I didn't have a picture of a toad, but my French encyclopedia tells me that "crapaud" is synonymous with "prince"… and what mom doesn't think that much of her own son? Meet Max, my 13-year-old. Max is in charge of writing today's story. Enjoy his bi-lingual column, below! PS: Max detests this photo but has given me permission to use it… in exchange for one blue star! Would you like Max to explain the star system that we have recently incorporated into our routine? Perhaps that would make for a good future story?
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Temptations for you (and me!):
Traditional French Wall Soap holder and Marseilles soap (this one is on my wish list!)
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un crapaud (krah-poh) noun, masculine
: toad
More about les crapauds in this Wikipedia entry:
"Le juvénile est têtard puis crapelet. Les crapauds coassent, sifflent ou flûtent." The young crapaud is a tadpole, then a "crapelet". Toads croak, whistle or…" (play the flute?…)
As you can see, I had a little difficulty translating the above example. Feel free to share your own interpretation, in the comments box. Do you know of any "crapaud" terms or expressions? Anything "crapaud" related is welcome in the comments box!
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Les drôles de crapauds
par Maxime Espinasse
Un soir j'étais avec ma grand-mère quand des crapauds coassaient dans ma piscine (elle est tellement sale, personne n'ose la laver !). Ma grand-mère était tellement fatiguée qu'elle m'a dit « I can hear your mom talking ». J'ai rigolé et je lui ai expliqué que c'était des crapauds. Ils coassaient tellement fort que c'était embêtant pour dormir. Bref, on aurait dit qu'ils jouaient à cache-cache et quand un crapaud trouvait l'autre ça faisait beaucoup de bruit. Quels drôles de crapauds!
English version :
One night I was with my grandmother when the toads were croaking in my swimming pool (it is so dirty that no one dares to clean it!). My grandmother was so tired that she said to me "I can hear your mom talking." I laughed and I explained to her that those were toads. They were croaking so loud that it was difficult to sleep. In short, you would have thought they were playing hide-n-seek and that when one toad found the other it made a lot of noise. What curious crapauds!
* * * The End (Croak!) * * *
Would you like to read more bi-lingual stories written by Max? Do you know of any other young adults who might enjoy this column, too? Please share French Word-A-Day with a young friend today! Meantime, if you enjoyed today's story, you might leave Max un mot in the comments box. Merci d'avance!
I love the colors on French walls, the lazy benches, the lace in the windows… and the flowers in this pot. Does anyone know what kind of fleurs these are? Apparently they are easy to care for. I see them everywhere this time of year!
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Merci, Max! J’aimerai lire plus des histoires bilangues…ils sont drôles et en plus, ça m’aide à aprendre mieux le français.
J’attend tes histoires…
À bientôt,
Jo Ellen
Merci bien, Max! J’aime beaucoup ton histoire. Je voudrais que tu ecrire un autre! Merci un autre fois.
Le sujet dans mon email etait “Jardinage”. Quel plaisir de trouver les crapauds la dedans! Merci, Max.
Merci, Max, pour une très bonne petite histoire! Vous avez du talent. Pour Juliette Préjean: on peut trouver des crapauds en Louisiane (où j’ai grandi aussi)mais des ouaouaron sont plus grands; ils sont vraiment des grenouilles et le mot ouaouaron est un mot qui vient des indiens d’Amerique. On trouve dans le français cadien (cajun) beacoup de mots indiens et africains (gumbo, jambalaya, etc.). Crapaud=toad;grenouille (ouaouaron)=frog or bullfrog.
The bilingualer the better, if you ask me.
Merci de la petite histoire des crapauds, et en deux langues! Bravo! Comme ca devrait etre bon, etre bilingue. Croyez-vous que l’anglais soit difficile? Le francais me parait facile, mais parce que je suis anglophone de naissance, je fais des efforts pour le perfectionner – et le French Word-A-Day m’y aide.
