Cats 101: Devon Rex

Some people say that the Devon Rex looks sort of like an elf. Some of its
other nicknames are the poodle cat and the alien cat.

sort of = een beetje

like = zoals

an elf = an elf

a nickname = een bijnaam

an alien = een buitenaards wezen

-- alien = buitenaards, vreemd

-- Elves are strange, magical creatures that you often find in fairy tales.
They are usually small, and have a human form, but with pointy ears and
wings. Some of them have magical powers, and some make a habit out of
tricking humans!

strange = vreemd

-- another word for “strange” is weird.

magical = magisch

-- magic = magie

a creature = een wezen

-- to create = creëren

-- creative = creatief

a fairy tale = een sprookje

-- fairy is also another word for elf!

a human = een mens

-- human = menselijk

pointy = puntig

a wing = een vleugel

a power = een kracht

-- powerful = krachtig

a habit = een gewoonte

to trick = bedriegen, bedotten

-- There are many, many fairy tales; can you connect these English and
Dutch titles of fairy tales, and briefly summarize what they are about?

a. Jack and the Beanstalk 1. De Schone Slaapster

b. The Little Mermaid 2. Belle en het Beest

c. Snow White 3. Roodkapje

d. Little Red Riding Hood 4. Sjaak en de Bonenstaak

e. Cinderella 5. De Kleine Zeemeermin

f. Sleeping Beauty 6. Sneeuwwitje

g. Hansel and Gretel 7. Roodkapje

h. The Ugly Duckling 8. Het Lelijke Eendje

i. Beauty and the Beast 9. Hansje en Grietje

The Devon Rex’s ears look like antenna or satellite dishes, and its
behavior is almost elf-like: it runs around, steals things, and is often
naughty!

an antenna = a device (een apparaat) that sends out radio or television

waves (a wave = een golf) and signals
a satellite dish = een satellietschotel

behavior = gedrag

-- to behave = zich (goed) gedragen

-like = achtig

-- examples: cat-like (kat-achtig), wood-like (hout-achtig), etc.

to steal = stelen

-- A person who steals things is a thief.

naughty = ondeugend

The Devon Rex was discovered in Devonshire, England in 1959. Its five
minutes of fame came when Superman rescued one of these cats from a
tree in the first Superman movie!

to discover = ontdekken

-- a discovery = een ontdekking

fame = roem

-- famous = beroemd

-- Can you name a few famous people and explain what they’re famous for?
Who do you think is the most famous person of the Netherlands, and the
world, and why?

to rescue = redden

-- a rescue worker = een reddingswerker

The three most striking characteristics of the Devon Rex are its short coat,
large eyes and odd, butterfly-like ears. Actually, it’s the cat’s short coat
that makes its eyes look so big!

striking = opvallend, kenmerkend

odd = vreemd

a butterfly = een vlinder

actually = eigenlijk

Willow the cat paid so much attention to what its owner was doing that
this Devon Rex even learned how to paint! At the same time, the Devon
Rex uses its intelligence to get to food at hard to reach places, so make
sure you don’t leave food lying around!

to pay attention to = aandacht besteden aan

an owner = een baas(je)

-- to own = bezitten

at the same time = tegelijkertijd

to use = gebruiken

-- a use = een gebruik

hard to reach = moeilijk te bereiken

to lie around = rondliggen, rondslingeren