Italian short stories – Learning Italian through English
Aesop’s Fables – L’asino e il carico di sale
A salt merchant used to live a few kilometres from the sea. He used to take his donkey to the seashore and fill two bags of salt. Then they would return back to the village and sell the salt in the market.
The donkey was happy when he was on his way to the sea shore. It was a nice walk where they get to cross a lovely steam and carry no weight. However on the way back, he did not like the weight of the salt on his back.
TranslateUn mercante di sale viveva a pochi chilometri dal mare. Portava il suo asino in riva al mare e riempiva due sacchi di sale. Poi tornavano al villaggio e vendevano il sale al mercato.
L’asino era felice quando andava in riva al mare. Era una bella passeggiata dove potevano attraversare un bel vapore e non portare alcun peso. Tuttavia, sulla via del ritorno, non gli piaceva il peso del sale sulla schiena.
One day, the donkey and his master were returning back from the sea shore with two heavy loads of salt. While crossing the stream, by accident, the donkey slipped and fell into the water.
By the time the donkey was able to get back on its feet, half the salt had dissolved into the water. The merchant cursed his luck and they headed back to the village. The donkey on the other hand was very happy. The weight on its back had reduced so much.
TranslateUn giorno, l’asino e il suo padrone stavano tornando dalla riva del mare con due pesanti carichi di sale. Durante l’attraversamento del torrente, per sbaglio, l’asino scivolò e cadde in acqua.
Quando l’asino fu in grado di rimettersi in piedi, metà del sale si era sciolto nell’acqua. Il mercante maledisse la sua fortuna e tornarono al villaggio. L’asino invece era molto contento. Il peso sulla schiena si era ridotto così tanto.
The next day, the donkey and his master were returning back from the sea shore with two heavy loads of salt. While crossing the stream, the donkey acted like he slipped and again fell into the water.
By the time the donkey was able to get back on its feet, half the salt had dissolved into the water. The merchant was very unhappy. He cursed his luck and they headed back to the village. The donkey was very happy. He knew how to reduce the weight on his back and he could do this every day.
TranslateIl giorno dopo, l’asino e il suo padrone stavano tornando dalla riva del mare con due pesanti carichi di sale. Mentre attraversava il torrente, l’asino si è comportato come se fosse scivolato e caduto di nuovo in acqua.
Quando l’asino riuscì a rimettersi in piedi, metà del sale si era dissolto nell’acqua. Il commerciante era molto infelice. Ha maledetto la sua fortuna e tornarono al villaggio. L’asino era molto felice. Sapeva come ridurre il peso sulla schiena e poteva farlo ogni giorno.
The third day, the donkey and his master were returning back from the sea shore with two heavy loads of salt. While crossing the stream, the donkey once again acted like he had an accident and fell into the water.
TranslateIl terzo giorno, l’asino e il suo padrone tornavano dalla riva del mare con due pesanti carichi di sale. Mentre attraversava il torrente, l’asino si è comportato ancora una volta come se avesse avuto un incidente ed è caduto in acqua.
The master realized what was happening. He dumped the entire salt into the water and took the donkey back to the sea shore. He filled the bags with sponges and took the donkey to the stream. The donkey foolishly fell into the water and the sponges became very heavy with all the water.
He now had to carry almost twice the weight of the salt all the way up to the village. However he had learnt a painful lesson.
TranslateIl maestro capì cosa stava succedendo. Scaricò l’intero sale nell’acqua e riportò l’asino sulla riva del mare. Riempì i sacchi di spugne e portò l’asino al ruscello. L’asino cadde stoltamente nell’acqua e le spugne divennero molto pesanti con tutta l’acqua.
Ora doveva portare quasi il doppio del peso del sale fino al villaggio. Tuttavia aveva imparato una lezione dolorosa.
Moral: “The same measures will not suit all circumstances.”
TranslateMorale: “Le stesse misure non si adattano a tutte le circostanze.”
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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.