Easter - Pascua en inglés - Banco de Recursos

Pascua - Easter Celebraciones - Celebrations

Recursos y materiales gratis en inglés, para Pascua - Easter.

Easter: the Christian story of Easter

The Christian festival of Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the early days of Christianity, Christian Easter coincided with the Jewish Easter. At that time the calendar used to fix the date of Easter was the Jewish or Babylonian calendar. The resurrection of Jesus Christ fell on the 14th day of Nissan at the same time as Pesach, the Jewish Passover.

The Council of Nicaea in 325 and the beginning of the differences

Constantine I convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 where it was decided that all Christians would celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox. To avoid confusion with the Jewish festival, Easter was to be shifted by one week in years when the equinox corresponded to Pesach.

Alexandria wanted to keep the date of 14 Nissan as Easter, while Rome wanted Easter to fall on a Sunday, regardless of the Babylonian calendar. This also made it possible to clearly distinguish Christian Easter from Passover.

In practice, the shifts of the Julian calendar with the solar and lunar year did not allow the Christians to respect the terms of the council. The date of Easter varied according to the regions of the world. On several occasions, Rome tried to reform the method of calculating the date of Easter, but each time it met with resistance from certain churches, such as the Church of Ireland.

It was not until the reform of the Gregorian calendar that a new common rule was adopted around 1582.

The calculation of the date of Easter remains a complex one, since Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full ecclesiastical moon in spring. In addition, Easter must fall between 22 March and 25 April.

The highlights of Easter for Christians

The Easter period is marked by several highlights for Christians which are Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Lent :

Preparations for Easter begin at the end of Shrove Tuesday with Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, Christians go to church for the distribution of Ashes. It is a day of self-examination and repentance. Ashes remind us that man is dust and will return to dust.

Lent was strictly observed until the beginning of the 20th century. For 40 days, equivalent to the 40 days spent by Jesus Christ in the desert, Christians follow a half fast during which certain rich and meaty foods are forbidden. The period of Lent is a time of purification and spiritual elevation in preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Palm Sunday:

Palm Sunday precedes Easter Sunday and celebrates the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem. Jesus was celebrated on his arrival, with people spreading palm branches under his feet as a carpet.

On Palm Sunday, Christians have branches of palm, boxwood or yew blessed, which are supposed to protect them from evil throughout the year. These branches are often decorated with sugar or marzipan decorations. In English-speaking countries this is called Willow, Yew or Blossom Sunday.

Good Friday

Good Friday is a very important day in the Christian religion, but also a very sad one as it commemorates the crucifixion of Christ.

Good Friday is the Friday after Palm Sunday, the day Jesus Christ died on the cross. It is the saddest and darkest day in Christianity. Therefore, Christians all over the world follow the Way of the Cross of Jesus Christ. Each station is an opportunity to recall an important stage of his ordeal and to pray.

Easter Sunday:

Easter Day celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the day when Jesus' disciples went to his tomb to find it empty. On their way back they met the risen Jesus and began to spread the good news.

Easter is a day of celebration and joy. All the prohibitions of Lent are lifted on this day. The Easter period is called the Paschal season. Traditionally, the Paschal lamb is eaten on Easter Day.

Where does the custom of Easter eggs come from?

From the simple coloured hard-boiled egg to the most prestigious Fabergé eggs, the Easter egg has remained a tradition throughout the world. In Italy, Easter eggs are still blessed and placed in the centre of the table. Russian and Ukrainian Easter eggs are real works of art, with very symbolic and geometric designs and colours, with Christian representations such as the cross and Christ himself.

In the West, in the countryside or in the gardens of the city house, a mysterious egg hunt is organised in the early hours of Easter morning. According to tradition, on their way back from Rome, the bells, which have been silent since Maundy Thursday evening, spread eggs, bells, casseroles and other delicacies. The custom of giving chocolate eggs or bunnies is of commercial origin.

The German tradition is to hide them in an invisible white rabbit for children. In the United States and Alsace, it is a hare; in Thuringia, a stork; in Westphalia, a fox; in Switzerland, a cuckoo.

