Dubliners | Progressive Translation Books for German A1 Learners

Dubliners | Progressive Translation Books for German A1 Learners

Experience the benefits of this forward-thinking translation strategy that tailors language learning to your specific needs. You have control over the difficulty, which ensures that the content is neither too easy nor overly challenging. This method enhances your ability to understand new words through context, reducing reliance on direct translations. While the translations are subtly obscured to foster learning, you can still look up unclear terms. This balanced approach makes language acquisition smoother and more enjoyable. Delve into these translated literary works and discover the satisfaction of mastering a language through reading.

THESISTERS
Therewasno
hoffnung
hope
forhimthistime:
itwas
der
the
thirdstroke.
Nightafter
nacht
night
Ihadpassedthe
haus
house
(itwasvacationtime)
und
and
studiedthelightedsquareofwindow:
und
and
nightafternightIhadfounditlightedin
die
the
sameway,faintlyandevenly.
Wenn
If
hewasdead,I
dachte
thought
,Iwouldseethereflectionofcandleson
die
the
darkenedblindforIknew
dass
that
twocandlesmustbesetat
die
the
headofacorpse.
Hehadoftensaidto
mir
me
:
“Iamnotlongfor
dieser
this
world,”andIhadthoughthiswordsidle.
Jetzt
Now
Iknewtheywere
wahr
true
.
EverynightasIgazedupat
das
the
windowIsaidsoftlytomyself
das
the
wordparalysis.
Ithadalways
klang
sounded
strangelyinmyears,like
das
the
wordgnomonintheEuclid
und
and
thewordsimonyin
das
the
Catechism.
Butnowit
klang
sounded
tomelikethe
name
name
ofsomemaleficentandsinfulbeing.
Itfilledmewithfear,
und
and
yetIlongedtobenearertoit
und
and
tolookuponitsdeadly
arbeit
work
.
OldCotterwassittingat
der
the
fire,smoking,whenIcamedownstairstosupper.
Während
While
myauntwasladling
aus
out
mystirabouthesaid,as
ob
if
returningtosomeformerremarkof
seiner
his:
.
“No,Iwouldn’tsayhewas
genau
exactly
...
buttherewas
etwas
something
queer...
therewas
etwas
something
uncannyabouthim.
I’ll
sage
tell
youmyopinion....”
Hebegantopuffathispipe,nodoubtarranginghisopinioninhis
verstand
mind
.
Tiresomeoldfool!
Whenweknewhimfirstheusedtoberatherinteresting,talkingoffaints
und
and
worms;
butIsoongrewtiredofhim
und
and
hisendlessstoriesabout
die
the
distillery.
“Ihavemyowntheoryaboutit,”hesaid.
“I
glaube
think
itwasoneofthose...
peculiarcases....
Aber
But
it’shardtosay....”
Hebegantopuff
wieder
again
athispipewithoutgivingushistheory.
My
onkel
uncle
sawmestaringandsaidtome:.
“Well,soyourold
freund
friend
isgone,you’llbesorrytohear.”
“Who?”
said
Ich
I
.
“FatherFlynn.”
“Ishedead?”
“MrCotterherehas
gerade
just
toldus.
Hewaspassingbythehouse.”
Iknew
dass
that
IwasunderobservationsoIcontinuedeatingas
ob
if
thenewshadnotinterested
mich
me
.
MyuncleexplainedtooldCotter.
“Theyoungster
und
and
heweregreatfriends.
Der
The
oldchaptaughthimagreatdeal,mindyou;
und
and
theysayhehadagreat
wunsch
wish
forhim.”
“Godhavemercyonhissoul,”saidmyauntpiously.
OldCotterlookedatmefor
eine
a
while.
Ifeltthathislittlebeadyblackeyeswereexaminingme
aber
but
Iwouldnotsatisfyhimbylookingupfrommyplate.
Hereturnedtohispipe
und
and
finallyspatrudelyinto
den
the
grate.
“Iwouldn’tlike
kinder
children
ofmine,”hesaid,“tohavetoo
viel
much
tosaytoa
mann
man
likethat.”
