Level 1 Age: 7-12

Tin BoT
Hard-Boiled, Hard-Drive Detective

Spanish

Episode 1, Dognapped!

Language Practice Made Fun!

Headventure Studios, 2009 Version 1.0 ISBN: 978-1-60051-099-1 All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Headventure Studios. Headventure Studios is an imprint of Classical Academic Press. Written and illustrated by Robby Baddorf Spanish Editing by Grant Durrell Headventure Studios 3920 Market Street Camp Hill, PA 17011 www.HeadventureStudios.com

About this book:

You will find some mysterious words in this story. Spliced Stories will expose you to a foreign language, all while you are reading a great story! You will travel to foreign lands, solve crimes, and join adventures. You will also learn words in Spanish that you can use in your everyday life. Level 1, Bilingual Stories, allow vocabulary exposure for the beginner, and practice for the Spanish learner. The spliced story allows Spanish vocabulary to be tucked within the English language, and uses the correct conjugation or form of the word to fit into the English. Below you can read the abbreviations for parts of speech, such as a noun or verb, gender (whether a word is masculine or feminine), whether the word is singular or plural (how many?), and verb tense (when did it happen?). Engage your heart and your head as you experience language practice made fun!

Grammar Codes
1p = first person 2p = second person 3p = third person adj = adjective adv = adverb do pn = direct object pronoun f = feminine fut = future tense imp = imperative inf = infinitive m = masculine n = noun past par = past participle pl = plural pn = pronoun prep = preposition pres = present tense pres part = present participle pret = preterit (past) tense s = singular uds com = usted (you formal) command v = verb

Chapter 1
I have rer1. Looking back on it todo2, Im not sure I would have taken the case in the first place if I had known what was involved. Im Joe Bot. My amigos3the few Ive gotcall me Tin Bot. Im a private ojo4. Trabajo5 on the Upper East Side and vivo6 there, tooif you can call it that. Ive got an old cama7 set up in the back room of my office and theres a small cocina8 there, too. It aint no castillo9, but itll do. Granted, the rudo10 from the elevated train that runs right past my ventana11 early every maana12 takes some getting used to, but then again,
rer (v/inf) = to laugh todo (pn/s/m) = all 3. amigos (n/pl/m) = friends 4. ojo (n/s/m) = eye 5. trabajo (v/1p/s/pres) = I work 6. vivo (v/1p/s/pres) = I live
1. 2.

cama (n/s/f) = bed cocina (n/s/f) = kitchen 9. castillo (n/s/m) = castle 10. rudo (n/s/m) = noise 11. ventana (n/s/f) = window 12. maana (n/s/f) = morning
7. 8.

so does my snoring, which my neighbors all dicen13 is louder than the train. The da14 this all started, I had rolled out of bed extra early. I couldnt sleep because of the calor15. The ciudad16 was cooking like an egg on an engine block. The tiempo17 had been really hotover 100 degreesall semana18, and I was feeling like a side order of toast. I choked down some viejo19 Bits and Bites cereal and beb20 a taza21 of day-old coffee, after stirring in a spoonful of sugar and a drizzle of antifreeze. It was fro22 and wet, which was probably as good as it was going to get. Suddenly, there was a knock on my puerta23. Tir24 on an old soup-can camisa25 and a pair of mismatched zapatos26, which was all I could find at the moment, and moved toward the door.

dicen (v/3p/pl/pres) = say da (n/s/m) = day 15. calor (n/s/m) = heat 16. ciudad (n/s/f) = city 17. tiempo (n/s/m) = weather 18. semana (n/s/f) = week 19. viejo (adj/s/m) = old
13. 14.

beb (v/1p/s/pret) = drank taza (n/s/f) = cup 22. fro (n/s/m) = cold 23. puerta (n/s/f) = door 24. tir (v/1p/s/pret) = I threw 25. camisa (n/s/f) = shirt 26. zapatos (n/pl/m) = shoes
20. 21.

Chapter 2
Of all the tin joints, in all the world, she had caminar1 into mine! Seorita2 Margaret McCafferty. She entr3 my office and mir4 at me with her big azules5 eyes and I knew she would be trouble. Please! You have ayudar6 me! Pagar7 you whatever deseas8. She was desperate, as Im sure you can imaginar9. I should have known right then that this lady was trouble. But, then again, I do have a cosa10 for trouble, especially when there is a paycheck involved. To be frank, I could use the dinero11. I was hard up. I hadnt been able to afford to see a pelcula12 or buy a decent peridico13 in months. My basura14 bill hadnt been paid for so long that my trash was piling up in my bathtub. I dont mean molestar15 you, Seor16 Bot, but Ive heard youre the best, so I just had to come. Oh, brother. Thats when she encendi17 the waterworks big, fat, screensaver tears rolled down her face as she
caminar (v/inf) = to walk seorita (n/s/f) = miss 3. entr (v/3p/s/pret) = she entered 4. mir (v/3p/s/pret) = looked 5. azules (adj/pl/m) = blue 6. ayudar (v/inf) = to help
1. 2.

pagar (v/1p/s/fut) = I will pay 13. peridico (n/s/m) = deseas (v/2p/s/pres) = you newspaper 14. want basura (n/s/f) = trash 9. imaginar (v/inf) = [to] imagine 15. molestar (v/inf) = to bother 10. 16. cosa (n/s/f) = thing seor (n/s/m) = Mr. 11. 17. dinero (n/s/m) = money encendi (v/3p/s/pret) = she 12. pelcula (n/s/f) = movie turned on
7. 8.