Spanish-English Intermediate Bilingual Novella
(long short story OR short novel)
FRANZ KAFKA
La Metamorfosis [The Metamorphosis]
PART TWO
SECTION A ~ Traditional Parallel Text
The best Spanish reading of this text can be found at Albalearning, an excellent site for those learning Spanish. |
START AUDIO AT 6:15
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Mientras reflexionaba sobre todo esto con gran rapidez, sin poderse decidir a abandonar la cama —en este mismo instante el despertador daba las siete menos cuarto—, llamaron cautelosamente a la puerta que estaba a la cabecera de su cama.
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He was still hurriedly thinking all this through, unable to decide to get out of the bed, when the clock struck quarter to seven. There was a cautious knock at the door near his head.
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—Gregorio —dijo la voz de su madre—, son las siete menos cuarto. ¿No ibas a salir de viaje? ¡Qué voz tan dulce! Gregorio se horrorizó al oír en cambio la suya propia, que era la de siempre, pero mezclada con un penoso y estridente silbido, que en el primer momento dejaba salir las palabras con claridad para, al prolongarse el sonido, destrozarlas de tal forma que no se sabía si se había oído bien. Gregorio querría haber contestado detalladamente y explicarlo todo, pero en estas circunstancias se limitó a decir:
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"Gregor", somebody called - it was his mother - "it's quarter to seven. Didn't you want to go somewhere?" That gentle voice! Gregor was shocked when he heard his own voice answering, it could hardly be recognised as the voice he had had before. As if from deep inside him, there was a painful and uncontrollable squeaking mixed in with it, the words could be made out at first but then there was a sort of echo which made them unclear, leaving the hearer unsure whether he had heard properly or not. Gregor had wanted to give a full answer and explain everything, but in the circumstances contented himself with saying:
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—Sí, sí, gracias madre. Ya me levanto. Probablemente a causa de la puerta de madera no se notaba desde fuera el cambio en la voz de Gregorio, porque la madre se tranquilizó con esta respuesta y se marchó de allí. Pero merced a la breve conversación, los otros miembros de la familia se habían dado cuenta de que Gregorio, en contra de todo lo esperado, estaba todavía en casa, y ya el padre llamaba suavemente, pero con el puño, a una de las puertas laterales. —¡Gregorio, Gregorio! — gritó—. ¿Qué ocurre? — tras unos instantes insistió de nuevo con voz más grave—. ¡Gregorio, Gregorio! Desde la otra puerta lateral se lamentaba en voz baja la hermana. Gregorio contestó hacia ambos lados: —Gregorio, ¿no te encuentras bien?, ¿necesitas algo?
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"Yes, mother, yes, thank-you, I'm getting up now." The change in Gregor's voice probably could not be noticed outside through the wooden door, as his mother was satisfied with this explanation and shuffled away. But this short conversation made the other members of the family aware that Gregor, against their expectations was still at home, and soon his father came knocking at one of the side doors, gently, but with his fist. "Gregor, Gregor", he called, "what's wrong?" And after a short while he called again with a warning deepness in his voice: "Gregor! Gregor!" At the other side door his sister came plaintively: "Gregor? Aren't you well? Do you need anything?"
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—Ya estoy preparado— y con una pronunciación lo más cuidadosa posible, y haciendo largas pausas entre las palabras, se esforzó por despojar a su voz de todo lo que pudiese llamar la atención. El padre volvió a su desayuno, pero la hermana susurró: —Gregorio, abre, te lo suplico — pero Gregorio no tenía ni la menor intención de abrir, más bien elogió la precaución de cerrar las puertas que había adquirido durante sus viajes, y esto incluso en casa.
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Gregor answered to both sides: "I'm ready, now", making an effort to remove all the strangeness from his voice by enunciating very carefully and putting long pauses between each, individual word. His father went back to his breakfast, but his sister whispered: "Gregor, open the door, I beg of you." Gregor, however, had no thought of opening the door, and instead congratulated himself for his cautious habit, acquired from his travelling, of locking all doors at night even when he was at home.
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Al principio tenía la intención de levantarse tranquilamente y, sin ser molestado, vestirse y, sobre todo, desayunar, y después pensar en todo lo demás, porque en la cama, eso ya lo veía, no llegaría con sus cavilaciones a una conclusión sensata. Recordó que ya en varias ocasiones había sentido en la cama algún leve dolor, quizá producido por estar mal tumbado, dolor que al levantarse había resultado ser sólo fruto de su imaginación, y tenía curiosidad por ver cómo se iban desvaneciendo paulatinamente sus fantasías de hoy. No dudaba en absoluto de que el cambio de voz no era otra cosa que el síntoma de un buen resfriado, la enfermedad profesional de los viajantes.