Ancient origins

The custom of giving decorated, dyed or worked eggs existed long before the Christian era. As spring is the season of nature's blossoming, the egg, representing life and rebirth, was probably the first symbol used in rituals dating back to ancient times. In spring, the Egyptians and Persians used to dye eggs and offer them as a symbol of the renewal of life. In ancient Gaul, the druids dyed eggs red in honour of the sun.

For the Jews, the egg is the symbol of life but also of death. The liberation of the Hebrew people cost many lives, and happiness is never absolute for the Hebrews. At Passover, Jews dip an egg in salt water in memory of all the tears shed after the loss of their independence.

A Christian custom

Many pagan festivals therefore celebrated the resurrection of nature symbolised by the egg, the bearer of a life-giving seed. But it was most probably the Church's ban on eating eggs during Lent until the 17th century that gave rise to the Easter egg tradition. As the hens could not be prevented from laying eggs, they were carefully kept until Easter, when the stock had to be sold!

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Pascua - Semana Santa - Easter - Holy Week

Pascua - Semana Santa - Easter - Holy Week - Recursos Educativos en inglés

Vocabulario en Inglés - English Vocabulary

Conejito de Pascua - Easter bunny
Cuaresma - Lent
Domingo de Pascua o Resurrección - Easter Sunday
Domingo de Ramos - Palm Sunday
Felices Pascuas - Happy Easter

huevo de chocolate - Chocolate egg
Huevo de Pascua - Easter egg
Huevo decorado - Decorated egg
Miércoles de Ceniza - Ash Wednesday
Pascua - Easter
Pasión de Cristo - Passion of Christ
Pentecostés - Pentecost
Resurrección - Resurrection
Sábado Santo - Easter Saturday
Semana Santa - Holy Week
Vacaciones de Semana Santa - Easter break
Vacaciones de Semana Santa - Easter holiday
Viernes Santo - Good Friday

Recursos y materiales gratis en inglés, para Pascua - Easter.

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Recipe for chocolate Easter eggs

Cooking recipes - How to make chocolate Easter eggs?

Making homemade chocolate eggs is not that complicated! The proof is in the pudding with this
quick and easy recipe.

The main thing is to temper the chocolate well so that it is smooth and shiny. Children will enjoy decorating the eggs as they see fit. Dark chocolate,
white or milk chocolate, you can choose your favourite flavours.

A great way to celebrate Easter

Ingredients for the chocolate Easter eggs:

For 2 large eggs:

• 500 g chocolate (dark, milk, white)

Steps for making chocolate Easter eggs:

1. Pour the crushed chocolate into a container. Melt in a bain-marie or in the microwave
without exceeding 45-50°C. Mix well so that the chocolate is smooth.

2. Pour the melted chocolate onto a cold plate or marble to cool to 25°C.
When the temperature is reached, return the chocolate to a container and heat to 30- 32°C.
32°C.

3. Using a small ladle, pour some of the chocolate into your mould. Turn the mould over to remove the excess chocolate. Place the mould in the refrigerator for a few hours so that the chocolate
the chocolate to harden.

4. After the resting time, carefully remove the egg shells from the mould. To weld them together, place one of the one of the shells over a pan of hot water. When the chocolate is slightly melted, weld the shells together.
When the chocolate is slightly melted, weld the shells together. Leave to dry for a few hours at room temperature.

Tip: Children can decorate these chocolate eggs in many different ways. You can for example, melt some of the chocolate and place it in a paper cone or a baking pen.
All they have to do is draw on the shells: arabesques, dots, flowers...

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The Twelve Dancing Princesses - Brothers Grimm

Recursos Educativos en Inglés - Stories in English - Cuentos clásicos en Inglés

The Twelve Dancing Princesses - Brothers Grimm - Las doce princesas bailarinas en inglés

There was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters. They slept in twelve beds all in one room and when they went to bed, the doors were shut and locked up. However, every morning their shoes were found to be quite worn through as if they had been danced in all night. Nobody could find out how it happened, or where the princesses had been.

     So the king made it known to all the land that if any person could discover the secret and find out where it was that the princesses danced in the night, he would have the one he liked best to take as his wife, and would be king after his death. But whoever tried and did not succeed, after three days and nights, they would be put to death.

