Fluent Fiction - Serbian: Dance and Rakija: A Serbian Tale
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Story Transcript:

Sr: Tog toplog letnjeg popodneva, sunce je već polako zalazilo iza zelenih brda u malom srpskom selu.
En: On the cool summer evening, the sun was slowly setting behind the green hills in a small Serbian village.

Sr: U srcu sela, nalazila se kafana u kojoj su se okupljali ljudi iz okoline da proslave, razgovaraju i uživaju u dobroj muzici.
En: In the heart of the village, there was a tavern where people from the surrounding area gathered to celebrate, chat, and enjoy good music.

Sr: U uglu kafane, za drvenim stolom, sedela je Milica, prelepa devojka sa dugom, crnom kosom.
En: In the corner of the tavern, at a wooden table, sat Milica, a beautiful girl with long, black hair.

Sr: Kraj nje su sedeli Nikola, simpatičan mladić sa snažnim rukama i širokim osmehom, i Jovan, njegov najbolji prijatelj, uvek spreman za šalu.
En: Next to her were Nikola, a charming young man with strong arms and a wide smile, and Jovan, his best friend, always ready for a joke.

Sr: Milica je danas želela da impresionira Nikolu.
En: Milica wanted to impress Nikola today.

Sr: Znala je da on voli da gleda kako ljudi igraju, pa se odlučila da pokaže svoje plesne pokrete.
En: She knew he enjoyed watching people dance, so she decided to show off her dance moves.

Sr: Muzika je počela da svira, violina je parala tišinu večeri, a Milica je ustala i počela da pleše.
En: The music began to play, the violin filling the evening silence, and Milica stood up and started to dance.

Sr: Kretala se graciozno, njene noge su klizile po tvrdom drvenom podu.
En: She moved gracefully, her feet gliding on the hard wooden floor.

Sr: Svi su gledali kako se Milica okreće u ritmu muzike, ali prava nevolja počinje kada je htela da izvede poseban pokret.
En: Everyone watched as Milica twirled to the rhythm of the music, but trouble struck when she attempted a special move.

Sr: U jednom trenutku, Šatrajnčad - ples kroz koji se tela isprepliću kao na šahovskoj tabli, Milica je previše zamahnula rukom, zakačivši flašu rakije koja je stajala na ivici stola.
En: At one point, during the "Šatrajnčad" dance where bodies intertwine like pieces on a chessboard, Milica swung her arm too vigorously, knocking over a bottle of rakija that was perched at the edge of the table.

Sr: U trenutku, rakija se prosula svuda, a najviše po Milici.
En: In an instant, rakija spilled everywhere, mostly onto Milica.

Sr: Rasplamsali miris alkohola preplavio je vazduh, a Milicina haljina bila je skroz mokra.
En: The fiery scent of alcohol filled the air, and Milica's dress was drenched.

Sr: Lice joj je bilo crveno od srama.
En: Her face was flushed with embarrassment.

Sr: Nikola je brzo skočio na noge da pomogne.
En: Nikola quickly jumped up to help.

Sr: Uzeo je krpu i krenuo da briše prosutu rakiju sa stola, dok je Jovan kroz smeh priskočio Milici u pomoć.
En: He grabbed a cloth and began to wipe up the spilled rakija from the table, while Jovan, amidst laughter, came to Milica's aid.

Sr: "Nemaš ti šta da se brineš, Milice", našalio se Jovan.
En: "You have nothing to worry about, Milica," Jovan joked.

Sr: "Odsada ćeš definitivno biti najzapaljivija devojka u selu!
En: "From now on, you will definitely be the hottest girl in the village!"

Sr: "Milica je u tom trenutku shvatila da nema potrebe da se stidi.
En: At that moment, Milica realized there was no need to feel ashamed.

Sr: Zar nije smisao pravog plesa da se uživa, a ne da se bude savršen?
En: Isn't the essence of true dance to enjoy oneself, rather than striving for perfection?

Sr: Svi u kafani su počeli da se smeju, tapšali su u ritmu, a Nikola je zagrlio Milicu.
En: Everyone in the tavern started to laugh, clapping to the rhythm, and Nikola hugged Milica.

Sr: "Sad već mislim da niko nikada nije zapalio ovu kafanu kao ti večeras", rekao je s osmehom.
En: "I think by now, no one has ever set this tavern on fire like you did tonight," he said with a smile.

Sr: Na kraju, veče se nastavilo u još veselijem tonu.
En: In the end, the evening continued in an even more joyful tone.

Sr: Jovan je našao drugu flašu rakije, Nikola i Milica su sušili njenu haljinu, a onda su svi zajedno igrali i pevali do kasno u noć.
En: Jovan found another bottle of rakija, Nikola and Milica dried her dress, and then they all danced and sang together until late into the night.

Sr: Milica više nije pokušavala da impresionira Nikolu svojim plesom.
En: Milica no longer tried to impress Nikola with her dancing.

Sr: Umesto toga, on je bio impresioniran njenom sposobnošću da se nasmeje sebi, čak i kad stvari ne krenu kako treba.
En: Instead, he was impressed by her ability to laugh at herself, even when things didn't go as planned.

Sr: Ispostavilo se da je to veče u kafani Milica ne samo da je zaplesala, već je i osvojila Nikolinu pažnju na način koji nikada nije ni zamišljala.
En: As it turned out, that evening in the tavern, Milica not only danced, but also captured Nikola's attention in a way she never imagined.

Sr: Utopljena u smehu, igri i pesmi, ta nezaboravna noć ostala je urezana u sećanje svih koji su bili u staroj, drvenoj kafani.
En: Immersed in laughter, dance, and song, that unforgettable night remained etched in the memories of all who were in the old, wooden tavern.


Vocabulary Words:

• cool: topao
• summer: letnji
• evening: popodne
• slowly: polako
• setting: zalazak
• green: zelen
• hills: brda
• small: malo
• village: selo
• heart: srcu
• tavern: kafana
• surrounding: okolina
• gathered: okupljali
• celebrate: proslave
• chat: razgovaraju
• enjoy: uživaju
• good: dobra
• music: muzika
• wooden: drvenim
• table: stolom
• beautiful: prelepa
• long: dugom
• black: crnom
• hair: kosom
• charming: simpatičan
• young: mladić
• man with strong: snažnim
• arms: rukama
• wide: širokim
• smile: osmehom