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Dos bolsos azules

Two Blue Bags

Elena llegó a un hotel pequeño de Mérida el lunes por la tarde. Iba a pasar la noche allí antes de visitar a su hermana. Dejó su bolso azul junto a una silla. Después se acercó a la recepción.

"Tengo una reserva a nombre de Elena Pérez", dijo. El recepcionista buscó su nombre en la computadora y le entregó una llave. Su habitación estaba en el segundo piso. Elena tomó un bolso azul y subió por las escaleras.

En la habitación abrió el bolso para sacar su celular. Dentro había una camisa de hombre y un libro de cocina. Elena se dio cuenta de su error. Su bolso tenía una cinta amarilla. Este no tenía ninguna cinta.

Elena bajó con el bolso y habló con el recepcionista. "Tomé este bolso por error. El mío tiene una cinta amarilla". Él miró junto a la silla. El bolso de Elena seguía allí. Ella lo abrió y encontró su celular.

Entonces salió un señor del comedor. Buscaba su libro para preparar una clase de cocina. Elena le devolvió el bolso y pidió disculpas. "No pasa nada", respondió él. "Los dos bolsos son casi iguales".

Elena volvió a su habitación con su bolso. Llamó a su hermana y le contó la historia. Después puso la cinta amarilla sobre la cama. Esta vez podía verla bien.

Elena arrived at a small hotel in Mérida on Monday afternoon. She was going to spend the night there before visiting her sister. She left her blue bag beside a chair. Then she approached the reception desk.

"I have a reservation under the name Elena Pérez," she said. The receptionist searched for her name on the computer and handed her a key. Her room was on the second floor. Elena picked up a blue bag and went up the stairs.

In the room she opened the bag to take out her cell phone. Inside there was a man's shirt and a cookbook. Elena realized her mistake. Her bag had a yellow ribbon. This one had no ribbon.

Elena went downstairs with the bag and spoke to the receptionist. "I took this bag by mistake. Mine has a yellow ribbon." He looked beside the chair. Elena's bag was still there. She opened it and found her cell phone.

Then a man came out of the dining room. He was looking for his book to prepare a cooking class. Elena returned his bag and apologized. "It's all right," he replied. "The two bags are almost identical."

Elena returned to her room with her bag. She called her sister and told her the story. Then she put the yellow ribbon on the bed. This time she could see it clearly.

Key Phrases

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pasar la noche

to spend the night

Used to say where someone stays overnight.

Vamos a pasar la noche en un hotel cerca del aeropuerto.

We are going to spend the night at a hotel near the airport.

una reserva a nombre de

a reservation under the name

Introduces the name used to book a room or another service.

Tenemos una reserva a nombre de Luis Torres.

We have a reservation under the name Luis Torres.

se dio cuenta de

realized

Describes the moment someone notices or understands something.

Usage: In this phrase, de introduces what the person realized.

Marta se dio cuenta de la diferencia entre los precios.

Marta realized the difference between the prices.

por error

by mistake

Says that an action happened accidentally.

Escribí otro número por error.

I wrote a different number by mistake.

No pasa nada

It's all right

A common response that reassures someone after a small mistake.

Usage: Here, “No pasa nada” reassures someone rather than describing events.

No pasa nada. Podemos limpiar la mesa.

It's all right. We can clean the table.

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What was Elena going to do before visiting her sister?
Where was Elena's own bag when she came back downstairs?
What does “se dio cuenta de su error” mean here?
In “El mío tiene una cinta amarilla”, what does “El mío” replace?
What can we infer from the man's response to Elena's apology?
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