     A king's son soon came. He was well entertained, and in the evening was taken to the chamber next to the one where the princesses lay in their twelve beds. There he was to sit and watch where they went to dance; and, in order that nothing could happen without him hearing it, the door of his chamber was left open. But the king's son soon fell asleep; and when he awoke in the morning he found that the princesses had all been dancing, for the soles of their shoes were full of holes.

     The same thing happened the second and third night and so the king ordered his head to be cut off.

     After him came several others; but they all had the same luck, and all lost their lives in the same way.

     Now it happened that an old soldier, who had been wounded in battle and could fight no longer, passed through the country where this king reigned, and as he was travelling through a wood, he met an old woman, who asked him where he was going.

     'I hardly know where I am going, or what I had better do,' said the soldier; 'but I think I would like to find out where it is that the princesses dance, and then in time I might be a king.'

 'Well,' said the old woman, 'that is not a very hard task: only take care not to drink any of the wine which one of the princesses will bring to you in the evening; and as soon as she leaves you pretend to be fast asleep.'

     Then she gave him a cloak, and said, 'As soon as you put that on you will become invisible, and you will then be able to follow the princesses wherever they go.' When the soldier heard all this good advice, he was determined to try his luck, so he went to the king, and said he was willing to undertake the task.

     He was as well received as the others had been, and the king ordered fine royal robes to be given him; and when the evening came he was led to the outer chamber.

     Just as he was going to lie down, the eldest of the princesses brought him a cup of wine; but the soldier threw it all away secretly, taking care not to drink a drop. Then he laid himself down on his bed, and in a little while began to snore very loudly as if he was fast asleep.

     When the twelve princesses heard this they laughed heartily; and the eldest said, 'This fellow too might have done a wiser thing than lose his life in this way!' Then they rose and opened their drawers and boxes, and took out all their fine clothes, and dressed themselves at the mirror, and skipped about as if they were eager to begin dancing.

     But the youngest said, 'I don't know why it is, but while you are so happy I feel very uneasy; I am sure some mischance will befall us.'

     'You simpleton,' said the eldest, 'you are always afraid; have you forgotten how many kings' sons have already watched in vain? And as for this soldier, even if I had not given him his sleeping draught, he would have slept soundly enough.'

When they were all ready, they went and looked at the soldier; but he snored on, and did not stir hand or foot: so they thought they were quite safe.

     Then the eldest went up to her own bed and clapped her hands, and the bed sank into the floor and a trap-door flew open. The soldier saw them going down through the trap-door one after another, the eldest leading the way; and thinking he had no time to lose, he jumped up, put on the cloak which the old woman had given him, and followed them.

     However, in the middle of the stairs he trod on the gown of the youngest princess, and she cried out to her sisters, 'All is not right; someone took hold of my gown.'

     'You silly creature!' said the eldest, 'it is nothing but a nail in the wall.'

     Down they all went, and at the bottom they found themselves in a most delightful grove of trees; and the leaves were all of silver, and glittered and sparkled beautifully. The soldier wished to take away some token of the place; so he broke off a little branch, and there came a loud noise from the tree. Then the youngest daughter said again, 'I am sure all is not right -- did not you hear that noise? That never happened before.'

     But the eldest said, 'It is only our princes, who are shouting for joy at our approach.'

     They came to another grove of trees, where all the leaves were of gold; and afterwards to a third, where the leaves were all glittering diamonds. And the soldier broke a branch from each; and every time there was a loud noise, which made the youngest sister tremble with fear. But the eldest still said it was only the princes, who were crying for joy.

     They went on till they came to a great lake; and at the side of the lake there lay twelve little boats with twelve handsome princes in them, who seemed to be waiting there for the princesses.

One of the princesses went into each boat, and the soldier stepped into the same boat as the youngest. As they were rowing over the lake, the prince who was in the boat with the youngest princess and the soldier said, 'I do not know why it is, but though I am rowing with all my might we do not get on so fast as usual, and I am quite tired: the boat seems very heavy today.'

     'It is only the heat of the weather,' said the princess, 'I am very warm, too.'

