Photo: Heloisa Vecchio on Pexels
Las cerillas en el río
The Matches in the River
While camping by a river, Carlos and Ana try to find a way to light a fire after their matches fall into the water.
Three short parts. Read each part in Spanish first; tap “Show English” under a paragraph when you need the translation.
Part 1
Carlos está de camping con su amiga Ana, cerca de un río. Es la hora de comer y Carlos prepara una sopa en una olla pequeña. Ana corta el pan mientras él busca las cerillas en su mochila.
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Carlos is camping with his friend Ana near a river. It is lunchtime, and Carlos is making soup in a small pot. Ana cuts the bread while he looks for the matches in his backpack.
—Aquí están —dice Carlos, contento.
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“Here they are,” says Carlos happily.
Pero, cuando abre la caja, se le cae de las manos. La caja rebota en una piedra y cae directamente al agua. La corriente se la lleva muy rápido.
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But when he opens the box, it falls from his hands. The box bounces off a stone and falls straight into the water. The current carries it away very fast.
—¡No! ¡Son las únicas cerillas! —grita Carlos.
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“No! They are the only matches!” Carlos shouts.
Ana mira la caja mientras desaparece entre las plantas. Carlos se quita los zapatos y entra en el río. El agua está fría y le llega hasta las rodillas. Intenta alcanzar la caja, pero pasa junto a él y sigue río abajo.
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Ana watches the box as it disappears among the plants. Carlos takes off his shoes and goes into the river. The water is cold and comes up to his knees. He tries to reach the box, but it passes by him and continues downstream.
—Tenemos que encender el fuego —dice Ana—. La sopa ya está preparada.
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“We have to light the fire,” says Ana. “The soup is ready.”
Carlos sale del agua y mira el campamento. Ve unas piedras secas y recuerda que tiene una lupa en la mochila. La saca, la mira un momento y dice:
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Carlos gets out of the water and looks at the campsite. He sees some dry stones and remembers that he has a magnifying glass in his backpack. He takes it out, looks at it for a moment, and says:
—Tal vez pueda usar el sol, pero necesito encontrar un poco de papel seco...
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“Maybe I can use the sun, but I need to find some dry paper...”
Part 2La sopa fría(The Cold Soup)
Carlos busca en la mochila. Debajo de una camiseta encuentra una servilleta seca. La pone sobre unas piedras, junto a unas hojas secas.
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Carlos looks in his backpack. Under a T-shirt, he finds a dry napkin. He puts it on some stones, next to some dry leaves.
—¡Mira! Esto puede servir —dice Ana.
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“Look! This might work,” says Ana.
Carlos sostiene la lupa sobre la servilleta. El sol calienta el papel y se forma un punto oscuro. Después sale un poco de humo. Los dos sonríen.
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Carlos holds the magnifying glass over the napkin. The sun warms the paper, and a dark spot appears. Then a little smoke comes out. They both smile.
—¡Funciona! —dice Carlos.
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“It works!” says Carlos.
Pero, de pronto, una nube tapa el sol. El humo desaparece y la servilleta no se enciende. Carlos espera con la lupa en la mano. Ana mira el cielo y luego la olla.
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But suddenly, a cloud covers the sun. The smoke disappears, and the napkin does not catch fire. Carlos waits with the magnifying glass in his hand. Ana looks at the sky and then at the pot.
—La sopa está fría —dice—. ¿Esperamos a que salga el sol?
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“The soup is cold,” she says. “Shall we wait for the sun to come out?”
Carlos mira las nubes. Parecen grandes y grises. Entonces recuerda que tiene otra cosa en la mochila: una pequeña vela para la noche. Tal vez la vela pueda ayudar, pero está dentro de una bolsa mojada.
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Carlos looks at the clouds. They look big and gray. Then he remembers that he has something else in his backpack: a small candle for the night. Maybe the candle can help, but it is inside a wet bag.
Part 3La sopa junto al río(Soup by the River)
Carlos saca la bolsa de la mochila. Está mojada por fuera, pero la vela está seca. Ana saca la vela con cuidado. Después ponen la vela sobre una piedra, junto a la servilleta.
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Carlos takes the bag out of his backpack. It is wet on the outside, but the candle is dry. Ana carefully takes out the candle. Then they put it on a stone, next to the napkin.
Las nubes empiezan a moverse y el sol vuelve a salir. Carlos toma la lupa otra vez. Poco a poco, el papel se calienta y aparece un punto negro. Después sale humo y una pequeña llama.
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The clouds begin to move, and the sun comes out again. Carlos picks up the magnifying glass. Little by little, the paper gets warm, and a black spot appears. Then smoke comes out, and a small flame appears.
—¡Ahora sí! —dice Ana.
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“Now it works!” says Ana.
Carlos acerca la vela con cuidado y enciende la mecha. Luego pone unas hojas secas y ramas pequeñas junto a la vela. La llama crece lentamente. Por fin, coloca la olla encima.
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Carlos carefully brings the candle close and lights the wick. Then he puts some dry leaves and small branches next to the candle. The flame slowly grows. At last, he puts the pot on top.
La sopa tarda un poco en calentarse, pero pronto está lista. Carlos y Ana comen el pan y la sopa junto al río. Carlos mira sus zapatos mojados y se ríe.
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The soup takes a little while to get hot, but soon it is ready. Carlos and Ana eat the bread and soup by the river. Carlos looks at his wet shoes and laughs.
—La próxima vez, guardo las cerillas en una bolsa seca.
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“Next time, I’ll keep the matches in a dry bag.”
—Sí —responde Ana—. Y también traemos dos cajas.
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“Yes,” Ana replies. “And we’ll bring two boxes, too.”
Los dos terminan de comer muy contentos.
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They both finish eating very happily.
Practise this Spanish story
Vocabulary in context
Important words and phrases
de camping
phrasecamping
Estamos de camping cerca del río.
We are camping near the river.
río
nounriver
El río está cerca del campamento.
The river is near the camp.
sopa
nounsoup
La sopa está caliente.
The soup is hot.
olla
nounpot
Pongo agua en la olla.
I put water in the pot.
pan
nounbread
Ana corta el pan.
Ana cuts the bread.
cerillas
nounmatches
No tengo cerillas.
I don't have any matches.
mochila
nounbackpack
Mi mochila es azul.
My backpack is blue.
agua
nounwater
El agua está fría.
The water is cold.
lupa
nounmagnifying glass
Carlos usa la lupa.
Carlos uses the magnifying glass.
servilleta
nounnapkin
Hay una servilleta seca.
There is a dry napkin.
llama
nounflame
La llama crece lentamente.
The flame grows slowly.
Check your understanding
Comprehension questions
Choose an answer, check it, then move to the next question.
Question 1 of 3
- Question 1: current not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
Notice the language
Language notes
tener que + infinitivo
Use tener que + infinitive to say that something is necessary or that someone must do it. It is a very common pattern in everyday Spanish. Example: "Tenemos que encender el fuego." = "We have to light the fire."
Tenemos que encender el fuego.
We have to light the fire.
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