Fluent Fiction - Slovenian: Dragon's Awakening: A Ljubljana Adventure
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Story Transcript:

Sl: Nekoč v prelepem sončnem jutru, sta se prijatelja Luka in Ana sprehajala po Ljubljani.
En: Once upon a beautiful sunny morning, friends Luka and Ana were strolling through Ljubljana.

Sl: Mesto je bilo tiho, ulice še prazne, prvi zgodnji ptici pa sta švigala proti Zmajskemu mostu, kateri je bil eden izmed Ljubljanskih biserov.
En: The city was quiet, the streets empty, and the first early birds were darting towards the Dragon Bridge, which was one of Ljubljana's gems.

Sl: Luka, ki je bil vedno poln domišljije, je rad sanjaril in vedno iskal pustolovščine.
En: Luka, always full of imagination, loved to daydream and seek adventures.

Sl: Ana pa je bila mirna in vedno polna razuma, ki je Luku pomagala ohranjati stik z realnostjo.
En: Ana, on the other hand, was calm and always full of reason, helping Luka stay grounded in reality.

Sl: Ko sta se približala Zmajskemu mostu, je sonce počasi vzšlo in prve sončne žarke so ujele mogočne zmajeve kipe, ki so krasili most.
En: As they approached the Dragon Bridge, the sun slowly rose, and the first rays caught the mighty dragon statues adorning the bridge.

Sl: Zmajevi so bili kot kralji, ki so strumno čuvali vstop v staro mestno jedro.
En: The dragons stood like kings, bravely guarding the entrance to the old city center.

Sl: Luka je obstal na sredi mostu in strmoglavil v enega izmed zmajev. "Poglej, Ana!" je zavpil z očmi, polnimi strahu. "Zmaj! Zares zmaj!"
En: Luka stopped in the middle of the bridge and gazed at one of the dragons. "Look, Ana!" he exclaimed with eyes full of fear. "A dragon! A real dragon!"

Sl: Ana se je nasmejala in pokimala proti kipu. "Seveda je zmaj, Luka. Naša Ljubljanska znamenitost."
En: Ana laughed and nodded towards the statue. "Of course it's a dragon, Luka. Our Ljubljana landmark."

Sl: Toda Luka je bil prepričan, da je eden izmed kipov začel premikati glavo. Kot da bi se počasi zbujal iz sto letnega spanca.
En: But Luka was convinced that one of the statues had started moving its head, as if slowly awakening from a hundred-year slumber.

Sl: Njegove noge so postale trde kot kamen, roke pa so mu brezglavo trepetale.
En: His legs turned as hard as stone, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.

Sl: "Nisem mislil kipa, Ana!" je zdrdral Luka z očmi, širokimi od groze. "Pravi zmaj je! Poglej, kako se nam jezik svetlika!"
En: "I didn't mean the statue, Ana!" Luka blurted out, wide-eyed with horror. "It's a real dragon! Look, its tongue is flickering!"

Sl: Ana, ki je vedela, da je Luka včasih preveč slikovit s svojimi domislicami, je tiho stopila k Lukovi strani in položila roko na njegovo ramo.
En: Knowing that Luka could sometimes be too vivid with his imagination, Ana quietly stepped to Luka's side and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Sl: "Luka," je rekla z nežnim in mirnim glasom. "To je samo igra svetlobe. Kipi so mogočni, a zelo nepremični."
En: "Luka," she said in a gentle and calm voice. "It's just a trick of the light. The statues are mighty but very immobile."

Sl: Ko je Luka, vidno pretresen, prisluhnil Aninim besedam, je svoj pogled še enkrat usmeril na ''zmajev'' kip.
En: As Luka, visibly shaken, listened to Ana's words, he once again focused his gaze on the "dragon" statue.

Sl: In tako kot čarovnija je učinek strahu popustil. Zmaj se ni premaknil. Bil je le kamen in nič več.
En: And just like magic, the feeling of fear subsided. The dragon hadn't moved. It was just stone and nothing more.

Sl: Ana je nasmehnila in povabila Luko, da posnemata zmaje s pravljično fotografijo. "Boj s kačami je verjetno kaj utrudil naše kamenite prijatelje," je rekla z igrivim tonom.
En: Ana smiled and invited Luka to mimic the dragons for a fairytale photo. "The battle with serpents probably tired out our stone friends," she said with a playful tone.

Sl: Luka je ob tem nekoliko zardel, a smeha ni mogel zadržati.
En: Luka blushed a little at this, but couldn't contain his laughter.

Sl: Nato sta prijatelja nadaljevala svoj sprehod po mestu, zdaj že polnem ljudi in življenja.
En: Then the friends continued their walk through the city, now full of people and life.

Sl: Pogled na zmajski most in njegove ''stražarje'' je bil zmeraj tam, nema opomnika na prelepo zgodbo o zmaju in potrditev prijateljstva, ki sta ga Luka in Ana delila.
En: The view of the Dragon Bridge and its "guards" was always there, a silent reminder of the beautiful dragon story and a confirmation of the friendship that Luka and Ana shared.

Sl: Na koncu dneva, ko sta se še enkrat sprehodila mimo mostu, je Luka pomežiknil kipom in se zasmejal svoji domišljiji.
En: At the end of the day, as they walked past the bridge once more, Luka winked at the statues and laughed at his imagination.

Sl: Bil je vesel, da ima Ano, ki ga je znala pomiriti in vrnila na trdna tla, ko so ga njegove sanjarije ponesele predaleč.
En: He was happy to have Ana, who knew how to calm him and bring him back to solid ground when his daydreams carried him too far.

Sl: Skupaj sta odšla, zanesljivo vedoč, da prave zmaje najdeš le v pravljicah in toplih srcih prijateljev.
En: They walked away together, knowing for sure that real dragons are only found in fairytales and in the warm hearts of friends.


Vocabulary Words:

• entrance: vhod
• adventures: dogodivščine
• immobile: nepremičen
• convinced: prepričan
• flickering: svetlikanje
• tired: utrujen
• subside: pojenjati
• invitation: povabilo
• confirm: potrditi
• shared: delila
• sidelines: stranski
• motionless: nezgovoren
• admiring: občudujoč
• reality: realnost
• gaze: pogled
• subdued: zatirano
• darting: šviganje
• fairytale: pravljica
• exclaimed: zavpil
• immagination: domišljija
• entrance: vstop
• slumber: spanec
• grounded: v stiku z realnostjo
• haunted: strašilo
• calm: mirna
• exclaimed: zavpil
• uncontrollably: brezglavo
• bravely: strumno
• seemingly: navidezno
• hesitated: obotavljal