El misterio del cuadro (The mystery of the painting): free A2 Spanish story
Level A2 (Elementary) · Mystery · about 3 minutes
In a tiny museum, a painting changes a little every night, and only the guard notices.
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The story in Spanish
En un pueblo pequeño hay un museo pequeño, con una sola sala y doce cuadros. Julián trabaja allí como guardia desde hace treinta años. Conoce cada cuadro de memoria, pero su favorito es el retrato de una mujer joven en una ventana. La mujer lleva un vestido azul y tiene una cara muy triste.
Un lunes por la mañana, Julián notó algo raro. En la ventana del cuadro había una flor roja. Julián estaba seguro: el viernes, esa flor no estaba allí. El martes, apareció un pájaro en el cielo del cuadro. El miércoles, el vestido de la mujer ya no era azul, sino amarillo.
Julián habló con la directora del museo. —Alguien está cambiando el cuadro —le dijo. —Julián, usted trabaja demasiado —respondió ella—. Necesita unas vacaciones.
Esa noche, Julián no fue a casa. Se escondió detrás de una cortina y esperó en la oscuridad. Pasó una hora, y después otra. A medianoche, oyó una llave en la puerta. Entró un hombre muy viejo, con un bastón y una caja de pinturas. Se sentó delante del cuadro y empezó a pintar con mucho cuidado.
Julián salió de detrás de la cortina. —¿Quién es usted? —preguntó. El anciano no se asustó. —Me llamo Ernesto —dijo—. Yo pinté este cuadro hace cincuenta años. La mujer de la ventana es mi esposa, Luz. Le explicó que el primer director del museo era su amigo y que, hacía mucho tiempo, le había dado una llave. —Cuando la pinté, Luz estaba triste porque vivía lejos de su familia —dijo—. Pero después tuvimos una vida muy feliz. Ahora quiero pintar la verdad.
Julián miró el cuadro, y después miró al anciano. —Termine, por favor —dijo por fin—. Yo no vi nada. Ernesto trabajó toda la noche, y Julián lo miró en silencio. A la mañana siguiente, la directora se paró delante del cuadro. La mujer del vestido amarillo sonreía. —¡Qué raro! —dijo—. Nunca vi esa sonrisa. Julián no dijo nada, pero también sonrió.
English translation
In a small town there is a small museum, with a single room and twelve paintings. Julián has worked there as a guard for thirty years. He knows every painting by heart, but his favorite is the portrait of a young woman at a window. The woman is wearing a blue dress and has a very sad face.
One Monday morning, Julián noticed something strange. In the window of the painting there was a red flower. Julián was sure: on Friday, that flower wasn’t there. On Tuesday, a bird appeared in the sky of the painting. On Wednesday, the woman’s dress was no longer blue, but yellow.
Julián spoke to the museum director. “Someone is changing the painting,” he told her. “Julián, you work too much,” she replied. “You need a vacation.”
That night, Julián didn’t go home. He hid behind a curtain and waited in the dark. An hour went by, and then another. At midnight, he heard a key in the door. A very old man came in, with a walking stick and a box of paints. He sat down in front of the painting and began to paint very carefully.
Julián came out from behind the curtain. “Who are you?” he asked. The old man wasn’t frightened. “My name is Ernesto,” he said. “I painted this picture fifty years ago. The woman at the window is my wife, Luz.” He explained that the museum’s first director had been his friend and had given him a key a long time ago. “When I painted her, Luz was sad because she lived far from her family,” he said. “But afterward we had a very happy life. Now I want to paint the truth.”
Julián looked at the painting, and then he looked at the old man. “Finish, please,” he said at last. “I didn’t see anything.” Ernesto worked all night, and Julián watched him in silence. The next morning, the director stopped in front of the painting. The woman in the yellow dress was smiling. “How strange,” she said. “I’ve never seen that smile.” Julián said nothing, but he smiled too.
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