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Radioclare’s tac log 2015 (*jäŋe/*ledús) | ||
Tags: Macedonian | Serbian | Serbo-Croatian | Croatian | Esperanto | Total Annihilation Challenge (TAC) | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4709 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes  Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish | Message 97 of 292 21 March 2015 at 4:03am | IP Logged | ||
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I don't see any problems with these. Often they're just an alternative in certain
registers that work well either in slang or are used in more formal texts. Sometimes they refer to certain concepts for which native tongues don't have a good word - use the loanword, that's why you loaned it in the first place! For example, I see summa summarum simply as a very pretentious way to say "to sum it all up". I'd expect it in formal texts but it would sound weird coming from someone speaking Ebonics slang on the street. The point where it gets annoying is when there is a perfectly good alternative for that word that is very common and in use and you still use the loanword to sound trendy - this happens in Dutch very often and that's something I can't stand 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Radioclare Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom timeofftakeoff.com Joined 4585 days ago 689 posts - 1119 votes Speaks: English*, German, Esperanto Studies: Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian | Message 98 of 292 21 March 2015 at 8:14pm | IP Logged | ||
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Unfortunately I am now interrupting a discussion which is more interesting than my
story, but I have finally finished writing my fairy tale for the March challenge of the Output Challenge. The final version is 2 238 words, which takes me to 4 101 words in the challenge overall so far. I haven't posted my story on lang-8 for corrections yet as I think it is too long to expect someone to have the patience to correct it. But I've spent many hours this week going through it and correcting all the mistakes I can find, so I'm hoping that it's substantially correct. Bajka - Boris, usamljeni zmaj Bio jednom jedan zmaj. Bio je veliki zeleni zmaj i živio je na jugu jedne ogromne zemlje, pa su ga svi zvali „Veliki Zeleni Zmaj s Juga“, premda mu je pravo ime bilo Boris. Boris je živio u velikoj hladnoj špilji, jer svi znaju da zmajevi uvijek žive u špiljama. Borisu je to također bilo jasno, iako mu se špilja nije naročito svidjela. Često je bio usamljen. Danju mu je uspio da bude veseo, ali kada je pala noć postao je sve više tužan, jer je žudio za prijateljem s kim bi se mogao smijati, loviti i rigati vatru. Ponekad se pitao je li bila greška da je on rođen zmaj, jer mu se zmajski život uopće ne sviđa. Nikada nije uspio biti sretan kao pravi zmaj. U toj zemlji nisu živjeli mnogo zmajeva. Bilo je točno četiri: jedan Zmaj sa Sjevera, jedan s Istoka, jedan sa Zapada i naravno Boris s Juga. Veliki Zmaj sa Zapada bio je daleki rođak Borisa i bio je crveni zmaj, crven kao rajčica. Možda misliš da su svi zmajevi zeleni, ali to nije istina. Ako ikada imaš priliku posjetiti Crvenog Zmaja sa Zapada, bilo bi bolje za tebe da mu ne kazeš da bi svi zmajevi trebali biti zeleni. Jako je ponosan zbog toga što je crveni zmaj i ima također ogromnih ožnjaka. Jednog dana se Boris probudio i mislio sebi da ne može nijedan dan više izdržati. Nešto se mora promijeniti. Odlučio je da će otići na zapad da posjeti svog rođaka i traži savjet. Znao je da je zapadni zmaj pametan, pa će sigurno dati dobar savjet. Put do špilje Crvenog Zmaja sa Zapada bio je dug i težak, ali se Boris nije jako bojao jer je on zmaj i svi znaju da se pravi zmajevi ničega ne boje. Prošao je kroz mračne šume, beskrajna polja i čak žarku pustinju prije nego što je konačno stiago do špilje Crvenog Zmaja sa Zapada. Ta špilja je bila još mračnija i hladnija nego špilja od Borisa. „Zdravo Ivane“, rekao je Boris, jer se tako zove njegov rođak. „Drago mi je što te vidim“. Crveni Zmaj sa Zapada rigao je vatru. Nije bio dobro raspoložen i nije bio sretan što vidi svog rođaka. Bio je, iskreno govoreći, malo posramljen priznati da ima rođaka koji nije crveni kao što je on. „Što hoćeš od mene, Borise?