     On the other side of the lake stood a fine, illuminated castle from which came the merry music of horns and trumpets. There they all landed, and went into the castle, and each prince danced with his princess; and the soldier, who was still invisible, danced with them too. When any of the princesses had a cup of wine set by her, he drank it all up, so that when she put the cup to her mouth it was empty. At this, too, the youngest sister was terribly frightened, but the eldest always silenced her.

     They danced on till three o'clock in the morning, and then all their shoes were worn out, so that they were obliged to leave. The princes rowed them back again over the lake (but this time the soldier placed himself in the boat with the eldest princess); and on the opposite shore they took leave of each other, the princesses promising to come again the next night.

     When they came to the stairs, the soldier ran on before the princesses, and laid himself down. And as the twelve, tired sisters slowly came up, they heard him snoring in his bed and they said, 'Now all is quite safe'. Then they undressed themselves, put away their fine clothes, pulled off their shoes, and went to bed.

     In the morning the soldier said nothing about what had happened, but determined to see more of this strange adventure, and went again on the second and third nights. Everything happened just as before: the princesses danced till their shoes were worn to pieces, and then returned home. On the third night the soldier carried away one of the golden cups as a token of where he had been.

As soon as the time came when he was to declare the secret, he was taken before the king with the three branches and the golden cup; and the twelve princesses stood listening behind the door to hear what he would say.

     The king asked him. 'Where do my twelve daughters dance at night?'

     The soldier answered, 'With twelve princes in a castle underground.' And then he told the king all that had happened, and showed him the three branches and the golden cup which he had brought with him.

     The king called for the princesses, and asked them whether what the soldier said was true and when they saw that they were discovered, and that it was of no use to deny what had happened, they confessed it all.

     So the king asked the soldier which of the princesses he would choose for his wife; and he answered, 'I am not very young, so I will have the eldest.' -- and they were married that very day, and the soldier was chosen to be the king's heir.

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The Red Shoes - Hans Christian Andersen

Recursos Educativos en Inglés - Stories in English - Cuentos clásicos en Inglés

The Red Shoes - Hans Christian Andersen - Las zapatillas rojas en inglés

Once upon a time there was little girl, pretty and dainty. But in summer time she was obliged to go barefooted because she was poor, and in winter she had to wear large wooden shoes, so that her little instep grew quite red.

     In the middle of the village lived an old shoemaker's wife; she sat down and made, as well as she could, a pair of little shoes out of some old pieces of red cloth. They were clumsy, but she meant well, for they were intended for the little girl, whose name was Karen.

     Karen received the shoes and wore them for the first time on the day of her mother's funeral. They were certainly not suitable for mourning; but she had no others, and so she put her bare feet into them and walked behind the humble coffin.

     Just then a large old carriage came by, and in it sat an old lady; she looked at the little girl, and taking pity on her, said to the clergyman, "Look here, if you will give me the little girl, I will take care of her."

     Karen believed that this was all on account of the red shoes, but the old lady thought them hideous, and so they were burnt. Karen herself was dressed very neatly and cleanly; she was taught to read and to sew, and people said that she was pretty. But the mirror told her, "You are more than pretty - you are beautiful."

     One day the Queen was travelling through that part of the country, and had her little daughter, who was a princess, with her. All the people, amongst them Karen too, streamed towards the castle, where the little princess, in fine white clothes, stood before the window and allowed herself to be stared at. She wore neither a train nor a golden crown, but beautiful red morocco shoes; they were indeed much finer than those which the shoemaker's wife had sewn for little Karen. There is really nothing in the world that can be compared to red shoes!

Karen was now old enough to be confirmed; she received some new clothes, and she was also to have some new shoes. The rich shoemaker in the town took the measure of her little foot in his own room, in which there stood great glass cases full of pretty shoes and white slippers. It all looked very lovely, but the old lady could not see very well, and therefore did not get much pleasure out of it. Amongst the shoes stood a pair of red ones, like those which the princess had worn. How beautiful they were! and the shoemaker said that they had been made for a count's daughter, but that they had not fitted her.

     "I suppose they are of shiny leather?" asked the old lady. "They shine so."

     "Yes, they do shine," said Karen. They fitted her, and were bought. But the old lady knew nothing of their being red, for she would never have allowed Karen to be confirmed in red shoes, as she was now to be.

