Read Fables in Spanish with English translation — parallel text

Name: Fábulas
Author: Félix María de Samaniego

Félix María de Samaniego published his Fábulas in 1781. Project Gutenberg ebook 55206 is the Spanish verse. This page starts where many readers start, with the cricket who sang all summer and the ant who saved, and then continues through the next short fables until the excerpt is full. Each piece is tiny, the moral is announced, and the animals behave like neighbours, so the Spanish is friendly around A2 even though the verse is eighteenth century. Rhymes make some word orders unusual, which is useful once the story is clear from the translation. The English beside the verse was written for LingoRead. The rest of the public-domain collection is in the reader.

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Original / Translation

Español	English
Cantando la Cigarra, Pasó el verano entero Sin hacer provisiones Allá para el invierno.	Singing, the Cicada passed the whole summer without laying up any stores for the winter.
Los fríos la obligaron Á guardar el silencio, Y á acogerse al abrigo De su estrecho aposento.	The cold forced her to keep silence, and to take shelter in her narrow little room.
Vióse desproveída Del preciso sustento, Sin mosca, sin gusano, Sin trigo, sin centeno.	She found herself stripped of the food she needed: no fly, no worm, no wheat, no rye.
Habitaba la Hormiga Allí tabique en medio, Y con mil expresiones De atención y respeto	The Ant lived there, only a partition between them. And, with a thousand expressions of attention and respect,
La dijo:--Doña Hormiga, Pues que en vuestros graneros Sobran las provisiones Para vuestro alimento,	the Cicada said to her:—Doña Ant, since in your granaries the stores are more than enough for your food,
Prestad alguna cosa Con que viva este invierno Esta triste Cigarra, Que alegre en otro tiempo,	lend something with which this sad Cicada may live this winter, she who in another season was merry,
Nunca conoció el daño, Nunca supo temerlo.	who never knew harm, and never learned to fear it.
No dudéis en prestarme, Que fielmente prometo	Do not hesitate to lend to me, for I faithfully promise
Pagaros con ganancias, Por el nombre que tengo.-- La codiciosa Hormiga Respondió con denuedo,	to repay you with interest, upon the name I bear.— The covetous Ant answered boldly,
Ocultando á la espalda Las llaves del granero: --¡Yo prestar lo que gano Con un trabajo inmenso!	hiding the keys of the granary behind her back: —I, lend what I earn by immense labor!
Díme pues, holgazana, ¿Qué has hecho en el buen tiempo? --Yo, dijo la Cigarra, Á todo pasajero	Tell me, then, idler, what did you do in the good season? —I, said the Cicada, to every passerby
Cantaba alegremente Sin cesar ni un momento. --¡Hola!	sang merrily, without ceasing for a moment. —Indeed!
¿conque cantabas Cuando yo andaba al remo?	So you were singing while I was at the oar?
Pues ahora que yo como, Baila ¡pese á tu cuerpo!	Well then, now that I am eating, dance, plague take you!
FÁBULA III	FABLE III
El Muchacho y la Fortuna.	The Boy and Fortune.
Á la orilla de un pozo, Sobre la fresca hierba, Un incauto mancebo Dormía á pierna suelta.	At the edge of a well, on the cool grass, a heedless youth lay asleep, sprawled at his ease.
Gritóle la Fortuna: --Insensato, despierta; ¿No ves que ahogarte puedes Á poco que te muevas?	Fortune cried out to him: —Fool, wake up; do you not see that you may drown if you so much as stir?
Por ti y otros canallas Á veces me motejan, Los unos de inconstante, Y los otros de adversa.	On account of you and other wretches, I am sometimes branded, by some as fickle, and by others as adverse.
_Reveses de fortuna Llamáis á las miserias: ¿Por qué, si son reveses De la conducta necia?_	_Reverses of fortune, you call these miseries: why, if they are the reverses of foolish conduct?_
FÁBULA IV	FABLE IV
La Codorniz.	The Quail.