“Howdoyou
meinen
mean
,MrCotter?”
askedmyaunt.
“WhatImeanis,”saidoldCotter,“it’s
schlecht
bad
forchildren.
Myideais:
let
ein
a
youngladrunabout
und
and
playwithyoungladsofhisownage
und
and
notbe....
AmI
recht
right
,Jack?”
“That’smyprinciple,too,”saidmy
onkel
uncle
.
“Lethimlearntoboxhiscorner.
That’swhatI’malwayssayingtothatRosicrucian
da
there
:
takeexercise.
Why,whenIwas
ein
a
nippereverymorningofmylifeIhad
ein
a
coldbath,winterandsummer.
Und
And
that’swhatstandstome
jetzt
now
.
Educationisallveryfine
und
and
large....
MrCottermighttakeapickofthatlegmutton,”headdedtomyaunt.
“No,no,notforme,”saidoldCotter.
Myauntbroughtthedishfromthe
safe
safe
andputitonthetable.
“But
warum
why
doyouthinkit’snot
gut
good
forchildren,MrCotter?”
she
fragte
asked
.
“It’sbadforchildren,”saidoldCotter,“becausetheirmindsaresoimpressionable.
Wenn
When
childrenseethingslike
so
that
,youknow,ithasaneffect....”
IcrammedmymouthwithstiraboutforfearImightgiveutterancetomyanger.
Tiresomeoldred-nosedimbecile!
Itwas
spät
late
whenIfellasleep.
Obwohl
Though
IwasangrywitholdCotterforalludingtomeasa
kind
child
,Ipuzzledmyheadtoextract
meinen
meaning
fromhisunfinishedsentences.
InthedarkofmyroomIimaginedthatI
sähe
saw
againtheheavygrey
gesicht
face
oftheparalytic.
Idrewtheblankets
über
over
myheadandtriedto
denken
think
ofChristmas.
Butthegrey
gesicht
face
stillfollowedme.
Itmurmured;
und
and
Iunderstoodthatitdesiredtoconfess
etwas
something
.
Ifeltmysoulrecedingintosomepleasant
und
and
viciousregion;
andthere
wieder
again
Ifounditwaitingfor
mich
me
.
Itbegantoconfesstomeinamurmuringvoice
und
and
Iwonderedwhyitsmiledcontinually
und
and
whythelipsweresomoistwithspittle.
Aber
But
thenIrememberedthatithad
gestorben
died
ofparalysisandI
fühlte
felt
thatItoowassmilingfeeblyas
ob
if
toabsolvethesimoniacofhissin.
Thenext
morgen
morning
afterbreakfastIwentdowntolookatthelittle
haus
house
inGreatBritainStreet.
Itwas
ein
an
unassumingshop,registeredunderthevaguenameofDrapery.
Die
The
draperyconsistedmainlyofchildren’sbootees
und
and
umbrellas;
andonordinarydays
ein
a
noticeusedtohangin
der
the
window,saying:
UmbrellasRe-covered.
Nonoticewasvisible
jetzt
now
fortheshutterswere
hoch
up
.
Acrapebouquetwastiedto
den
the
door-knockerwithribbon.
Twopoorwomen
und
and
atelegramboywerereading
die
the
cardpinnedonthecrape.
I
auch
also
approachedandread:.
July1st,1895
Der
The
Rev.JamesFlynn(formerlyofS.Catherine’sChurch,MeathStreet),agedsixty-fiveyears.R.I.P.
Thereadingofthecardpersuadedme
dass
that
hewasdeadandIwasdisturbedto
finden
find
myselfatcheck.
Hadhenotbeen
tot
dead
Iwouldhavegoneinto
das
the
littledarkroombehind
das
the
shoptofindhimsittinginhisarm-chairby
das
the
fire,nearlysmotheredinhisgreat-coat.
Vielleicht
Perhaps
myauntwouldhavegivenme
ein
a
packetofHighToastforhim
und
and
thispresentwouldhaverousedhimfromhisstupefieddoze.
