español · English · B1–B2
Intermediate Spanish short stories, side by side with English (B1–B2)
Real literature at a reachable level: O. Henry, Saki, Oscar Wilde, Chekhov and Maupassant in Spanish, with the English original beside every paragraph.
46 free intermediate stories in Spanish
Each one opens in your browser with no account, the Spanish and the English side by side, paragraph by paragraph, shortest first. Every story is also a free Spanish–English ebook for Kindle, Kobo or any e-reader: downloading needs a free account, no payment (which file to pick).
ES
Caperucita Roja
Charles Perrault
Little Red Riding Hood
B2Charles Perrault · Spanish · 5 min
ES
Corazones y manos
O. Henry
Hearts and Hands
B1O. Henry · Spanish · 5 min
ES
La historia de una hora
Kate Chopin
The Story of an Hour
B2Kate Chopin · Spanish · 5 min
ES
Cómo le salió la garganta a la Ballena
Rudyard Kipling
How the Whale Got His Throat
B1Rudyard Kipling · Spanish · 5 min
ES
Cómo le salió la joroba al Camello
Rudyard Kipling
How the Camel Got His Hump
B1Rudyard Kipling · Spanish · 5 min
ES
El cuento de la ardilla Nutkin
Beatrix Potter
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
B1Beatrix Potter · Spanish · 10 min
ES
La ventana abierta
Saki
The Open Window
B2Saki · Spanish · 10 min
ES
Después de veinte años
O. Henry
After Twenty Years
B1O. Henry · Spanish · 10 min
ES
El romance de un agente de bolsa ocupado
O. Henry
The Romance of a Busy Broker
B2O. Henry · Spanish · 10 min
ES
Vanka
Anton Chekhov
Vanka
B1Anton Chekhov · Spanish · 10 min
ES
Tom Tit Tot
Joseph Jacobs
Tom Tit Tot
B1Joseph Jacobs · Spanish · 10 min
ES
El soldadito de plomo
Hans Christian Andersen
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
B1Hans Christian Andersen · Spanish · 10 min
ES
Sredni Vashtar
Saki
Sredni Vashtar
B2Saki · Spanish · 10 min
ES
El gato con botas
Charles Perrault
Puss in Boots
B2Charles Perrault · Spanish · 10 min
ES
La historia de Pulgarcito
Joseph Jacobs
The History of Tom Thumb
B1Joseph Jacobs · Spanish · 15 min
ES
La historia del buen niño
Mark Twain
The Story of the Good Little Boy
B2Mark Twain · Spanish · 15 min
ES
Miss Brill
Katherine Mansfield
Miss Brill
B2Katherine Mansfield · Spanish · 15 min
ES
El cuentacuentos
Saki
The Storyteller
B2Saki · Spanish · 15 min
ES
El regalo de los Reyes Magos
O. Henry
The Gift of the Magi
B2O. Henry · Spanish · 15 min
ES
El jefe de correos
Rabindranath Tagore
The Postmaster
B1Rabindranath Tagore · Spanish · 15 min
ES
El pescador y su mujer
Brothers Grimm
The Fisherman and His Wife
B1Brothers Grimm · Spanish · 15 min
ES
Los intrusos
Saki
The Interlopers
B2Saki · Spanish · 15 min
ES
El bebé de Désirée
Kate Chopin
Désirée’s Baby
B2Kate Chopin · Spanish · 15 min
ES
El cuarto de los trastos
Saki
The Lumber-Room
B2Saki · Spanish · 15 min
ES
El policía y el himno
O. Henry
The Cop and the Anthem
B2O. Henry · Spanish · 15 min
ES
El ruiseñor y la rosa
Oscar Wilde
The Nightingale and the Rose
B1Oscar Wilde · Spanish · 15 min
ES
La última hoja
O. Henry
The Last Leaf
B2O. Henry · Spanish · 15 min
ES
Blancanieves
Brothers Grimm
Snowdrop
B1Brothers Grimm · Spanish · 15 min
ES
Jack y las habichuelas mágicas
Joseph Jacobs
Jack and the Beanstalk
B1Joseph Jacobs · Spanish · 15 min
ES
El hijo del elefante
Rudyard Kipling
The Elephant’s Child
B1Rudyard Kipling · Spanish · 15 min
ES
La Cenicienta
Brothers Grimm
Ashputtel
B1Brothers Grimm · Spanish · 15 min
ES
¿La dama o el tigre?
Frank R. Stockton
The Lady, or the Tiger?
B2Frank R. Stockton · Spanish · 20 min
ES
Una reforma recuperada
O. Henry
A Retrieved Reformation
B2O. Henry · Spanish · 20 min
ES
La apuesta
Anton Chekhov
The Bet
B2Anton Chekhov · Spanish · 20 min
ES
El collar
Guy de Maupassant
The Necklace
B2Guy de Maupassant · Spanish · 20 min
ES
El Cabuliwallah
Rabindranath Tagore
The Cabuliwallah
B1Rabindranath Tagore · Spanish · 20 min
ES
Whittington y su gato
Joseph Jacobs
Whittington and His Cat
B1Joseph Jacobs · Spanish · 20 min
ES
El príncipe feliz
Oscar Wilde
The Happy Prince
B1Oscar Wilde · Spanish · 25 min
ES
El patito feo
Hans Christian Andersen
The Ugly Duckling
B1Hans Christian Andersen · Spanish · 25 min
ES
La pata de mono
W.W. Jacobs
The Monkey’s Paw
B2W.W. Jacobs · Spanish · 25 min
ES
La tienda de magia
H. G. Wells
The Magic Shop
B1H. G. Wells · Spanish · 25 min
ES
La tempestad
Charles and Mary Lamb
The Tempest (Tales from Shakespeare)
B2Charles and Mary Lamb · Spanish · 25 min
ES
El gato que caminaba solo
Rudyard Kipling
The Cat that Walked by Himself
B1Rudyard Kipling · Spanish · 25 min
ES
Pulgarcita
Hans Christian Andersen
Thumbelina
B1Hans Christian Andersen · Spanish · 30 min
ES
El amigo fiel
Oscar Wilde
The Devoted Friend
B1Oscar Wilde · Spanish · 30 min
ES
El cohete extraordinario
Oscar Wilde
The Remarkable Rocket
B2Oscar Wilde · Spanish · 30 min
What intermediate Spanish stories are like
Intermediate stories are where reading gets rewarding. They are written for adults, with twists and irony (The Gift of the Magi, The Necklace, The Open Window), but short enough to finish in twenty minutes to half an hour.
The vocabulary is wider and the sentences longer than in a fable, and dialogue brings in everyday phrases that textbooks leave out. With the English next to each paragraph, none of that has to stop you.
How to read Spanish at B1–B2
Read in Spanish, check in English
At B1–B2 you can usually follow the Spanish on its own. Keep your eyes on it and look across only when a sentence doesn’t land, rather than reading both sides line by line.
Let the plot pull you
These stories were written to be enjoyed. If you want to know how it ends, you will read faster and remember more, so pick the one whose first page grabs you.
Notice the tenses
Stories are told in the past, and the Spanish past tenses carry meaning the English sometimes flattens. Comparing the two sides is the quickest way to feel the difference.
More on the method in how to read a parallel text.