“ pitao je. „Nisam ja druželjubiv zmaj i nemam vremena da ovdje stojim i pričam gluposti. Ti si Zmaj s Juga, pa bi trebao da ostaneš tamo na jugu“. „Znam, Ivane“, rekao je Boris. „i žao mi je što ti smetam, ali mi je potrebna tvoja pomoć.“ „Kakvu pomoć tražiš?“ pitao je Ivan. „Ne mogu ti pomoći da budeš crveni kao što sam ja. Rođen si zeleni i zeleni ćeš i umrijeti“. „Ne smeta mi što sam zeleni zmaj“, rekao je Boris tiho, jer nikada nije razumio zašto misli njegov rođak da su crveni zmajevi najbolji. „Ali mi smeta to što sam usamljen. Živim sam u svojoj velikoj hladnoj špilji. Nemam prijatelja. Nemam ni s kim pričati. Nisam sretan zmaj i ne znam što treba da uradim“. Crveni zmaj je ponovno rigao vatru. Nije mu bilo drago što mu je ovaj kukavički rođak došao u posjet. Htio je da Boris odlazi što prije, pa je odlučio mu dati najbolji savjet kojeg je uspio izmisliti. „Borise“ rekao je. „Treba ti princeza“. „Princeza?“ ponovio je Boris. „Što da uradim s princezom?“ „Borise“, rekao je Ivan i izgledao je vrlo strogo dok je to rekao. „Jesi li zmaj ili nisi?“ „Mislim da jesam“ odgovorio je Boris nesignurno. „Onda moraš znati što da uradiš s princesom!“ „Ne znam“, rekao je Boris tužno. „Nikada nisam bio takav pametni zmaj kao što si ti“. „U pravu si“ se nasmiješio Ivan. „Nisi pamenti zmaj. Da bi pametni, znao bi da princezu trebaš pojesti“. „Pojesti?“ rekao je Boris malo iznenađeno, jer nikada nije imao namjeru pojesti princezu. Obično je jeo medvjede, vukove i druge divlje životinje koji su živjeli u šumi oko svoje špilja. „Da li su princeze ukusne?“ „Jesu“ odgovorio je Ivan. „Princeze su najukusniji obrok na svijetu. Ponekad je teško naći prave princeze, zato što nema mnogo kraljevskih obitelji ovdje na zapadu. Ali mislim da će sigurno biti mnogo princeza kod tebe na jugu“. „Dobro“ rekao je Boris. „Moram naći princezu. Hoću li biti sretan kada je pojedem?“ „Hoćeš,“ obećao mu je Ivan. „Sada odlazi i ostavi me na miru“. „Hvala ti, Ivane“ rekao je Boris. „Dobar si mi prijatelj. Nikad neću ovo zaboraviti“. Boris je tada otišao i krenuo na dugi put natrag do svoje špilje. Dok je putovao, mislio je na savjet kojeg mu je Ivan dao. Shvatio je da nema pojma kako naći princezu i zaboravio je pitati Ivana. Nije htio se vratiti do zapada, jer je imao dojam da crveni zmaj ne bi bio sretan da ga ponovo vidi. Odlučio je sjediti u špilji i sam razmisliti plan. „Moram naći kralja“, rekao je sebi. „Kod kraljeva uvijek ima princeza. Kraljevi su ljudska bića i žive u ljudskim gradima, pa moram naći veliki grad i tada će biti princeza. Bio je jako umoran nakon dugog puta iz Zapada, ali nije htio provesti nijednu noć sam u špilji, pa je odmah krenuo naći grad. Hodao i hodao je i kada je noć ponovno pala, bio je konačno na rubu ogromnog grada. Činilo mu se da nije dobra ideja tražiti princezu noću, pa je ležao na travu i zaspao. Sanjao je lijepe ukusne princeze. Probudio se iz dubokga sna kada je čuo glasan vrisak. Otvorio je oči i vidio je ružni mladić, koji je bio ukočen od straha. „Ne boj se! Neću ti ništa“ rekao je Boris. Ružni mladić je zurio u njega. „Tko si ti?“ konačno je pitao. „Ja sam Veliki Zeleni Zmaj sa Juga“ odgovorio je Boris, i pokušao je da izgleda što zeleniji i veći dok je to govorio. „Došao sam u ovaj grad jer tražim princezu. A tko si ti?“ „Ja sam Princ Branko iz Tamne Šume“ rekao je mladić. „Zašto traziš princezu?“ „Jako sam usamljen“ rekao je Boris „i nemam prijatelja. Otišao sam posjetiti Velikog Crvenog Zmaja sa Zapada, koji mi je rođak i on mi je predložio da tražim princezu i je pojedem. Nakon toga ću biti sretan“. „Je li tako?“ rekao je Princ Branko. „To je jako zanimljiva priča. Možda mogu da ti pomognem, jer imam ja princezu. Ona mi je zaručnica, ali je rekla da se neću udati za mene. Mislim da me ne voli. „Kakva sramota!