     Everybody looked at her feet, and the whole of the way from the church door to the choir it seemed to her as if even the ancient figures on the monuments, in their stiff collars and long black robes, had their eyes fixed on her red shoes. It was only of these that she thought when the clergyman laid his hand upon her head and spoke of the holy baptism, of the covenant with God, and told her that she was now to be a grown-up Christian. The organ pealed forth solemnly, and the sweet children's voices mingled with that of their old leader; but Karen thought only of her red shoes. In the afternoon the old lady heard from everybody that Karen had worn red shoes. She said that it was a shocking thing to do, that it was very improper, and that Karen was always to go to church in future in black shoes, even if they were old.

     On the following Sunday there was Communion. Karen looked first at the black shoes, then at the red ones - looked at the red ones again, and put them on.

The sun was shining gloriously, so Karen and the old lady went along the footpath through the corn, where it was rather dusty.

     At the church door stood an old crippled soldier leaning on a crutch; he had a wonderfully long beard, more red than white, and he bowed down to the ground and asked the old lady whether he might wipe her shoes. Then Karen put out her little foot too.

     "Dear me, what pretty dancing-shoes!" said the soldier. "Sit fast, when you dance," said he, addressing the shoes, and slapping the soles with his hand.

     The old lady gave the soldier some money and then went with Karen into the church.

     And all the people inside looked at Karen's red shoes, and all the figures gazed at them; when Karen knelt before the altar and put the golden goblet to her mouth, she thought only of the red shoes. It seemed to her as though they were swimming about in the goblet, and she forgot to sing the psalm, forgot to say the "Lord's Prayer."

     Now every one came out of church, and the old lady stepped into her carriage. But just as Karen was lifting up her foot to get in too, the old soldier said: "Dear me, what pretty dancing shoes!" and Karen could not help it, she was obliged to dance a few steps; and when she had once begun, her legs continued to dance. It seemed as if the shoes had got power over them. She danced round the church corner, for she could not stop; the coachman had to run after her and seize her. He lifted her into the carriage, but her feet continued to dance, so that she kicked the good old lady violently. At last they took off her shoes, and her legs were at rest.

     At home the shoes were put into the cupboard, but Karen could not help looking at them.

     Now the old lady fell ill, and it was said that she would not rise from her bed again. She had to be nursed and waited upon, and this was no one's duty more than Karen's. But there was a grand ball in the town, and Karen was invited. She looked at the red shoes, saying to herself that there was no sin in doing that; she put the red shoes on, thinking there was no harm in that either; and then she went to the ball; and commenced to dance.

 But when she wanted to go to the right, the shoes danced to the left, and when she wanted to dance up the room, the shoes danced down the room, down the stairs through the street, and out through the gates of the town. She danced, and was obliged to dance, far out into the dark wood. Suddenly something shone up among the trees, and she believed it was the moon, for it was a face. But it was the old soldier with the red beard; he sat there nodding his head and said: "Dear me, what pretty dancing shoes!"

     She was frightened, and wanted to throw the red shoes away; but they stuck fast. She tore off her stockings, but the shoes had grown fast to her feet. She danced and was obliged to go on dancing over field and meadow, in rain and sunshine, by night and by day - but by night it was most horrible.

     She danced out into the open churchyard; but the dead there did not dance. They had something better to do than that. She wanted to sit down on the pauper's grave where the bitter fern grows; but for her there was neither peace nor rest. And as she danced past the open church door she saw an angel there in long white robes, with wings reaching from his shoulders down to the earth; his face was stern and grave, and in his hand he held a broad shining sword.

     "Dance you shall," said he, "dance in your red shoes till you are pale and cold, till your skin shrivels up and you are a skeleton! Dance you shall, from door to door, and where proud and wicked children live you shall knock, so that they may hear you and fear you! Dance you shall, dance!"

     "Mercy!" cried Karen. But she did not hear what the angel answered, for the shoes carried her through the gate into the fields, along highways and byways, and unceasingly she had to dance.

     One morning she danced past a door that she knew well; they were singing a psalm inside, and a coffin was being carried out covered with flowers. Then she knew that she was forsaken by every one and damned by the angel of God.