ItwasalwaysIwhoemptiedthepacketintohisblacksnuff-boxforhishandstrembledtoo
sehr
much
toallowhimto
tun
do
thiswithoutspillinghalfthesnuffaboutthefloor.
Selbst
Even
asheraisedhislargetrembling
hand
hand
tohisnoselittlecloudsofsmokedribbled
durch
through
hisfingersoverthe
vorderseite
front
ofhiscoat.
Itmayhavebeentheseconstantshowersofsnuffwhichgavehisancientpriestlygarmentstheirgreenfaded
blick
look
fortheredhandkerchief,blackened,asitalwayswas,withthesnuff-stainsofa
woche
week
,withwhichhetriedtobrush
entfernen
away
thefallengrains,was
ganz
quite
inefficacious.
Iwishedtogoin
und
and
lookathimbutIhadnot
den
the
couragetoknock.
Iwalkedawayslowly
entlang
along
thesunnysideofthe
straße
street
,readingallthetheatricaladvertisementsintheshop-windowsasI
ging
went
.
IfounditstrangethatneitherInor
der
the
dayseemedinamourningmood
und
and
Ifeltevenannoyedatdiscoveringinmyself
ein
a
sensationoffreedomas
wenn
if
Ihadbeenfreedfrom
etwas
something
byhisdeath.
Iwonderedatthisfor,asmy
onkel
uncle
hadsaidthenightbefore,hehadtaughtmeagreatdeal.
Hehadstudiedin
der
the
IrishcollegeinRome
und
and
hehadtaughtmetopronounceLatinproperly.
Hehadtoldmestories
über
about
thecatacombsandaboutNapoleonBonaparte,
und
and
hehadexplainedtomethemeaningofthedifferentceremoniesoftheMass
und
and
ofthedifferentvestmentswornbythepriest.
Manchmal
Sometimes
hehadamusedhimselfbyputtingdifficultquestionstome,askingmewhatone
sollte
should
doincertaincircumstancesorwhether
solche
such
andsuchsinsweremortalorvenialor
nur
only
imperfections.
Hisquestionsshowedmehowcomplex
und
and
mysteriouswerecertaininstitutionsoftheChurchwhichIhadalwaysregardedasthesimplestacts.
ThedutiesofthepriesttowardstheEucharist
und
and
towardsthesecrecyoftheconfessionalseemedsogravetomethatIwonderedhow
jemand
anybody
hadeverfoundinhimselfthecouragetoundertakethem;
und
and
Iwasnotsurprisedwhenhe
sagte
told
methatthefathersoftheChurchhadwrittenbooksasthickasthePostOfficeDirectory
und
and
ascloselyprintedasthe
gesetz
law
noticesinthenewspaper,elucidatingalltheseintricatequestions.
Often
wenn
when
IthoughtofthisI
konnte
could
makenoansweror
nur
only
averyfoolishandhaltingoneuponwhichheusedtosmile
und
and
nodhisheadtwiceorthrice.
Manchmal
Sometimes
heusedtoputmethroughtheresponsesoftheMasswhichhehadmademelearnbyheart;
und
and
,asIpattered,heusedtosmilepensively
und
and
nodhishead,now
und
and
thenpushinghugepinchesofsnuffupeachnostrilalternately.
Wenn
When
hesmiledheusedtouncoverhisbigdiscolouredteeth
und
and
lethistonguelieuponhislowerlip—ahabitwhichhadmademefeeluneasyin
die
the
beginningofouracquaintance
bevor
before
Iknewhimwell.
AsIwalkedalonginthesunIrememberedoldCotter’swords
und
and
triedtorememberwhathad
geschehen
happened
afterwardsinthedream.
Iremembered
dass
that
Ihadnoticedlongvelvetcurtains
und
and
aswinginglampofantiquefashion.
IfeltthatIhadbeen
sehr
very
faraway,insomelandwherethecustomswerestrange—inPersia,I
dachte
thought...
.
ButIcouldnotremember
das
the
endofthedream.