“ rekao je zmaj. „Možda bi bilo najbolje da je pojedem“. Mislio je da je princ jako ružan, ali je dobro razumio kako je tužno kada nema nikoga da te voli. „Slažem se“, rekao je princ. „Mislim da je to odlična ideja“. Ali Princ Branko je bio lukav i nije namjeravao dopustiti da zeleni zmaj pojede njegovu zaručnicu. Htio je kasniti princezu, koja je rekla da ga nikada ne bi voljela, čak ni da bi bio jedini princ na svijetu, zato što je previše zločesti. Princeza je bila ljubazna djevojka koja voli sve životinje. Vidjela je bila princa kako je udario psa nogom i konja bičem i znala je da on nije muž za nje, bez obzira na to što je rekao kralj. Princ je još htio, međutim, da se princeza uda za njega, jer je njen otac najbogatiji kralj na jugu. Zato je izmislio zao plan. Evo ga: Pomoći će zmaju hvatati princezu i odnijeti je u hladnu zmajsku špilju. Prije nego što će zmaj ubiti djevojku, stići će on kao hrabri spasitelj na konju. Ubit će ovog glupog zmaja da spasi princezu i ona će biti toliko olakšana da će pristati da se uda za njega. Boris naravno nije imao pojma da postoji takav plan. Mislio je samo kako je sretan zmaj zbog toga što je našao takvog korisnog princa čim je došao u grad. Sljedećni dan je Boris rano ušao u grad. Brzo je našao tvrđavu u kojoj živi kraljevska obitelj. Bila je velika, lijepa tvrđava s divnom vrtom. Princeza se našla u vrtu. Šetala je sa svojim psom, zaustavljući se da priča s zecima i pticama koji su živjeli u vrtu. Izgledala je tako lijepa da se zmaj skoro bojao gledati u nju. „Bože“ rekao je sebi. „Ljepotica je. Sada razumijem zašto svi kažu da mi treba princeza da budem sretan“. Osjetio se da može satima gledati lijepu princezu, ali znao je da je mora hvatiti što prije dok je još u vrtu. Dakle, letio je nad vrtom i kada je princeza gledala na nebu da vidi zašto je naglo postalo tako mračno, spustio se i hvatio ju je. Princeza je vrisnula, ali je Boris uskoro letio tako visoko i brzo da je nitko nije čuo. Letio je sve do špilje. Tamo je spustio princezu na pod. „Zdravo, princezo“, rekao je. „Ja sam Boris, Veliki Zeleni Zmaj sa Juga. Dobro došla u špilju“. Princeza je zurila u zmaja. Bila je pametna djevojka i pročitala je mnogo knjiga u knjižnici tvrđave. Znala je da su zmajevi opasni, premda je ovaj zmaj izgledao sasvim ljubazno. Pokušavala je izgledati kao djevojka koja se nikakvog zmaja ne boje. „Zdravo, zmaju“ rekla je hrabro. „Zašto si me hvatio i odnio do tvoje špilje?“ Zmaj je uzdahnuo i izgledao malo zbunjen. „Ja sam usamljen zmaj. Jako sam tužan i nezadovoljan životom“, konačno je priznao. „Žao mi je što to čujem“ rekla je princeza. „Dobro razumijem, jer se slično osjećam“. „Ti se osjećaš usamljena?“ pitao je zmaj iznenađeno. „Da“ priznala je princeza. „Jako sam usamljena u toj velikoj tvrđavi. Mama mi je mrtva i tata uvijek ima važnog posla, jer je on kralj čitave zemlje. Doduše, on želi da se uda za najodvratnijeg princa na svijetu. Jesi li ti me odveo ovamo da ti pridružim društvo“. „Ne“, rekao je Boris, „premda bi to bila dobra ideja. Namjeravam da te pojedem“. „O“ uzviknula je princeza. „To nije baš ljubazan od tebe. Razočarana sam, jer sam mislila da si ti dobar zmaj“. „Jesam dobar zmaj“, rekao je Boris malo uvrijedan. „Moram priznati sada kada si ovdje da je vrlo šteta što te moram pojesti.“ „Onda zašto me moraš pojesti?“ pitala je princeza koja je odlučila da je ovaj zmaj vrlo čudan. „Otišao sam posjetiti mog rođaka, „objasnio joj je Boris. „On je Veliki Crveni Zmaj s Zapada. Pametniji je od mene. Rekao mi je da moram pojesti princezu. Samo nakon toga ću biti sretni zmaj“. „O“, odgovorila je princeza. „Jako dobro poznajem Crvenog Zmaja s Zapada. Uvijek jede princeze. Čula sam da je već pojeo sve princeze na zapadu“. „Tako je“ rekao je Boris. „Rekao mi je da je ovih dana teško naći nove princeze da pojede“. „Misliš li da je on sretan zmaj?