Английский с Редьярдом Киплингом. Рикки-Тикки-Тави

“Now, if I lie in one word, send men to see, and they will find that the elephant folk have trampled down more room in their dance-room, and they will find ten and ten, and many times ten, tracks leading to that dance-room. They made more room with their feet. I have seen it. Kala Nag took me, and I saw. Also Kala Nag is very leg-weary!”

Little Toomai lay back and slept all through the long afternoon and into the twilight (Маленький Тумаи опять улегся и проспал все долгие послеполуденные /часы/ и сумерки), and while he slept Petersen Sahib and Machua Appa followed the track of the two elephants for fifteen miles across the hills (а пока он спал, Петерсен Сахиб и Мачуа Аппа прошли по следам двух слонов, /тянувшимся/ пятнадцать миль через горы; to follow – следовать, идти за). Petersen Sahib had spent eighteen years in catching elephants (Петерсен Сахиб провел восемнадцать лет, ловя слонов; to spend – тратить, расходовать; проводить

/о времени/), and he had only once before found such a dance-place (но до /этого дня/ только однажды находил такое место /их/ танцев; to find). Machua Appa had no need to look twice at the clearing to see what had been done there (Мачуа Аппа, взглянув на площадку, тотчас же понял, что здесь происходило: «Мачуа Аппе не нужно было смотреть дважды на площадку, чтобы увидеть = понять, что там было сделано»), or to scratch with his toe in the packed, rammed earth

(или/даже/ скрести пальцем ноги в плотной, утрамбованной земле; to scratch – царапать/ся/, скрести/сь/; рыться /в земле

/; to ram – трамбовать, утрамбовывать).

“The child speaks truth (ребенок говорит правду),” said he. “All this was done last night (все это было сделано прошлой ночью), and I have counted seventy tracks crossing the river (и я насчитал семьдесят следов, пересекающих реку; to count – считать; to cross – пересекать/ся

/). See, Sahib, where Pudmini’s leg-iron cut the bark of that tree (видите, Сахиб, где ножная цепь Падмини сорвала кору с того дерева; to cut – резать, разрезать)! Yes; she was there too (да, она тоже была здесь).”

Little Toomai lay back and slept all through the long afternoon and into the twilight, and while he slept Petersen Sahib and Machua Appa followed the track of the two elephants for fifteen miles across the hills. Petersen Sahib had spent eighteen years in catching elephants, and he had only once before found such a dance-place. Machua Appa had no need to look twice at the clearing to see what had been done there, or to scratch with his toe in the packed, rammed earth.

“The child speaks truth,” said he. “All this was done last night, and I have counted seventy tracks crossing the river. See, Sahib, where Pudmini’s leg-iron cut the bark of that tree! Yes; she was there too.”