Fluent Fiction - Danish: The Traffic Cone Umbrella: A Wet Commute Turns into a Triumph of Resourcefulness
Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:
fluentfiction.org/the-traffic-cone-umbrella-a-wet-commute-turns-into-a-triumph-of-resourcefulness

Story Transcript:

Da: På den andre side af hoveddøren måtte Lars sukke.
En: On the other side of the front door, Lars had to sigh.

Da: En mægtig grå himmel hang over København.
En: A mighty gray sky hung over Copenhagen.

Da: Det var morgen, og det regnede.
En: It was morning, and it was raining.

Da: Regnen silede ned som om det aldrig ville holde op.
En: The rain poured down as if it would never stop.

Da: Han skulle på arbejde, men hans paraply var ingen steder at finde.
En: He had to go to work, but his umbrella was nowhere to be found.

Da: Lars skimmede rundt i sin lejlighed, vendte puder og stole op og ned.
En: Lars searched through his apartment, tossing pillows and turning chairs upside down.

Da: Intet spor af paraplyen.
En: No trace of the umbrella.

Da: Tiden løb, og han begyndte at blive forsinket.
En: Time was running out, and he started to get delayed.

Da: Så han tog en dyb indånding.
En: So he took a deep breath.

Da: ‘Jeg skal nok klare det,’ mumlede han til sig selv, stod op fra sin rod og gik til hoveddøren.
En: "I'll manage," he mumbled to himself, got up from his mess, and went to the front door.

Da: Han trak sin regnfrakke på, tog sin taske under armen, og så var han ude.
En: He put on his raincoat, took his bag under his arm, and then he was out.

Da: Turen til arbejde var kold og våd.
En: The journey to work was cold and wet.

Da: Regnen prikkede mod Lars’ ansigt som tusinde små nåle.
En: The rain pricked Lars' face like a thousand tiny needles.

Da: Den blæste ham i nakken, klæbede hans hår til hans pande.
En: It blew on his neck, stuck his hair to his forehead.

Da: Men Lars tog det i stiv arm.
En: But Lars took it in stride.

Da: Han vidste han kunne klare det.
En: He knew he could handle it.

Da: Lige da han troede, at han ikke kunne blive vådere, så han noget rødt ud af øjenkrogen.
En: Just when he thought he couldn't get any wetter, he saw something red out of the corner of his eye.

Da: En trafikkegle lå forladt i en sidegade.
En: A traffic cone was abandoned in a side street.

Da: Det slog ham, at han kunne bruge den som paraply.
En: It occurred to him that he could use it as an umbrella.

Da: Han kiggede rundt, og da han så ingen, snuppede han hurtigt keglen.
En: He looked around, and when he saw no one, he quickly grabbed the cone.

Da: Med trafikkeglen på hovedet fortsatte Lars sin rejse.
En: With the traffic cone on his head, Lars continued his journey.

Da: Folk på gaden grinte og pegede, men Lars smilte bare tilbage.
En: People on the street laughed and pointed, but Lars just smiled back.

Da: Han var tør, og det var alt der betød noget.
En: He was dry, and that was all that mattered.

Da: Da han endelig ankom til sin arbejdsplads, gav hans kollegaer ham et stort klaps på ryggen.
En: When he finally arrived at his workplace, his colleagues patted him on the back.

Da: De grinede af hans make-shift paraply, men Lars tog det i god humor.
En: They laughed at his makeshift umbrella, but Lars took it in good humor.

Da: Han forklarede, at hans paraply var væk, og at han havde brugt det, han havde kunne finde.
En: He explained that his umbrella was gone and that he had used what he could find.

Da: Lars lærte den dag, at han kunne klare en dag i det danske vejr uden sin paraply.
En: That day, Lars learned that he could survive a day in the Danish weather without his umbrella.

Da: Det var ikke den nemmeste vej, men det var hans vej.
En: It wasn't the easiest path, but it was his path.

Da: Og han var stolt over det.
En: And he was proud of it.

Da: I slutningen af arbejdsdagen fandt Lars sin forsvundne paraply i hans skab på arbejdet.
En: At the end of the workday, Lars found his missing umbrella in his locker at work.

Da: Han havde glemt den dagen før.
En: He had forgotten it the day before.

Da: Men det gjorde ikke noget.
En: But it didn't matter.

Da: Han havde overlevet en dag med en trafikkegle som paraply, og det var mere end han nogensinde havde troet, han kunne gøre.
En: He had survived a day with a traffic cone as an umbrella, and that was more than he had ever thought he could do.

Da: Lars gik hjem med et stort smil på læben.
En: Lars went home with a big smile on his face.

Da: Det var en god dag.
En: It was a good day.

Da: Regnen havde stoppet, solen var begyndt at skinne, og han havde sin paraply tilbage.
En: The rain had stopped, the sun had started to shine, and he had his umbrella back.

Da: Men vigtigst af alt, han følte sig stærk.
En: But most importantly, he felt strong.

Da: Og alt det, fordi han havde glemt sin paraply.
En: And all because he had forgotten his umbrella.


Vocabulary Words:

• On the other side: På den andre side
• front door: hoveddør
• sigh: sukke
• mighty: mægtig
• gray: grå
• sky: himmel
• hang: hængte
• over: over
• Copenhagen: København
• morning: morgen
• raining: regnede
• rain: regn
• poured down: silede ned
• never: aldrig
• stop: stoppe
• go to work: på arbejde
• umbrella: paraply
• nowhere: ingen steder
• found: fandt
• searched: skimmede
• apartment: lejlighed
• tossing: vendte
• pillows: puder
• turning: vendte
• chairs: stole
• upside down: op og ned
• trace: spor
• running out: løb
• started to: get delayed
• deep breath: dyb indånding