“ pitala je princeza. „Mislim da nije“ priznao je Boris. „Uvijek mi se čini vrlo ljutito i gnjevno“. Princeza je kimnula glavu. „Onda, ako tvoj rođak jede princeze svaki dan i još uvijek nije sretan, zašto misliš da ćeš biti sretan kada me pojedeš?“ „Ne znam“, priznao je Boris tužno. „Možda nije takva dobra ideja. Ali ipak moram da te pojedem, jer sam obećao tvom zaručniku da ću to učiniti“. „Moj zaručnik?“ ponovila je princeza. „Princ Branko?“ „Da“ rekao je Boris, jer je on bio jednostavan zmaj i nije znao kako dobro lagati princezi. „On mi je preporučio da te hvatim i pojedem, kao kazna. Zbog toga što ga ne voliš i neće se udati za njega“. Lijepo lice princeze postalo je mračno. „On me ne voli“, rekla je. „Samo voli novac moga oca. Okrutan je i glup i nikada se neću udati za njega!“ Prije nego što je uspjela nešto više reći, Princ Branko sam je trčao u špilju. „Stani“ uzviknuo je. „Ova je moja princeza i ti je nećeš pojesti, ti ružni zmaju!“ Princeza je zurila u princa. „Nisam ja tvoja princeza“ rekla je. „Nitko ovdje neće pojesti nikoga. Doduše, ovaj zmaj nije ružan. Nitko nije takav ružan kao što si ti, jer imaš i ružno lice i ružno srce“ Princ Branko se ljutio. „Ubit ću zmaja! Došao sam da te spasim“ „Nije mi potrebno spasenje“ rekla je princeza hladno. „Ovaj zmaj je moj prijatelj. Ne želim da ga ubiješ“. „Jesam li ti prijatelj“ pitao je Boris jako iznenađeno. „Jesi, „ rekla je princeza čvrsto. „O“ rekao je Boris. „Nikada nisam imao prijatelja.“ Bio je tako potresan da je počeo plakati velike zmajske suze. „Siromašni zmaju!“ rekla je princeza i došla da ga poljubi. On je vrlo ljubazan zmaj, mislila je. Dok je princeza ljubila zmaja, dogodilo se nešto vrlo čudno. Zemlja je potresio i sunce je nestalo, tako da je Princ Branko bio prestravljen i odtrčao. Kada je zemlja ponovno bio stabilna i kada je sunce povonvo sijalo, princeza je otvorila oči i bila je jako zbunjena. Jer tamo, gdje je prije nekoliko trenutaka stajao veliki zeleni zmaj, stajao je umjesto njega zgodan princ. „O„ uzviknula je princeza. „Tko si ti?“ „Ne znam“ rekao je novi princ, koji je također bio zbunjen. „Nisam siguran, ali mislim da se zovem Boris. Bio sam nekad princ, dok zla vjestica me nije čarala. Dugo sam spavao. Sanjao sam zmajeve. Mislim da sam godinama čekao dok nisi došla ti da me oslobodi poljupcem. Hvala ti! Spasila si mi život!“ Princeza je pocrvenjala. Mislila je kako je zgodan sada da više nije bio zmaj. Došla je da ga ponovo poljubi i tamo se završi naša priča. Treba se reći samo da su se uskoro vjenčali i živjeli su sretni do kraja života. Edited by Radioclare on 21 March 2015 at 9:49pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Radioclare Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom timeofftakeoff.com Joined 4585 days ago 689 posts - 1119 votes Speaks: English*, German, Esperanto Studies: Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian | Message 99 of 292 21 March 2015 at 8:20pm | IP Logged | ||
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English translation - Boris, the lonely dragon
Once upon a time there was a dragon. He was a big green dragon and he lived in the south of an enormous country, so everyone called him "The Big Green Dragon of the South", although his real name was Boris. Boris lived in a big cold cave, because everyone knows that dragons always live in caves. That was clear to Boris too, although he didn't particularly like the cave. He was often lonely. By day he succeeded in being cheerful, but when night fell he became sadder and sadder, because he longed for a friend with whom he would be able to laugh, hunt and breathe fire. Sometimes he wondered whether it had been a mistake that he was born a dragon, because he didn't like the dragon life at all. He had never succeeded in being happy like a proper dragon. In that country there didn't live a lot of dragons. There were exactly four: the Dragon of the North, the Dragon of the East, the Dragon of the West and, of course, Boris of the South. The big Dragon of the West was a distant relative of Boris and he was a red dragon, as red as a tomato. Maybe you think all dragons are green, but that isn't true. If you ever have the chance to visit the Big Dragon of the West, it would be better for you if you didn't tell him that all dragons are supposed to be green. He's very proud of the fact that he's a red dragon and he also has enormous teeth. One day Boris woke up and thought to himself that he couldn't endure another day. Something had to change. He decided to go to the west to visit his relative and ask for advice. He knew that the western dragon was clever, so he would definitely give good advice. The way to the cave of the Red Dragon of the West was long and difficult, but Boris wasn't very scared because he was a dragon and everyone knows that real dragons aren't scared of anything. He passed through dark forests, endless fields and even a scorching desert before he finally arrived at the cave of the Red Dragon of the West. That cave was even darker and colder than Boris's own cave. "Hello Ivan", said Boris, because that was his cousin's name. "How nice to see you". The Red Dragon of the West spat fire. He wasn't in a good mood and he wasn't pleased to see his cousin. He was, to tell the truth, a bit ashamed to admit that he had a relative who wasn't red like him. "What do you want from me, Boris?" he asked. "I'm not a sociable dragon and I don't have time to stand here and talk nonsense. You're the Dragon of the South, so you ought to stay there in the south". "I know, Ivan", said Boris, "and I'm sorry to bother you, but I need your help". "What sort of help are you looking for?" asked Ivan. "I can't help you to be red like I am. You were born green and green you will die". "It doesn't bother me that I'm a green dragon", said Boris quietly, because he had never understood why his relative thought that red dragons were the best. "But it does bother me that I'm lonely. I live alone in my big cold cave. I don't have any friends. I don't have anyone to talk to. I'm not a happy dragon and I don't know what to do". The red dragon spat fire again. He wasn't pleased that this cowardly cousin had come to visit him. He wanted Boris to leave as soon as possible, so he decided to give him the best advice which he could think of. "Boris", he said. "You need a princess". "A princess?" repeated Boris. "What would I do with a princess?" "Boris", said Ivan and he looked really strict as he said it. "Are you a dragon or aren't you?" "I think that I am" said Boris uncertainly. "Then you must know what to do with a princess!" "I don't know" said Boris sadly. "I've never been such a clever dragon like you are". "You're right", smiled Ivan. "You're not a clever dragon. If you were clever, you would know that you need to eat the princess." "Eat her?" said Boris, somewhat surprised, because he'd never had the intention of eating a princess. He normally ate bears, wolves and other wild animals which lived in the forest around his cave. "Are princesses tasty?" "They are", Ivan replied. "Princesses are the tastiest meal in the world. Sometimes it's difficult to find real princesses, because there aren't many royal families here in the west. But I think that there will certainly be lots of princesses near you in the south". "Okay," said Boris. "I have to find a princess. Will I be happy once I've eaten her?" "You will", Ivan promised him. "Now go away and leave me in peace". "Thank you, Ivan" said Boris. "You are a good friend to me. I will never forget this". Boris left then and set of on the long journey back to his cave. While he travelled, he thought about the advice which Ivan had given him. He realised that he didn't have any idea how to find a princess and he had forgotten to ask Ivan. He didn't want to return to the west, because he had the impression that the red dragon wouldn't be happy to see him again. He decided to sit in his cave and think up his own plan. "I must find a king", he said to himself. "There are always princesses with kings. Kings are human beings and they live in human towns, so I must find a big