LES PORTES TORDUES
CHAPITRE DIX-NEUF 19
Click the little player or the tombstone to hear the mystery!
« Mon Dieu, Henri. Regarde autour de
nous.
Nous sommes dans un cimetière ! »
Le vent continue à siffler : « Henri... Henri... »
Il y a des tombeaux partout. Il y a des pierres tombales
de toutes tailles, de toutes sortes.
« Qu’est-ce que c’est que ce
cimetière ? » dit Henri d’un air soucieux.
« Je ne l’aime pas. Je veux rentrer », dit-il comme un
enfant gâté.
« Tu veux rentrer ? Ne me fais pas rire, Henri.
Où
veux-tu rentrer exactement ? »
« Je ne sais pas mais... »
« Oh, tais-toi. Tu sais bien que... »
Je cesse de répondre à Henri car mon œil est
tout de suite
attiré par une pierre tombale qui n’est pas comme les autres.
En effet, son épitaphe est assez curieuse
comme en témoigne l’inscription suivante :
Il n’a
pas attendu
Que
s’ouvre la porte tordue
Tant
pis pour lui
Il
restera toujours ici
On se regarde. Qu’est-ce que cela veut dire ?
Qui n’a pas attendu ?
« My goodness, Henri. Look around us.
We are in a cemetery ! »
The wind continues to whistle, « Henri ... Henri ... »
There are tombs everywhere. There are tombstones
of all sizes, of all sorts.
« What's this
cemetery ? » says Henri with a worried look.
« I don’t like it. I want to go back in (the old house), » he says like a spoiled child.
« You want to go back in ? Don’t make me laugh, Henri.
Where do you want to go back in,
exactly ? »
« I don’t know but ... »
« Oh, be quiet. You know very well that ... »
I stop answering Henri because my eye is
immediately
attracted to a tombstone that is not like the
others.
Indeed, its epitaph is quite curious
as can
be witnessed by the following inscription :
He did
not wait
For
the twisted door to open
Too
bad for him
He
will stay here forever
We look at each other. What does that mean ?
Who did not wait ?
autour
= around
le
vent = the wind (think : ventilation)
il y a=
there is; there are
partout
= everywhere
un air
= a look
soucieux
= worried
rentrer
= to re-enter a place; to go (or come) back in
gâté =
spoiled (masculine)
faire =
to do; to make
un œil
= an eye
tout
de suite = immediately
attirer
= to attract
attendre
= to wait (for)
tant
pis = too bad
Now you are going to learn the to do or
to make verb, faire.
Watch out, because it is tricky. But if you want to find
out what happens in the cemetery, learn it now !
faire = to do; to make
je fais
= I do, I am doing ; I make, I am making
tu fais
= you do, you are doing ; you make, you are making
il,
elle fait = he, she, it does, he is doing ; he, she, it makes, he is making
nous
faisons = we do, we are doing ; we make, we are making
vous
faites = you do, you are doing ; you make, you are making
ils,
elles font = they do, they are doing ; they make, they are making
Did you see how tricky vous faites and
ils font are ? But to get anywhere in this place,
you had better remember these conjugations !
Now take this test.
1. immediately = ____
2. partout = ____
3. un œil = ____
4. a look = ____
5. he makes = ____
6. I do = ____
7. you (plural) make = ____
8. they do (masculine) = ____
9. you (singular, familiar) make = ____
10.
soucieux = ____
11. we
do = ____
12.
tant pis = ____
Voici les réponses :
1. tout de suite
2. everywhere
3. an eye
4. un air
5. il fait
6. je fais
7. vous faites
8. ils font
9. tu fais
10.
worried
11. nous
faisons
12.
too bad
If you missed more than one, go back and
take the test again. Then, when you are
really ready, you may go on and try to
decipher the epitaph in Chapitre 20 !
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