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The first thing he wanted to do was to get up in peace without being disturbed, to get dressed, and most of all to have his breakfast. Only then would he consider what to do next, as he was well aware that he would not bring his thoughts to any sensible conclusions by lying in bed. He remembered that he had often felt a slight pain in bed, perhaps caused by lying awkwardly, but that had always turned out to be pure imagination and he wondered how his imaginings would slowly resolve themselves today. He did not have the slightest doubt that the change in his voice was nothing more than the first sign of a serious cold, which was an occupational hazard for travelling salesmen.
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Tirar el cobertor era muy sencillo, sólo necesitaba inflarse un poco y caería por sí solo, pero el resto sería difícil, especialmente porque él era muy ancho. Hubiera necesitado brazos y manos para incorporarse, pero en su lugar tenía muchas patitas que, sin interrupción, se hallaban en el más dispar de los movimientos y que, además, no podía dominar. Si quería doblar alguna de ellas, entonces era la primera la que se estiraba, y si por fin lograba realizar con esta pata lo que quería, entonces todas las demás se movían, como liberadas, con una agitación grande y dolorosa. «No hay que permanecer en la cama inútilmente», se decía Gregorio.
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It was a simple matter to throw off the covers; he only had to blow himself up a little and they fell off by themselves. But it became difficult after that, especially as he was so exceptionally broad. He would have used his arms and his hands to push himself up; but instead of them he only had all those little legs continuously moving in different directions, and which he was moreover unable to control. If he wanted to bend one of them, then that was the first one that would stretch itself out; and if he finally managed to do what he wanted with that leg, all the others seemed to be set free and would move about painfully. "This is something that can't be done in bed", Gregor said to himself, "so don't keep trying to do it".
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Quería salir de la cama en primer lugar con la parte inferior de su cuerpo, pero esta parte inferior que, por cierto, no había visto todavía y que no podía imaginar exactamente, demostró ser difícil de mover; el movimiento se producía muy despacio, y cuando, finalmente, casi furioso, se lanzó hacia adelante con toda su fuerza sin pensar en las consecuencias, había calculado mal la dirección, se golpeó fuertemente con la pata trasera de la cama y el dolor punzante que sintió le enseñó que precisamente la parte inferior de su cuerpo era quizá en estos momentos la más sensible.
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The first thing he wanted to do was get the lower part of his body out of the bed, but he had never seen this lower part, and could not imagine what it looked like; it turned out to be too hard to move; it went so slowly; and finally, almost in a frenzy, when he carelessly shoved himself forwards with all the force he could gather, he chose the wrong direction, hit hard against the lower bedpost, and learned from the burning pain he felt that the lower part of his body might well, at present, be the most sensitive.
END AUDIO AT 10:34 |
SECTION B ~ Spanish-English Bilingual Text
Sentence Under Sentence Translations
Mientras reflexionaba sobre todo esto con gran rapidez, sin poderse decidir a abandonar la cama —en este mismo instante el despertador daba las siete menos cuarto—, He was still hurriedly thinking all this through, unable to decide to get out of the bed, when the clock struck quarter to seven.
llamaron cautelosamente a la puerta que estaba a la cabecera de su cama.
There was a cautious knock at the door near his head.
"Gregorio", dijo la voz de su madre, "son las siete menos cuarto.
"Gregor", somebody called - it was his mother - "it's quarter to seven.
¿No ibas a salir de viaje?"
Didn't you want to go somewhere?"
¡Qué voz tan dulce!
That gentle voice!
Gregorio se horrorizó al oír en cambio la suya propia, que era la de siempre, pero mezclada con un penoso y estridente silbido, que en el primer momento dejaba salir las palabras con claridad para, al prolongarse el sonido, destrozarlas de tal forma que no se sabía si se había oído bien.
Gregor was shocked when he heard his own voice answering, it could hardly be recognised as the voice he had had before. As if from deep inside him, there was a painful and uncontrollable squeaking mixed in with it, the words could be made out at first but then there was a sort of echo which made them unclear, leaving the hearer unsure whether he had heard properly or not.
(To come back to. The two texts don't follow each other well here)
Gregorio querría haber contestado detalladamente y explicarlo todo, pero en estas circunstancias se limitó a decir:
Gregor had wanted to give a full answer and explain everything, but in the circumstances contented himself with saying:
gracias madre. Ya me levanto.
"Yes, mother, yes, thank-you, I'm getting up now."
Probablemente a causa de la puerta de madera no se notaba desde fuera el cambio en la voz de Gregorio, porque la madre se tranquilizó con esta respuesta y se marchó de allí.
The change in Gregor's voice probably could not be noticed outside through the wooden door, as his mother was satisfied with this explanation and shuffled away.
Pero merced a la breve conversación, los otros miembros de la familia se habían dado cuenta de que Gregorio, en contra de todo lo esperado, estaba todavía en casa, y ya el padre llamaba suavemente, pero con el puño, a una de las puertas laterales.
But this short conversation made the other members of the family aware that Gregor, against their expectations was still at home, and soon his father came knocking at one of the side doors, gently, but with his fist.
"¡Gregorio, Gregorio!" gritó. "¿Qué ocurre?"
