Spanish StoriesEl mercado de los sábados
The Saturday Market
Diego runs his grandfather's market stall alone for ten minutes and ends up with two customers who share the same name — a funny A1 story about a mix-up at the market.
Topics
- market
- family
- community
- misunderstandings
Tap or hover any underlined word for its English meaning.
Listen to the story
Learner-paced · SpanishWhat you'll encounter
- Grammar
- Present tense verbs, Simple past tense (dio, dijo, hubo), Direct object pronouns (se la da, se lo dijo), Question formation
- Vocabulary
- Market and food (mercado, puesto, fresas, kilo, cesta), Family (abuelo, nietos), Everyday adjectives (confundido, avergonzado)
- Language skills
- Managing a small responsibility on your own, Clearing up a misunderstanding, Introducing yourself and greeting others
Diego tiene catorce años y, todos los sábados, ayuda a su abuelo en el mercado del pueblo. Su abuelo vende fruta y verdura en un pequeño, cerca de la entrada principal. A Diego le gusta el mercado porque siempre hay algo nuevo: colores, olores, y gente que conoce desde que era niño.
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Los sábados por la mañana, el mercado está muy animado. Los vendedores los precios, los niños corren entre los puestos y todo el mundo se saluda por su nombre. Diego conoce a casi todos los clientes de su abuelo, y sabe qué compra cada uno: la señora del pan, el señor de las flores, y también doña Pilar, que viene todos los sábados sin falta.
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Ese sábado por la mañana, el abuelo mira su reloj y dice: «Diego, voy a tomar un café rápido con Manuel. ¿Puedes quedarte solo diez minutos?»
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«Claro, abuelo. No hay problema.»
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«Perfecto. Si viene doña Pilar, ya sabes: un kilo de , como siempre.»
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El abuelo se va hacia la cafetería, y Diego se queda solo en el puesto, un poco nervioso pero también orgulloso. Nunca antes ha a los clientes solo.
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Pocos minutos después, llega una mujer mayor con una cesta de .
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«Hola, soy Pilar. Un kilo de fresas, por favor. Son para mis : vienen a comer hoy y .»
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Diego sonríe, . «¡Claro, doña Pilar! Mi abuelo me lo dijo.»
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Prepara la bolsa de fresas y se la da. La mujer paga y con una sonrisa .
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Cinco minutos después, llega otra mujer mayor, también con una cesta.
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«Buenos días. Soy Pilar. ¿Tienes mis fresas?»
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Diego se queda . «¿Otra vez fresas? Pero… ya le di la bolsa hace un momento.»
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La mujer lo mira, sorprendida. «¿Cómo? Yo no he comprado nada todavía. Acabo de llegar.»
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En ese momento, Diego entiende el problema: hay dos mujeres que se llaman Pilar, y las dos querían fresas hoy. Pero ya no suficientes para la segunda Pilar.
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«Lo siento mucho», dice Diego, un poco . «Creo que le di sus fresas a otra señora que también se llama Pilar.»
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La segunda Pilar se ríe, sin enfadarse. «¡Qué ! ¿Cómo es ella?»
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«Lleva un abrigo verde y una cesta como la suya.»
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«¡La conozco! Vive en mi misma calle, un poco . Vamos a buscarla juntos.»
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Las dos caminan por el mercado y, pocos minutos después, encuentran a la primera Pilar, que está comprando pan en otro puesto.
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«¡Disculpe!», dice Diego, un poco nervioso. «Creo que con las fresas.»
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Las dos mujeres se miran un momento y, de repente, empiezan a reír.
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«¡No puede ser! ¡Las dos nos llamamos Pilar y las dos queríamos fresas el mismo día!»
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Deciden compartir el kilo de fresas entre las dos. Cuando el abuelo vuelve de la cafetería, Diego le cuenta toda la historia, un poco avergonzado todavía.
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El abuelo se ríe mucho. «En este mercado siempre pasan cosas curiosas. Pero has resuelto el problema tú solo. Buen trabajo, Diego.»
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Desde ese sábado, las dos Pilares vienen juntas al mercado cada semana y siempre saludan a Diego con una sonrisa grande. «Aquí están nuestras dos clientas favoritas», dice el abuelo, y Diego piensa que su primer sábado solo en el puesto fue mucho mejor de lo que esperaba.
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Show English translation
Diego is fourteen years old, and every Saturday he helps his grandfather at the village market. His grandfather sells fruit and vegetables at a small stall near the main entrance. Diego likes the market because there's always something new: colors, smells, and people he's known since he was a child.
On Saturday mornings, the market is very lively. Vendors shout out their prices, children run between the stalls, and everyone greets each other by name. Diego knows almost all of his grandfather's customers, and he knows what each one buys: the bread lady, the flower man, and also Doña Pilar, who comes every single Saturday without fail.
That Saturday morning, his grandfather looks at his watch and says, "Diego, I'm going to grab a quick coffee with Manuel. Can you stay by yourself for ten minutes?"
"Sure, Grandpa. No problem."
"Great. If Doña Pilar comes by, you know what to do: a kilo of strawberries, like always."
His grandfather heads toward the café, and Diego stays alone at the stall, a little nervous but also proud. He's never helped customers by himself before.
A few minutes later, an older woman arrives with a wicker basket.
"Hi, I'm Pilar. A kilo of strawberries, please. They're for my grandchildren: they're coming over to eat today, and they love them."
Diego smiles, feeling confident. "Of course, Doña Pilar! My grandfather told me."
He prepares the bag of strawberries and hands it to her. The woman pays and says goodbye with a friendly smile.
Five minutes later, another older woman arrives, also with a basket.
"Good morning. I'm Pilar. Do you have my strawberries?"
Diego looks confused. "Strawberries again? But... I already gave you the bag a moment ago."
The woman looks at him, surprised. "What? I haven't bought anything yet. I just got here."
At that moment, Diego understands the problem: there are two women named Pilar, and both of them wanted strawberries today. But there aren't enough left for the second Pilar.
"I'm so sorry," Diego says, a little embarrassed. "I think I gave your strawberries to another lady who's also named Pilar."
The second Pilar laughs, not upset at all. "What a coincidence! What does she look like?"
"She's wearing a green coat and has a basket like yours."
"I know her! She lives on my street, a little further down. Let's go find her together."
The two of them walk through the market and, a few minutes later, find the first Pilar, who is buying bread at another stall.
"Excuse me!" Diego says, a little nervous. "I think there was a mix-up with the strawberries."
The two women look at each other for a moment and, suddenly, start laughing.
"That can't be true! We're both named Pilar and we both wanted strawberries on the same day!"
They decide to split the kilo of strawberries between the two of them. When his grandfather comes back from the café, Diego tells him the whole story, still a little embarrassed.
His grandfather laughs a lot. "Funny things always happen at this market. But you solved the problem on your own. Good job, Diego."
From that Saturday on, the two Pilars come to the market together every week and always greet Diego with a big smile. "Here are our two favorite customers," his grandfather says, and Diego thinks his first Saturday alone at the stall turned out much better than he expected.
Vocabulary in this story
- puesto
- stall
- gritan
- shout
- fresas
- strawberries
- atendido
- helped / served (customers)
- mimbre
- wicker
- nietos
- grandchildren
- les encantan
- they love them
- seguro de sí mismo
- confident
- se despide
- says goodbye
- amable
- friendly
- confundido
- confused
- quedan
- are left
- avergonzado
- embarrassed
- casualidad
- coincidence
- más abajo
- further down
- hubo una confusión
- there was a mix-up
Comprensión(check what you understood)
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