Spanish Stories

    A2Moderate · 5 min read · 474 words

    La cabra y el pez dorado

    The Goat and the Goldfish

    A mischievous goat and an old goldfish share an unlikely friendship across the edge of a farm pond, until the pond itself is threatened, in this warm A2 story for young Spanish learners.

    Part of Spanish Stories for Kids: short, family-friendly stories for young learners.

    Topics

    • animals
    • friendship
    • farm life
    • family

    Tap or hover any underlined word for its English meaning.

    Listen to the story

    Learner-paced · Spanish

    What you'll encounter

    Grammar
    Pretérito indefinido and imperfecto in narration, Reported speech (le decía, respondió, preguntó), Present tense for an ongoing habit in the final paragraph
    Vocabulary
    Farm vocabulary (granja, corral, estanque, granero), Descriptive and emotional words (traviesa, agitada, terca), Family vocabulary (nieta, abuelo, dueño)
    Language skills
    Following a story from an animal's point of view, Understanding motivation and persistence, Recognizing how a small, stubborn action leads to a bigger change

    En una granja pequeña, al final de un camino de tierra, vivía una cabra blanca y llamada Pepa. Todas las tardes, cuando nadie miraba, Pepa saltaba la cerca de su y corría hasta un de piedra detrás del granero.

    Show English
    On a small farm, at the end of a dirt road, there lived a mischievous white goat named Pepa. Every afternoon, when no one was looking, Pepa jumped the fence of her pen and ran to a stone pond behind the barn.

    En ese estanque vivía Sol, un pez dorado más viejo que la propia granja, o eso decían. Nadie recordaba bien cómo había llegado ahí, pero cada tarde, cuando Pepa la cabeza sobre el agua, Sol subía a saludarla.

    Show English
    In that pond lived Sol, a goldfish older than the farm itself, or so people said. No one quite remembered how he'd gotten there, but every afternoon, when Pepa poked her head out over the water, Sol would come up to greet her.

    «Cuéntame algo del mundo de arriba», le pedía Sol. Y Pepa le hablaba del viento en las colinas, del olor del recién cortado, de las nubes que parecían ovejas gordas. A cambio, Sol le contaba sobre las ranas que cantaban de noche y sobre los reflejos que bailaban en el agua cuando llovía.

    Show English
    "Tell me something about the world up there," Sol would ask. And Pepa would tell him about the wind on the hills, the smell of freshly cut hay, the clouds that looked like fat sheep. In return, Sol told her about the frogs that sang at night and about the reflections that danced on the water when it rained.

    Una tarde de octubre, mientras Pepa unas hojas cerca del granero, escuchó una conversación que la dejó fría. Don Herminio, el dueño de la granja, le decía a su hijo: «La semana que viene vamos a vaciar ese estanque viejo. Ahí construiremos el nuevo para el tractor.»

    Show English
    One October afternoon, while Pepa was nibbling some leaves near the barn, she overheard a conversation that left her cold. Don Herminio, the farm's owner, was telling his son: "Next week we're going to drain that old pond. That's where we'll build the new shed for the tractor."

    Pepa corrió al estanque, agitada. «Sol, Sol, van a vaciar tu casa», le dijo, . Sol se quedó quieto un momento. «Soy solo un pez», respondió al fin, con tristeza. «Nadie le pregunta su opinión a un pez.»

    Show English
    Pepa ran to the pond, agitated. "Sol, Sol, they're going to drain your home," she told him, breathless. Sol went still for a moment. "I'm just a fish," he answered at last, sadly. "Nobody asks a fish for his opinion."

    Pepa pasó la noche pensando. Las cabras no pueden hablar con las personas, pero sí pueden ser muy, muy . Al día siguiente, cuando llegaron los camiones y las palas, Pepa se escapó del corral seis veces seguidas, y las seis veces corrió directo al estanque, fuerte.

    Show English
    Pepa spent the night thinking. Goats can't talk to people, but they can be very, very stubborn. The next day, when the trucks and shovels arrived, Pepa escaped from her pen six times in a row, and all six times she ran straight to the pond, bleating loudly.

    «¿Qué le pasa a esta cabra hoy?», preguntó don Herminio, cansado de perseguirla. Fue entonces cuando Valeria, su nieta de siete años, que pasaba el fin de semana en la granja, se acercó a ver qué miraba Pepa con tanta atención.

    Show English
    "What's gotten into this goat today?" asked Don Herminio, tired of chasing her. That's when Valeria, his seven-year-old granddaughter, who was spending the weekend at the farm, came over to see what Pepa was staring at so intently.

