French short stories – Learning French through English
Aesop’s Fables – Birbal et l’astrologue
Once upon a time, there was an astrologer in Akbar’s Kingdom. He was very vain and always bragged to everyone about his accurate predictions. He used to say that there was no other astrologer in the world who was as great as he was.
TranslateIl était une fois un astrologue dans le royaume d’Akbar. Il était très vaniteux et se vantait toujours auprès de tout le monde de ses prédictions précises. Il avait l’habitude de dire qu’il n’y avait aucun autre astrologue au monde aussi grand que lui.
The royal astrologer heard his bragging and wanted Akbar to punish him. He told the King about the astrologer and all the bragging that he was doing.
TranslateL’astrologue royal a entendu sa vantardise et voulait qu’Akbar le punisse. Il a parlé au roi de l’astrologue et de toutes les vantardises qu’il faisait.
King Akbar called the astrologer to court. He wanted to test the accuracy of his predictions.
TranslateLe roi Akbar a appelé l’astrologue à la cour. Il voulait tester l’exactitude de ses prédictions.
King Akbar said, “I have heard that you predict very accurately. Everyone says that you are the best astrologer in the world and that you can see the future”
TranslateLe roi Akbar a déclaré: «J’ai entendu dire que vous prédisez très précisément. Tout le monde dit que vous êtes le meilleur astrologue du monde et que vous pouvez voir l’avenir »
The astrologer was very happy to stand in front of the great King Akbar. At the same time, he was filled with a great fear as he knew that he was a liar. He could only bow and not even a single word came out of his mouth. He kept bowing with his hands folded.
TranslateL’astrologue était très heureux de se tenir devant le grand roi Akbar. En même temps, il était rempli d’une grande peur car il savait qu’il était un menteur. Il ne pouvait que s’incliner et pas même un seul mot ne sortait de sa bouche. Il a continué à s’incliner, les mains jointes.
Akbar asked, “My great astrologer, I shall give you a big reward if you are able to answer only one simple question. If you answer incorrectly, you are a liar and have lied to the King. I will have you executed. Tell me, when will you die?”
TranslateAkbar a demandé: «Mon grand astrologue, je vous donnerai une grande récompense si vous êtes en mesure de répondre à une seule question simple. Si vous ne répondez pas correctement, vous êtes un menteur et vous avez menti au roi. Je vais vous faire exécuter. Dites-moi, quand mourrez-vous?»
The astrologer was shaking with fear. He did not know what to say. He thought for a moment and then said, “My great King, I will have to check the stars and the charts to see it correctly. Can I give you my answer tomorrow?”
TranslateL’astrologue tremblait de peur. Il ne savait pas quoi dire. Il réfléchit un moment puis dit: «Mon grand roi, je vais devoir vérifier les étoiles et les cartes pour les voir correctement. Puis-je vous donner ma réponse demain? »
The Emperor agreed and sent him off. The astrologer went to Birbal for help and told him the whole story. Birbal scolded him at first for lying and told him never to lie again.
TranslateL’Empereur a accepté et l’a renvoyé. L’astrologue est allé chercher de l’aide à Birbal et lui a raconté toute l’histoire. Birbal l’a d’abord réprimandé pour avoir menti et lui a dit de ne plus jamais mentir.
He then whispered a brilliant answer to the astrologer. He told the astrologer what to say in front of the King so that he could escape his death.
TranslateIl a ensuite chuchoté une réponse brillante à l’astrologue. Il a dit à l’astrologue quoi dire devant le roi pour qu’il puisse échapper à sa mort.
The astrologer returned to the court the next day and told the king, “I will die exactly three days before you, my King.”
TranslateL’astrologue est retourné à la cour le lendemain et a dit au roi: «Je mourrai exactement trois jours avant vous, mon roi.»
Akbar was sure that the astrologer was bluffing, but did not want to take a chance. If he executed the astrologer, he would die in 3 days as per the prediction. He did not want to take this chance for no reason.
TranslateAkbar était sûr que l’astrologue bluffait, mais ne voulait pas prendre de risque. S’il exécutait l’astrologue, il mourrait dans 3 jours selon la prédiction. Il ne voulait pas saisir cette chance sans raison.
Also the King did not want to know the time of his death so he could not ask the astrologer about the exact day. So King Akbar thanked the astrologer and gave him a bag of 100 gold coins and let him go.
TranslateLe roi ne voulait pas non plus connaître l’heure de sa mort et ne pouvait donc pas demander à l’astrologue le jour exact. Alors le roi Akbar a remercié l’astrologue et lui a donné un sac de 100 pièces d’or et l’a laissé partir.
Birbal saved the astrologer’s life successfully. That day onwards, the astrologer never bragged about anything.
TranslateBirbal a sauvé la vie de l’astrologue avec succès. Ce jour-là, l’astrologue ne s’est jamais vanté de rien.
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About: Studying through Dual Language immersion is among the best techniques for learning a new language. The objective of this website is to teach yourself how to read and speak French confidently using English as a base 🙂
These French short stories are super cool to read for beginners and also for entertaining children. Aesop’s Fables are among the best stories that can be studied on a daily basis.