town and there there will be princesses." He was very tired after his long journey from the west, but he didn't want to spend another single night alone in his cave, so he set off immediately to find a town. He walked and walked and when night fell again, he was finally at the edge of a huge city. He thought that it wasn't a good idea to look for a princess at night, so he lay on the grass and fell asleep. He dreamt of beautiful, tasty princesses. He awoke from a deep dream when he heard a loud cry. He opened his eyes and saw an ugly young man, who was paralysed with fear. "Don't be scared! I won't hurt you!" said Boris. The ugly young man stared at him. "Who are you?" he asked finally. "I am the Big Green Dragon of the South", said Boris and tried to look as big and green as possible as he said that. "I've come to this city because I'm looking for a princess. And who are you?" "I'm Prince Branko from the Dark Forest", said the young man. "Why are you looking for a princess?" "I'm very lonely", said Boris, "and I don't have any friends. I went away to visit the Big Red Dragon of the West, who is a relative of mine, and he recommended that I find a princess and eat her. I'll be happy after that". "Is that so?" said Prince Branko. "That's a very interesting story. Perhaps I can help you, because I have a princess. She's my fiancée, but she has said that she won't marry me. I don't think she loves me". "What a shame!" said the dragon. "Perhaps it would be best if I ate her". He thought that the prince was very ugly, but he understood well how sad it is when you don't have anyone who loves you. "I agree", said the prince. "I think that that is an excellent idea". But Prince Branko was cunning, and he had no intention of letting the green dragon eat his fiancée. He wanted to punish the princess, who had said that she would never love him, not even if he was the only prince in the world, because he was too wicked. The princess was a kind hearted girl who loved animals. She had seen the prince kicking his dog and whipping his horse and she knew then that he wasn't the husband for her, regardless of what the king said. The prince still wanted the princess to marry him, however, because her father was the richest king in the south. Therefore he thought up an evil plan, which went like this: He would help the dragon to capture the princess and take her away to his cold dragon's cave. Before the dragon killed the girl, he would arrive as her brave saviour on horseback. He would kill this stupid dragon in order to save the princess and she would be so relieved that she would agree to marry him. Boris, of course, didn’t have a clue that such a plan existed. He only thought what a lucky dragon he was because he had found such a helpful prince as soon as he arrived in town. The next day Boris entered the town early. He quickly found the fortress in which the royal family lived. It was a beautiful big fortress with a wonderful garden. The princess was in the garden. She was having a stroll with her dog, stopping to chat with the rabbits and birds who lived in the garden. She looked so beautiful that the dragon was almost afraid to look at her. "Goodness," he said to himself. "She's a beauty. Now I understand why everyone says I need a princess in order to be happy. He felt like he could have watched the beautiful princess for hours, but he knew that he had to capture her as soon as possible while she was still in the garden. Therefore, he flew above the garden and when the princess looked at the sky to see why it had suddenly become so dark, he landed and captured her. The princess screamed, but Boris was soon flying so high and so fast that no one heard her. He flew all the way to his cave. There he put the princess on the ground. "Hello, princess", he said. "I'm Boris, the Big Green Dragon of the South. Welcome to my cave". The princess stared at the dragon. She was a clever girl and she had read lots of books in the fortress library. She knew that dragons were