I hope you'll like it!!
Hola mis queridos amigos, hoy vamos a leer una historia de ficción. Se trata de un cuento corto pero realmente interesante Es sobre una adolescente y su madrastra. Por experiencia propia, no quiero añadir nada más y estoy segura de que muchos de vosotros pensaréis que NO es una historia de ficción ¡Espero que os guste!
THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT by Rita Mavis Snelson.
Happy birthday, dear! Lucy held the small package. She was incredulous, a birthday present! She couldn't remember ever having a present to open.
Lucy held the small package in her hand, wondering what a wonderful surprise awaited. She shook it close to her ear, only a soft, thud , and turned it over and over. The wrapping paper had the name of the shop: H. SAMUEL. She knew that it was a jeweller's. She loved window shopping at H. Samuel', dreaming of being a star, wearing precious emerald stones around her neck and silver bangles around her tiny wrists. H. Samuel was her stepmother's idea of Tiffany's!
Lucy couldn't believe how important she was to have a birthday present bought from H. Samuel. The best jeweller's in town.
She smiled at her stepmother. Lucy had misjudged her; here she was holding a little box, a dream! She felt tears of joy well up in her eyes: why had she held such bitter thoughts towards her steptmother?
Lucy's thirteen birthday was going to be special after all! Only two events were celebrated with a gift: Christmas and her birthday and she only ever received useful presents, either a pair of shoes or a dress, depending on how much she had grown. She might have shoes for Christmas if she had outgrown her old ones, or sometimes a skirt and pullover, or viceversa, for her birthday. She outgrew her clothes long before they were worn because she was only allowed to wear her "good" clothes if they went visiting on a Sunday. During the week she made do with clothes and shoes her stepmother bought at the local church jumble sale.
It wasn't that they were poor or anything; her stepmother just didn't consider it necessary to spend money on new cothes and shoes for a growing child. Why should she spend money on a child that wasn't even hers! Her new outgrown clothes were given as presents to her stepmother's relatives' daughters. They couldn't be wasted, could they?
Her stepmother believed in giving Lucy a good housekeeping education. She was strict and expeted Lucy to be obedient. She had to be the first one up in the morning to prepare breakfast for the paying guests before setting off for school. Her stepmother's motto was "The Devil finds work for idle hands". If Lucy wasn't up by 7 o'clock, her stepmother would knock on her bedroom wall, disrupting her morning dream. Lucy envied her friends who talked about their Sunday morning in bed sleeping till late.
On Sundays the knock on the wall was sounded at 6.30, reminding Lucy that she had to get up to attend the 7 o'clock Mass. Lucy reluctantly got out of bed, she had to cycle three miles to the Catholic church, and winter time was the worst, the cold frosty mornings biting into her face and hands.
Her steptmother wanted her to be a good obedient Christian, and good Christians always went to early morning Mass. Lucy had no say, she was obedient and, being an only child, she had nobody to seek comfort from.
She hated getting up early in the morning, she hated the ugly dresses and shoes her stepmother bought for her birthdays. Perhaps, deep down, she hated her stepmother too.
However, a good Christian should not hate and Lucy tried to kid herself that she loved this woman. Today, Lucy's birthday, her stepmother's redemption; she hugged her and whispered, "Thank you, Mum."
Now here, at last, a small package -not the usual dress or shoes- a tiny package with H. SAMUEL printed on the wrapping paper. Could it be a pair of earrings? She had pointed to a pair when her stepmother was buying herself a gold bracelet, or maybe that beautiful brooch with the initial "L".
Lucy closed her eyes; or a set of our bangles to make up her name. She could feel the excitement of opening her first real birthday present!!! Thirteen, a teenager!! She felt so special!!
Slowly, she started unwrapping her gift. Her stepmother stood by her side with a smile, so sure that Lucy would just love her present. So much thought had gone into choosing the right gift fo a teenager!
The wrapping paper revealed a square brown leather box and, inside the small box, a pink floral patterned case, just like Chinese boxes. Lucy carefully took out the box and held it in her had. It had a catch on one side and two small hinges on the other. She cliked the catch and opened the box.
A small ladies alarm clock ticked quietly away. The alarm had already been set for 7 o'clock,
T H E E N D
VOCABULARY WORDS.
-TO HOLD: sostener.
-TO WONDER: preguntarse.
-THUD: ruido sordo.
-WRAPPING PAPER papel de envolver.
-JEWELLER'S: joyería.
-TO WONDER: preguntarse.
-THUD: ruido sordo.
-WRAPPING PAPER papel de envolver.
-JEWELLER'S: joyería.
-SILVER BANGLE: pulsera de plata.
-STEPMOTHER: madrastra.
-STEPMOTHER: madrastra.
-WRIST: muñeca.
-HAD NO SAY: no tenía ni voz ni voto.
-HAD NO SAY: no tenía ni voz ni voto.
-TO MISJUDGE: juzgar mal.
-DEEP DOWN: en lo más profundo.
-DEEP DOWN: en lo más profundo.
-TO WELL UP: brotar.
-TO KID ONESELF: engañarse.
-TO KID ONESELF: engañarse.
-IF SHE HAD OUTGROWN HER OLD ONES: si los viejos le quedaban pequeños.
-TO MAKE DO: apañárselas.
-TO HUG: abrazar.
-TO HUG: abrazar.
-JUMBLE SALE: mercadillo.
-SQUARE: cuadrado.
-SQUARE: cuadrado.
-HOUSEKEEPING: trabajo doméstico.
-SET: un juego.
-SET: un juego.
-PAYING GUEST: huésped.
-IDLE HANDS: manos perezosas.
-PATTERNED: con dibujos.
-PATTERNED: con dibujos.
-TO DISRUPT: interrumpir.
-BROOCH: borche
-LEATHER: piel.
-BROOCH: borche
-LEATHER: piel.
-TO SEEK: buscar.
-TO HUG: abrazar.
-CASE: funda.
-CATCH: cierre
-TO HUG: abrazar.
-CASE: funda.
-CATCH: cierre
-HINGE: bisagra.
-TO TICK AWAY: marcar el tiempo.
-TO SET: fijar.
-TO TICK AWAY: marcar el tiempo.
-TO SET: fijar.
SEE YOU SOO!!!
HAVE A NICE DAY!!!