Presa en estrecho lazo La Codorniz sencilla Daba quejas al aire, Ya tarde arrepentida.	Caught in a tight snare, the simple Quail poured her complaints into the air, repenting when it was already too late.
--¡Ay de mí miserable, Infeliz avecilla, Que antes cantaba libre, Y ya lloro cautiva!	—Woe is me, miserable, unhappy little bird, who once sang free, and now weep a captive!
Perdí mi nido amado, Perdí en él mis delicias; Al fin perdílo todo, Pues que perdí la vida.	I lost my beloved nest, I lost my delights in it; in the end I lost everything, for I lost my life.
¿Por qué desgracia tanta?	Why so great a misfortune?
¿Por qué tanta desdicha?	Why so much misery?
Por un grano de trigo: ¡Oh cara golosina!	For one grain of wheat: oh, costly morsel!
_¡El apetito ciego Á cuántos precipita Que, por lograr un nada, Un todo sacrifican!_	_Blind appetite—how many it hurls down, who, to gain a nothing, sacrifice an everything!_
FÁBULA V	FABLE V
El Águila y el Escarabajo.	The Eagle and the Beetle.
«¡Qué me matan! favor»: así clamaba Una Liebre infeliz, que se miraba En las garras de un Águila sangrienta.	"They are killing me—help!": so cried an unhappy Hare, who found herself in the talons of a bloody Eagle.
Á las voces, según Esopo cuenta,	At her cries, as Aesop tells,
Acudió un compasivo Escarabajo; Y viendo á la cuitada en tal trabajo, Por libertarla de tan cruda muerte, Lleno de horror exclama de esta suerte:	a compassionate Beetle came running; and seeing the poor creature in such distress, to free her from so cruel a death, full of horror he cries out in this way:
--Oh reina de las aves escogida, ¿Por qué quitas la vida Á este pobre animal, manso y cobarde?	—O chosen queen of the birds, why do you take the life of this poor animal, gentle and cowardly?
¿No sería mejor hacer alarde	Would it not be better to make a show
De devorar á dañadoras fieras: Ó ya que resistencia hallar no quieras, Cebar tus uñas y tu corvo pico En el frío cadáver de un borrico?--	of devouring harmful beasts; or, since you do not care to meet with resistance, to glut your claws and your hooked beak on the cold carcass of a donkey?—
Cuando el Escarabajo así decía, El Águila con desprecio se reía; Y sin usar de más atenta frase, Mata, trincha, devora, pilla y vase.	While the Beetle spoke thus, the Eagle laughed in scorn; and without using any more courteous phrase, she kills, carves, devours, snatches, and is gone.
El pequeño animal así burlado, Quiere verse vengado.	The little animal, mocked in this way, wishes to see himself avenged.
En la ocasión primera Vuela al nido del Águila altanera:	At the first chance he flies to the nest of the haughty Eagle:
Halla solos los huevos y, arrastrando, Uno por uno fuélos despeñando.	He finds the eggs alone and, dragging them, tumbles them down one by one.
Mas como nada alcanza Á dejar satisfecha una venganza,	But since nothing is enough to leave a vengeance satisfied,
Cuantos huevos ponía en adelante Se los hizo tortilla en el instante.	however many eggs she laid from then on, he made an omelet of them on the spot.
La reina de las aves sin consuelo, Remontando su vuelo,	The queen of the birds, disconsolate, soaring upward,
Á Júpiter excelso humilde llega, Expone su dolor, pídele, ruega Remedie tanto mal.	comes humbly to exalted Jupiter, sets forth her grief, begs him, pleads that he remedy so great an ill.
El dios propicio, Por un incomparable beneficio,	The kindly god, by an incomparable favor,
En su regazo hizo que pusiese El Águila sus huevos, y se fuese; Que á la vuelta, colmada de consuelos, Encontraría hermosos sus polluelos.	had the Eagle place her eggs in his lap, and go; so that on her return, filled with comfort, she would find her chicks beautiful.
