In selecting these _Spanish Tales for Beginners_, three objects have
been kept in view: (1) that they be good literature, (2) that they
portray modern Spanish life, and (3) that they be interesting and not
too difficult in language and thought. Some of the stories do not
conform to all three rules,--the first two, for instance, do not portray
modern Spanish life; but I hope that most of them will be found to
conform fully. A few short lyric poems have also been included, since
poetry forms an integral part of literature. Verse, moreover, is better
for oral work and memorizing than prose.
Spain has a rich and varied literature, from which other nations have
freely drawn,--a literature that gives true expression to the life and
aspirations of the Spanish people. The selections in this volume are
taken from literary works that have been written in the past fifty or
sixty years, and although they are inferior in some respects to the
great master-pieces of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, I
believe that they have literary excellence, and they have, besides, the
advantage of being written in the language of today and of describing
present-day life.
It is my greatest wish that this volume may awaken the students'
interest in the civilization of Spain, and that it may serve as an
introduction to the study of Spanish literature.
The integrity of the texts has been preserved so far as the exigencies
of a beginners' book permit, but the following changes have been made:
(1) Some words or passages have been omitted, chiefly in the earlier
stories. The parts thus omitted are, for the most part, digressions or
uninteresting descriptive passages. Omissions have generally been marked
by four suspensive points, or by three at the beginning of a story.
Except at the beginning of a story, three suspensive points form a part
of the punctuation of the several authors. (2) The orthography has been
made to conform to that now prescribed by the Royal Spanish Academy. (3)
In the earlier stories, _le_ has been substituted for the feminine
indirect object-pronoun _la_, and _los_ for the masculine plural direct
object-pronoun _les_. (4) And in the earlier stories, the conjunctive
personal pronoun-object has been placed before the indicative verb:
e.g., _se tornó_ for _tornóse_, p. 11, l. 4. (5) The conjunction _y_ has
been added a few times to bridge over an omission: e.g., p. 2, l. 3. (6)
In a few cases one word has been substituted for another: _vieron_ for
_se apercibieron de que_, p. 22, l. 11; _la niña_ for _la del rojo
balandrán_, p. 47, l. 13; _Rogó_ for _De esto á rogar_, p. 48, l. 9;
_ese dinero_ for _esos monises_, p. 57, l. 31; _cochero_ for _auriga_,
p. 58, l. 4; _reloj_ for _calderómetro_, p. 101, l. 7; _otro pájaro_ for
_la escula-mata_, p. 116, l. 9; _madre_ for _escula-mata_, p. 116, l.
11.
In the notes the difficulties have been explained, so far as possible,
by reference to the vocabulary, or by rearranging the words; but it has
often been necessary to translate into English. Perhaps the criticism
will be made that the notes to the first few pages are too numerous and
too simple; but many of these notes, and especially those that explain
elementary rules of Spanish grammar, are given for the benefit of
students who begin to read almost from the first. In the notes to the
lyrics, no attempt has been made to treat Spanish prosody fully; only a
few rules are given, and these in the simplest language.
The vocabulary has been made as complete as possible. It contains many
facts, such as descriptions of places and biographies of noted men, that
are usually not given in vocabularies. It contains also all irregular
verb-forms that occur in the first fifty pages of the texts.
I have pleasure in acknowledging my indebtedness to many of my
colleagues for advice and helpful suggestions, and I am especially
indebted to Dr. S. Griswold Morley for help in reading the proofs.