sbootees
et
and
umbrellas;
andonordinarydays
une
a
noticeusedtohanginthewindow,
disant
saying
:
UmbrellasRe-covered.
Nonoticewasvisible
maintenant
now
fortheshutterswereup.
Un
A
crapebouquetwastiedtothedoor-knocker
avec
with
ribbon.
Twopoorwomen
et
and
atelegramboywere
lisaient
reading
thecardpinnedon
la
the
crape.
Ialsoapproached
et
and
read:.
July1st,1895
Le
The
Rev.JamesFlynn(formerlyofS.Catherine’sChurch,Meath
Rue
Street)
,agedsixty-fiveyears.R.I.P.
La
The
readingofthecardpersuadedmethathewas
mort
dead
andIwasdisturbedto
retrouver
find
myselfatcheck.
Hadhenotbeen
mort
dead
Iwouldhavegoneintothelittledarkroom
derrière
behind
theshoptofindhim
assis
sitting
inhisarm-chairbythe
feu
fire
,nearlysmotheredinhisgreat-coat.
Peut-être
Perhaps
myauntwouldhave
donné
given
meapacketofHighToastforhim
et
and
thispresentwouldhaverousedhimfromhisstupefieddoze.
Itwas
toujours
always
Iwhoemptiedthepacketintohisblacksnuff-boxforhishandstrembled
trop
too
muchtoallowhimto
faire
do
thiswithoutspillinghalfthesnuff
sur
about
thefloor.
Evenasheraisedhislargetrembling
main
hand
tohisnoselittlecloudsofsmokedribbled
travers
through
hisfingersoverthe
devant
front
ofhiscoat.
It
peut
may
havebeentheseconstantshowersofsnuff
qui
which
gavehisancientpriestlygarmentstheirgreenfadedlookforthe
rouge
red
handkerchief,blackened,asit
toujours
always
was,withthesnuff-stainsofa
semaine
week
,withwhichhetriedtobrushawaythe
tombés
fallen
grains,wasquiteinefficacious.
I
voulais
wished
togoinand
regarder
look
athimbutIhadnotthecouragetoknock.
Iwalkedawayslowlyalongthesunny
côté
side
ofthestreet,reading
toutes
all
thetheatricaladvertisementsintheshop-windowsasIwent.
I
trouvai
found
itstrangethatneitherInor
le
the
dayseemedinamourningmood
et
and
Ifeltevenannoyedatdiscoveringinmyself
une
a
sensationoffreedomas
si
if
Ihadbeenfreedfrom
quelque chose
something
byhisdeath.
Iwonderedat
cela
this
for,asmyunclehad
dit
said
thenightbefore,hehadtaughtmeagreatdeal.
Hehadstudiedin
le
the
IrishcollegeinRome
et
and
hehadtaughtmetopronounceLatinproperly.
Hehad
raconté
told
mestoriesaboutthecatacombs
et
and
aboutNapoleonBonaparte,andhehadexplainedtomethemeaningofthe
différents
different
ceremoniesoftheMass
et
and
ofthedifferentvestmentswornbythepriest.
Parfois
Sometimes
hehadamusedhimselfby
posant
putting
difficultquestionstome,askingmewhatoneshould
faire
do
incertaincircumstancesorwhether
tel
such
andsuchsinsweremortal
ou
or
venialoronlyimperfections.
Hisquestions
montré
showed
mehowcomplexandmysteriouswerecertaininstitutionsof
les
the
ChurchwhichIhad
toujours
always
regardedasthesimplestacts.
ThedutiesofthepriesttowardstheEucharist
et
and
towardsthesecrecyoftheconfessionalseemedsogravetome
que
that
Iwonderedhowanybodyhadever
trouvé
found
inhimselfthecouragetoundertakethem;
et
and
Iwasnotsurprised
quand
when
hetoldmethatthefathersoftheChurchhad
écrit
written
booksasthickasthePost
Bureau
Office
Directoryandascloselyprintedasthe
loi
law
noticesinthenewspaper,elucidating
toutes
all
theseintricatequestions.
Often
quand
when
IthoughtofthisI
pouvais
could
makenoansweroronlya
très
very
foolishandhaltingoneupon
laquelle
which
heusedtosmile
et
and
nodhisheadtwice
ou
or
thrice.
SometimesheusedtoputmethroughtheresponsesoftheMasswhichhehad
faisait
made
melearnbyheart;
et
and
,asIpattered,heusedtosmilepensively
et
and
nodhishead,now
et
and
thenpushinghugepinchesofsnuffup
chaque
each
nostrilalternately.
Whenhesmiledheusedtouncoverhisbigdiscolouredteeth
et
and
lethistonguelieuponhislowerlip—ahabit
qui
which
hadmademefeeluneasyinthebeginningofouracquaintance
avant
before
Iknewhimwell.
AsI
marchant
walked
alonginthesunIremembered
vieux
old
Cotter’swordsandtriedtorememberwhathad
passé
happened
afterwardsinthedream.
Iremembered
que
that
Ihadnoticedlongvelvetcurtains
et
and
aswinginglampofantiquefashion.
IfeltthatIhadbeen
très
very
faraway,insomeland
where
thecustomswerestrange—inPersia,I
pensais
thought...
.
ButIcouldnotremember
la
the
endofthedream.
Intheeveningmyaunt
emmené
took
mewithhertovisitthe
maison
house
ofmourning.
Itwas
après
after
sunset;
butthewindow-panesof
les
the
housesthatlookedto
les
the
westreflectedthetawnygoldofa
grand
great
bankofclouds.
Nanniereceivedusin
le
the
hall;
and,asit
été
would
havebeenunseemlytohaveshoutedather,myauntshookhandswithherfor
tout
all
.
Theoldwomanpointedupwardsinterrogatively
et
and
,onmyaunt’snodding,proceededtotoilupthenarrowstaircase
devant
before
us,herbowedheadbeingscarcelyabovethelevelofthebanister-rail.
At
la
the
firstlandingshestopped
et
and
beckonedusforwardencouraginglytowards
la
the
opendoorofthedead-room.
Myauntwentin
et
and
theoldwoman,seeing
que
that
Ihesitatedtoenter,begantobeckontomeagainrepeatedly
avec
with
herhand.
Iwentinontiptoe.
Theroom
travers
through
thelaceendoftheblindwassuffusedwithduskygolden
lumière
light
amidwhichthecandles
ressemblaient
looked
likepalethinflames.
Hehadbeencoffined.
Nannie
donné
gave
theleadandwethreekneltdownat
la
the
footofthebed.
Ipretendedtopray
mais
but
Icouldnotgathermythoughts
parce que
because
theoldwoman’smutteringsdistracted
me
me
.
Inoticedhowclumsilyherskirtwashookedat
les
the
backandhowtheheelsofherclothbootsweretroddendownallto
un
one
side.
Thefancycametomethat
le
the
oldpriestwassmilingashelaythereinhiscoffin.
Mais
But
no.Whenwerose
et
and
wentuptothe
tête
head
ofthebedI
vu
saw
thathewasnotsmiling.
Therehelay,solemn
et
and
copious,vestedasforthealtar,hislargehandslooselyretaining
un
a
chalice.
Hisfacewas
très
very
truculent,greyandmassive,
avec
with
blackcavernousnostrilsandcircledbyascantywhitefur.
Therewas
une
a
heavyodourintheroom—theflowers.
Weblessedourselves
et
and
cameaway.
Inthelittleroomdownstairswe
trouvé
found
Elizaseatedinhisarm-chairinstate.
Igropedmy
chemin
way
towardsmyusualchairin
le
the
cornerwhileNanniewentto
le
the
sideboardandbroughtout
un
a
decanterofsherryand
quelques
some
wine-glasses.
Shesettheseonthetable
et
and
invitedustotake
un
a
littleglassofwine.
Then,athersister’sbidding,shefilledoutthesherryintotheglasses
et
and
passedthemtous.
Shepressedmeto
prendre
take
somecreamcrackersalso
mais
but
IdeclinedbecauseI
pensais
thought
Iwouldmaketoomuchnoise
mangeant
eating
them.
Sheseemedtobesomewhatdisappointedatmyrefusal
et
and
wentoverquietlyto
le
the
sofawhereshesatdown
derrière
behind
hersister.
Noone
parlé
spoke
:
weallgazedat
la
the
emptyfireplace.
Myaunt
attendu
waited
untilElizasighedandthen
dit
said:
.
“Ah,well,he’sgoneto
un
a
betterworld.”
Elizasighed
nouveau
again
andbowedherheadinassent.
Myauntfingered
la
the
stemofherwine-glass
avant
before
sippingalittle.
“Didhe...
peacefully?”
she
demandé
asked
.
“Oh,quitepeacefully,ma’am,”
dit
said
Eliza.
“Youcouldn’ttell
quand
when
thebreathwentoutofhim.
He
eu
had
abeautifuldeath,Godbepraised.”