Supo el Escarabajo el caso todo; Astuto é ingenioso, hace de modo, Que una bola fabrica diestramente De la materia en que continuamente	The Beetle learned of the whole affair; cunning and ingenious, he manages things so that he skillfully fashions a ball of the matter in which he continually
Trabajando se halla, Cuyo nombre se sabe, aunque se calla; Y que, según yo pienso, Para los dioses no es muy buen incienso.	finds himself at work, whose name is known, though it is left unsaid; and which, as I think, is not very good incense for the gods.
Carga con ella, vuela, y atrevido Pone su bola en el sagrado nido.	He loads himself with it, flies, and boldly sets his ball in the sacred nest.
Júpiter que se vió con tal basura, Al punto sacudió su vestidura,	Jupiter, finding himself with such filth, at once shook out his robe,
Haciendo, al arrojar la albondiguilla, Con la bola y los huevos su tortilla.	and, in flinging away the little meatball, made an omelet of the ball and the eggs.
Del trágico suceso noticiosa, Arrepentida el Águila y llorosa,	Learning of the tragic event, the Eagle, repentant and in tears,
Aprendió esta lección á mucho precio: Á nadie se le trate con desprecio, Como al Escarabajo; Porque al más miserable, vil y bajo,	learned this lesson at a great price: let no one be treated with contempt, as the Beetle was; for even the most miserable, vile, and low,
Para tomar venganza, si se irrita, ¿Le faltará siquiera una bolita?	if he is angered, so as to take revenge, will he lack so much as one little ball?
FÁBULA VI	FABLE VI
El León vencido por el Hombre.	The Lion Conquered by the Man.
Cierto artífice pintó Una lucha, en que valiente, Un Hombre tan solamente Á un horrible León venció.	A certain craftsman painted a combat in which, all by himself and bravely, a Man defeated a horrible Lion.
Otro León que el cuadro vió, Sin preguntar por su autor, En tono despreciador Dijo: _Bien se deja ver	Another Lion, who saw the picture, without asking who had made it, said in a scornful tone: _It is plain to see
Que es pintar como querer; Y no fué león el pintor._	that one paints as one pleases; and the painter was no lion._
FÁBULA VII	FABLE VII
La Zorra y el Busto.	The Fox and the Bust.
Dijo la Zorra al Busto, Después de olerlo: Tu cabeza es hermosa, Pero sin seso.	The Fox said to the Bust, after smelling it: Your head is handsome, but without brains.
_Como éste hay muchos Que, aunque parecen hombres, Sólo son bustos._	_There are many like this one who, though they look like men, are only busts._
FÁBULA VIII	FABLE VIII
El Ratón de la corte y el del campo.	The Court Mouse and the Country Mouse.
Un Ratón cortesano Convidó con un modo muy urbano Á un Ratón campesino.	A courtly Mouse invited, in a very urbane manner, a country Mouse.
Dióle gordo tocino,	He gave him fat bacon,
Queso fresco de Holanda; Y una despensa llena de vianda Era su alojamiento; Pues no pudiera haber un aposento	fresh cheese of Holland, and a larder full of victuals was his lodging; for there could not have been a chamber
Tan magníficamente preparado, Aunque fuese en Ratópolis buscado Con el mayor esmero, Para alojar á Roepán primero.	so magnificently prepared, though one searched for it in Ratopolis with the greatest care, to lodge Roepán the First.
Sus sentidos allí se recreaban: Las paredes y techos adornaban, Entre mil ratonescas golosinas, Salchichones, perniles y cecinas.	Their senses took their pleasure there. The walls and ceilings were adorned, among a thousand mousy dainties, with sausages, hams, and cured meats.
Saltaban de placer, ¡oh qué embeleso!	They leaped for joy—oh, what delight!
De pernil en pernil, de queso en queso.	From ham to ham, from cheese to cheese.
En esta situación tan lisonjera Llega la despensera:	Into this so flattering scene comes the pantry-woman:
Oyen el ruido, corren, se agazapan, Pierden el tino; mas al fin se escapan Atropelladamente Por cierto pasadizo abierto á diente.	They hear the noise, they run, they crouch, they lose their wits; but at last they escape pell-mell through a certain passage opened by tooth.
