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The same text, four levels

The opening of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, translated from English by our chain at each of the four levels. Next to it, a reference translation, made and reviewed by hand.

Original text

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice “without pictures or conversations?”

So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.

There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!” (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.

Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), chapter I. Public domain.

Reference translation

Made and reviewed by hand, with no automated translation.

Alice commençait à être bien lasse de rester assise auprès de sa sœur sur la berge, et de n’avoir rien à faire : une ou deux fois, elle avait jeté un coup d’œil dans le livre que lisait sa sœur, mais il n’y avait dedans ni images ni dialogues, « et à quoi peut bien servir un livre, pensa Alice, sans images ni dialogues ? »

Elle se demandait donc, en son for intérieur (du mieux qu’elle le pouvait, car la chaleur de la journée la rendait tout ensommeillée et hébétée), si le plaisir de faire une guirlande de pâquerettes vaudrait la peine de se lever pour aller cueillir les pâquerettes, quand soudain un Lapin Blanc aux yeux roses passa en courant tout près d’elle.

Il n’y avait là rien de si remarquable ; et Alice ne trouva pas non plus si extraordinaire que cela d’entendre le Lapin se dire à lui-même : « Mon Dieu ! Mon Dieu ! Je vais être en retard ! » (quand elle y repensa par la suite, elle se dit qu’elle aurait dû s’en étonner, mais sur le moment tout cela lui parut parfaitement naturel) ; mais lorsque le Lapin tira bel et bien une montre de la poche de son gilet, la regarda, puis repartit en toute hâte, Alice se leva d’un bond, car l’idée lui traversa l’esprit qu’elle n’avait encore jamais vu de lapin muni d’une poche de gilet, ni d’une montre à en tirer, et, brulant de curiosité, elle s’élança à sa poursuite à travers le pré, et arriva fort heureusement juste à temps pour le voir s’engouffrer dans un grand terrier, sous la haie.

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Settings used: fidelity “Faithful”, names adapted to the language, dialogue typography of the target language.