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A1 French story: Le chat du voisin, with translation

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Read a short A1 French story about a neighbour’s cat visiting a flat. Follow the present-tense action with eight glosses, an English translation and three questions.

In short

Le chat du voisin means ‘the neighbour’s cat’. Follow Oscar into Emma’s flat in this present-tense story and see how she finds his owner. Eight numbered glosses explain the less familiar words; the English translation lets you check each paragraph afterwards.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A small grey cat with a plain blue collar resting on a navy sofa in a bright French apartment while a woman watches from the kitchen doorway, no collar tag or writing.
Le chat du voisin makes himself at home. Illustration: Atelier

A1 · a visitor on a quiet morning

Le chat du voisin

Ce matin, Emma travaille chez elle. Son ordinateur est sur la table de la cuisine. À neuf heures, elle ouvre la porte pour prendre son sac sur le palier1. Un petit chat gris est devant elle. Il regarde Emma et il miaule2. Elle sourit. « Bonjour, toi ! Tu cherches quelqu’un ? »

Le chat entre dans l’appartement. Il passe devant la cuisine et il va dans le salon. Puis il s’installe3 sur le canapé. Emma pose son sac et elle regarde son visiteur. « Tu es bien ici ? » Le chat ferme les yeux et il ronronne4. Emma retourne à son ordinateur, mais le chat monte sur la table. Il pose une patte5 sur le clavier.

« Ah non ! Ici, c’est mon travail ! » Emma prend doucement le chat dans ses bras. Il porte un collier6 bleu. Sur le collier, il y a un nom : Oscar. Mais il n’y a pas de numéro de téléphone. Emma regarde par la fenêtre. Personne dans la cour. « Ton maître s’inquiète7 peut-être », dit-elle.

À ce moment-là, quelqu’un frappe à la porte. C’est Marc, le voisin. Il tient une petite affiche8 avec une photo. « Bonjour, je cherche mon chat… » Oscar saute par terre et va vers Marc. « Oscar ! Tu es là ! » Emma rit. « Oui, et il aime beaucoup mon canapé. » Marc remercie Emma. Oscar regarde déjà la porte de la cuisine.

Read it in English

This morning, Emma is working at home. Her computer is on the kitchen table. At nine o’clock, she opens the door to get her bag from the landing. A little grey cat is in front of her. He looks at Emma and miaows. She smiles. ‘Hello there! Are you looking for someone?’

The cat enters the flat. He goes past the kitchen and into the living room. Then he settles down on the sofa. Emma puts down her bag and looks at her visitor. ‘Are you comfortable here?’ The cat closes his eyes and purrs. Emma goes back to her computer, but the cat climbs onto the table. He puts a paw on the keyboard.

‘Oh no! This is my work!’ Emma gently picks the cat up in her arms. He is wearing a blue collar. There is a name on the collar: Oscar. But there is no phone number. Emma looks out of the window. Nobody in the courtyard. ‘Your owner may be worried,’ she says.

Just then, someone knocks at the door. It’s Marc, the neighbour. He is holding a small poster with a photo. ‘Hello, I’m looking for my cat…’ Oscar jumps down onto the floor and goes towards Marc. ‘Oscar! You’re here!’ Emma laughs. ‘Yes, and he really likes my sofa.’ Marc thanks Emma. Oscar is already looking at the kitchen door.

Question 1No account needed
Why does Emma open her front door at the start?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Pour prendre son sac.. Emma opens the door pour prendre son sac sur le palier. The cat is already outside.

Question 2No account needed
What does Emma find on Oscar’s collar?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Un nom.. The collar has the name Oscar, but the story says there is no phone number.

Question 3No account needed
How does Marc appear at the end?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Il frappe à la porte avec une affiche.. Marc knocks on the door and holds a small poster with a photo while looking for Oscar.

Follow the movement through the flat

Three places, three actions
Where?What happens?English
devant la porteLe chat regarde Emma.The cat looks at Emma.
sur le canapéIl ferme les yeux.He closes his eyes.
sur la tableIl pose une patte sur le clavier.He puts a paw on the keyboard.

Il refers to Oscar in these three rows; elle refers to Emma in the story. The present tense carries the whole sequence: il entre, il passe, il va. Puis means ‘then’, and à ce moment-là brings in Marc at that exact point.

Le chat du voisin est sur le canapé d’Emma.

The neighbour’s cat is on Emma’s sofa.

Du joins de + le. Before a name beginning with a vowel, de becomes d’: d’Emma.

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