--¡Esto tenemos! dijo el campesino; Reniego yo del queso, del tocino, Y de quien busca gustos Entre los sobresaltos y los sustos.	—So this is what we have! said the country mouse; I renounce the cheese, the bacon, and anyone who looks for pleasures amid starts and frights.
Volvióse á su campaña en el instante, Y estimó mucho más de allí adelante, Sin zozobra, temor, ni pesadumbres, Su casita de tierra y sus legumbres.	He went back to his countryside at once, and from then on he prized far more, without anxiety, fear, or troubles, his little house of earth and his vegetables.
FÁBULA IX	FABLE IX
El Herrero y el Perro.	The Blacksmith and the Dog.
Un Herrero tenía Un Perro, que no hacía Sino comer, dormir y estarse echado.	A Blacksmith had a Dog who did nothing but eat, sleep, and lie about.
De la casa jamás tuvo cuidado;	He never took any care of the house;
Levantábase sólo á mesa puesta: Entonces con gran fiesta Al dueño se acercaba, Con perrunas caricias le halagaba,	He got up only when the table was laid. Then, with great festivity, he drew near his master and flattered him with doggish caresses,
Mostrando de cariño mil excesos Por pillar las piltrafas y los huesos. --He llegado á notar, le dijo el amo Que aunque nunca te llamo,	showing a thousand excesses of affection, so as to snatch the scraps and the bones. —I have come to notice, his master said to him, that although I never call you,
Á la mesa te llegas prontamente: En la fragua jamás te vi presente; Y yo me maravillo De que, no despertándote el martillo,	you come promptly to the table. In the forge I never saw you present; and I marvel that, though the hammer does not wake you,
Te desveles al ruido de mis dientes.	the sound of my teeth keeps you from sleep.
Anda, anda, poltrón; no es bien que cuentes Que el amo, hecho un gañán y sin reposo, Te mantiene á lo conde muy ocioso.	Come, come, idler; it is not right that you should boast that your master, turned laborer and without rest, keeps you idle in the style of a count.
El Perro le responde: --¿Qué más tiene que yo cualquiera conde?	The Dog answers him: —What has any count got that I have not?
Para no trabajar debo al destino Haber nacido perro y no pollino.	For not working, I owe it to destiny that I was born a dog and not a donkey.
--Pues, señor conde, fuera de mi casa; Verás en las demás lo que te pasa.	—Well then, Señor Count, out of my house; you will see what happens to you in the others.
En efecto salió á probar fortuna, Y las casas anduvo de una en una:	And indeed he went out to try his fortune, and he went from house to house:
Allí le hacen servir de centinela, Y que pase la noche toda en vela; Acá de lazarillo y de danzante; Allá, dentro de un torno, á cada instante	Here they make him serve as a sentinel, and spend the whole night awake; there as a blind man's guide and as a dancer; elsewhere, inside a wheel, at every moment
Asa la carne que comer no espera.	he roasts the meat he has no hope of eating.
Al cabo conoció de esta manera, _Que el destino, y no es cuento, Á todos nos cargó, como al jumento._	In the end he came to know, in this way, _that destiny—and this is no tale—loaded a burden on all of us, as on the ass._
FÁBULA X	FABLE X
La Zorra y la Cigüeña.	The Fox and the Stork.
Una Zorra se empeña En dar una comida á la Cigüeña.	A Fox takes it into her head to give a dinner for the Stork.
La convidó con tales expresiones, Que anunciaban sin duda provisiones	She invited her in such terms as promised, without a doubt, provisions
De lo más excelente y exquisito.	of the most excellent and exquisite kind.
Acepta alegre, va con apetito; Pero encontró en la mesa solamente Jigote claro sobre chata fuente.	She accepts gladly and goes with an appetite; but she found on the table nothing but a thin hash on a flat dish.
En vano á la comida picoteaba, Pues era para el guiso que miraba Inútil tenedor su largo pico.	In vain she pecked at the meal, for her long beak was a useless fork for the stew she was looking at.
