Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Spanish Short Story
Story
| It was late in the afternoon when Mr Utterson found his way to Dr Jekyll’s front door, where he was let in by Poole, the butler. | Era última hora de la tarde cuando el Sr. Utterson encontró el camino hasta la puerta principal del Dr. Jekyll, donde le hizo pasar Poole, el mayordomo. |
| He was led through the kitchen offices, across a yard and into the doctor’s laboratory. | Fue conducido a través de las oficinas de la cocina, cruzó un patio y entró en el laboratorio del doctor. |
| It was a large room that looked out upon the court through three dusty windows. | Era una habitación grande que daba al patio a través de tres ventanas polvorientas. |
| Close to the fireplace sat Dr Jekyll, looking very sick. | Cerca de la chimenea estaba sentado el Dr. Jekyll, con aspecto muy enfermo. |
| He did not stand up to meet his visitor, but held out his hand and welcomed him in a different voice. | No se levantó para recibir a su visitante, sino que le tendió la mano y le dio la bienvenida con otra voz. |
| “Have you heard the news?” said Mr Utterson, as soon as Poole had left them. | "¿Ha oído las noticias?", dijo el Sr. Utterson, en cuanto Poole los hubo dejado. |
| “You have not been mad enough to hide this fellow?” | "¿No ha estado tan loco como para esconder a este tipo?" |
| “Utterson, I swear to God,” cried the doctor. “I will never set eyes on him again.” | "Utterson, lo juro por Dios", gritó el doctor. "No volveré a ponerle los ojos encima". |
| The lawyer listened, but did not like his friend’s feverish manner. | El abogado escuchó, pero no le gustaron los modales febriles de su amigo. |
| “I hope you may be right. If it came to a trial, your name might appear.” | "Espero que tenga razón. Si llegara a juicio, su nombre podría aparecer". |
| Jekyll said hesitantly: “I have received a letter, and I am at a loss whether I should show it to the police. | Jekyll dijo vacilante: "He recibido una carta y no sé si debo mostrársela a la policía. |
| I would like to leave it in your hands, Utterson. I have such a great trust in you.” | Me gustaría dejarla en sus manos, Utterson. Tengo una gran confianza en usted". |
| The letter was written in odd handwriting and signed “Edward Hyde.” | La carta estaba escrita con letra rara y firmada "Edward Hyde". |
| “Shall I keep this and sleep on it?” asked Utterson. | "¿La guardo y duermo sobre ella?" preguntó Utterson. |
| “I wish you to judge it for me entirely,” the doctor replied. “I have lost confidence in myself.” | "Deseo que la juzgue por mí enteramente", contestó el doctor. "He perdido la confianza en mí mismo". |
| On his way out, the lawyer stopped and had a word with Poole. | Al salir, el abogado se detuvo y habló con Poole. |
| “By the way,” he said, “there was a letter handed in today. Who brought it?” | "Por cierto", dijo, "hoy se ha entregado una carta. ¿Quién la trajo?" |
| But Poole was certain that nothing had come except for circulars. | Pero Poole estaba seguro de que no había llegado nada más que circulares. |
| This news sent off the visitor with his fears renewed. | Esta noticia despidió al visitante con sus temores renovados. |
| Shortly after, Mr Utterson sat down with Mr Guest, his head clerk, and a bottle of old wine that had long dwelled in the cellar of his house. | Poco después, el Sr. Utterson se sentó con el Sr. Guest, su secretario principal, y una botella de vino añejo que había habitado largo tiempo en el sótano de su casa. |
| Then the servant entered with a note. | Entonces entró el criado con una nota. |
| “Is that from Dr Jekyll, sir?” inquired the clerk. | "¿Es del Dr. Jekyll, señor?", preguntó el secretario. |
| “Only an invitation to dinner. Why? Do you want to see it?” | "Sólo una invitación a cenar. ¿Por qué? ¿Quiere verla?" |
| The clerk laid the two sheets of paper alongside and closely compared their contents. | El secretario colocó las dos hojas de papel una al lado de la otra y comparó detenidamente su contenido. |
| “Thank you, sir,” he said at last, returning both sheets. | "Gracias, señor", dijo al fin, devolviéndole ambas hojas. |
| “It’s a very interesting signature.” | "Es una firma muy interesante". |
| There was a pause, during which Mr Utterson was in deep thought. | Hubo una pausa, durante la cual el Sr. Utterson se quedó pensativo. |
| “Why did you compare them, Guest?” he inquired suddenly. | "¿Por qué las comparó, Guest?", preguntó de repente. |
| “Well, sir,” replied the clerk, “there’s a rather singular resemblance; the two hands are in many ways identical, only differently sloped.” | "Bueno, señor", respondió el secretario, "hay un parecido bastante singular; las dos manos son idénticas en muchos aspectos, sólo que tienen una inclinación diferente". |
| When Mr Utterson was alone that night, he locked the note into his safe, where it stayed from that point onwards. | Cuando el Sr. Utterson se quedó solo aquella noche, guardó la nota en su caja fuerte, donde permaneció desde entonces. |
| “What!” he thought. “Henry Jekyll forged the handwriting of a murderer!” | "¡Qué!", pensó. "¡Henry Jekyll falsificó la letra de un asesino!" |
| And his blood ran cold in his veins. | Y se le heló la sangre en las venas. |
Vocab review
afternoon
tarde (f)
doctor
doctor (m)
lawyer
abogado (m)
house
casa (f)
This is an excerpt of the original story written by Robert Louis Stevenson, adapted for language-learners like you.