J’attends avec impatiences d’autres histoires. Et Jackie voudrait-elle aussi en encrire quelques-unes?
Et peut-etre la prochaine fois, vous pourrez expliquer le systeme d”etoiles bleues.”
What a charming story.
Just one thing though (someone correct me if I’m wrong). The creatures that are croaking in the pool are most likely frogs and not toads. Toads live their adult life entirely on land. ‘Toad’ is a much more colorful and amusing word — and helps make the story such a success.
Good job Max.
Hi Max…LOVE your story especially the bit where your “grand-mere” thought the chatter of the toads was your Mom talking!
We also have little native “grenouilles” in our garden that like to hide in the bushy grasses and croak very loudly to each other. I like listening to the sound of them as it means summer is coming even though there are SOME in my family that complain the noise keeps them AWAKE ALL NIGHT!!
Did you also do the english translation? Well done!! 🙂
Encore, Max! Now could we read about the blue star and the star system?
Are the flowers geraniums?
Hi Max,
Great story! I love to guess what you’re saying in French and then get the full story in the English version.
I don’t know what’s worse – hearing or SEEING crapauds…small ones stick to the windows at my parent’s house in the summer – seeing their bellies from inside the house – yuck!!
Rebecca
Yes – I would LOVE to read more bilingual stories, from Max or anyone else! I find that reading both translations of a story helps me learn my vocabulary more easily. Thanks for the toad story Max!
Nicely done Max! I’m studying French and your side by side French/English versions are very helpful to me. Please write more often and keep up the good work!
Fabulous Max! And yes, we’d love to hear about the blue stars.
Thanks Max. I didn’t know cache-cache meant hide and seek. I’ll use that next time in Montreal. I don’t know why you detest the photo: you look like a fine guy, and that’s an interesting table with that cross piece near the cork. Nice weather too. I guess that’s an old vine in the wheelbarrow. BTW, if you decide to pursue a writing career, you can now publish your own book through this website (France has a truly great literary tradition – 16 French or French language writers have won the Nobel Prize in Literature):
http://www.booksurge.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_literature#French_Nobel_Prize_in_Literature_winners
Max,
thank you so much for your wonderful story. I loved it. Can’t wait
to read more.
Chapeau, Max! Ton histoire m’a beaucoup plu! Nous avons des milliers de crapauds chez nous à Whidbey Island, et j’adore les entendre chanter la nuit. J’espère t’inviter là-bas un de ces jours avec ta soeur et tes parents. Je sais que ta maman connait bien l’isle (et peut-etre ses crapauds!).
La suite au prochain numéro…
Amitiés,
Anne et Mike de Seattle
Max! I loved your story very much and hope you write more soon! It made me think of the book ‘Frog and Toad are Friends’ which I hope you have read? It is hilarious. Anyways, looking forward to your next story… it was a fun french lesson!
Lizzy
Where I live in the northern part of Australia,Cane Toads were imported several decades ago from Hawaii in an attempt to eradicate insect pests in the sugar-cane industry…malheureusement the toads have become the PESTS as they are poisonous to other wildlife.They have travelled thousands of kilometres across Australia and are very much detested.
Max,
I’m a teacher of students your age. A few years ago during class I watched two boys looking into a backpack, on and off throughout the class. What was it? I worried about a weapon or drugs (These are difficult times for teachers). At is turned out, it was a toad. The boys were amazed when I picked it up and released it outdoors!
Bonjour Max,
Félicitations! Tu es vraiment un jeune homme doublement doué de charme et de talent d’écrire comme une certaine femme dans ta famille! C’est sûr que j’en aimerais lire de plus, tel que je vais partager ce passage avec les élèves au lycée dans mes cours de français. Ma fille Audrey (5 ans) est bilingue et également impressionnée par les deux vérsions. Elle a dit, “Whoa! Il vit en France et il parle les deux langues comme moi!” Bonne continuation!
You are so clever Max….Well done…A chip off the old block….I enjoyed reading your little story!!