dangerous, although this dragon looked quite friendly. She tried to look like a girl who wasn't afraid of any sort of dragon. "Hello, dragon", she said bravely. "Why have you captured me and taken me to your cave?" The dragon sighed and looked a little embarrassed. "I'm a lonely dragon. I'm really sad and dissatisfied with my life", he finally admitted. "I'm sorry to hear that", said the princess. "I understand well because I feel the same way". "You feel lonely?" asked the dragon in surprise. "Yes", admitted the princess. "I'm very lonely in that big fortress. My Mom is dead and my Dad always has important work because he's the king of the whole country. Furthermore, he wants me to marry the nastiest prince in the world. Have you brought me here to keep you company?" "No", said Boris, "although that would have been a good idea. I intend to eat you". "Oh", exclaimed the princess. "That isn't very nice of you. I'm disappointed, because I thought that you were a good dragon". "I am a good dragon", said Boris a little hurt. "I must admit that now you're here it's a real shame that I have to eat you". "Then why do you have to eat me?" asked the princess, who had decided that this dragon was very strange. "I went to visit my relative", explained Boris. "He is the Red Dragon of the West. He's cleverer than me. He said that I need to eat a princess. Only after that will I be happy". "Oh", said the princess. "I know the Red Dragon of the West very well. He always eats princesses. I heard that he's already eaten all the princesses in the west". "That's true", said Boris. "He told me that these days it's difficult to find new princesses to eat". "Do you think that he is a happy dragon?" asked the princess. "I don't think he is", admitted Boris. "He always seems very angry and moody". The princess nodded her head. "Then, if your relative eats princesses every day and still isn't happy, why do you think that you will be happy if you eat me?" "I don't know", admitted Boris sadly. "Perhaps it's not such a good idea. But nevertheless, I have to eat you because I promised your fiancé that I would". "My fiancé?" repeated the princess. "Prince Branko?" "Yes", said Boris, because he was a simple dragon and he didn't know how to lie to the princess. "He recommended that I capture you and eat you, as a punishment. Because you don't love him and won't marry him". The pretty face of the princess darkened. "He doesn't love me", she said. "He only loves my father's money. He's cruel and stupid and I will never marry him!" Before she managed to say anything else, Prince Branko himself ran into the cave. "Stop!" he cried. "This is my princess and you won't eat her, you ugly dragon!" The princess stared at the prince. "I am not your princess", she said. "No one here is going to eat anyone. Furthermore, this dragon is not ugly. No one is as ugly as you are, because you have both an ugly face and an ugly heart!" Prince Branko was angry. "I'll kill the dragon! I've come to save you!" "I don't need saving", said the princess coldly. "This dragon is my friend. I don't want you to kill him". "Am I your friend?" asked Boris, extremely surprised. "You are", said the princess firmly. "Oh", said Boris. "I've never had a friend". He was so moved that he started to cry big dragon tears. "Poor dragon!" said the princess and went to kiss him. He is a really lovely dragon, she thought. As the princess kissed the dragon, something very strange happened. The ground shook and the sun disappeared, so that Prince Branko was terrified and ran away. When the ground was stable again and the sun was shining again, the princess opened her eyes and she was very confused. Because there, where a few minutes ago there had been a big green dragon, stood a handsome prince. "Oh", exclaimed the princess. "Who are you?" "I don't know", said the new prince, who was also confused. "I'm not certain but I think my name is Boris. I used to be a prince, until an evil witch put a spell on me. I've been asleep for a