The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — Page 71
You should be back, if you set out at once on the receipt of this, long before midnight; but I will leave you that amount of margin, not only in the fear of one of those obstacles that can neither be prevented nor foreseen, but because an hour when your servants are in bed is to be preferred for what will then remain to do.
Deberías estar de vuelta, si partes de inmediato al recibir esto, mucho antes de medianoche; pero te dejaré ese margen de tiempo, no solo por temor a uno de esos obstáculos que no pueden prevenirse ni preverse, sino porque una hora en que tus criados estén en la cama es preferible para lo que entonces quedará por hacer.
At midnight, then, I have to ask you to be alone in your consulting room, to admit with your own hand into the house a man who will present himself in my name, and to place in his hands the drawer that you will have brought with you from my cabinet.
A medianoche, entonces, debo pedirte que estés solo en tu consultorio, que admitas con tu propia mano en la casa a un hombre que se presentará en mi nombre, y que coloques en sus manos el cajón que habrás traído contigo de mi gabinete.
Then you will have played your part and earned my gratitude completely.
Entonces habrás cumplido tu parte y ganado mi gratitud completamente.
Five minutes afterwards, if you insist upon an explanation, you will have understood that these arrangements are of capital importance; and that by the neglect of one of them, fantastic as they must appear, you might have charged your conscience with my death or the shipwreck of my reason.
Cinco minutos después, si insistes en una explicación, habrás comprendido que estos arreglos son de capital importancia; y que por el descuido de uno de ellos, por fantásticos que parezcan, podrías haber cargado tu conciencia con mi muerte o el naufragio de mi razón.
Confident as I am that you will not trifle with this appeal, my heart sinks and my hand trembles at the bare thought of such a possibility.
Por confiado que esté en que no tomarás a la ligera esta súplica, mi corazón se hunde y mi mano tiembla ante el simple pensamiento de tal posibilidad.
Think of me at this hour, in a strange place, labouring under a blackness of distress that no fancy can exaggerate, and yet well aware that, if you will but punctually serve me, my troubles will roll away like a story that is told.
Piensa en mí a esta hora, en un lugar extraño, trabajando bajo una negrura de angustia que ninguna fantasía puede exagerar, y sin embargo muy consciente de que, si tan solo me sirves puntualmente, mis problemas se desvanecerán como un cuento que se relata.
Vocabulary
- Deberías
- You should (conditional form of deber)
- estar
- to be (temporary states or locations)
- de
- of, from (preposition)
- vuelta
- return, turn, change (noun)
- si
- if (conditional conjunction)
- partes
- you leave, depart; parts (verb/noun)
- inmediato
- immediate, right away (adjective)
- al
- to the (contraction of a + el)
- recibir
- to receive, get (infinitive verb)
- esto
- this (neuter demonstrative pronoun)
- mucho
- much, a lot, very (adverb/adjective)
- antes
- before, earlier (adverb/preposition)
- medianoche
- midnight (noun)
- pero
- but (coordinating conjunction)
- te
- you, to you (object pronoun)
- dejaré
- I will leave, allow (future tense)
- ese
- that (masculine demonstrative adjective)
- margen
- margin, edge, leeway (noun)
- tiempo
- time, weather (noun)
- no
- no, not (negation adverb)
- solo
- only, alone, single (adverb/adjective)
- por
- for, by, through (preposition)
- temor
- fear, dread (noun)
- a
- to, at (preposition)
- uno
- one, a, an (number/article)
- esos
- those (masculine plural demonstrative)
- obstáculos
- obstacles, hindrances (noun plural)
- que
- that, which, who (relative pronoun/conjunction)
- pueden
- they can, are able to (verb)
- prevenirse
- to be prevented, avoided (reflexive verb)
- ni
- nor, neither (negative conjunction)
- preverse
- to be foreseen, anticipated (reflexive verb)
- sino
- but rather, except (conjunction)
- porque
- because (causal conjunction)
- una
- a, an, one (feminine article/number)
- hora
- hour, time (noun)
- en
- in, on, at (preposition)
- tus
- your (plural possessive adjective)
- criados
- servants, raised (noun/past participle)
- estén
- they are, be (subjunctive form)
- la
- the (feminine definite article)
- cama
- bed (noun)
- es
- is, he/she/it is (verb)
- preferible
- preferable, better (adjective)
- para
- for, to, in order to (preposition)
