All seven of our cats are bilingual, after all, they’ve grown up in a bilingual household. Actually, due to their relatively limited vocal capacities some words are easier for cats in English than in Italian. Miiiilk, for example, is much easier for a feline to pronounce than latte. It’s something to do with the length of the tongue and the position of …. oh well, it just is.

So, I was feeling a bit lazy this morning, and trying to get myself in the right frame of mind for writing an article, when I had this brilliant idea: write a short story in English and get one of the cats to translate it into Italian for me! Payment, an extra ration of miiiilk …………

Smokey, who has an unquenchable thirst for the stuff, was the first to offer his services, and having asked for a down payment of one saucer full, set to work immediately. Well, not quite immediately, but immediately after he’d got himself in the right mood by spending half an hour grooming his ‘writing’ paw and another twenty minutes having a preparatory nap on his favourite chair …………….. um, Smokey, today if possible …………. please.

… whenever you’re ready Smokey …

Well dear readers, here it is, an incredibly original story by yours truly with a translation into Italian by Smokey the cat. Now I’m not saying it’s purrfect, but come on he’s a cat for goodness sake.
In the end, I decided to leave Smokey’s translation as it was and give you, my dear polyglot friends, the small task of sorting out the mistakes.

In the translation below (hopefully) you’ll find 24 mistakes. Can you spot and correct them? Go on, I bet you can.

Paolo and Francesca live in a beautiful house in the countryside
Paolo e Francesca abitano in una bellissima casa in campana.

They really like animals: they have three cats, two females and a male, and four chicken that produce lovely eggs for them
A loro piace tantissimo gli animali: hanno tre gatte, due femmine e un maschio, e quattro galli che gli producono delle belle uove.

In front of the house there’s a large terrace with large vases full of geraniums all around, and a pergola to give shade in the summer.
Davanti alla casa ce un’ampia terrazza con tutt’intorno dei bei vassoi pieni di gerani, e con una pergola per fare ombra d’estate.

From the terrace there’s a lovely view of the medieval bridge, under which flows the river Terchio.
Dalla terrazza che una bella vista del ponte medievale, sotto cui scorre il fiume Terchio.

In its clear waters you can see water snakes, frogs, and large fish.
Nelle sue acque limpide si possono vedere bisce d’acqua, ragni e grosse pesche.

To the rear of the house there’s a peaceful garden with many flowers and trees.
Sul dietro della casa c’è un giardino tranquillo con molto fiori e alberi.

Francesca really likes gardening, and when the weather is good you’ll always find her out in the garden.
A Francesca piace tanto il giardinaggio e quando fa buon tempo la si trova sempre fiori in giardino.

Paolo, on the other hand, likes carpentry and spends a lot of time in his workshop building furniture for the house, which at this stage is a bit overfull.
A Paolo invece piace essere il falegname e passa molto tempo nella sua officina a costruire immobili per la casa che ormai è un po’ strapieno.

A passion that they both have in common is going for bike rides, and at least twice a week they climb on the saddle and go for a nice excursion in the surrounding countryside.
Una passione che hanno nel comune tutti e due è quella di andare in bici, e almeno due volti la settimana montano in cella e fanno un bel girino nella campagna d’intorno.

When they get home in the evening, Paolo and Francesca like to sit out on the terrace under the pergola with a cool glass of prosecco, and enjoy the sunset, lulled by birdsong and the murmuring of the river.
La sera, quando tornano a casa, Paolo e Francesca piacciono sedersi fuori in terrazza sotto la pergola con un bicchiere di prosciutto fresco a godersi il tramonto, inculati dal cinguettare degli uccelli e dal mormorio del fiume.

Please post you corrections in the comments section below.