"Gregor, Gregor", he called, "what's wrong?"
tras unos instantes insistió de nuevo con voz más grave. "¡Gregorio, Gregorio!"
And after a short while he called again with a warning deepness in his voice: "Gregor! Gregor!"
Desde la otra puerta lateral se lamentaba en voz baja la hermana. "Gregorio, ¿no te encuentras bien?, ¿necesitas algo?"
At the other side door his sister came plaintively: "Gregor? Aren't you well? Do you need anything?"
Gregorio contestó hacia ambos lados:
Gregor answered to both sides:
"Ya estoy preparado", y con una pronunciación lo más cuidadosa posible, y haciendo largas pausas entre las palabras, se esforzó por despojar a su voz de todo lo que pudiese llamar la atención.
"I'm ready, now", making an effort to remove all the strangeness from his voice by enunciating very carefully and putting long pauses between each, individual word.
El padre volvió a su desayuno, pero la hermana susurró: "Gregorio, abre, te lo suplico",
His father went back to his breakfast, but his sister whispered: "Gregor, open the door, I beg of you."
pero Gregorio no tenía ni la menor intención de abrir, más bien elogió la precaución de cerrar las puertas que había adquirido durante sus viajes, y esto incluso en casa.
Gregor, however, had no thought of opening the door, and instead congratulated himself for his cautious habit, acquired from his travelling, of locking all doors at night even when he was at home.
Al principio tenía la intención de levantarse tranquilamente y, sin ser molestado, vestirse y, sobre todo, desayunar,
The first thing he wanted to do was to get up in peace without being disturbed, to get dressed, and most of all to have his breakfast.
y después pensar en todo lo demás, porque en la cama, eso ya lo veía, no llegaría con sus cavilaciones a una conclusión sensata.
Only then would he consider what to do next, as he was well aware that he would not bring his thoughts to any sensible conclusions by lying in bed.
Recordó que ya en varias ocasiones había sentido en la cama algún leve dolor, quizá producido por estar mal tumbado, dolor que al levantarse había resultado ser sólo fruto de su imaginación, y tenía curiosidad por ver cómo se iban desvaneciendo paulatinamente sus fantasías de hoy.
He remembered that he had often felt a slight pain in bed, perhaps caused by lying awkwardly, but that had always turned out to be pure imagination and he wondered how his imaginings would slowly resolve themselves today.
No dudaba en absoluto de que el cambio de voz no era otra cosa que el síntoma de un buen resfriado, la enfermedad profesional de los viajantes.
He did not have the slightest doubt that the change in his voice was nothing more than the first sign of a serious cold, which was an occupational hazard for travelling salesmen.
Tirar el cobertor era muy sencillo,
It was a simple matter to throw off the covers;
sólo necesitaba inflarse un poco y caería por sí solo,
he only had to blow himself up a little and they fell off by themselves.
pero el resto sería difícil, especialmente porque él era muy ancho.
But it became difficult after that, especially as he was so exceptionally broad.
Hubiera necesitado brazos y manos para incorporarse,
He would have used his arms and his hands to push himself up;
pero en su lugar tenía muchas patitas que, sin interrupción, se hallaban en el más dispar de los movimientos y que, además, no podía dominar.
but instead of them he only had all those little legs continuously moving in different directions, and which he was moreover unable to control.
Si quería doblar alguna de ellas, entonces era la primera la que se estiraba,
If he wanted to bend one of them, then that was the first one that would stretch itself out;
y si por fin lograba realizar con esta pata lo que quería, entonces todas las demás se movían, como liberadas, con una agitación grande y dolorosa. and if he finally managed to do what he wanted with that leg, all the others seemed to be set free and would move about painfully.
«No hay que permanecer en la cama inútilmente», se decía Gregorio.
"This is something that can't be done in bed", Gregor said to himself, "so don't keep trying to do it".
"there is nothing (to do) but to rest uselesly in bed," to himself said Gregorio.
Quería salir de la cama en primer lugar con la parte inferior de su cuerpo, pero esta parte inferior que, por cierto, no había visto todavía y que no podía imaginar exactamente,
The first thing he wanted to do was get the lower part of his body out of the bed, but he had never seen this lower part, and could not imagine what it looked like;
demostró ser difícil de mover;
it turned out to be too hard to move;
el movimiento se producía muy despacio,
it went so slowly;
y cuando, finalmente, casi furioso, se lanzó hacia adelante con toda su fuerza sin pensar en las consecuencias, había calculado mal la dirección, se golpeó fuertemente con la pata trasera de la cama y el dolor punzante que sintió le enseñó que precisamente la parte inferior de su cuerpo era quizá en estos momentos la más sensible.
and finally, almost in a frenzy, when he carelessly shoved himself forwards with all the force he could gather, he chose the wrong direction, hit hard against the lower bedpost, and learned from the burning pain he felt that the lower part of his body might well, at present, be the most sensitive.