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Lección Cincuenta y cinco (55)

  
  Miscelánea A miscellany.
     
1 En los tiempos de Fernando VII (séptimo)
los oficiales del ejército (1) cobraban sus pagas con mucho atraso.		 In the time[s] of Fern. VII the officers of the army received their pay with much delay.
2 Un día de invierno, el general Castaños, vencedor de Bailen,
se presentó en Palacio (2) vestido con pantalón blanco.		 One winter day, general C, the conqueror of B.,
presented himself dressed in [with] white trousers.
3 El rey, al verlo, le dijo :
— ¿Te has vuelto loco? (3)		 The king, on seeing this, said to him :
— Have you [thou] turned crazy?
4 ¿Es qué no te has enterado de que estamos (4) en invierno? Are you not aware that we are in winter?
5 Señor (5), contestó el general, será invierno según para quién. Sire, answered the general, it is perhaps winter, it depends for whom [it will be W. according for whom].
6 Para mí estamos en verano, y la prueba es
que anteayer cobré mi paga de Julio (6).		 For me, we are in summer and the proof is that the day before yesterday I received my pay for [of] July.
     
7 A Pepito le han colocado en una oficina,
y dice que está allí como el pez en el agua (7).		 They have found a job for Joe; [got Joe into] an office, and he says that he finds himself there as a fish in water.
8 ¿Sí? ¿qué es lo que hace?
— Pues como los peces, ¡nada (8)!		 Yes? And what does he do?
— Well, as fishes do, nothing (or : he swims. See n. 8)!!!
  EJERCICIOS EXERCISE :
1 Cantar  
2 Picó una abeja tu mano,
y desde aquella mañana
todas las flores que pica
le van pareciendo amargas.		 A bee slung your hand
— and since that morning
— all the flowers that it stings
— seem [go seeming] to her bitter.
  NOTES.
1 Oficial means official, or clerk, etc., as well as officer; so one has to specify :
del ejército (ayHairrtheeto), of the army.
— El ejercicio, the exercise.
— The pay (for soldiers): la paga, whereas the monthly salary of a clerk or civil servant is : el sueldo, and a workman's salary is : el jornal.
2 The Royal Palace: el Palacio Real (now Palacio Nacional);
the set expression is : ir a Palacio, to go to the Palace;
estar en Palacio, to be at the Palace.
3 Vuelto, irreg. past part, of volver.
— Volverse loco, to turn mad.
— Decir, to say;
yo digo, usted dice, I, you say;
yo dije, usted dijo, I, you said;
yo decía, usted decía, I was saying (or would say), you were saying (or w. s.);
yo diré, usted dirá, I shall, you will say;
yo he dicho, I have said.
4 Estar, and not ser, whenever you can replace to be by to find oneself.
5 There is no special word for Sire; señor, lord or sir.
6 Cobré; if you don't feel sure, conjugate cobrar, to receive (money), on the type of tomar, less. 35.
— Julio (pron. Hoolio).
7 Pepito, dimin. of Pepe, itself an endearing name for José, Joseph, and not Pedro.
— Pescar, to fish;
el pescado, fish (food);
el pez, the fish (in the water),
8 A pun on words : nada, nothing, or nada (he) swims (from nadar, to swim).
  Aquel (ackail), aquella (ackailla), that like ese, esa, but marking more remoteness.
There is also the neuter aquello, like eso, that (pronoun).