The story ends with Nicolas reflecting on how wonderful it must be to have a dog – but also realizing that maybe a dog you can't control isn't much fun at all. The final line, typical of Goscinny, is something like: "Me, I think I'd rather have a cat. Or maybe a goldfish. At least they don't have to learn commands." The official English translations of Le Petit Nicolas are published by Phaidon Press (the most recent and widely available edition) and were translated by Anthea Bell – a legendary translator known for her work on Asterix , Kafka , and W.G. Sebald . Her translations are masterful: they preserve the innocence, the slightly formal but childlike voice of Nicolas, and the French cultural flavor while making it perfectly natural in English.
If you are reading it in English for the first time, you are in for a treat. And if you are trying to translate it yourself, look to Bell's version as the gold standard: keep the voice young, the sentences short, the observations naive, and the humor dry. le petit nicolas rex english translation
As the day goes on, the boys try to get Rex to perform. Geoffroy gives commands, but Rex just wags his tail and looks at him without obeying. Frustrated, Geoffroy begins to lose face in front of his friends. To regain his honor, he dramatically declares that Rex is also a guard dog who will attack anyone he tells him to. The story ends with Nicolas reflecting on how
In the English collection, appears in the first book: "Nicholas" (published in 2005, originally titled Le Petit Nicolas in French). At least they don't have to learn commands
All the boys are immediately jealous and impressed. Geoffroy explains that Rex is the best-trained dog in the world and can perform tricks on command: sit, lie down, fetch, and even play dead.