Day 174: A Unicorn Lantern for St Martin
In their kitchen in Bonn, Dennis (A) and his young daughter Ava (B) are making a unicorn lantern for the St Martin's procession.
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
So, die Einhornlaterne ist fertig. Solange der Kleber trocknet, darf aber keiner das Horn anfassen, auch du nicht.
Right, the unicorn lantern is finished. But while the glue's drying, nobody's allowed to touch the horn, not even you.
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B
Papa, seit Wochen singen wir in der Kita Martinslieder. Aber warum laufen wir eigentlich mit Laternen herum?
Dad, we've been singing St Martin songs at nursery for weeks. But why do we actually walk around with lanterns?
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A
Wegen Sankt Martin. Der war Soldat und traf an einem eiskalten Abend einen Bettler, der weder Schuhe noch Mantel hatte.
Because of St Martin. He was a soldier, and one freezing evening he met a beggar who had neither shoes nor a coat.
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B
Und dann hat Martin ihm einfach seinen ganzen Mantel geschenkt?
And then Martin just gave him his whole coat?
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A
Nicht ganz: Er hat ihn mit seinem Schwert geteilt. So war nicht nur dem Bettler warm, sondern auch Martin.
Not quite: he split it in two with his sword. That way not only the beggar was warm, but Martin as well.
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B
Wenn beim Umzug jemand friert, kriegt er meinen Schal. Aber mein Einhorn teile ich nicht!
If anyone's cold at the procession, they can have my scarf. But I'm not sharing my unicorn!
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