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Hector Hugh Munro "Saki" |
Saki
was the pen-name of Hector Hugh Munro (1870-1916),
a British political journalist who worked in Russia and France. He
published hundreds of short stories which show an
understanding of children and young people who play cleverly
and sometimes maliciously on the feelings of their elders. |
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For Graham Greene, Munro was the best English humourist
of the twentieth century. Munro's mother died when he was born
and he was
brought up by two
old aunts who turned his life into a real misery. Greene states
that this unhappy childhood is the key to the cruelty in his short stories. |
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The Open Window
PAGE 2/3 |
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La Ventana Abierta
PAGINA 2/3 |
'It is quite
warm for the time of the year,' said Framton; 'but
has that window got anything to do with her tragedy?' |
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‘Hace bastante calor para esta época del año’, dijo Framton;
‘pero ¿qué relación tiene esa ventana con la tragedia?’. |
'Out through that window, three years ago
to a day, her husband
and her two young brothers
went off for their day's shooting. They
never
came back. In crossing the
moor to their favourite snipe-shooting
ground they were all three engulfed in a
treacherous part of the
marsh. It had been that dreadful wet summer, you know, and places
that were safe in other years
gave way suddenly without warning.
Their bodies were never recovered. That was the dreadful part of
it.' |
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‘Por esa ventana, hace exactamente tres años, su marido y sus
dos hermanos menores salieron a cazar por el día. Nunca
regresaron. Al atravesar el páramo para llegar al terreno donde
solían cazar quedaron atrapados en una ciénaga traicionera.
Ocurrió durante ese verano terriblemente lluvioso, sabe, y los
terrenos que antes eran firmes de pronto cedían sin que hubiera
manera de preverlo. Nunca encontraron sus cuerpos. Eso fue lo peor
de todo’. |
Here the child's voice lost its self-possessed note and
became
hesitatingly human. 'Poor aunt always thinks that they will
come back some day, they and the little brown spaniel that was
lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to
do. That is why the window is kept open every evening until it is
quite dusk. Poor dear aunt, she has often told me how they
went
out, her husband with his white raincoat over his arm and Ronnie,
her youngest brother, singing "Bertie, why do you
bound?" as he always did to tease her, because she said it
got on her nerves. Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings
like this, I almost get a
creepy feeling that they will all walk
in through that window...‘ |
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A esta altura del relato, la voz de la niña perdió ese tono
seguro y se volvió vacilantemente humana. ‘Mi pobre tía sigue
creyendo que volverán algún día, ellos y el pequeño spaniel
que los acompañaba, y que entrarán por la ventana como solían
hacerlo. Por tal razón la ventana queda abierta hasta que ya es
de noche. Mi pobre y querida tía, cuántas veces me habrá
contado cómo salieron, su marido con el impermeable blanco en el
brazo, y Ronnie, su hermano menor, cantando como de costumbre “¿Bertie,
por qué saltas?”, porque sabía que esa canción la irritaba
especial-mente. Sabe usted, a veces, en tardes tranquilas como la
de hoy, tengo la espantosa sensación de que todos ellos volverán
a entrar por la ventana... |
She
broke off with a little shudder. It was a relief to Framton
when the aunt hurried into the room with many apologies for being
late. |
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La niña se estremeció. Fue un alivio para Framton cuando la tía
irrumpió en el cuarto pidiendo mil disculpas por haberlo hecho
esperar tanto. |
'I hope Vera has been amusing you?' she said. |
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‘Espero que Vera haya sabido entre-tenerlo’, dijo. |
'She has been very interesting,' said Framton. |
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‘Me ha contado cosas muy interesantes’, respondió Framton. |
'I hope you don't mind the open window,' said Mrs Sappleton, 'my
husband and brothers will be home
directly from shooting, and they
always come in this way. They've been out for snipe in the marshes
today, so they'll make
a fine mess over my poor carpets. So like
you men-folk, isn't it?' |
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‘Espero que no lo moleste la ventana abierta’, dijo la señora
Sappleton con animación, ‘mi marido y mis hermanos están
cazando y volverán aquí directa-mente, y siempre suelen entrar
por la ventana. No quiero pensar en el estado en que dejarán mis
pobres alfombras después de haber andado cazando, por la ciénaga.
Tan típico de ustedes los hombres ¿no es verdad?’. |
She
rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of
birds, and the prospects for
duck in the winter. To Framton it was
all purely horrible. He made a desperate effort to turn the talk
to a less horrible subject; but he was conscious that his hostess
was giving him only a small part of her attention, and her eyes
were constantly wandering past him to the open window and the lawn
beyond. It was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that he should
have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary. |
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Siguió parloteando alegremente acerca de la caza y de que ya no
abundan las aves, y acerca de las perspectivas que había de cazar
patos en invierno. Para Framton, todo eso resultaba sencilla-mente
horrible. Hizo un esfuerzo desesperado pero sólo a medias exitoso
de desviar la conversación a un tema menos repulsivo; se daba
cuenta que su anfitriona no le otorgaba su entera atención. y su
mirada se extraviaba constantemente en dirección a la ventana
abierta y al jardín. Era por cierto una infortunada coincidencia
venir de visita el día del trágico aniversario. |
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GLOSSARY |
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PHRASAL VERBS & ADVERBIAL
PARTICLES
went off: left away (salieron, partieron)
came back: returned (regresaron)
gave way: collapsed (cedían, se hundían)
went out: left (salieron, partieron)
broke off: trembled with fear or excitement (se estremeció, tembló)
rattled on: went on talking rapidly (continuó parloteando) |
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IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS &
GENERAL GLOSSARY
warm for the time of year: you would not expect it to be so warm at this
time of year (caluroso para esta época del año)
to a day: exactly (exactamente)
moor: wild, uncultivated land (páramo)
treacherous: because the green grass made the surface look firm
(traicionera)
hesitatingly human: the girl's voice broke off, as if she were overcome
by her human feeling of pity for her aunt (vacilantemente humana)
Bertie, why do you bound?: a popular song of the early twentieth
century. Bound means jump, but here there is a play on words,
because bounder means a person whose behaviour is unpleasant to
other people (Bertie, ¿por qué saltas?)
creepy: a word used by children, meaning frightening (as if
something unpleasant were creeping up one's back) (espantoso,
terrorífico)
I hope Vera has been amusing you: an example of Saki's irony
(Espero que Vera lo haya entretenido)
directly: immediately (de inmediato)
a fine mess: a sarcastic expression for a lot of-dirt
(un soberano lío)
duck: hunters speak of ducks collectively in this way (snipe
always has the same form in the singular and plural) (la caza de
patos) |
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PAGE 3/3 of this short story |
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MAS "CUENTOS
CORTOS INGLESES"
FORO
INICIO |
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