Dual Language Short stories in French – Learning French through English
Aesop’s Fables – L’âne et son ombre
Once upon a time, there was a traveller who wanted to go from the village to the town. He hired an ass from a merchant to carry his goods to the town. The merchant agreed to hire the donkey but he came along with the traveller as well.
TranslateIl était une fois un voyageur qui voulait passer du village à la ville. Il a embauché un âne d’un marchand pour transporter ses marchandises en ville. Le marchand a accepté de louer l’âne, mais il est également venu avec le voyageur.
There was a small desert between the town and the village. The road was very hot and the sun was harsh. The traveller became tired and he thought that it would be a good idea to stop soon.
TranslateIl y avait un petit désert entre la ville et le village. La route était très chaude et le soleil était rude. Le voyageur est devenu fatigué et il a pensé que ce serait une bonne idée de s’arrêter bientôt.
There were no trees visible for miles so they walked some more but soon they realised that they were only halfway through the desert and there would be no more trees along the way.
TranslateIl n’y avait pas d’arbres visibles pendant des kilomètres, alors ils marchaient encore un peu, mais ils se sont vite rendu compte qu’ils n’étaient qu’à la moitié du désert et qu’il n’y aurait plus d’arbres en chemin.
The traveller became so tired that he decided that it would be good to take a break now. As there were no trees, there was no shadow. As there was no shadow, the traveller said, “I shall sit in the shadow of the ass for some time. It is too hot and I need to rest.”
TranslateLe voyageur est devenu si fatigué qu’il a décidé qu’il serait bon de faire une pause maintenant. Comme il n’y avait pas d’arbres, il n’y avait pas d’ombre. Comme il n’y avait pas d’ombre, le voyageur a dit: «Je vais m’asseoir à l’ombre de l’âne pour quelque temps. Il fait trop chaud et j’ai besoin de me reposer.»
The merchant was feeling very hot as well. He also wished to rest in the shade cast by the ass. So he said to the traveller, “I have rented only the ass to you. The shadow cast by the ass was not paid for and belongs to me.”
TranslateLe marchand avait aussi très chaud. Il souhaitait également se reposer à l’ombre portée par l’âne. Alors il dit au voyageur: «Je ne vous ai loué que l’âne. L’ombre projetée par l’âne n’a pas été payée et m’appartient.»
Saying so, the merchant tried to push the traveller away. The traveller became very angry and soon the two of them began to fight.
TranslateEn disant cela, le marchand essaya de repousser le voyageur. Le voyageur est devenu très en colère et bientôt les deux d’entre eux ont commencé à se battre.
The donkey panicked on seeing the two people fight and ran away. The merchant lost his donkey and the traveller lost his goods. They both sadly walked back to the village.
TranslateL’âne a paniqué en voyant les deux personnes se battre et s’est enfui. Le marchand a perdu son âne et le voyageur a perdu ses marchandises. Ils sont tous les deux tristement retournés au village.
Moral: “In quarrelling about the shadow we often lose the substance.”
TranslateMorale: «En nous querellant au sujet de l’ombre, nous perdons souvent la substance.»
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About: Studying through Dual Language Short stories in French, an immersion technique 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.
