Giggle Translate #11: Praying Mantises (A.K.A. Prayer Helicopters)

Here is my new Giggle Translate.  I ran a post I wrote about hatching praying mantises through many different languages with Google Translate, and here is how it came out:


Original paragraph:
Several years back, I bought some praying mantis egg cases to put in my garden.  But we wanted to watch them hatch (and raise one in a tank on our counter), and so we kept the egg cases in the kitchen suspended from a stick over a bowl.  For weeks they did nothing.  They just sat there, like dried-up walnuts.  I was beginning to wonder if we had a couple of duds.

            
Well, we never got to see them hatch.  Because one day, I woke up to find this note from my husband on the kitchen counter:  “There are baby mantises EVERYWHERE!”  I didn’t notice anything at first as I looked around the kitchen.  But as I looked closer and watched longer, I began to see these tiny, little, wispy things.  These little, half-inch creatures – like shards of glass or pieces of spider web - running all over my kitchen.  They were everywhere.  And the more I looked, the more I saw.  They were on the counters, in the dishes, on the stove, in the honey, and hanging upside down from the ten-foot ceiling.

            
One poor, little guy got his head stuck to a piece of tape.  And he was just wiggling there, so close to freedom, but so far away.  I felt bad for him.  And I thought that if I could gently pull him off of the tape (he was barely attached to it, just by the tiny tip of his head), I could set him free.  So as gently as I could, I tugged on the piece of tape.  And off popped his head!  My stomach just about fell out onto the floor, and his body was still squirming in my hand.      

            
I spent the next two days catching sixty to seventy baby mantises and putting them outside.  And for many days, I would be doing dishes and I would look up and see a little refugee running across the ceiling or hanging upside down under a cabinet, staring at me.  It was quite a while before my kitchen was mantis-free.  And all because I ignored one little command:  “If you keep the egg cases in the house, keep the bowl closed tightly.”

Translated Version:
A few years ago, I bought some prayer helicopters for installation in the courtyard.  But we want to see them hidden (put another tank in our bed), so we hang the bags of eggs on a stick in the kitchen. They didn't do anything for weeks.  They are like crazy.  I wonder if we have grandchildren. 

            
Or maybe they did not wake up to meet them.  One day I woke up and saw this letter from my husband on the counter: "Children's clothes are everywhere!"  At first I saw nothing when he inspected the kitchen.  But as I looked closer and further away, I started seeing these little things, whispering.  Small half-inch dumplings, such as fiberglass or a hole in the floor, run throughout my kitchen. They are everywhere.  And the more I see, the more I see.  They were on the roof, with plates, pots, and honey bills on the three-story roof.

            
The poor boy brought his head to the table.  And for us it's very close to freedom, but so far it has attracted attention.  I feel bad.  And I can get rid of it if you take it off slowly (slowly) and lower your head a bit.  I was slowly drawn to the table while giving lectures.  And then shake it!  My stomach almost fell to the floor and my body was still in my hands.

            
I spent the next two days giving birth to sixty to seventy children and bringing them out.  I wash the dishes day and night and watch a squirrel run in the air or turn the edge of the bed and look at me.  It takes time, so there will be no locusts in my kitchen.  All because I found the headline: “If you have an egg at home, keep it."


[Okay, that "the poor boy brought his head to the table" paragraph?  Disturbing from beginning to end.  He brings his head to the table, it's attracting attention (You don't say!?!), I can get rid of it if you take it off the table slowly, and then my stomach almost falls to the floor as my body is still in my hands?  That's just plain creepy.

And I spent two days giving birth to sixty to seventy children!?!  I don't remember that, but no wonder I'm so tired!

But it would be cool to see a squirrel running in the air.]