In
das
the
eveningmyaunttookmewithhertovisit
das
the
houseofmourning.
Itwas
nach
after
sunset;
butthewindow-panesofthehousesthatlookedtothewestreflectedthetawnygoldofagreatbankofclouds.
Nanniereceivedusinthehall;
und
and
,asitwouldhavebeenunseemlytohaveshoutedat
ihr
her
,myauntshookhandswithherfor
alle
all
.
Theoldwomanpointedupwardsinterrogatively
und
and
,onmyaunt’snodding,proceededtotoil
nach oben
up
thenarrowstaircasebeforeus,herbowed
kopf
head
beingscarcelyabovethelevelof
die
the
banister-rail.
Atthefirstlandingshestopped
und
and
beckonedusforwardencouraginglytowards
der
the
opendoorofthedead-room.
Myaunt
ging
went
inandtheold
frau
woman
,seeingthatIhesitatedtoenter,begantobeckontome
wieder
again
repeatedlywithherhand.
Iwentinontiptoe.
The
raum
room
throughthelaceendoftheblindwassuffusedwithduskygolden
licht
light
amidwhichthecandleslookedlikepalethinflames.
Hehadbeencoffined.
Nanniegave
die
the
leadandwethreekneltdownat
die
the
footofthebed.
Ipretendedtopray
aber
but
Icouldnotgathermythoughts
weil
because
theoldwoman’smutteringsdistracted
mich
me
.
Inoticedhowclumsilyherskirtwashookedattheback
und
and
howtheheelsofherclothbootsweretroddendownallto
einer
one
side.
Thefancycametome
dass
that
theoldpriestwassmilingashe
lag
lay
thereinhiscoffin.
Aber
But
no.Whenwerose
und
and
wentuptothe
kopf
head
ofthebedI
sah
saw
thathewasnotsmiling.
Dort
There
helay,solemnandcopious,vestedasfor
den
the
altar,hislargehandslooselyretainingachalice.
His
gesicht
face
wasverytruculent,grey
und
and
massive,withblackcavernousnostrils
und
and
circledbyascantywhitefur.
Therewasaheavyodourin
die
the
room—theflowers.
Weblessedourselves
und
and
cameaway.
Inthelittle
zimmer
room
downstairswefoundElizaseatedinhisarm-chairinstate.
Igropedmywaytowardsmyusualchairin
der
the
cornerwhileNanniewentto
der
the
sideboardandbroughtoutadecanterofsherry
und
and
somewine-glasses.
Shesettheseon
den
the
tableandinvitedustotake
ein
a
littleglassofwine.
Then,athersister’sbidding,shefilledoutthesherryintotheglasses
und
and
passedthemtous.
Shepressedmetotakesomecreamcrackersalso
aber
but
IdeclinedbecauseI
dachte
thought
Iwouldmaketoo
viel
much
noiseeatingthem.
Sheseemedtobesomewhatdisappointedatmyrefusal
und
and
wentoverquietlytothesofa
wo
where
shesatdownbehindher
schwester
sister
.
Noonespoke:
we
alle
all
gazedattheemptyfireplace.
Myaunt
wartete
waited
untilElizasighedandthensaid:.
“Ah,
nun
well
,he’sgonetoabetterworld.”
Elizasighed
wieder
again
andbowedherheadinassent.
Myauntfingeredthestemofherwine-glass
bevor
before
sippingalittle.
“Didhe...
peacefully?”
she
fragte
asked
.
“Oh,quitepeacefully,ma’am,”saidEliza.
“Youcouldn’t
sagen
tell
whenthebreathwent
aus
out
ofhim.
Hehadabeautiful
tod
death
,Godbepraised.”
“Andeverything...?”
“FatherO’RourkewasinwithhimaTuesday
und
and
anointedhimandpreparedhim
und
and
all.”
“Heknewthen?”
“Hewas
ziemlich
quite
resigned.”
“Helooksquiteresigned,”saidmyaunt.
“That’swhatthe
frau
woman
wehadintowashhimsaid.
Shesaidhejust
sah aus
looked
asifhewasasleep,he
sah aus
looked
thatpeacefulandresigned.
