HabloroShort Spanish story · A2 · Warm
Buenos días, vecino
Good Morning, Neighbor. A short story in everyday Spanish, read aloud sentence by sentence. Tap any sentence for the English, keep the words you didn't know, and practice them below.
Buenos días, vecino
Good Morning, Neighbor · 32 sentences · about 2 minutes of audio
Me llamo Carolina, y hace dos meses me cambié a este edificio. Junto a la puerta de la entrada había una banca de madera. Todas las mañanas, ahí estaba sentado un señor de pelo blanco.
«Buenos días, vecina.»
Yo siempre tenía prisa y le contestaba muy rápido. Iba tarde al trabajo y corría a tomar el camión. Nunca le pregunté su nombre.
Un lunes, la banca estaba vacía. El martes y el miércoles, el señor tampoco estuvo ahí. Esa semana, la entrada me pareció muy grande y muy fría. El jueves, le pregunté a Memo, el señor que cuida el edificio.
«Oye, Memo, ¿y el señor de la banca?»
«¿Don Rafael? Pues fue a visitar a su hija.»
«Ahorita anda de viaje, pero regresa el lunes.»
«¿Qué pasó, lo extraña?»
Le dije que no y me fui a tomar el camión. Pero en el trabajo, pensé mucho en don Rafael. Memo tenía razón: lo extrañaba, y no sabía nada de él. Él me saludaba todos los días, y yo nunca tenía tiempo para él.
El lunes, salí de casa diez minutos antes. Compré dos cafés en la tienda de la esquina. Luego me senté en la banca a esperar. Esperé quince minutos, y empecé a sentirme un poco tonta.
Por fin llegó don Rafael, despacio, con una maleta pequeña. Cuando me vio en su banca, abrió mucho los ojos. Esta vez, yo hablé primero.
«Buenos días, vecino.»
«¿Cómo le fue con su hija?»
«Le traje un cafecito.»
Don Rafael se sentó a mi lado con su café y sonrió.
«Gracias, vecina, pero ¿no va a perder su camión?»
Perdí el camión, y por primera vez no me importó.
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Why is the bench by the door empty?
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Why is the bench by the door empty?
Show the answer
Don Rafael went to visit his daughter. He's away for a few days and comes back on Monday — and this time Carolina is waiting for him on his bench.
Words and phrases from this story
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| banca | bench |
| extrañar | miss |
| ahorita | right now |
| camión | bus |
| tenía prisa | was in a hurry |
| anda de viaje | he's traveling |
| por primera vez | for the first time |
One English word, two Spanish verbs: “to miss”
English uses miss for two different things. Spanish doesn't — and this story uses both.
- extrañar — to miss a person or a place: «¿Qué pasó, lo extraña?» — “What's up, do you miss him?”
- perder — to miss a bus, a train or a chance: «Perdí el camión, y por primera vez no me importó.» — “I missed the bus, and for the first time I didn't care.”
And notice the bus: here it's el camión. In El reloj de don Chuy it's el autobús. Both mean “the bus”.
Full English translation
Show the whole story in English
My name is Carolina, and two months ago I moved into this building. Next to the front door there was a wooden bench. Every morning, a man with white hair was sitting there.
“Good morning, neighbor.”
I was always in a hurry, and I answered him very quickly. I was running late for work, and I ran to catch the bus. I never asked him his name.
One Monday, the bench was empty. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the man wasn't there either. That week, the entrance seemed very big and very cold to me. On Thursday, I asked Memo, the man who looks after the building.
“Hey, Memo, what about the man on the bench?”
“Don Rafael? Well, he went to visit his daughter.”
“He's traveling right now, but he's coming back on Monday.”
“What's up, do you miss him?”
I told him no and left to catch the bus. But at work, I thought a lot about don Rafael. Memo was right: I missed him, and I didn't know anything about him. He greeted me every day, and I never had time for him.
On Monday, I left home ten minutes early. I bought two coffees at the corner store. Then I sat down on the bench to wait. I waited fifteen minutes, and I started to feel a little silly.
Finally, don Rafael arrived, slowly, with a small suitcase. When he saw me on his bench, he opened his eyes wide. This time, I spoke first.
“Good morning, neighbor.”
“How was your visit with your daughter?”
“I brought you a little coffee.”
Don Rafael sat down next to me with his coffee and smiled.
“Thank you, neighbor, but aren't you going to miss your bus?”
I missed the bus, and for the first time I didn't care.
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