Fluent Fiction - Danish: The Domino Bike Crash: A Cheery Copenhagen Tale
Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:
fluentfiction.org/the-domino-bike-crash-a-cheery-copenhagen-tale

Story Transcript:

Da: København var altid fyldt med liv. Især i det travle område omkring Nørreport Station, hvor cyklerne stod linet op på begge sider af gaden. Cykelstativerne strakte sig langt ned ad den velbrugte vej, der ofte var spækket med travle folk, der skulle til og fra arbejde eller skole, og turister, der beundrede den danske livsstil.
En: Copenhagen was always bustling with life. Especially in the busy area around Nørreport Station, where bikes were lined up on both sides of the street. The bike racks stretched far down the well-worn road, often packed with busy people going to and from work or school, and tourists admiring the Danish lifestyle.

Da: Lars, en lidt klodset, men rar fyr, boede ganske tæt på. Alle morgener tog han sin cykel og kørte gennem trafikhavet. Denne morgen var ingen undtagelse. Morgenluften var kølig men frisk. Solen begyndte lige så stille at kaste dens stråler over byens tage, og folk myldrede allerede rundt i deres egen lille verden af bekymringer. Lars kørte beredt ned ad gaden med et stort smil på læben, mens han nynnede en sang, han ikke kunne få ud af hovedet.
En: Lars, a slightly clumsy but friendly guy, lived very close by. Every morning, he would hop on his bike and ride through the sea of traffic. This morning was no exception. The morning air was cool but crisp. The sun was slowly starting to cast its rays over the rooftops of the city, and people were already bustling around in their own little realm of worries. Lars confidently rode down the street with a big smile on his face, humming a song he couldn't get out of his head.

Da: Og så skete det - Lars kiggede et øjeblik væk fra vejen og kørte direkte ind i cykelstativet. Overrasket tumlede Lars over styret og landede pænt, men en smule ukontrolleret, på fortovet. Med et højt brag væltede cyklerne rundt om ham og på cykelstativet som et kæmpe domino-spil.
En: And then, it happened - Lars momentarily looked away from the road and crashed right into the bike rack. Surprised, Lars tumbled over the handlebars and landed neatly, but somewhat uncontrollably, on the sidewalk. With a loud crash, the bikes toppled around him and on the bike rack like a giant game of dominoes.

Da: På den anden side af vejen stod Sofie, Lars' nabo. Hun var en munter og livlig pige, der altid bar et tilpas lyst humør. Hun havde fulgt efter Lars og set hele episoden. Først stod hun målløs og stirrede på kaosset, men så begyndte hun at grine. Ikke for at gøre nar af Lars, men for at give situationen en munter drejning.
En: On the other side of the street stood Sofie, Lars' neighbor. She was a cheerful and lively girl, always wearing a perfectly bright mood. She had followed Lars and witnessed the whole incident. At first, she stood speechless, staring at the chaos, but then she started laughing. Not to mock Lars, but to add a cheerful twist to the situation.

Da: "Fint klaret, Lars!" råbte hun, stadig grinet i stemmen, mens hun nærmede sig for at hjælpe. Lars rejste sig på en næsten heroisk måde og kiggede flovt rundt. "Det var bare... en øvelse! Ja, en øvelse i at falde korrekt," sagde han, rodet men ikke slået ud.
En: "Well done, Lars!" she shouted, still laughing in her voice, as she approached to help. Lars got up in an almost heroic manner and looked around sheepishly. "That was just... a practice! Yes, a practice in falling correctly," he said, disheveled but not defeated.

Da: Hjælpeløst forsøgte Sofie at navigere gennem det væltede hav af cykler, mens hun prøvede at undertrykke et fnis. Hele scenen fremstod ret humoristisk med alle de faldne cykler, en flov Lars og en grinet Sofie på midten af det hele.
En: Helplessly, Sofie tried to navigate through the fallen sea of bikes, trying to suppress a giggle. The whole scene appeared quite humorous with all the fallen bikes, an embarrassed Lars, and a laughing Sofie in the midst of it all.

Da: Heldigvis var de ikke alene. Flere omkringstående var kommet til for at hjælpe og løfte de mange cykler tilbage på plads. Kaoset mindskedes hurtigt, og snart var kun Lars' cykel stadig på jorden, med en skæv sadel som det eneste tegn på ulykken.
En: Fortunately, they were not alone. Several passersby had come to help and lift the many bikes back into place. The chaos diminished quickly, and soon only Lars' bike remained on the ground, with a crooked saddle as the only sign of the accident.

Da: Da alt var ryddet op, gik Lars og Sofie sammen hjemad. Grinet havde fortaget sig, men et nyt bånd var skabt mellem de to. Med en munter tone og et stort smil forlod de gaden, hvor domino-cyklefaldet havde fundet sted, og gik videre ind i endnu en dag i deres farverige bydel.
En: Once everything was cleaned up, Lars and Sofie walked home together. The laughter had subsided, but a new bond had been formed between the two. With a cheerful tone and a big smile, they left the street where the domino bike crash had occurred and ventured into another day in their colorful neighborhood.

Da: Dette var blot en af de mange muntre episoder, der fandt sted i Københavns centrum, hvor hver dag skabte en ny, uventet historie.
En: This was just one of the many cheerful episodes that took place in the center of Copenhagen, where each day created a new, unexpected story.


Vocabulary Words:

• Copenhagen: København
• life: liv
• bustling: fyldt med
• busy: travle
• area: område
• Nørreport Station: Nørreport Station
• bikes: cyklerne
• lined up: linet op
• street: gaden
• racks: cykelstativerne
• well-worn: velbrugte
• road: vej
• packed: spækket
• people: folk
• work: arbejde
• school: skole
• tourists: turister
• admiring: beundrende
• Danish: danske
• Lars: Lars
• clumsy: klodset
• friendly: rar
• guy: fyr
• close by: ganske tæt på
• morning: morgenen
• hop: hop
• ride: ride
• traffic: trafikhavet
• air: luft
• cool: kølig