She danced, and was obliged to go on dancing through the dark night. The shoes bore her away over thorns and stumps till she was all torn and bleeding; she danced away over the heath to a lonely little house. Here, she knew, lived the executioner; and she tapped with her finger at the window and said:

     "Come out, come out! I cannot come in, for I must dance."

     And the executioner said: "I don't suppose you know who I am. I strike off the heads of the wicked, and I notice that my axe is tingling to do so."

     "Don't cut off my head!" said Karen, "for then I could not repent of my sin. But cut off my feet with the red shoes."

     And then she confessed all her sin, and the executioner struck off her feet with the red shoes; but the shoes danced away with the little feet across the field into the deep forest.

     And he carved her a pair of wooden feet and some crutches, and taught her a psalm which is always sung by sinners; she kissed the hand that guided the axe, and went away over the heath.

     "Now, I have suffered enough for the red shoes," she said; "I will go to church, so that people can see me." And she went quickly up to the church-door; but when she came there, the red shoes were dancing before her, and she was frightened, and turned back.

     During the whole week she was sad and wept many bitter tears, but when Sunday came again she said: "Now I have suffered and striven enough. I believe I am quite as good as many of those who sit in church and give themselves airs." And so she went boldly on; but she had not got farther than the churchyard gate when she saw the red shoes dancing along before her. Then she became terrified, and turned back and repented right heartily of her sin.

 She went to the parsonage, and begged that she might be taken into service there. She would be industrious, she said, and do everything that she could; she did not mind about the wages as long as she had a roof over her, and was with good people. The pastor's wife had pity on her, and took her into service. And she was industrious and thoughtful. She sat quiet and listened when the pastor read aloud from the Bible in the evening. All the children liked her very much, but when they spoke about dress and grandeur and beauty she would shake her head.

     On the following Sunday they all went to church, and she was asked whether she wished to go too; but, with tears in her eyes, she looked sadly at her crutches. And then the others went to hear God's Word, but she went alone into her little room; this was only large enough to hold the bed and a chair. Here she sat down with her hymn-book, and as she was reading it with a pious mind, the wind carried the notes of the organ over to her from the church, and in tears she lifted up her face and said: "O God! help me!"

     Then the sun shone so brightly, and right before her stood an angel of God in white robes; it was the same one whom she had seen that night at the church-door. He no longer carried the sharp sword, but a beautiful green branch, full of roses; with this he touched the ceiling, which rose up very high, and where he had touched it there shone a golden star. He touched the walls, which opened wide apart, and she saw the organ which was pealing forth; she saw the pictures of the old pastors and their wives, and the congregation sitting in the polished chairs and singing from their hymn-books. The church itself had come to the poor girl in her narrow room, or the room had gone to the church. She sat in the pew with the rest of the pastor's household, and when they had finished the hymn and looked up, they nodded and said, "It was right of you to come, Karen."

    "It was mercy," said she.

     The organ played and the children's voices in the choir sounded soft and lovely. The bright warm sunshine streamed through the window into the pew where Karen sat, and her heart became so filled with it, so filled with peace and joy, that it broke. Her soul flew on the sunbeams to Heaven, and no one was there who asked after the Red Shoes.

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King Grisly-Beard - Brothers Grimm - Cuento en inglés

Recursos Educativos en Inglés - Stories in English - Cuentos clásicos en Inglés

King Grisly-Beard - Brothers Grimm

A great king of a land far away in the East had a daughter who was very beautiful, but so proud and haughty and conceited, that none of the princes who came to ask for her hand in marriage was good enough for her. All she ever did was make fun of them.

     Once upon a time the king held a great feast and invited all her suitors. They all sat in a row, ranged according to their rank -- kings and princes and dukes and earls and counts and barons and knights. When the princess came in, as she passed by them, she had something spiteful to say to each one.

     The first was too fat: 'He's as round as a tub,' she said.

     The next was too tall: 'What a maypole!' she said.

     The next was too short: 'What a dumpling!' she said.

     The fourth was too pale, and she called him 'Wallface.'

     The fifth was too red, so she called him 'Coxcomb.'

     The sixth was not straight enough; so she said he was like a green stick that had been laid to dry over a baker's oven. She had some joke to crack about every one. But she laughed most of all at a good king who was there.