long time. I dreamed of dragons. I think that I've waited for years until you came to free me with a kiss. Thank you! You have saved my life!" The princess blushed. She thought how handsome he was now that he was no longer a dragon. She went to kiss him again, and that is where our story ends. It only needs to be said that they soon got married and lived happily ever after. Edited by Radioclare on 21 March 2015 at 10:34pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| rdearman Senior Member United Kingdom rdearman.orgRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5238 days ago 881 posts - 1812 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French, Mandarin | Message 100 of 292 21 March 2015 at 10:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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WOW! Great story!!!
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Radioclare Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom timeofftakeoff.com Joined 4585 days ago 689 posts - 1119 votes Speaks: English*, German, Esperanto Studies: Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian | Message 101 of 292 22 March 2015 at 10:30pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks rdearman - I definitely had fun writing it :)
Didn't do much Croatian-learning today, but the exciting news is that I have finally booked my holiday to Croatia (and Slovenia) for September. We'll be flying to Pula and spending a week or so exploring Istria before a brief stay on the island of Cres (pronounced tsres not cress!) and then heading to Ljubljana via Zagreb before ultimately flying back from Trieste. I'm very excited about going back to Croatia and I'm really looking forward to spending some more time in Slovenia too. It should be fun to see how much Slovene I can decipher now that my Croatian has improved a bit :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Radioclare Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom timeofftakeoff.com Joined 4585 days ago 689 posts - 1119 votes Speaks: English*, German, Esperanto Studies: Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian | Message 102 of 292 24 March 2015 at 11:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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The highlight of today was telling my boss that I was going on holiday to Croatia, including visiting
Rijeka for the first time. He proceeded to tell me about the time when he had been to "Rye-jake-a" and wondered whether it was the same place. Oh dear. The second highlight of today is that there was a Croatian kind enough to correct my enormous story on Lang-8. I really didn't expect someone to correct the whole thing; I'd just made a comment to say I would be grateful if someone corrected a bit of it. So I hereby bring to you the corrected version:
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| Expugnator Hexaglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 5168 days ago 3335 posts - 4349 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, Norwegian, French, English, Italian, Papiamento Studies: Mandarin, Georgian, Russian | Message 103 of 292 24 March 2015 at 11:21pm | IP Logged | ||
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Impressive, so few mistakes!
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| basica Senior Member Australia Joined 3538 days ago 157 posts - 269 votes Studies: Serbian | Message 104 of 292 25 March 2015 at 12:10am | IP Logged | ||
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I'm learning Serbian at the moment so I'll definitely be keeping an eye out on your log
to see how you progress - you said you have been studying for a couple years and are now around a B1 - perhaps my goal of reaching B1 in a year was a little too ambitious now that I think about it... :| I'm curious, what attracted you to Croatian in the first place? Best of luck! :) 1 person has voted this message useful |
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