A Change of Fortune

The fourth Spanish story was written by Taylor Goodlett. It has echoes of the Cinderella story, but Taylor has given the plot some interesting twists and a satisfying ending.


Taylor Goodlett , Grade 9

Un Cambio de Fortuna

Había una princesa hermosa que tenía el pelo rizado y largo. Sus ojos grandes eran de color azul. Ella vivía en un castillo gigantesco con su familia real. Se llamaba María y estaba mimada. Ella creía gue tenía todo: una gran familia, un castillo enorme y la rigueza, pero todo estuvo para cambiar en su vida.

Su padre, el rey, estuvo en otra parte del reino. Hacía un viaje de negocios y decidió a regresar tarde por la noche. Aquella noche había una tormenta tremenda. No se puede ver dos pies en adelante. Durante su regreso, un camión chocó en el coche lujoso del rey y el rey se murió instantáneamente.

Cuándo Maria recibió las noticias acerca la muerte de su padre, ella estaba muy triste y lloraba mucho. Su madre se había muerto del cáncer cuando ella tuvo tres años. Era su padre quien la criaba con amor y ahora él la había abandonado también. Ahora Maria tenía que vivir con su madrastra cruel y las dos hijas tacañas de su madrasta.

Su madrastra pareció feliz acerca la muerte del rey. Ella sonreía constantemente. Ella nunca lloró, ni una vez, durante el funeral del rey. Maria supo que su madrastra deseaba heredar todo y coger el poder.

Después del funeral, ellos volvieron al castillo. Cuando llegaron, la reina empezó a gritar a Maria, diciéndole: "Maria, lave los pisos con este cepillo de dientes."

"No soy tu servienta," repuso Maria, pero las tres mujeres la molestaban tanto que ella comenzó a perder la esperanza.

Maria estuvo enojada un día cuando, al limpiar el pasillo, su madrastra dejó lodo en el piso y le mandó limpiar el piso sucio por seguna vez. La princesa gritó, "No! No voy a trabajar como tu esclava nunca más.” Entonces ella salió del castillo y nunca regresó.

Maria huyó a la ciudad donde encontró a un hombre alto, moreno y guapo. Ellos charlaron un rato y ella se enamoró. El la reconoció. Supo que ella era la princesa y la amaba. Luego ellos se casaron.

Después de que la boda, ellos descubieron que la princesa habia heredado todo el reino de su padre. La reina tuvo que salir, pero Maria tenía piedad en ella. La dejó quedarse en el país si ella trabajaría en el castillo, limpiando y arreglando todo. Pasó que los tres vivían contentos en el castillo superlimpio.


English

A Change of Fortune

There was a beautiful princess with long curly hair. Her large eyes were blue. She lived in a gigantic castle with her royal family. Her name was Maria and she was spoiled. She thought that she had everything: a great family, a huge castle and wealth, but everything was about to change in her life.

Her father, the king, was in a differnt part of the kingdom. He was on a business trip and decided to come back late at night. That night there was a tremendous storm. You couldn't see two feet ahead. During his return, a truck crashed into the king's luxurious car and the king died instantly.

When Maria received the news about the death of her father, she was sad and cried a lot. Her mother had died of cancer when she was three years old. It was her father who had raised her with love and now he had abandoned her also. Now Maria had to live with her cruel stepmother and her stepmother's two greedy daughters.

Her stepmother seemed happy about the death of her father. She smiled constantly. She never cried, not even once, during the kings' funeral. Maria knew that her stepmother wanted to inherit everything and seize power.

After the funeral they returned to the castle. When they arrived, the queen started to shout at Maria, saying to her, "Maria, wash the floors with this toothbrush."

"I'm not your servant," replied Maria, but the three women bothered her so that she began to lose hope.

Maria was angry one day when, upon cleaning the hall, her stepmother left mud on the floor and ordered her to clean the floor a second time. Maria shouted, "No! I'm not going to work as your slave ever again." Then she left the castle and never returned.

Maria fled to the city where she met a tall, dark and handsome man. They chatted a while and she fell in love. He recognized her. He knew that she was the princess and he loved her. Later they married.

After the wedding, they discovered that the princess had inherited all of her father's kindgom. The queen had to leave, but Maria had pity on her. She allowed her to stay in the country if she would work in the castle, cleaning and tidying everything. It happened that the three lived happily in the super-clean castle.