“Andeverything...?”
“FatherO’Rourkewasin
avec
with
himaTuesdayandanointedhim
et
and
preparedhimandall.”
“He
savait
knew
then?”
“Hewasquiteresigned.”
“Helooksquiteresigned,”
dit
said
myaunt.
“That’swhat
la
the
womanwehadintowashhim
dit
said
.
Shesaidhejustlookedasifhewasasleep,helookedthatpeaceful
et
and
resigned.
Noonewould
penserait
think
he’dmakesucha
beau
beautiful
corpse.”
“Yes,indeed,”saidmyaunt.
Shesipped
un
a
littlemorefromherglass
et
and
said:.
“Well,MissFlynn,atanyrateit
doit
must
beagreatcomfortforyouto
savoir
know
thatyoudidallyou
pouviez
could
forhim.
Youwere
deux
both
verykindtohim,I
dois
must
say.”
Elizasmoothedherdressoverherknees.
“Ah,
pauvre
poor
James!”
shesaid.
“God
sait
knows
wedoneallwe
pouvions
could
,aspoorasweare—wewouldn’t
verrions
see
himwantanythingwhilehewasinit.”
Nanniehadleanedher
tête
head
againstthesofa-pillowandseemed
sur
about
tofallasleep.
“There’s
pauvre
poor
Nannie,”saidEliza,lookingather,“she’sworeout.
Tout
All
theworkwehad,she
et
and
me,gettinginthe
femme
woman
towashhimandthenlayinghimout
et
and
thenthecoffinandthenarrangingabouttheMassinthechapel.
Onlyfor
Père
Father
O’RourkeIdon’tknowwhatwe’dhave
fait
done
atall.
Itwashim
apporté
brought
usallthemflowers
et
and
themtwocandlesticksoutofthechapel
et
and
wroteoutthenoticefortheFreeman’sGeneral
et
and
tookchargeofallthepapersforthecemetery
et
and
poorJames’sinsurance.”
“Wasn’tthatgoodofhim?”
saidmyaunt.
Eliza
fermé
closed
hereyesandshookher
tête
head
slowly.
“Ah,there’snofriends
comme
like
theoldfriends,”she
dit
said
,“whenallissaid
et
and
done,nofriendsthat
un
a
bodycantrust.”
“Indeed,that’strue,”
dit
said
myaunt.
“AndI’m
sûr
sure
nowthathe’sgonetohiseternalrewardhewon’t
oubliera
forget
youandallyourkindnesstohim.”
“Ah,
pauvre
poor
James!”
saidEliza.
“Hewas
pas
no
greattroubletous.
Youwouldn’thearhimin
la
the
houseanymorethannow.
Still,I
sais
know
he’sgoneandalltothat....”
“It’s
quand
when
it’salloverthatyou’llmisshim,”
dit
said
myaunt.
“Iknowthat,”
dit
said
Eliza.
“Iwon’tbebringinghiminhiscupofbeef-teaany
plus
more
,noryou,ma’am,sendinghimhissnuff.
Ah,
pauvre
poor
James!”
Shestopped,as
si
if
shewerecommuningwith
le
the
pastandthensaidshrewdly:.
“Mindyou,Inoticed
y
there
wassomethingqueercomingoverhimlatterly.
WheneverI’d
apportais
bring
inhissouptohimthereI’d
trouvais
find
himwithhisbreviary
tombé
fallen
tothefloor,lying
dos
back
inthechairandhismouthopen.”
Shelaid
un
a
fingeragainsthernose
et
and
frowned:
thenshecontinued:.
“Butstill
et
and
allhekepton
dire
saying
thatbeforethesummerwasoverhe’dgooutforadriveonefine
jour
day
justtoseetheold
maison
house
againwherewewere
tous
all
borndowninIrishtown
et
and
takemeandNannie
avec
with
him.
Ifwecouldonly
obtenir
get
oneofthemnew-fangledcarriagesthat
fait
makes
nonoisethatFatherO’Rourke
dit
told
himabout,themwiththerheumaticwheels,forthe
journée
day
cheap—hesaid,atJohnnyRush’soverthe
chemin
way
thereanddriveoutthe
trois
three
ofustogetherofaSundayevening.
Hehadhismindsetonthat....
Pauvre
Poor
James!”
“TheLordhavemercyonhissoul!”
saidmyaunt.
Elizatookoutherhandkerchief
et
and
wipedhereyeswithit.
Thensheputitbackagaininherpocket
et
and
gazedintotheemptygrateforsome
temps
time
withoutspeaking.