Italian short stories – Learning Italian through English
Aesop’s Fables – La quercia e le canne
Once upon a time, there was a mighty Oak tree. The Oak tree was very proud of its great strength. Beside the tree grew some slender and week reeds. The reeds would bend and be pushed to the ground even if there was a slight wind.
TranslateC’era una volta una possente quercia. La quercia era molto orgogliosa della sua grande forza. Accanto all’albero crescevano alcune canne sottili e deboli. Le canne si piegavano e venivano spinte a terra anche se c’era un leggero vento.
If the wind was strong, the Oak tree would laugh and stand strong with its hundred mighty arms without bending or bowing. The reeds would all bend and twist to the wind making a mournful sound.
TranslateSe il vento fosse forte, la Quercia riderebbe e si ergerebbe forte con le sue cento braccia possenti senza piegarsi o inchinarsi. Le canne si piegavano e si torcevano al vento emettendo un suono lugubre.
One day the Oak tree said to the Reeds, “Oh look at how weak you all are. You bend and bow to the slightest of winds. And look at me, so proud and strong. You must feel very bad, indeed.”
TranslateUn giorno la Quercia disse ai Canneti: “Oh, guardate quanto siete deboli. Vi piegate e vi inchinate al minimo dei venti. E guardatemi, così orgoglioso e forte. Dovete sentirvi molto male, davvero.
“Oh Great Oak tree. Don’t worry about yourself. The wind can never harm us. We only bend in front of the wind so that we do not break. You, with all your strength and pride have so far survived the wind. But one day a wind will come so strong it shall push you to the ground”
Translate“Oh grande quercia. Non preoccuparti per te stesso. Il vento non potrà mai farci del male. Ci pieghiamo solo davanti al vento per non spezzarci. Tu, con tutta la tua forza e il tuo orgoglio, finora sei sopravvissuto al vento. Ma un giorno verrà un vento così forte che ti spingerà a terra”
One day a hurricane came. It was ferocious and battered against the mighty Oak tree. The reeds lay flat in the ground, too weak to fight the wind.
TranslateUn giorno arrivò un uragano. Era feroce e sbattuto contro la possente quercia. Le canne giacevano piatte nel terreno, troppo deboli per combattere il vento.
The Oak tree stood strongly and proudly but the wind increased in fury. Soon, the Oak tree could hold no more, its roots tore and it crashed to the ground.
TranslateLa quercia si ergeva forte e orgogliosa, ma il vento aumentava con furia. Ben presto, la quercia non poté più reggere, le sue radici si strapparono e si schiantò a terra.
The reeds said, “If only you had listened and bent to the wind, you would not have crashed to the ground.”
TranslateLe canne dicevano: “Se solo avessi ascoltato e ti fossi piegato al vento, non saresti caduto a terra”.
Moral: Better to yield when it is folly to resist, than to resist stubbornly and be destroyed.
TranslateMorale: Meglio arrendersi quando è follia resistere, che resistere ostinatamente ed essere distrutti.
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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.
