Había una vez una mariposa tan enamorada que sentía personas en el estómago.
Vocabulary – Vocabulario
Había una vez
This is the classic beginning of a story for children in Spanish. It is like saying “Once upon a time…” in English.
Había una vez can literally be translated as… There was a time… or There used to be a time…
Una mariposa = a butterfly
El estómago = the stomach
Enamorada = in love (adjective)
Notice how the word Enamorada ends in the letter A. The word Mariposa is feminine (a clue is the word ends in A) so the adjective that is used to describe the Mariposa also has to be in feminine form.
Tan + Adjetivo = So + adjective
Tan loco = so crazy
Tan tonto = so stupid
Tan enamorado = so in love
In Spanish they also say:
Tengo mariposos en mi estómago = I have butterflies in my stomach
Used to say that you are nervous and sometimes have a strange fluttery sensation in your stomach.
Normally a person feels butterflies in their stomach so this joke turns it around and says that the Butterfly felt ‘people’ in its stomach.
The joke would more or less be like this in English:
Once upon a time there was a butterfly that was so in love that it used to feel people in its stomach.
¿Algunas veces sientes mariposas en tu estómago?
Do you ever feel butterflies in your stomach?