Season 1, episode 1
How does this teacher start her students on their language journey? With a story, of course! Listen along as the Small Town Spanish Teacher tells the story of “Carlos y el elefante” – the story she uses on day 1 of Spanish 1. It repeats the verbs “mira” (sees/looks), “corre” (runs), “se sienta” (sits), “se levanta” (stands) and “para” (stops) as well as multiple cognates. No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way.
Carlos y el elefante
Hay un chico. El chico está en el parque. El nombre del chico es Carlos. Carlos está en el parque. Muchas personas están en el parque. Las personas corren en el parque. Carlos no corre en el parque. Carlos se sienta en el parque. Carlos mira las personas que corren, pero Carlos no corre. Carlos se sienta y mira.
En el parque, Carlos mira un elefante. El elefante no se sienta, el elefante corre. El elefante corre en el parque. Carlos se levanta y mira el elefante. Carlos corre también. Carlos corre al elefante.
El elefante mira Carlos. El elefante para – no corre más. El elefante se sienta y mira Carlos. Carlos corre. Carlos corre al elefante. El elefante se levanta y Carlos para.
El elefante mira a Carlos. Carlos mira el elefante. Carlos toca el elefante. El elefante toca Carlos. El elefante se sienta en el parque. Carlos se sienta en el elefante.
Entonces el elefante se levanta. Se levanta con Carlos. El elefante corre. Corre con Carlos.
Ahora Carlos se sienta en un elefante en el parque. Hay muchas personas en el parque. Carlos no mira las personas. Carlos mira el elefante. Las personas miran el elefante con el chico.
El fin.
You can also watch a video of this story being told on YouTube!
I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories in Spanish. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn Spanish and I like to keep it ad free. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!
You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story. Looking for the English translation? I have a PDF for that too! Read a paragraph in Spanish and then read the English translation to see what you understood.
Gracias Camilla para este cuento.
Thank you for this, Camilla!
Gracias
I stumbled across your website and started with Simple Story 1. I love the way you recite the story with exaggerated expression! I feel like a little kid sitting cross-legged on the floor in a circle with the teacher on a low chair. Your over-the-top technique really helps the understanding of the story. The length of the story is also perfect for a beginner like me.
Thanks! I’ve subscribed.
Too many ads detract from your website/blog. Although I like your stories, I came to read the transcript for one and was totally overwhelmed and turned off by the all ads that are on the page. Please remove at least half of them so your content is more readily available. ¡Gracias!
Thank you for the feedback. Google activated the ads on my page while I was on vacation and I just saw it for the first time today. I agree it is a bit much. Once I am back home I plan to dive in and see what about the ads is in my control to making it a less overwhelming experience so the stories can be the star again.