Day 52: The Rooster on Trial
At a middle school in Juchitán, Oaxaca, classmates Gabriel (A) and Isabel (B) prepare opposite sides of a mock trial about a rooster that wakes the whole street at four in the morning: he defends its owner, she represents the neighbors.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Spanish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Spanish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Tengo mi defensa, Isabel: don Cornelio ya criaba gallos ahí cuando llegaron tus vecinos. Primero en tiempo, primero en derecho.
I've got my defense, Isabel: Don Cornelio was already keeping roosters there when your neighbors arrived. First in time, first in right.
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B
Llegó primero don Cornelio, no el ruido: hasta enero, su gallo cantaba a las seis como gallo decente.
Don Cornelio got there first, not the noise: until January his rooster crowed at six like a respectable rooster.
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A
Leídas las declaraciones, la pregunta es: ¿qué pasó en enero para que se volviera tan madrugador?
Having read the statements, the question is: what happened in January to make it such an early riser?
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B
Se le zafó un tornillo, y ya. La ley no pregunta por qué canta, sino a qué hora.
It's got a screw loose, that's all. The law doesn't ask why it crows, only when.
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A
Sí pasó algo: en enero doña Felipa, tu testigo estrella, empezó a hacer totopos, y prende el comixcal a las tres y media.
Something did happen: in January Doña Felipa, your star witness, started making totopos, and she lights her clay oven at half past three.
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B
¿Y qué tiene que ver el comixcal? Que yo sepa, los hornos de barro no cantan.
And what's her oven got to do with it? As far as I know, clay ovens don't crow.
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A
No, pero el gallo ve la lumbre desde el corral y cree que ya amaneció. Fue ella quien le cambió el horario.
No, but the rooster sees the fire from its coop and thinks it's dawn. She's the one who changed its hours.
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B
¡Qué colmilludo! Pero no salva a tu cliente: probado el motivo, el gallo sigue cantando a las cuatro.
You sly fox! But it doesn't save your client: motive proven, the rooster still crows at four.
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A
Es ahí donde te equivocas: si la que despierta al gallo es doña Felipa, el que debería demandar es el gallo.
That's where you're wrong: if the one waking the rooster is Doña Felipa, the one who ought to be suing is the rooster.
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B
Muy chistoso, pero los gallos no demandan. Terminado el juicio, te invito unos totopos de doña Felipa, de los de las cuatro.
Very funny, but roosters don't sue. Once the trial's over, I'll treat you to some of Doña Felipa's totopos, the four o'clock batch.
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