La tortuga gigante

Name: La tortuga gigante
Availability: InStock
Author: Horacio Quiroga

The Giant Tortoise

by Horacio Quiroga

A man and a giant tortoise take turns caring for each other.

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Original language: SpanishLevel: Intermediate3,354 characters · ≈ 5 minSource: Wikisource

Authentic text: the opening of a public-domain original
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Sample: three-line reading

Each word has its meaning in this sentence underneath, and each sentence has a full translation. Read the original and glance down only when you need to.

Habíaunavezonce upon a time / there was onceunahombremanquewhovivíalivedeninBuenosAiresBuenos Airesyandestabahe wasmuyverycontentohappy / contentporquebecauseerahe wasunahombremansanohealthyyandtrabajadorhardworking

There was once a man who lived in Buenos Aires, and he was very happy because he was a healthy and hardworking man.

PeroButundíaone dayseenfermóhe got sickyandlosmédicosthe doctorsledijerontold himquethatsolamenteonlyyéndoseby goingalcampoto the countrysidepodríacurarsehe could get well

But one day he got sick, and the doctors told him that he could only get well by going to the countryside.

ElHenonotqueríawantedirto goporquebecauseteníahe hadhermanoschicoslittle brothersaquieneswhomdabadecomerhe fedyandseenfermabahe was getting sickcadadíamásmore each day

He did not want to go, because he had little brothers whom he fed; and he got sicker each day.

Hastaqueuntilunamigosuyoa friend of hisquewhoerawasdirectordelZoológicodirector of the Zooledijosaid to himundíaone day

Until one day a friend of his, who was the director of the Zoo, said to him:

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About the book

La tortuga gigante (The Giant Tortoise) is a children's story by Uruguayan writer and poet Horacio Quiroga, part of the anthology Cuentos de la selva published in 1918. It tells of a sick man recovering in the forest who rescues an injured giant tortoise, after which the story turns toward mutual care between animals and humans. Quiroga's jungle experience, gained while traveling with Argentine poet Leopoldo Lugones to the Alto Paraná, inspired him to write these forest stories.

About the author

Horacio Quiroga (31 December 1878 – 19 February 1937) was a Uruguayan playwright, poet, and short story writer whose stories, often set in the jungle, emphasized the conflict between humans and nature. His portrayals of mental illness and hallucinatory states were influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, and in turn he influenced Gabriel García Márquez and Julio Cortázar.

Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: La tortuga gigante (CC BY-SA)

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