La Zorra con la lengua y el hocico	The Fox, with tongue and snout,
Limpió tan bien su fuente, que pudiera Servir de fregatriz, si á Holanda fuera.	cleaned her dish so well that she might have served as a scullery maid, if she had gone to Holland.
Mas, de allí á poco tiempo convidada De la Cigüeña, halla preparada	But, invited a little later by the Stork, she finds ready
Una redoma de jigote llena: Allí fué su aflicción, allí su pena.	a flask full of hash: there was her affliction, there her pain.
El hocico goloso al punto asoma Al cuello de la hidrópica redoma:	The greedy snout at once pokes into the neck of the swollen flask;
Mas en vano, pues era tan estrecho, Cual si por la Cigüeña fuese hecho.	but in vain, for it was as narrow as if the Stork had made it so.
Envidiosa de ver que, á conveniencia, Chupaba la del pico á su presencia.	Envious to see that, at her convenience, the one with the beak sipped in her presence,
Vuelve, tienta, discurre, Huele, se desatina; en fin, se aburre.	she turns, she tries, she schemes, she smells, she loses her head; at last she grows bored.
Marchó rabo entre piernas, tan corrida, Que ni aun tuvo siquiera la salida	She went off with her tail between her legs, so abashed that she did not even have the wit
De decir: Están verdes, como antaño.	to say, They are green, as in the old days.
También hay para pícaros engaño.	There is trickery for rogues as well.
FÁBULA XI	FABLE XI
Las Moscas.	The Flies.
Á un panal de rica miel Dos mil Moscas acudieron, Que, por golosas, murieron Presas de patas en él.	To a comb of rich honey two thousand Flies came flocking, and, being greedy, died with their feet caught in it.
Otras dentro de un pastel Enterró su golosina.	Others were buried, treat and all, inside a cake.
_Así, si bien se examina, Los humanos corazones Perecen en las prisiones Del vicio que los domina._	_Thus, if one looks well, human hearts perish in the prisons of the vice that rules them._
FÁBULA XII	FABLE XII
El Leopardo y las Monas.	The Leopard and the Monkeys.
No á pares, á docenas encontraba Las Monas en Tetuán, cuando cazaba, Un Leopardo: apenas lo veían, Á los árboles todas se subían,	Not in pairs but by the dozen a Leopard found the Monkeys in Tetuán, when he went hunting: scarcely did they see him when they all climbed into the trees,
Quedando del contrario tan seguras, Que pudiera decir: No están maduras.	remaining so safe from their enemy that he might have said: They are not ripe.
El cazador astuto se hace el muerto Tan vivamente, que parece cierto;	The cunning hunter plays dead so vividly that it seems true;
Hasta las viejas Monas, Alegres en el caso y juguetonas, Empiezan á saltar: la más osada Baja, arrímase al muerto de callada;	Even the old Monkeys, merry at the event and playful, begin to jump: the boldest comes down and sidles up to the dead one in silence;
Mira, huele, y aun tienta, Y grita muy contenta: «Llegad, que muerto está de todo punto, Tanto que empieza á oler el tal difunto».	She looks, she smells, she even touches, and shouts, very pleased: "Come, for he is dead through and through, so much so that the deceased is beginning to smell."

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Top words in this book

Word	Translation
fábula	fable
dice	says
pues	well, then
tan	so
véase	see
mas	but
todo	all
nota	note
tal	such
dijo	said
hombre	man
león	lion
lobo	wolf
mismo	same
etc	and so on
fué	was
todos	all
asno	donkey
gran	great
vez	time
vida	life
sólo	only
aun	even
también	also
perro	dog
está	is
señor	sir
son	are
tanto	so much
muerte	death
decía	said
mundo	world
tiene	has
zorra	vixen
palabra	word
águila	eagle
decir	to say
después	after
instante	instant
rey	king
tiempo	time
júpiter	Jupiter
suerte	luck
día	day
libro	book
modo	way
fábulas	fables
he	behold
mal	bad
ver	to see

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