    Valeria se asomó al estanque y vio a Sol nadando despacio bajo el agua clara. «¡Abuelo!», gritó, emocionada. «¡Es el pez que soltamos aquí cuando yo era bebé! Papá me lo contó. ¡Está vivo!»

    Show English
    Valeria looked into the pond and saw Sol swimming slowly under the clear water. "Grandpa!" she shouted, excited. "It's the fish we set free here when I was a baby! Dad told me about him. He's alive!"

    Don Herminio se acercó, sorprendido. No recordaba ese detalle, pero al ver la cara de su nieta, sonriendo frente al agua, algo en su plan cambió. «Bueno», dijo, , «el cobertizo también puede ir junto al granero.»

    Show English
    Don Herminio came closer, surprised. He didn't remember that detail, but seeing his granddaughter's face, smiling at the water, something in his plan changed. "Well," he said, scratching his head, "the shed can go next to the barn instead."

    Esa tarde, mientras los camiones se alejaban sin haber tocado el estanque, Pepa se asomó otra vez al agua. «Sigues aquí», le dijo a Sol, feliz. «Sigo aquí», respondió Sol, «gracias a una cabra muy terca.»

    Show English
    That afternoon, as the trucks drove away without ever touching the pond, Pepa looked into the water once more. "You're still here," she told Sol, happily. "I'm still here," Sol answered, "thanks to one very stubborn goat."

    Desde entonces, Valeria visita la granja cada fin de semana, y siempre se sienta un rato junto al estanque, entre la cabra y el pez que, sin planearlo, se habían hecho amigos para toda la vida.

    Show English
    Since then, Valeria visits the farm every weekend, and always sits for a while by the pond, between the goat and the fish who, without planning it, had become friends for life.
    Show English translation

    On a small farm, at the end of a dirt road, there lived a mischievous white goat named Pepa. Every afternoon, when no one was looking, Pepa jumped the fence of her pen and ran to a stone pond behind the barn.

    In that pond lived Sol, a goldfish older than the farm itself, or so people said. No one quite remembered how he'd gotten there, but every afternoon, when Pepa poked her head out over the water, Sol would come up to greet her.

    "Tell me something about the world up there," Sol would ask. And Pepa would tell him about the wind on the hills, the smell of freshly cut hay, the clouds that looked like fat sheep. In return, Sol told her about the frogs that sang at night and about the reflections that danced on the water when it rained.

    One October afternoon, while Pepa was nibbling some leaves near the barn, she overheard a conversation that left her cold. Don Herminio, the farm's owner, was telling his son: "Next week we're going to drain that old pond. That's where we'll build the new shed for the tractor."

    Pepa ran to the pond, agitated. "Sol, Sol, they're going to drain your home," she told him, breathless. Sol went still for a moment. "I'm just a fish," he answered at last, sadly. "Nobody asks a fish for his opinion."

    Pepa spent the night thinking. Goats can't talk to people, but they can be very, very stubborn. The next day, when the trucks and shovels arrived, Pepa escaped from her pen six times in a row, and all six times she ran straight to the pond, bleating loudly.

    "What's gotten into this goat today?" asked Don Herminio, tired of chasing her. That's when Valeria, his seven-year-old granddaughter, who was spending the weekend at the farm, came over to see what Pepa was staring at so intently.

    Valeria looked into the pond and saw Sol swimming slowly under the clear water. "Grandpa!" she shouted, excited. "It's the fish we set free here when I was a baby! Dad told me about him. He's alive!"

    Don Herminio came closer, surprised. He didn't remember that detail, but seeing his granddaughter's face, smiling at the water, something in his plan changed. "Well," he said, scratching his head, "the shed can go next to the barn instead."

    That afternoon, as the trucks drove away without ever touching the pond, Pepa looked into the water once more. "You're still here," she told Sol, happily. "I'm still here," Sol answered, "thanks to one very stubborn goat."

    Since then, Valeria visits the farm every weekend, and always sits for a while by the pond, between the goat and the fish who, without planning it, had become friends for life.

    Vocabulary in this story

    traviesa
    mischievous
    corral
    pen
    estanque
    pond
    asomaba
    poked out
    heno
    hay
    mordisqueaba
    was nibbling
    cobertizo
    shed
    sin aliento
    breathless
    tercas
    stubborn
    balando
    bleating
    rascándose la cabeza
    scratching his head
    Comprensión(check what you understood)

    Answer a few quick questions about the story. This is just for you: there's no account or score saved.

    1. ¿Qué hacía Pepa todas las tardes en secreto?
    2. ¿Qué planeaba hacer don Herminio con el estanque?
    3. ¿Cómo consigue Pepa llamar la atención sobre el estanque?
    4. ¿Por qué decide don Herminio no vaciar el estanque?