The Spanish reading room
One sentence of «Las medias de los flamencos»
Cada vez que una víbora pasaba por delante de ellos, coqueteando y haciendo ondular las gasas de serpentina, los flamencos se morían de envidia.
Every time a snake passed in front of them, showing off and making her streamer gauzes ripple, the flamingos died of envy.
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
Only the flamingos, who in those days had white legs, and have now as they had then a very thick, crooked nose — only the flamingos were sad, because as they have very little intelligence, they had not known how to adorn themselves.
Envidiaban el traje de todos, y sobre todo el de las víboras de coral.
They envied everyone's costume, and above all that of the coral snakes.
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Cada | cada | each, every (adj.) |
| vez | vez | time, occasion; una vez — once; a veces — sometimes (n., f.) |
| que | que | that, which, who; than (conj./rel. pron.) |
| una | un | a, an, one (indef. art.) |
| víbora | víbora | snake, viper (n., f.) |
| pasaba | pasar | to pass, happen, spend (time) (v.) |
| por | por | by, for, through, because of (prep.) |
| delante | delante | in front (adv.) |
| de | de | of, from (prep.) |
| ellos | él | they, them (pron., m. pl.) |
| coqueteando | coquetear | to flirt, show off (v.) |
| y | y | and (conj.) |
| haciendo | hacer | to do, make (v.) |
| ondular | ondular | to ripple, undulate (v.) |
| las | el | the (def. art., f. pl.); also them (f. object pron., before a verb) |
| gasas | gasa | gauze (n., f.) |
| serpentina | serpentina | paper streamer (n., f.) |
| flamencos | flamenco | flamingo (n., m.) |
| 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.) |
| morían | morir | to die (v.) |
| envidia | envidia | envy (n., f.) |
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.