Super, Max! J’etais contente de lire votre histoire!!
Le récit était bien intéressant et drôle à lire! Merci, Max! J’aime aussi la photo..
I think the flowers are geraniums. They are everywhere here in SoCal. Thanks for the story Max, my two little girls really enjoyed it and had a nice laugh.
I think the flowers look like something we have here in Georgia (US); they’re called ‘Wave petunias.’ It makes sense too b/c wave petunias are so easy-like you said-, you just water them and leave them. They champion on all summer!
Max – thank you for such an amusing story! Writing is in your future perhaps! How lucky you are to be bi-lingual….I look forward to the next story from you.
La bave du crapaud n’atteint pas la blanche colombe….. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
Merci encore for your wonderful encouragements for Max! He has been busy writing a few more stories.
Peter: Thanks for the great dicton. What a picture it paints! Would that be “the slobber (drool) of a toad does not reach the white dove”?
Les crapaud …notre vosin avons des crapauds dans sa picines aussi,
Ils coassaient toujours au cours de mating season. L’autre voisine has a hard time sleeping pendant c’est temp. La picine est très sale. Elle n’avait pas netrtoyyer pour 5 ou 6 annes.
I know I have made mistakes in my writing, but I am still studying french.
Nice photo Max and you do resemble your Mom.
Max awesome job! Your bi-langue style really helps my french!
Hi Kristin,
Your translation was spot on…but proverbs are not always a perfect match! Check out this excellent site:
http://www.e-frenchtranslation.com/proverbs.htm
Happy Easter
Peter
I know that you have a young Maxette, but I pray that she looks nothing like the handsome Max. Oh My!!
Lirrle Bert
Good for you Max ! To speak a foreign language well at your age
is a real accomplishment . I hope you use it as a tool to enrich
your life . As a frequent traveller to France [ mostly Loire Valley ] I
would find it useful myself . I enjoy this site and will pass it along !
Ken Boyd
Max,
I enjoyed your story tellement! Does “Le Crapaud aux Lunettes” still exist? Many years ago (presque 40) I was a university student in Switzerland. The above mentioned title was a children’s paper, the American equivalent of which was the “Weekly Reader”. As I have always been an avid frog/toad collector, I was just curious if you’d ever heard of it.
Dear Max,
I loved your story!! I’m 13, english and I have been living in France for nearly 4 years ! In summer down here in the South of France at night they are really very load so you hve to shout whe you speak if you are outside!! If you would like a penpal I am looking for one and I know we both live in France and that kind of defeats the pupose but it coud be fun!!
From
Lara
P.S
Please write more!!
Bonsoir Max:
J’ai tellement aime ton histoire de crapauds. J’attends avec impatience ta prochaine petite histoire.
Merci mille fois, Janine Cortell
Kristin… I hope I’m not too late to comment on crapaud. I think you have another writer in the family. I’ve given those flowers some thought, and I think they may be Lady Banks roses. They don’t look like roses, so are deceiving. They bloom in Spring, and are carefree and glorious in profusion. They basicly climbers.
The flowers in the photo are petunias.
Joyeux anniversaire, Max!!!! I can never forget as my own is the same day. This year I will be going to see my granddaughter graduate from the College of William and Mary. It will be a happy occasion. I am sure your BD will be equally happy. Let us know how you spend it.
Kudos to you for your little story which shows just how clever and creative you are.
I loved your photo. I think you look like your Mother. What do you think? You are a very handsome young man. I am sure your Grandmere misses you!
Annette Heath (LeDoux)
Tres bien Max!
Je pensais que le histoire etait vrai.
J’ l’aimais.
Helen Miller,
Philadelphia, PA USA
Loved it, Max. So funny about your grandmere mistaking the toads croak for your mother’s voice. 🙂
MAX writes from his heart, just as his Mom Kristi.
This is a true story – I remember this moment years ago when I thought Kristi was talking out by the pool.
XOXO
JULES