SoyGuiri Blog

Spanish short stories for beginners #2: La aventura de Sofía y el tren perdido

Written by Mónica Jiménez | Mar 24, 2025 9:00:00 AM

Learning Spanish through stories is one of the most effective and enjoyable ways to improve your skills. In this article, we bring you a collection of Spanish stories for beginners, designed to help you practice vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension in a natural and immersive way.

📖  Why learn Spanish with stories?

Stories are a fantastic tool for language learning because they:

✅ Provide contextual learning, making it easier to understand and remember words.

✅ Expose you to real-life sentence structures and grammar in use.

✅ Keep you motivated and engaged, turning language learning into an enjoyable habit.

✅ Help improve listening, reading, and speaking skills simultaneously.

By reading simple yet engaging stories, you'll quickly develop your comprehension and speaking skills while having fun!

🏞 Spanish Short Story: La aventura de Sofía y el tren perdido - The adventure of Sofia and the lost train

 

Sofía estaba emocionada. Planeó su viaje por meses y, por fin, estaba en España para explorar el país. Su primer destino era Sevilla, donde quería visitar la catedral y disfrutar de la comida local.

Sofía was excited. She had planned her trip for months, and finally, she was in Spain to explore the country. Her first destination was Seville, where she wanted to visit the cathedral and enjoy the local food.

Llegó a la estación de tren de Atocha con tiempo de sobra. Decidió tomar un café y leer una revista. Cuando miró la pantalla de horarios, vio que su tren estaba por salir. Corrió hasta el andén, pero el tren ya se había marchado. ¡Lo había perdido!

She arrived at Atocha train station with plenty of time. She decided to have a coffee and read a magazine. When she checked the schedule, she saw that her train was about to leave. She ran to the platform, but the train had already left. She had missed it!

Se sintió frustrada, pero decidió buscar una solución. Se acercó a la ventanilla de información y explicó su situación. El empleado le dijo que podía tomar el próximo tren en una hora. Más tranquila, se sentó en un banco a esperar.

She felt frustrated, but she decided to look for a solution. She approached the information desk and explained her situation. The employee told her she could take the next train in an hour. Feeling calmer, she sat on a bench to wait.

Mientras esperaba, conoció a Carmen, una mujer mayor que también viajaba. Conversaron sobre la vida en España y Sofía aprendió nuevas palabras. Gracias a este encuentro, su espera fue más agradable.

While waiting, she met Carmen, an older woman who was also traveling. They talked about life in Spain, and Sofía learned new words. Thanks to this encounter, her wait was much more enjoyable.

Finalmente, el tren llegó. Sofía subió con una sonrisa. Aprendió que incluso los errores pueden ser oportunidades para aprender y conocer gente nueva.

Finally, the train arrived. Sofía got on with a smile. She had learned that even mistakes can be opportunities to learn and meet new people.

🎯 Spanish grammar and vocabulary from the story

🔤 Key nouns

✈️  viajetrip

🌍 paíscountry

📍 destinodestination

⛪ catedralcathedral

🍽️ comidafood

☕ cafécoffee

📖 revistamagazine

⏰ horariosschedule

🚆 trentrain

🚏 andénplatform

🪟 ventanillaticket window

ℹ️  informacióninformation

🔄  situaciónsituation

👨‍💼 empleadoemployee

🌳🪑 bancobench

❤️ vidalife

📝  palabraswords

🤝 encuentroencounter

⏳ esperawaiting time

😊 sonrisasmile

❌  erroresmistakes

🎯  oportunidadesopportunities

🎨  Key adjectives

😃 emocionadaexcited

😖 frustradafrustrated

😊 agradablepleasant

📌 Verbs in the past tense

🗺️ Planeó (she planned) → verb 'planear'

🏁 Llegó (she arrived) → verb 'llegar'

🤔 Decidió (she decided) → verb 'decidir'

🥤 Tomó (she took) → verb 'tomar'

👀 Miró (she looked) → verb 'mirar'

👁️  Vio (she saw) → verb 'ver'

🏃‍♀️ Corrió (she ran) → verb 'correr'

❌  Perdió (she lost/missed) → verb 'perder'

😔 Se sintió (she felt) → verb 'sentirse'

🔍 Buscó (she looked for) → verb 'buscar'

🚶 Se acercó (she approached) → verb 'acercarse'

🗣️ Explicó (she explained) → verb 'explicar'

💬  Dijo (he/she said) → verb 'decir'

🥤 Tomó (she took) → verb 'tomar'

🪑 Se sentó (she sat down) → verb 'sentarse'

⏳ Esperaba (she was waiting) → verb 'esperar'

🤝  Conoció (she met) → verb 'conocer'

🧳  Viajaba (she was traveling) → verb 'viajar'

🗨️  Conversaron (they talked) → verb 'conversar'

🚶‍♀️ Subió (she got on) → verb 'subir'

📚 Aprendió (she learned) → verb 'aprender'

🔄 Fue (It was) → verb 'ser'

📚  Do you want to practice the past tense more?

In this blog you can practice the Imperfect Tense:

 

Let's practice your comprehension ✍️: 

Completa las frases con la información del cuento de Sofía.

• Sofía estaba muy por su a España.

• Ella tomó un y leyó una mientras esperaba.

• Cuando miró la de , vio que su estaba por salir.

• Corrió hasta el , pero el ya se había marchado.

• En la de le dijeron que podía tomar otro .

• Finalmente, subió al con una .

 

👂Improve your listening

Here is a story from our youtube channel to help you improve your listening skills.

Have you ever had a similar experience to Sofía's while traveling? Tell us in the comments how you solved the situation! 😊