Noone
würde
would
thinkhe’dmakesucha
schöne
beautiful
corpse.”
“Yes,indeed,”saidmyaunt.
Shesipped
ein
a
littlemorefromherglass
und
and
said:.
“Well,MissFlynn,atanyrateit
muss
must
beagreatcomfortforyouto
wissen
know
thatyoudidallyou
konnten
could
forhim.
Youwere
beide
both
verykindtohim,I
muss
must
say.”
Elizasmoothedherdress
über
over
herknees.
“Ah,poorJames!”
shesaid.
“Godknowswedoneallwe
konnten
could
,aspoorasweare—wewouldn’t
sehen
see
himwantanythingwhilehewasinit.”
Nanniehadleanedher
kopf
head
againstthesofa-pillowandseemedabouttofallasleep.
“There’spoorNannie,”saidEliza,lookingather,“she’sworeout.
Allthe
arbeit
work
wehad,sheandme,gettinginthe
frau
woman
towashhimandthenlayinghimout
und
and
thenthecoffinandthenarrangingabouttheMassinthechapel.
Nur
Only
forFatherO’RourkeIdon’tknowwhatwe’dhave
getan
done
atall.
Itwashimbroughtus
alle
all
themflowersandthemtwocandlesticks
aus
out
ofthechapelandwrote
aus
out
thenoticefortheFreeman’sGeneral
und
and
tookchargeofallthepapersforthecemetery
und
and
poorJames’sinsurance.”
“Wasn’tthat
gut
good
ofhim?”
saidmyaunt.
Eliza
schloss
closed
hereyesandshookher
kopf
head
slowly.
“Ah,there’snofriendslike
die
the
oldfriends,”shesaid,“whenallissaid
und
and
done,nofriendsthat
ein
a
bodycantrust.”
“Indeed,that’strue,”saidmyaunt.
“AndI’m
sicher
sure
nowthathe’sgonetohiseternalrewardhewon’t
vergessen
forget
youandallyourkindnesstohim.”
“Ah,poorJames!”
saidEliza.
“Hewas
kein
no
greattroubletous.
Youwouldn’t
hören
hear
himinthehouseany
mehr
more
thannow.
Still,Iknowhe’sgone
und
and
alltothat....”
“It’swhenit’salloverthatyou’llmisshim,”saidmyaunt.
“Iknowthat,”saidEliza.
“Iwon’tbebringinghiminhiscupofbeef-teaanymore,noryou,ma’am,
schicken
sending
himhissnuff.
Ah,poorJames!”
She
hielt an
stopped
,asifshewerecommuningwith
der
the
pastandthensaidshrewdly:.
“Mindyou,Inoticedtherewas
etwas
something
queercomingoverhimlatterly.
WheneverI’dbringinhissouptohimthereI’dfindhimwithhisbreviaryfallento
den
the
floor,lyingbackin
den
the
chairandhismouthopen.”
Shelaidafingeragainsthernose
und
and
frowned:
thenshecontinued:.
“Butstill
und
and
allhekeptonsaying
dass
that
beforethesummerwasoverhe’dgooutfora
fahrt
drive
onefinedayjusttoseetheold
haus
house
againwherewewere
alle
all
borndowninIrishtown
und
and
takemeandNanniewithhim.
Wenn
If
wecouldonlyget
einem
one
ofthemnew-fangledcarriagesthatmakesnonoisethat
Vater
Father
O’Rourketoldhimabout,themwiththerheumaticwheels,forthe
tag
day
cheap—hesaid,atJohnnyRush’soverthe
weg
way
thereanddriveoutthe
drei
three
ofustogetherofaSundayevening.
Hehadhis
verstand
mind
setonthat....
PoorJames!”
“The
Herr
Lord
havemercyonhissoul!”
saidmyaunt.
Elizatookoutherhandkerchief
und
and
wipedhereyeswithit.
Thensheputitbackagaininherpocket
und
and
gazedintotheemptygratefor
einige
some
timewithoutspeaking.