Day 82: The Treaty of the Football Pitch
At a school in Görlitz, eleven-year-old Joris (A), class representative of 5a, meets Tilda (B), class representative of 5b, to settle which class gets the football pitch at break; both are reading the same fantasy series.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Tilda, angesichts der Lage auf dem Fußballplatz schlage ich Friedensverhandlungen vor. Gestern hat uns Frau Kretzschmar schon wieder alle reingeschickt.
Tilda, in view of the situation on the football pitch, I propose peace talks. Yesterday Mrs Kretzschmar sent us all inside again.
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B
Das ward auch Zeit, fürwahr! Aber hinsichtlich des Platzes gibt es nichts zu verhandeln, der gehört der 5b seit dem ersten Schultag.
And about time too, forsooth! But as regards the pitch, there's nothing to negotiate: it's been 5b's since the first day of school.
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A
Mitnichten! Am ersten Schultag hattet ihr bloß den einzigen Ball, und infolge dieses Balls habt ihr euch den Platz genommen.
By no means! On the first day of school you just happened to have the only ball, and as a consequence of that ball you helped yourselves to the pitch.
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B
Wer den Ball hat, hat den Platz. So steht es auch im dritten Band: Wer das Schwert des Nordens trägt, dem gehört die Burg.
Whoever has the ball has the pitch. It says so in the third book too: the castle belongs to whoever bears the Sword of the North.
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A
Und zwei Kapitel später wird die Burg belagert, bis alle Hunger leiden. Willst du das, eine Belagerung bis zur sechsten Stunde?
And two chapters later the castle is besieged until everyone's starving. Is that what you want, a siege until sixth period?
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B
Du hast den dritten Band schon durch? Na gut, dann verhandeln wir, von Klassensprecherin zu Klassensprecher. Was bietet die 5a zwecks Beendigung der Feindseligkeiten?
You've already finished the third book? All right, then we'll negotiate, class rep to class rep. What does 5a offer with a view to ending hostilities?
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A
Wir wechseln uns ab: Montag, Mittwoch und Freitag spielt die 5a, Dienstag und Donnerstag die 5b. Das ist mein allerletztes Angebot.
We take turns: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 5a plays, Tuesday and Thursday 5b. That's my final offer.
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B
Drei Tage für euch, zwei für uns? Das ist kein Frieden, das ist ein Knebelvertrag wie der vom Nebelfürsten im zweiten Band.
Three days for you, two for us? That's not peace, that's a stitch-up like the Prince of Mists' treaty in the second book.
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A
Na schön, dann spielen freitags alle zusammen, in gemischten Mannschaften. Und bezüglich des Balls: Jede Klasse bringt ihren eigenen mit.
Fine, then on Fridays everyone plays together, in mixed teams. And regarding the ball: each class brings its own.
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B
Ein gerechter Friede, wahrlich. Ich setze den Vertrag alsbald mit Füller auf, und wir unterschreiben beide, bevor es klingelt.
A just peace, verily. I shall draw up the treaty forthwith, in fountain pen, and we both sign before the bell goes.
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A
Aber mein Name steht oben, a kommt vor b. Und schreib „Friede von Görlitz“ drüber, dann landet er dereinst im Geschichtsbuch.
But my name goes at the top: a comes before b. And write 'The Peace of Görlitz' above it, then one day it'll end up in the history books.
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