Italian short stories – Learning Italian through English
Aesop’s Fables – Il Leone e il topo
Once upon a time, there was a large Lion who was asleep in the forest. His huge head was resting on his paws and he was snoring loudly.
“SNORE! SNORE! ZZZZZZZZZ”, snored the lion.
TranslateC’era una volta un grande leone che dormiva nella foresta. La sua enorme testa era appoggiata sulle zampe e russava rumorosamente.
“ZZZZZZZZZ”, russava il leone.
A tiny mouse was running and did not see the lion. He tripped on the lion. The lion woke up and roared. The mouse was so scared that he couldn’t move.
The lion angrily caught the mouse and said “How dare you wake me up from my sleep. I am now going to eat you!”
TranslateUn topino correva e non vide il leone. Inciampò nel leone. Il leone si svegliò e ruggì. Il topo era così spaventato che non poteva muoversi.
Il leone afferrò con rabbia il topo e disse: “Come osi svegliarmi dal sonno?! Adesso ti mangio!”
The mouse was very frightened and squeaked “SQUEAK SQUEAK! Mr Lion, I am so sorry. Please let me go. Some day, I promise I will repay you”.
The lion roared with laughter.
TranslateIl topo era molto spaventato e squittì “SQUEAK SQUEAK! Signor leone, mi dispiace tanto. Per favore lasciami andare. Un giorno, ti prometto che ti ripagherò”.
Il leone iniziò a ridere.
“But you are such a small mouse and I am a mighty lion. How can you ever repay me?”
“Please my lord”, said the mouse, “I promise you with the paws crossed.”
Translate“Ma tu sei un topo così piccolo e io un leone potente. Come puoi mai ripagarmi?”
“Per favore mio signore”, disse il topo, “te lo prometto con le zampe incrociate”.
The lion was very amused. “Very well. I shall let you go. But I believe that you will never be able to repay me.”
The mouse thanked the lion and went on its way.
TranslateIl leone era molto divertito. “Ottimo. ti lascio andare. Ma credo che non sarai mai in grado di ripagarmi”.
Il topo ringraziò il leone e se ne andò.
Some days later, the lion was walking through the forest and he got caught in a hunter’s net. He roared and pulled and pushed. He struggled and strained. The net was too strong and he was fully stuck. He roared and roared as loudly as he could.
TranslateAlcuni giorni dopo, il leone stava camminando nella foresta e rimase impigliato nella rete di un cacciatore. Ruggì e lottò per uscirne. La rete era troppo forte ed era completamente bloccato. Ruggiva e ruggiva più forte che poteva.
The mouse heard the sounds of the lion and immediately knew it was the roar of the lion who had let him live. He ran to the lion and saw that he was stuck in the net.
“My lord, let me cut the net for you” said the mouse.
TranslateIl topo udì i suoni del leone e capì subito che era il ruggito del leone che lo aveva lasciato vivere. Corse dal leone e vide che era incastrato nella rete.
“Mio signore, lascia che ti tagli la rete” disse il topo.
The rope was as thick as the mouse but she managed to gnaw through the ropes. Soon, the lion was free.
“My lord, as I promised you before, I have helped you. You laughed at me before and asked how a tiny mouse can help a lion. Now you see, even the tiniest of mice can help the mightiest of lions”
TranslateLa corda era spessa come il topo, ma riuscì a rosicchiare le corde. Ben presto, il leone fu libero.
“Mio signore, come vi avevo promesso prima, vi ho aiutato. Prima hai riso di me e mi hai chiesto come un topolino può aiutare un leone. Ora vedi, anche il più piccolo dei topi può aiutare il più potente dei leoni”
Moral: Kindness is never wasted.
TranslateMorale: la gentilezza non è mai sprecata.
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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 Italian confidently using English as a base 🙂 These Italian short stories are super cool to read for beginners and also for entertaining children. Aesop tales are among the best stories that can be studied on a daily basis.
