Italian short stories – Learning Italian through English
Aesop’s Fables – La cavalletta e le formiche
In a large and beautiful field on one warm and lovely summer’s day, a grasshopper was happily hopping about. He was chirping and dancing and singing to his heart’s content.
“Ah what a glorious summer. How beautiful the sun shines. I may just relax and dance and sing until the summer ends.”
TranslateIn un grande e bellissimo campo in una calda e deliziosa giornata estiva, una cavalletta saltava allegramente qua e là. Cinguettava, ballava e cantava a suo piacimento.
“Ah che estate gloriosa. Com’è bello il sole. Potrei semplicemente rilassarmi, ballare e cantare fino alla fine dell’estate”.
He was lying down when he saw a group of ants walked by. They were working hard. They were struggling as they were carrying corn and wheat and rice seeds. They were working without rest and the Grasshopper was amused.
TranslateEra sdraiato quando ha visto passare un gruppo di formiche. Stavano lavorando sodo. Stavano lottando mentre trasportavano mais, grano e semi di riso. Stavano lavorando senza sosta e la cavalletta era divertita.
The Grasshopper said, “Where are you going with such heavy food? Why don’t you eat them here instead of carrying it back home?”
The ant replied, “We are not eating them. We are storing the seeds. We are saving up for winter. This is the fourth seed that I have stored today.”
TranslateLa cavalletta disse: “Dove vai con un cibo così pesante? Perché non li mangi qui invece di portarli a casa?”
La formica ha risposto: “Non li stiamo mangiando. Stiamo conservando i semi. Stiamo risparmiando per l’inverno. Questo è il quarto seme che ho conservato oggi”.
The Grasshopper teased, “Why do you ants work so hard when you can dance and sing all summer.”
The ants said to him, “The winter is soon coming and I suggest you start to save.”
TranslateLa cavalletta la prese in giro: “Perché voi formiche lavorate così duramente quando potete ballare e cantare tutta l’estate”.
Le formiche gli dissero: “L’inverno sta arrivando presto e ti suggerisco di iniziare a risparmiare”.
The grasshopper laughed at them and merrily started to chirp ignoring them completely, “Winter is so far away and I have so many months to save food. Let me enjoy for the time being.”
Soon the winter came and the grass and the crops dried out. Snow covered the land and the Grasshopper could not find any food anymore and began to starve. He struggled and reached the ant hill and begged for food.
TranslateLa cavalletta rise di loro e iniziò a cinguettare allegramente ignorandoli completamente, “L’inverno è così lontano e ho così tanti mesi per risparmiare cibo. Lascia che mi diverta per il momento.”
Presto venne l’inverno e l’erba e le messi si seccarono. La neve coprì la terra e la cavalletta non riuscì più a trovare cibo e iniziò a morire di fame. Lottò e raggiunse il formicaio e chiese cibo.
The ants were horrified, “What? Did you not save any food for the winter? What were you doing the entire summer?”
“I did not have any time in the Summer to store food. The weather was so warm and shiny and glorious that I was singing and dancing all summer.”
“Ah, such a delight” said the ants, “Maybe you can dance and sing all winter away and leave us alone.”
TranslateLe formiche erano inorridite: “Cosa? Non hai messo da parte cibo per l’inverno? Cosa hai fatto per tutta l’estate? “
“Non ho avuto tempo in estate per conservare il cibo. Il tempo era così caldo, splendente e glorioso che ho cantato e ballato per tutta l’estate”.
“Ah, che delizia” dissero le formiche, “Forse puoi ballare e cantare per tutto l’inverno e lasciarci in pace”.
Moral: “There’s a time for work and a time for play.”
TranslateMorale: “C’è un tempo per il lavoro e un tempo per il gioco”.
Hope you had fun learning Italian through short stories 🙂 If so leave a comment!!!
For more languages:
Learn German through Short stories: https://childhood-stories.com/German
Learn Spanish through Short stories: https://childhood-stories.com/Spanish
Learn Italian through Short stories: https://childhood-stories.com/Italian
Learn Dutch through Short stories: https://childhood-stories.com/Dutch
Learn French through Short stories: https://childhood-stories.com/French
Learn Portuguese through Short stories: https://childhood-stories.com/Portuguese
Learn Portuguese through Short stories: https://childhood-stories.com/English
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.