     'Look at him,' she said; 'his beard is like an old mop; he shall be called Grisly-beard.' So the king got the nickname of Grisly-beard.

     But the old king was very angry when he saw how his daughter behaved and how badly she treated all his guests. He vowed that, willing or unwilling, she would marry the first man that came to the door.

     Two days later a travelling fiddler came by the castle. He began to play under the window and begged for money and when the king heard him, he said, 'Let him come in.'

  So, they brought the dirty-looking fellow in and, when he had sung before the king and the princess, he begged for a gift.

     The king said, 'You have sung so well that I will give you my daughter to take as your wife.'

     The princess begged and prayed; but the king said, 'I have sworn to give you to the first man who came to the door, and I will keep my word.'

     Words and tears were to no avail; the parson was sent for, and she was married to the fiddler.

     When this was over, the king said, 'Now get ready to leave -- you must not stay here -- you must travel with your husband.'

     So the fiddler left the castle, and took the princess with him.

     Soon they came to a great wood.

     'Pray,' she said, 'whose is this wood?'

     'It belongs to King Grisly-beard,' he answered; 'hadst thou taken him, all would have been thine.'

     'Ah! unlucky wretch that I am!' she sighed; 'would that I had married King Grisly-beard!'

     Next they came to some fine meadows.

     'Whose are these beautiful green meadows?' she said.

     'They belong to King Grisly-beard, hadst thou taken him, they would all have been thine.'

     'Ah! unlucky wretch that I am!' she said; 'would that I had married King Grisly-beard!'

     Then they came to a great city. 'Whose is this noble city?' she said.

     'It belongs to King Grisly-beard; hadst thou taken him, it would all have been thine.'

   'Ah! wretch that I am!' she sighed; 'why did I not marry King Grisly-beard?'

     'That is no business of mine,' said the fiddler, 'why should you wish for another husband? Am I not good enough for you?'

     At last they came to a small cottage. 'What a paltry place!' she said; 'to whom does that little dirty hole belong?'

     The fiddler said, 'That is your and my house, where we are to live.'

     'Where are your servants?' she cried.

     'What do we want with servants?' he said; 'you must do for yourself whatever is to be done. Now make the fire, and put on water and cook my supper, for I am very tired.'

     But the princess knew nothing of making fires and cooking, and the fiddler was forced to help her.

     When they had eaten a very scanty meal they went to bed; but the fiddler called her up very early in the morning to clean the house.

     They lived like that for two days and when they had eaten up all there was in the cottage, the man said, 'Wife, we can't go on thus, spending money and earning nothing. You must learn to weave baskets.'

     Then the fiddler went out and cut willows, and brought them home, and she began to weave; but it made her fingers very sore.

     'I see this work won't do,' he said, 'try and spin; perhaps you will do that better.'

     So she sat down and tried to spin; but the threads cut her tender fingers until the blood ran.

     'See now,' said the fiddler, 'you are good for nothing; you can do no work. What a bargain I have got! However, I'll try and set up a trade in pots and pans, and you shall stand in the market and sell them.'

  'Alas!' she sighed, 'if any of my father's court should pass by and see me standing in the market, how they will laugh at me!'

     But her husband did not care about that, and said she would have to work if she did not want to die of hunger.

     At first the trade went well because many people, seeing such a beautiful woman, went to buy her wares and paid their money without even thinking of taking away the goods. They lived on this as long as it lasted and then her husband bought a fresh lot of pots and pans, and she sat herself down with it in the corner of the market.

     However, soon a drunken soldier soon came by and rode his horse against her stall and broke all her goods into a thousand pieces.

     She began to cry, and did not know what to do. 'Ah! what will become of me?' she said; 'what will my husband say?' So she ran home and told him everything.

     'Who would have thought you would have been so silly,' he said, 'as to put an earthenware stall in the corner of the market, where everybody passes? But let us have no more crying; I see you are not fit for this sort of work, so I have been to the king's palace, and asked if they did not want a kitchen-maid; and they say they will take you, and there you will have plenty to eat.'

     So the princess became a kitchen-maid and helped the cook to do all the dirtiest work. She was allowed to carry home some of the meat that was left over, and they lived on that.

