Language Professional
A long time ago in the Japanese countryside lived an old man and his grandson atop a moutain by the sea. Their house was small, yet had the best view . The mountaintop was flat, and the sides of the mountain were covered in rice fields tended to by the resident of the village below, who lived the near the water.
In forgotten times, a tsar had a wife he loved. He was so devoted to her care that he spent as much time as he could with her. Unfortunately, a war broke out and the ruler had to leave his wife behind to go fight. During his absence, the tsarina brought her pregnancy to term and gave birth to a baby girl. The labour was so difficult, the tsarina bled out and died the next day, which, coincidentally, was the day the tsar came home.
Il y a très longtemps, en Lorraine, un vieux fermier malade décéda et légua ses terres et ses biens à ses trois fils. Lorsque vit le moment de diviser l'héritage, l'aîné et le cadet décidèrent de jouer un vilain tour à leur frère benjamin.
Il était une fois Compère Bouc et Compère Lapin qui désiraient marier la même jeune femme. Devant son père lui demandant de choisir, la demoiselle affirma qu'elle préfèrerait marier Compère Bouc puisque la queue de Compère Lapin était trop courte.
Dans la Forêt noire, un jeune chat au pelage gris se promenait tranquillement lorsqu'il vit un renard au loin. Il partit à la course le rejoindre avec excitation. — Hé, Monsieur le renard, jouez avec moi! dit le chaton se dandinant d'un côté comme de l'autre. Le renard se retourna, les yeux sombres.
Once upon a time, there was a flea, a grasshopper and a frog who wanted to determine which of the three could jump higher. Thus, they decided to hold leaping match. The winner would get the bragging rights! When the king heard of this competition, he was intrigued. He brought the three animals to his court and offered to up the stakes by offering his daughter's hand in marriage to the winner of the leaping match.
Durant un dur hiver très long et glacial, un mari et une femme vivaient ensemble avec leur deux filles, chacune issue d'un mariage précédent. La vieille dame avait beau chérir et choyer sa propre fille, elle ne pouvait que détester celle de son mari. La pauvre jeune femme était forcée de faire toutes les tâches ménagères et n'en recevait que des reproches, de l'abus et à peine assez de nourriture pour subsister.
Many years ago was told the story of Ūliske. She was the daughter of a great chief renowned for her grand beauty. The woman was so gorgeous, men were always trying to obtain her hand in marriage. Still, she refused to take a husband, saying no man would be good to her.
Dans une contrée lointaine, un seigneur avait un fils doué d'une grande intelligence. Désirant apprivoiser son talent davantage, le père envoya le jeune homme à l'école. Chez son maître, le fils sembla bien se plaire. Après quelques jours, son père lui demanda ce qu'il avait appris. — J'ai appris le langage des chiens, répondit le fils.
There was once a lumberjack couple, a husband and wife, who worked together everyday. For lunch, the woman would go back to the house and bring back soup so the couple could eat together in the woods. One day, as she was walking with the soup, she stumbled upon a tree trunk and fell down. A huge bear arrived, picked her up and took her to a cave, where he assaulted her and kept her captive. A few months later, the woman gave birth to a son, half human and half bear, named John Bear. As he grew up with his mom in the cave, the bear took good care of their needs, treating them like family.
In a small senegalese village, a young woman was waking up for another beautiful day. As she greeted her father good morning, he made an announcement. "Next month, you will get married," he told his daughter. " My cousin just married a woman with a young adult son in search for a bride."
Once upon a time, an old king had three sons. Two of those were smart and well-spoken, while the third one lacked in both wit and charisma. This son, the middle child, was always saying and doing dumb things. So much so, that his brothers nicknamed him Dumbo. The king was starting to worry about his succession, yet he didn't know which son could be the next ruler. Thus, the king decided to send his sons on a quest.
Many moons ago, before the world was what it is today, were three sisters living together in the sicilian countryside. As they were orphaned at a very young age, the siblings had learned to live off of their handiwork as a team. The first sister spun and coiled yarn, the second wove the linen, and the third cut and sewed the fabric into various items of clothing. Together, despite a few occasional sisterly strifes, lived in harmony. Their handiwork brought them enough money to live by and they were happy.
Pour unir l'amour du mortel Pélée et de la nymphe marine Thétis, les divinités du Mont Olympe leur organisèrent un mariage splendide. Cependant, pour éviter les conflits inutiles, on n'invita pas Éris, la déesse de la discorde. La cérémonie se déroula merveilleusement. Les marié.e.s, plus de gaieté dans leurs cœurs et leurs mots que jamais étaient au ciel. lorsque vint l'heure de la réception, le plaisir fut partagé par tous et pas toutes. Enfin, sauf une.
Dans une petite ferme nordique dans une vallée au pied d'une montagne vivait en cachette une famille de lutins. L'un de ceux-ci était tout jeune; il n'avait même pas encore un siècle et sa barbe n'avait pas commencé à pousser. Son nom était Jorrick.
Bien que méconnus, de multiples pirates pillaient autrefois les côtes du fleuve Saint-Laurent. On avait beau les pourchasser, ces brigandes et brigands n'avaient pitié d'aucun navire en ces eaux. Lorsque le temps et les poursuites les empêchaient de repartir avec les butins acquis lors des attaques, les pirates devaient laisser leurs trésors derrière pour y revenir plus tard.
There was once a very rich miller who lived happily in a village with his wife. He gladly took care of their mill everyday, until a terrible draught caused a poor harvest in his village. The poor harvest meant the miller was no more useful, and his fortune depleted. From then on, the miller sulked all day, upset to barely have his mill to his name.
Autrefois, dans un petit village vivaient un meunier et sa fille devenue femme. Le père cherchait un homme décent à qui marier sa fille afin de lui assurer un bon futur. Un jour, un prétendant à l'allure aisée vint le visiter pour demander la main de sa fille. Puisque le jeune homme semblait bien élevé et de moyens, le père n'y vit aucun inconvénient et accepta la proposition du jeune homme.
In a forgotten kingdom a long time ago was a glass hill reaching high in the sky. Atop the mountain was a tree which fruited three golden apples, no more. Those golden apples were the price of admittance to the golden castle it lived beside. The one who could enter the castle would win the... Continue Reading →
In the Brocade Palace in the sky, there were two fairies whose task was to weave clouds for the Celestial Emperor. They spent all their time creating the most beautiful and intricate designs to please their ruler. Some clouds looked like sheep wool, while other were shaped like anvils, hairbrushes or mighty tigers. Whatever shape they could think of, they could create a cloud for.
Kelly Asselin-Tousignant 