The Milkmaid and Her Pail
A free B1-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
A milkmaid daydreams about the riches her milk will bring until her wishful thinking costs her everything.
A farmer's daughter had been out to milk the cows, and was returning to the dairy carrying her pail of milk upon her head. As she walked along, she fell a-musing after this fashion: "The milk in this pail will provide me with cream, which I will make into butter and take to market to sell. With the money I will buy a number of eggs, and these, when hatched, will produce chickens, and by and by I shall have quite a large poultry-yard."
La hija de un granjero había ido a ordeñar las vacas y regresaba a la lechería llevando su cubo de leche sobre la cabeza. Mientras caminaba, se puso a soñar despierta de esta manera: «La leche de este cubo me dará crema, con la que haré mantequilla y la llevaré al mercado para venderla. Con el dinero compraré varios huevos, y estos, cuando eclosionen, producirán pollitos, y poco a poco tendré un gran corral de aves».
"Then I shall sell some of my fowls, and with the money which they will bring in I will buy myself a new gown, which I shall wear when I go to the fair; and all the young fellows will admire it, and come and make love to me, but I shall toss my head and have nothing to say to them."
«Entonces venderé algunas de mis aves, y con el dinero que me den me compraré un vestido nuevo, que llevaré cuando vaya a la feria; y todos los jóvenes lo admirarán y vendrán a cortejarme, pero yo alzaré la cabeza con desdén y no les diré nada».
Forgetting all about the pail, and suiting the action to the word, she tossed her head. Down went the pail, all the milk was spilled, and all her fine castles in the air vanished in a moment!
Olvidándose por completo del cubo, y acompañando la acción a la palabra, alzó la cabeza con desdén. El cubo cayó, toda la leche se derramó, y todos sus hermosos castillos en el aire se desvanecieron en un instante.
Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.
No cuentes los pollitos antes de que hayan salido del huevo.
