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Memoirs of a Good-for-Nothing · about 144 min

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Memoirs of a Good-for-Nothing
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Da tanzt =sie= nun, dacht ich in dem Baume droben bei mir selber, und hat gewiß lange dich und deine Blumen wieder vergessen.

So =she= is dancing now, I thought to myself up in the tree, and has certainly long forgotten you and your Blumen again.

Alles ist so fröhlich, um dich kümmert sich kein Mensch. -- Und so geht es mir überall und immer.

Everything is so joyful, no one cares about you. -- And so it is with me everywhere and always.

Jeder hat sein Plätzchen auf der Erde ausgesteckt, hat seinen warmen Ofen, seine Tasse Kaffee, seine Frau, sein Glas Wein zu Abend und ist so recht zufrieden;

Everyone has staked out their little spot on earth, has their warm stove, their cup of coffee, their Frau, their glass of wine in the evening and is quite content;

selbst dem Portier ist ganz wohl in seiner langen Haut. -- Mir ists nirgends recht.

even the Portier is quite comfortable in his long skin. -- Nowhere is it right for Mir.

Es ist, als wäre ich überall eben zu spät gekommen, als hätte die ganze Welt gar nicht auf mich gerechnet. --

It is as if I had arrived everywhere just too late, as if the whole Welt had not counted on me at all. --

Wie ich eben so philosophiere, höre ich auf einmal unten im Grase etwas einherrascheln.

As I was philosophizing, I suddenly heard something rustling in the grass below.

Zwei feine Stimmen sprachen ganz nahe und leise miteinander.

Two delicate voices spoke very close and softly to each other.

Bald darauf bogen sich die Zweige in dem Gesträuche auseinander, und die Kammerjungfer steckte ihr kleines Gesichtchen, sich nach allen Seiten umsehend, zwischen der Laube hindurch.

Soon after, the branches in the bushes parted, and the Kammerjungfer poked her small Gesichtchen through the arbor, looking around in all directions.

Der Mondschein funkelte recht auf ihren pfiffigen Augen, wie sie hervorguckten.

The Mondschein sparkled brightly in her cunning Augen as they peered out.

Ich hielt den Atem an mich und blickte unverwandt hinunter.

I held my breath and looked down intently.

Es dauerte auch nicht lange, so trat wirklich die Gärtnerin, ganz so wie mir sie die Kammerjungfer gestern beschrieben hatte, zwischen den Bäumen heraus.

It wasn't long before the gardener, exactly as the Kammerjungfer had described her to me yesterday, actually stepped out from among the trees.

Mein Herz klopfte mir zum Zerspringen.

My Herz pounded as if it would burst.

Sie aber hatte eine Larve vor und sah sich, wie mir schien, verwundert auf dem Platze um. -- Da wollts mir vorkommen,

But she wore a mask and, it seemed to Mir, looked around the place in surprise. -- Then it occurred to Mir that

als wäre sie gar nicht recht schlank und niedlich. -- Endlich trat sie ganz nahe an den Baum und nahm die Larve ab. -- Es war wahrhaftig die andere ältere gnädige Frau!

she wasn't really slender and delicate at all. -- Finally, she came quite close to the tree and took off her mask. -- It was truly the other, older gracious Frau!

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Français

Longtemps, je me suis couché de bonne heure.

Parfois, à peine ma bougie éteinte, mes yeux se fermaient si vite.

English

For a long time, I used to go to bed early.

Sometimes, my candle barely out, my eyes would close so quickly.

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En un lugarIn a village
de la Manchaof La Mancha
no ha mucho tiemponot long ago
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“De los de lanza en astillero”

Note · alignment

Literal: “Of those with a lance in a rack”

Grammar: “De los de” is a partitive construction meaning “one of those who has.” The preposition “en” indicates location.

Context: This describes a hidalgo (lower nobility) who keeps old weapons, suggesting he clings to a faded past.

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