Waltey
Kobilica in gosenica pedica tekmujeta v teku
034 THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE MEASURING WORM RUN A RACE
Živalske zgodbe Clare Dillingham Pierson · Clara Dillingham PiersonO besedilu
Kobilica in gosenica pedica tekmujeta v teku
- Vir
- Živalske zgodbe Clare Dillingham Pierson
- Avtor
- Clara Dillingham Pierson
- Jezik branja
- Slovenščina
- Jezik izvirnika
- English
- Čas branja
- 4 min branja
- Obseg
- 3 strani
- Naslov izvirnika
- 034 THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE MEASURING WORM RUN A RACE
O izvirniku
Živalske zgodbe Clare Dillingham Pierson
Devetindevetdeset avtorskih zgodb o živalih na kmetiji, travniku, v gozdu, ob ribniku in ponoči. Bralni jezik je Slovenščina, izvirnik pa prihaja iz vira Živalske zgodbe Clare Dillingham Pierson v jeziku English.
Besedilo
Kobilica in gosenica pedica tekmujeta v teku
Nekaj dni po prihodu na travnik je Pedic srečal Kobilice. Vsi so že slišali, da si Gosenice želijo biti po modi, in nekaj mladih Kobilic, ki niso vedele, da je vse skupaj le šala, je reklo, da bi Pedicu rade dale lekcijo ali dve. Ko so ga torej srečale, so se začele norčevati iz njega in ga spraševati, kaj stori, kadar bi rad tekel, in ali si ne želi, da bi mu glava rasla sredi hrbta, saj bi tako med hojo bolje videl.
Pedic je bil dobrodušen in je rekel samo, da mu glava čisto dobro služi tam, kjer je. Kmalu ga je neka postavna Kobilica izzvala na tekmo. »Tako se bo pokazalo,« je rekla, »kdo je boljši popotnik.«
Pedic je rekel: »Seveda, jutri bom tekmoval s teboj in vse prijatelje bova povabila, naj pridejo gledat.« Nato je začel govoriti o nečem drugem. Bil je preudaren mladenič, pa tudi veseljak, in vedel je, da so Kobilice prepričane o njegovem porazu. »Če tekme ne morem dobiti s hitrim tekom,« je pomislil, »jo moram poskusiti dobiti z dobrim načrtom.« Zato je Kobilice zvabil s seboj tja, kjer je rasla sladka mlada trava, in vsi skupaj so se lotili jedi.
Pedic je le tu in tam malo pogrizljal, zato pa je veliko govoril o tem, kako sladka je trava in kako je dolgo ne bodo več imeli, ker jo bo vročina uničila. In Kobilice so govorile druga drugi: »Prav ima. Zdaj, ko jo imamo, je moramo pojesti, kolikor le moremo.« Tako so jedle in jedle in jedle in jedle vse do sončnega zahoda, zjutraj pa so se zbudile in spet začele jesti. Ko je prišel čas za tekmo, so bile od obilice hrane vse težke in otopele — natanko tako, kot si je Pedic želel.
Za sodnike so izbrali Rego, debelega starega Črička in Gosenico, proga pa naj bi bila dolga — od gozdnega roba do ograje. Ko so se vsi prebivalci travnika zbrali, da bi gledali tekmo, je Čriček predirljivo zacvrčal, kar je pomenilo »Zdaj!«, in tekmovalca sta se pognala na pot. Pravzaprav se je pognal samo Pedic. Kobilica je bila tako prepričana, da ga lahko premaga, da mu je hotela dati nekaj prednosti, saj bi potem, razumete, lahko rekla, da je zmagala, ne da bi se ji bilo treba vsaj malo potruditi.
Pedic je krenil z dobrim, enakomernim korakom, in ko je premeril nekaj čevljev, je Kobilica naredila dva mogočna skoka in pristala daleč pred njim. Nato se je ustavila, da bi pogrizljala travno bilko in poklepetala z Listnimi kobilicami, ki so gledale tekmo. Čez čas je naredila še nekaj skokov in znova prehitela Pedica. Tokrat se je začela postavljati in skakati naravnost v zrak, ob vsakem pristanku pa je klicala bližnjim gledalcem, naj le pogledajo, kako močna je in kako zlahka bo dobila tekmo. In vsi so govorili: »Kako je vendar močna!« »Kakšne čudovite noge ima!« in »Pedica bi lahko premagala z zaprtimi očmi!« Zaradi tega je Kobilica postala tako neznansko nečimrna, da se je vse pogosteje ustavljala in razkazovala svojo moč in drznost.