- lo
- it, him, the (article/pronoun)
- entonces
- then, at that time (adverb)
- quedará
- will remain, stay (future tense verb)
- hacer
- to do, make (infinitive verb)
- A
- to, at (preposition, capitalized)
- debo
- I must, should, owe (verb)
- pedirte
- to ask you, request from you
- estés
- you are, be (subjunctive form)
- tu
- your (singular possessive adjective)
- consultorio
- doctor's office, consulting room (noun)
- admitas
- you admit, allow (subjunctive verb)
- con
- with (preposition)
- propia
- own, proper (feminine adjective)
- mano
- hand (noun)
- casa
- house, home (noun)
- un
- a, an, one (masculine article)
- hombre
- man, human being (noun)
- se
- reflexive pronoun, himself, herself, itself, themselves
- presentará
- will present, appear (future tense verb)
- mi
- my (possessive adjective)
- nombre
- name (noun)
- y
- and (coordinating conjunction)
- coloques
- you place, put (subjunctive verb)
- sus
- his, her, their, your (possessive adjective)
- manos
- hands (noun plural)
- el
- the (masculine definite article)
- cajón
- drawer, box, crate (noun)
- habrás
- you will have (future perfect verb)
- traído
- brought (past participle of traer)
- contigo
- with you (prepositional pronoun)
- gabinete
- cabinet, office, study (noun)
- Entonces
- Then, at that time (adverb, capitalized)
- cumplido
- fulfilled, accomplished, compliment (adjective/noun)
- parte
- part, portion, share (noun)
- ganado
- won, earned, gained, cattle (verb/noun)
- gratitud
- gratitude, thankfulness (noun)
- completamente
- completely, entirely, fully (adverb)
- Cinco
- Five (number, capitalized)
- minutos
- minutes (noun plural)
- después
- after, afterwards, later (adverb)
- insistes
- you insist, persist (verb)
- explicación
- explanation, clarification (noun)
- comprendido
- understood, comprehended (past participle)
- estos
- these (masculine plural demonstrative)
- arreglos
- arrangements, repairs, agreements (noun)
- son
- they are, are (verb)
- capital
- capital, crucial, main (adjective/noun)
- importancia
- importance, significance (noun)
- descuido
- carelessness, neglect, oversight (noun)
- ellos
- they, them (masculine pronoun)
- fantásticos
- fantastic, amazing, unreal (adjective plural)
- parezcan
- they seem, appear (subjunctive verb)
- podrías
- you could, might (conditional verb)
- haber
- to have (auxiliary verb), there is/are
- cargado
- loaded, charged, burdened (past participle)
- conciencia
- conscience, consciousness, awareness (noun)
- muerte
- death (noun)
- o
- or (coordinating conjunction)
- naufragio
- shipwreck, disaster (noun)
- razón
- reason, right, rationale (noun)
- Por
- For, by, through (preposition, capitalized)
- confiado
- confident, trusting, trusted (adjective/past participle)
- esté
- be, is (subjunctive form)
- tomarás
- you will take, drink (future verb)
- ligera
- light, slight, minor (feminine adjective)
- esta
- this (feminine demonstrative adjective)
- súplica
- plea, supplication, request (noun)
- corazón
- heart (noun)
- hunde
- sinks, plunges, collapses (verb)
- tiembla
- trembles, shakes, shivers (verb)
- ante
- before, in front of, faced with
- simple
- simple, mere, plain (adjective)
- pensamiento
- thought, thinking (noun)
- tal
- such, so, like that (adjective)
- posibilidad
- possibility, chance (noun)
- Piensa
- Think, thinks (verb imperative/present, capitalized)
- mí
- me (prepositional pronoun with accent)
- lugar
- place, location, spot (noun)
- extraño
- strange, odd, foreign (adjective)
- trabajando
- working (present participle/gerund)
- bajo
- under, low, short (preposition/adjective)
- negrura
- blackness, darkness (noun)
- angustia
- anguish, distress, anxiety (noun)
- ninguna
- no, none, not any (feminine adjective)
- fantasía
- fantasy, imagination, fiction (noun)
- puede
- can, is able to, may (verb)
- exagerar
- to exaggerate, overstate (infinitive verb)
- sin
- without (preposition)
- embargo
- however, nevertheless, seizure (noun)
- muy
- very, quite, really (adverb)
- consciente
- conscious, aware (adjective)
- tan
- so, as, such (adverb)
- me
- me, to me (object pronoun)
- sirves
- you serve, help (verb)
- puntualmente
- punctually, promptly, on time (adverb)
- mis
- my (plural possessive adjective)
- problemas
- problems, issues (noun plural)
- desvanecerán
- will vanish, fade away (future verb)
- como
- like, as, how (conjunction/adverb)
- cuento
- story, tale, I tell (noun/verb)
- relata
- relates, narrates, tells (verb)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →