The "cuentos" or tales of this bilingual collection evoke the rich tradition of the early Spanish settlers and their descendants, relating the magic and events of everyday life in Colorado and the Hispanic villages of New Mexico.
TABLE OF CONTENTS SPANISH TALES FOR BEGINNERS.. 2 THE COUNCILs OF A FATHER. 5 CASILDA.. 12 I 12 II 12 III 13 IV.. 15 V.. 16 VI 16 THE FLORECITA AZUL. 17 VIGY VIA.. 20 TONY.. 22 ANGLE FISHERMAN.. 27 THE CONFESSION OF A CRIME.. 30 PRACTICAL ECONOMY. 35 TRAVEL. 37 EARLY AND SUNNY. 39 THE JACKPOT. 44 THE CHECKBOOK. 49 THE BIRD IN THE SNOW... 54 THE WHALE OF MANZANARES. 63 THE HOUSE WHERE HE DIED.. 66 THE LONG NIGHTS OF CÓRDOBA.. 77 CUSTOM PICTURES. 87 THE GOLDEN BANGLE. 98 POEMS. 105 THE TWO RABBITS. 105 THE DUCK AND THE SNAKE. 105 THE BOAR AND THE FOX. 106 THERE IS SOMEONE WHO WINS IN EVERYTHING.. 106 THE PEAR TREE. 106 THE BLUE BALLOON.. 107 BIRD SONGS. 109 SONG.. 109 IT'S BEAUTIFUL TO LIVE!. 109 EXCELSIOR!. 110 RHYMES: XIII 110 RHYMES: LIII 110 NOTES. 111 THE COUNCILs OF A FATHER And L LEON, the king of the jungles, was dying in the hole of his cave.... To his side was his son, the new lion, the future king of all the animals. The dying monarch painfully gave him the last Advice, the most important. He said, "Always flee; no; no You intend to fight him. You're an absolute lord of the other animals, not the Dome them, punish them, let them be floated if you're hungry. You can fight with all of you, you can all overcome; but Don't pretend to fight man: I'd kill you and merciless, because he is cruel, crueller than us. "Is the man so strong?" the son asked. "It's not strong," the father replied. saying, "From a whip of your tail you could throw him in the air as the most miserable animal. Your teeth, your fangs, are powerful? They're despicable and ridiculous: they're worth less than the from a mouse. Your nails, are as powerful as my sailing? They are petty and sometimes they carry them dirty; no, for The sails wouldn't get you over. Will it have any manes like these, which we shake Proud? You don't have them, and some are bald. Here the dying lion greatly opened up the dreadful mouth... and he threw the last roar.
In the summer of 1931, folklorist Espinosa traveled throughout northern New Mexico asking Spanish-speaking residents for tales of olden times. These tales are available once again, in the original Spanish and now for the first time in English translation.
This exciting collection celebrates the richness and variety of the Spanish short story, from the nineteenth century to the present day. Featuring over fifty stories selected by revered translator Margaret Jull Costa, it blends old favourites and hidden gems - many of which have never before been translated into English - and introduces readers to surprising new voices as well as giants of Spanish literary culture, from Emilia Pardo Bazán and Leopoldo Alas, through Mercè Rodoreda and Manuel Rivas, to Ana Maria Matute and Javier Marías. Brimming with romance, horror, history, farce, strangeness and beauty, and showcasing alluring hairdressers, war defectors, vampiric mothers, and talismanic mandrake roots, the daring and entertaining assortment of tales in The Penguin Book of Spanish Short Stories will be a treasure trove for readers.