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Clever Tomcat
Moudrý kocour zasahuje
„He-he! You better close down your bakery! I can bake as much bread as I like,“ the Baker from down-town laughed at the Baker from up-town. The Baker from up-town just hung his head sadly and went back to kneading dough. Even though he kneaded and baked all night he would never be able to bake as much as the arrogant Baker from down-town. He called on helpers and yet he could not bake as much. Well, well, lamented the Baker wherever he went, but nobody could advise him what to do. He merely rejoiced in the fact that his bread was crispier and bread rolls tastier. Nothing would compare. But what if he could never fill all the shelves and baskets in the bakery? Whatever he baked, it would disappear and he had to knead the dough again. Over lunch he sat on a bench in front of the bakery to relax a bit and think. A small hairy thing stretching his paws beside him. „Well, tomcat, what do you say? How come the Baker from down-town bakes as much bread as he likes and I don’t? Barely do I manage to bake something, people buy it straight away and I can never satisfy everybody. I cannot even bring a small bun home,“ lamented he. Tomcat looked at the sad Baker, scratched behind his ears and made a meow sound: „Do not worry, I’ll think of something.“ The tomcat thought for a moment, toyed with his whiskers, when something occurred to him: „I know of a mouse that
„Cha cha! Můžeš tu svou pekárnu zavřít! Upeču tolik chleba, kolik se mi zachce,“ posmíval se pekař z dolního konce vesnice pekaři z horního konce. Co měl chudák z horního konce vesnice dělat? I když celou noc pekl, nenapekl tolik chleba jako ten nafoukaný pekař. Zavolal si pomocníky a pekl s nimi, ale ani tak tolik nenapekl. A tak pekař lamentoval, kudy chodil, ale nikdo mu neuměl poradit. Radoval se alespoň z toho, že jeho chleba byl přece jen křupavější a rohlíky dozlatova propečené, žádné se jim nevyrovnaly. Nikdy však nedokázal naplnit všechny košíky a police v pekárně. Co napekl, to se hned prodalo, a tak musel znovu zadělávat těsto. V poledne usedl na lavičku před pekárnou, že si trochu odpočine. Vedle něj si malý chlupáč protahoval packy. „Co bys tomu řekl, kocourku? Jak je možné, že pekař z dolního konce napeče tolik chleba, kolik se mu zachce, a já ne? Sotva stačím něco upéct, hned to lidi vykoupí. Večer nepřinesu domů ani buchtičku,“ stěžoval si. Kocourek se zadíval na smutného pekaře, poškrábal se za ušima a zamňoukal: „Neměj strach, něco vymyslím.“ Chvilku přemýšlel, pohrával si s vousky, když vtom jej něco napadlo: „Znám jednu myšku, která bydlí blízko dolní pekárny. Ta určitě ví, jak to tam chodí. Slíbím jí, že ji nesežeru, a ona nám za kousek sýra pomůže.“
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lives near the down-town bakery. She certainly knows how it goes there. I promised not to eat her and she agreed to help us for a piece of cheese.“ And so it was. The little mouse knew everything. She didn’t have to try hard to spy on the Baker from down-town. Every morning, a large lorry arrived and brought frozen bread and different types of pastries. After a short while, the Baker baked them in the oven and that was it! The job done! „So that’s what lies behind!“ thought the Baker from up-town. „That’s why he is able to bake so much bread! Smart aleck! And yet he dares making fun of me! He-he! Well, carry on baking your frozen bread, I will never use anything but fresh dough,“ happily smiled the Baker and stroked the tomcat. The two exchanged a few more words about mice and sparrows and the Baker allowed himself a little rest he hadn’t had for a long time. A good Baker deserves a moment to sit down and relax and people can wait for delicious crunchy bread. It smelt sooooooo gooooood, only to take a bite...
sadly [sædli] smutně merely [miəli] pouze bench [benč] lavička stretch [streč] natáhnout behind [bi’haind] za stroke [strouk] pohladit spy [spai] špión deserve [di’zə:v] zasloužit si
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A tak se i stalo. Myška všechno věděla. Ani nemusela pekaře špehovat. Každé ráno přijelo velké auto a přivezlo mražené chleby a různé pečivo. Pekař je za chviličku upekl v peci a bylo to!
„Tak v tom je zakopaný pes!“ pomyslel si pekař z horního konce. Proto napeče tolik chleba! Chytrák! A ještě se mně opováží posmívat! Cha cha! Jen si peč ty své mražené chleby, já budu péct jen z čerstvého těsta,“ pousmál se konečně spokojený pekař a pohladil kocoura. Ještě si s ním chvilku povídal o myších a vrabčácích a po delším čase si dopřál i trochu oddechu. Vždyť dobrý pekař si zaslouží jen tak si chvilku posedět a na křupavý chléb si každý rád počká. Jak ten ale voní! Jen se do něj zakousnout...
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Naughty Elf
Zlý skřítek
Naughty Elf once visited the bakery. He wouldn’t knock, he’d just burst straight in and yell: „So here I am!“ Lady Bakres flinched and fainted straightaway. The Baker did not lose his senses, grabbed a wooden shovel and roared: „Get out, while I am telling you nicely,“ the Baker went to hit him if necessary. And truly it was necessary. The Elf made a sort of twist, surged to the top shelf and began throwing down sandwiches. Nicely, one-by-one. The Baker gripped the shovel tightly and wanted to punch the Elf on the hat. You should have seen it! Even if he had hit him, it would have been of no help. As if feeling nothing, the Elf started to laugh. He made another twist and got down to the second shelf. He dropped a loaf of bread onto the wife’s head and she immediately roused from her black out. „What on earth is going on here? Get out now, you monster!“ screamed lady Bakres and stroked a lump on her forehead. She grabbed the forks in the corner pretending to stab him but missed anyway. The Elf ran around the bakery and the cakes, bread rolls, whirls shot in the air, flying all over the place… Once he had thrown down everything there was, he made the last twist and roared: „Bakery huss-huss!“ In that instant he vanished, leaving behind flour swirling in the air. „Oh dear! What was that about?“ both the Baker and his wife asked in astonishment. „Have you ever seen such a thing?“ they wondered. „Oh, they had seen, they had,“ confessed an old woman
Jednou zavítal do pekárny zlý skřítek. Ani nezaklepal, prostě vtrhl dovnitř a zakřičel: „Tak jsem tady!“ Pekařka se lekla a omdlela. Pekař ale neztratil hlavu, popadl dřevěnou lopatu a vykřikl: „Zmiz, dokud ti to říkám po dobrém!“ Napřáhl lopatu, že jej bací, pokud to bude třeba. A to opravdu bylo. Skřítek udělal vývrtku, vyhoupl se na nejvyšší polici a začal shazovat bochníky chleba. Pěkně jeden za druhým. Pekař sevřel lopatu a chtěl skřítka přetáhnout přes klobouk. To jste měli vidět! I když se trefil, nepomohlo to. Skřítek jako by nic necítil, jen se rozřechtal. Pak udělal další vývrtku a pustil se do druhé police. Pekařce shodil na hlavu bochník chleba a to ji rázem probralo z mdlob. „Co to tady vyvádíš? Honem zmiz, ty obludo!“ zakřičela na něj pekařka a studenou lžící si chladila bouli na čele. Popadla vidle, které stály v koutě jen tak pro okrasu, že ho píchne do zadku. Jenže se netrefila. Skřítek lítal po pekárně a spolu s ním koláče, rohlíky, pletýnky…
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