Spanish story with translation · A2 · 16 lines
Yo soñaba con tener un perrito I used to dream of having a puppy
Comic · 9 panels
De pequeña iba todos los veranos al campo, a casa de mis abuelos.
As a kid, I used to go to the country every summer, to my grandparents' house (woman speaking).
Vivían en una casita verde, muy cerca del río.
They lived in a little green house, very close to the river.
Por la mañana mi primo Kolia y yo nos bañábamos en el río y trepábamos a los árboles.
In the morning, my cousin Kolia and I used to swim in the river and climb trees.
El abuelito nos hacía cometas de todos los colores.
Grandpa used to make us kites in every color.
De merienda, la abuelita nos daba pan con mantequilla y azúcar.
For an afternoon snack, Grandma used to give us bread with butter and sugar.
Antes de dormir nos contaba un cuento, siempre el mismo.
Before we went to sleep, she used to tell us a story, always the same one.
Yo soñaba con tener un perrito, pero mamá y papá no querían.
I used to dream of having a puppy, but Mom and Dad didn't want one.
Kolia y yo jugábamos mucho: yo me escondía y él me buscaba.
Kolia and I played a lot: I would hide and he would look for me.
Un día me escondí en el jardín del vecino, detrás de un árbol muy grande.
One day I hid in the neighbor's garden, behind a very big tree.
Esperé mucho tiempo, pero nadie me encontró. Al final me dormí.
I waited a long time, but nobody found me. In the end I fell asleep.
La abuelita me buscó por todo el pueblo y lloró mucho.
Grandma looked for me all over the village and cried a lot.
Por la noche me despertó un perrito blanco: el perro del vecino.
At night a little white dog woke me up: the neighbor's dog.
Volví a casa con mucho miedo. Pero la abuelita no me castigó: me dio un caramelo y lloró otra vez.
I went back home very scared. But Grandma didn't punish me: she gave me a candy and cried again.
Desde aquel día el perrito venía a nuestra casita todas las mañanas.
From that day on, the puppy would come to our little house every morning.
Antes trepaba a los árboles. Ahora vivo en Valencia y subo en ascensor.
I used to climb trees. Now I live in Valencia and go up in the elevator.
Pero todavía me acuerdo del olor de aquella casita y del sabor del pan con azúcar.
But I still remember the smell of that little house and the taste of bread with sugar.
Grammar for this text
The imperfect for what happened every summer: iba todos los veranos al campo (iba is from ir), nos bañábamos, trepábamos, nos hacía cometas, nos daba pan. The -ábamos ending is the nosotros form, stressed on á.
One event — the preterite. Un día… (one day) starts a story that happened once, and the verbs are in the preterite you already know: me escondí, esperé, me dormí, me buscó, me dio. At the end it's a habit again: el perrito venía a nuestra casita todas las mañanas — the puppy would come to our little house every morning. You'll learn more about using the two tenses together in unit 16.
Diminutives -ito, -ita: casita — little house, abuelito, abuelita — grandpa and grandma, perrito — puppy, little dog. Usually they show affection, not size.
Soñar con — to dream of: soñaba con tener un perrito. The preposition is con.
De merienda — for an afternoon snack. Bread with butter and sugar is a classic afternoon snack for kids in Spain.
Words and grammar of the unit: Talk about your childhood.
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