The Spanish reading room
One sentence of «Las medias de los flamencos»
Los yacarés, para adornarse bien, se habían puesto en el pescuezo un collar de bananas, y fumaban cigarros paraguayos.
The caimans, to adorn themselves properly, had put a necklace of bananas round their necks, and were smoking Paraguayan cigars.
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
The toads had stuck fish scales all over their bodies, and walked with a waddle, as if they were swimming.
And every time they passed very solemnly along the river bank, the fish shouted at them and made fun of them.
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Los | el | the (def. art., m. pl.); also them (m. object pron., before a verb) |
| yacarés | yacaré | caiman, the South American alligator (n., m., from Guaraní) |
| para | para | for, in order to (prep.) |
| adornarse | adornar | to adorn, decorate (v.) |
| bien | bien | well; very (adv.) |
| se | se | himself, herself, themselves (reflexive); stands in for le before lo/la (se la dieron — they gave it to her); one, people (se ve — one sees) (pron.) |
| habían | haber | to have (auxiliary); hay — there is, there are (v.) |
| puesto | poner | to put, place; ponerse — to put on, become (v.) |
| en | en | in, on, at (prep.) |
| pescuezo | pescuezo | neck (of an animal) (n., m.) |
| un | un | a, an, one (indef. art.) |
| collar | collar | necklace, collar (n., m.) |
| de | de | of, from (prep.) |
| bananas | banana | banana (n., f.) |
| y | y | and (conj.) |
| fumaban | fumar | to smoke (v.) |
| cigarros | cigarro | cigar (n., m.) |
| paraguayos | paraguayo | Paraguayan (adj./n., m.) |
Read «Las medias de los flamencos» in the room Every word glossed where it stands, the English a tap away. The whole tale is free and asks for no account.