Tako je šlo, dokler nista bila le še malo pred koncem tekmovalne proge. Kobilica je bila vse bolj zadovoljna ob misli, kako zlahka zmaguje, in še zadnjič se je ustavila, da bi pogrizljala nekaj trave in se ponorčevala iz Pedica. Mogočno se je pognala v zrak, in ko je pristala, je bil Pedic že na ograji! Vsi prebivalci travnika so ob takšnem razpletu tekme regljali, cvrčali in čričkali, Kobilica pa je bila strašno nejevoljna. »Njega že ne bi smeli razglasiti za zmagovalca,« je rekla. »Če se potrudim, sem lahko desetkrat hitrejša od njega.«
»Da,« so odgovorili sodniki, »to vsi vemo, vendar o zmagi ne odloča tisto, kar bi lahko storila, temveč tisto, kar si zares storila.« In vsi prebivalci travnika so vzklikali: »Živel Pedic! Živel Pedic!«
Izvirnik
034 THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE MEASURING WORM RUN A RACE
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
A few days after the Measuring Worm came to the meadow he met the Grasshoppers. Everybody had heard of the Caterpillars' wish to be fashionable, and some of the young Grasshoppers, who did not know that it was all a joke, said they would like to teach the Measuring Worm a few things. So when they met him the young Grasshoppers began to make fun of him, and asked him what he did if he wanted to run, and whether he didn't wish his head grew on the middle of his back so that he could see better when walking.
The Measuring Worm was good-natured, and only said that he found his head useful where it was. Soon one fine-looking Grasshopper asked him to race. "That will show," said the Grasshopper, "which is the better traveller."
The Measuring Worm said: "Certainly, I will race with you to-morrow, and we will ask all our friends to look on." Then he began talking about something else. He was a wise young fellow, as well as a jolly one, and he knew the Grasshoppers felt sure that he would be beaten. "If I cannot win the race by swift running," thought he, "I must try to win it by good planning." So he got the Grasshoppers to go with him to a place where the sweet young grass grew, and they all fed together.
The Measuring Worm nibbled only a little here and there, but he talked a great deal about the sweetness of the grass, and how they would not get any more for a long time because the hot weather would spoil it. And the Grasshoppers said to each other: "He is right, and we must eat all we can while we have it." So they ate, and ate, and ate, and ate, until sunset, and in the morning they awakened and began eating again. When the time for the race came, they were all heavy and stupid from so much eating,--which was exactly what the Measuring Worm wanted.
The Tree Frog, the fat, old Cricket, and a Caterpillar were chosen to be the judges, and the race was to be a long one,--from the edge of the woods to the fence. When the meadow people were all gathered around to see the race, the Cricket gave a shrill chirp, which meant "Go!" and off they started. That is to say, the Measuring Worm started. The Grasshopper felt so sure he could beat that he wanted to give the Measuring Worm a little the start, because then, you see, he could say he had won without half trying.
The Measuring Worm started off at a good, steady rate, and when he had gone a few feet the Grasshopper gave a couple of great leaps, which landed him far ahead of the Worm. Then he stopped to nibble a blade of grass and visit with some Katydids who were looking on. By and by he took a few more leaps and passed the Measuring Worm again. This time he began to show off by jumping up straight into the air, and when he came down he would call out to those who stood near to see how strong he was and how easy it would be for him to win the race. And everybody said, "How strong he is, to be sure!" "What wonderful legs he has!" and "He could beat the Measuring Worm with his eyes shut!" which made the Grasshopper so exceedingly vain that he stopped more and more often to show his strength and daring.
That was the way it went, until they were only a short distance from the end of the race course. The Grasshopper was more and more pleased to think how easily he was winning, and stopped for a last time to nibble grass and make fun of the Worm. He gave a great leap into the air, and when he came down there was the Worm on the fence! All the meadow people croaked, and shrilled, and chirped to see the way in which the race ended, and the Grasshopper was very much vexed. "You shouldn't call him the winner," he said; "I can travel ten times as fast as he, if I try."
"Yes," answered the judges, "we all know that, yet the winning of the race is not decided by what you might do, but by what you did do." And the meadow people all cried: "Long live the Measuring Worm! Long live the Measuring Worm!"
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