     She had not been there long before she heard that the king's eldest son was passing by, on his way to get married. She went to one of the windows and looked out. Everything was ready and all the pomp and brightness of the court was there. Seeing it, she grieved bitterly for the pride and folly that had brought her so low. The servants gave her some of the rich meats and she put them into her basket to take home.

All of a sudden, as she was leaving, in came the king's son in his golden clothes. When he saw such a beautiful woman at the door, he took her by the hand and said she should be his partner in the dance. She trembled with fear because she saw that it was King Grisly-beard, who was making fun of her. However, he kept hold of her, and led her into the hall. As she entered, the cover of the basket came off, and the meats in it fell out. Everybody laughed and jeered at her and she was so ashamed that she wished she were a thousand feet deep in the earth. She sprang over to the door so that she could run away but on the steps King Grisly-beard overtook her, brought her back and said:

     'Fear me not! I am the fiddler who has lived with you in the hut. I brought you there because I truly loved you. I am also the soldier that overset your stall. I have done all this only to cure you of your silly pride, and to show you the folly of your ill-treatment of me. Now it is all over: you have learnt wisdom, and it is time to hold our marriage feast.'

     Then the chamberlains came and brought her the most beautiful robes. Her father and his whole court were already there, and they welcomed her home. Joy was in every face and every heart. The feast was grand; they danced and sang; everyone was merry; and I only wish that you and I had been there.

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Poems Of Ernest Hemingway - Poemas en inglés

Recursos Educativos en Inglés - Poems in English - Poesías en inglés

 

Advice To A Son - Ernest Hemingway

Never trust a white man,
Never kill a Jew,
Never sign a contract,
Never rent a pew.

Don't enlist in armies;
Nor marry many wives;
Never write for magazines;
Never scratch your hives.
Always put paper on the seat,
Don't believe in wars,
Keep yourself both clean and neat,
Never marry whores.
Never pay a blackmailer,
Never go to law,
Never trust a publisher,
Or you'll sleep on straw.
All your friends will leave you
All your friends will die
So lead a clean and wholesome life
And join them in the sky.

Along With Youth - Ernest Hemingway

A porcupine skin,
Stiff with bad tanning,
It must have ended somewhere.
Stuffed horned owl
Pompous
Yellow eyed;
Chuck-wills-widow on a biased twig
Sooted with dust.
Piles of old magazines,
Drawers of boy's letters
And the line of love
They must have ended somewhere.
Yesterday's Tribune is gone
Along with youth
And the canoe that went to pieces on the beach
The year of the big storm
When the hotel burned down
At Seney, Michigan.

The Age Demanded - Ernest Hemingway

The age demanded that we sing
And cut away our tongue.

The age demanded that we flow
And hammered in the bung.

The age demanded that we dance
And jammed us into iron pants.

And in the end the age was handed
The sort of shit that it demanded.

Captives - Ernest Hemingway

Some came in chains
Unrepentant but tired.
Too tired but to stumble.
Thinking and hating were finished
Thinking and fighting were finished
Retreating and hoping were finished.
Cures thus a long campaign,
Making death easy.

I Like Canadians - Ernest Hemingway

I like Canadians.
They are so unlike Americans.
They go home at night.
Their cigarettes don't smell bad.
Their hats fit.
They really believe that they won the war.
They don't believe in Literature.
They think Art has been exaggerated.
But they are wonderful on ice skates.
A few of them are very rich.
But when they are rich they buy more horses
Than motor cars.
Chicago calls Toronto a puritan town.
But both boxing and horse-racing are illegal
In Chicago.
Nobody works on Sunday.
Nobody.
That doesn't make me mad.
There is only one Woodbine.
But were you ever at Blue Bonnets?
If you kill somebody with a motor car in Ontario
You are liable to go to jail.
So it isn't done.
There have been over 500 people killed by motor cars
In Chicago
So far this year.
It is hard to get rich in Canada.
But it is easy to make money.
There are too many tea rooms.
But, then, there are no cabarets.
If you tip a waiter a quarter
He says 'Thank you.'
Instead of calling the bouncer.
They let women stand up in the street cars.
Even if they are good-looking.
They are all in a hurry to get home to supper
And their radio sets.
They are a fine people.
I like them.

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