Sebastian: ¡Hola! and welcome to Un día en español, a Babbel podcast for Spanish learners that welcomes you into the lives of Spanish speakers in the US and Latin America. 

I'm your host, Sebastian, and I’m here to help you follow the story and make sure you learn something new by the end of each episode. 

Remember, if you don't understand everything the first time through, you can always go back and listen again. You can also read along while you listen to help train your comprehension skills. Visit babbel.com/podcasts to access our dynamic transcript, which includes the full text of the story as well as extras, like maps, photos and more! 

Today we'll hear from Julio. He grew up in Tabasco, Mexico, with a dad who loves wild animals, and would always rescue animals from the highway and bring them home to the family. 

And so, every now and then, a new pet would show up in Julio's house, which the rest of the family often had… well, somewhat different opinions about. This particular day in Julio's life, the newest additions to the family's private zoo, Chato and Chebo, almost manage to uproot the household peace completely. Let's listen. 

Julio: ¡Hola! Soy Julio. Soy de Tabasco. Sí, Tabasco, ¡como la salsa picante! Tabasco está en México. Tiene una naturaleza muy hermosa con muchos animales fascinantes. 

Sebastian: Did you know that there was a place in Mexico called Tabasco, like the hot sauce?

It's a picturesque area in the Southeast of the country. As Julio mentioned, Tabasco is well known for its naturaleza hermosa, its beautiful nature, and for the many different animals you can find there. 

Julio lives there with his family: his dad, mom and his brother. His dad is very interested in the wildlife that live in the area of Tabasco. His papá rescata, rescues, animals that later live in their garden, en el jardín. Julio says that por eso, that's why they have very original pets. 

Julio: Vivo aquí con mi papá, mi mamá y mi hermano. Mi papá está muy interesado en los animales de Tabasco. 

Él rescata animales y después viven en el jardín. Por eso tenemos mascotas muy originales. 

Sebastian: I wonder what kinds of mascotas, pets, his family has! 

Julio: En el jardín viven loros, un mapache, tortugas, serpientes, un cocodrilo pequeño… pero mis favoritos son dos armadillos: Chato y Chebo. 

Sebastian: Wow! That's quite a zoo! Did you get all that? Let me repeat it for you.

They have seven different types of animals living in their garden: loros, parrots, un mapache, a raccoon, tortugas, tortoises, serpientes, snakes, un cocodrilo pequeño, a small crocodile, and two armadillos, armadillos (Chato and Chebo), which are his favoritos. 

Julio's brother, his dad and Julio are very happy with all their mascotas, their pets. But his mom has a different opinion. 

Julio: Mi hermano, mi papá y yo estamos muy felices con nuestras mascotas. Pero mi mamá tiene una opinión diferente. 

Sebastian: Julio's mom doesn't like the animals, no le gustan los animales, because they destroy her beautiful garden. And Julio's favorite animals, Chato and Chebo, dig madrigueras, burrows, in the garden. 

Julio: A mi mamá no le gustan los animales porque destrozan el jardín. Por ejemplo, Chato y Chebo destrozan el jardín porque hacen madrigueras. 

Mamá: –¡¡Julio!! ¡¡Los armadillos están haciendo otra vez una madriguera en el jardín!! ¡¡Mis flores!! ¡¡Me van a volver loca!! 

Sebastian: Julio's mom complains about the armadillos digging a new burrow in el jardín, the garden, and she just said that they're going to drive her crazy, volver loca, with all that digging and destroying the garden and her beautiful flowers. 

But Julio, his brother and his dad really like the armadillos. I guess that although not very cuddly, they are very fascinating animals. 

Julio: A mi hermano, a mi papá y a mí nos encantan los armadillos. Chato y Chebo son animales fascinantes y muy misteriosos. 

Sebastian: Apparently these armadillos are also quite mysterious. They spend most of their time in their burrows and Julio and his brother can only see them when their dad gives them food, cuando papá les da comida. 

Julio: Normalmente no podemos ver a Chato y Chebo porque están casi siempre en sus madrigueras. Solo podemos ver a los armadillos cuando papá les da comida. 

Sebastian: What do armadillos eat? Chato and Chebo are not fed like average armadillos, as Julio's dad gives them carne de res, beef! And Chato and Chebo really like it, les encanta la carne de res - yum!

Julio: Todos los días mi papá les da de comer carne de res. Creo que normalmente los armadillos no comen res, pero a Chato y Chebo les encanta la carne de res. 

Sebastian: Julio believes that's why, por eso, they are extremely big and strong, grandes y fuertes. 

Julio: Creo que por eso son armadillos extremadamente grandes y fuertes. 

Sebastian: This week is very rainy, llueve mucho, which is a problem for poor Chato and Chebo, as their madrigueras, their burrows, have a lot of water in them. 

Julio: Esta semana llueve mucho. Esto es un problema para Chato y Chebo porque sus madrigueras tienen mucha agua. 

Sebastian: So today like every other day, the family sits together to have lunch, el almuerzo. But while they are in the kitchen, they hear some ruido, a noise.

Julio: Como todos los días, mi papá, mi mamá, mi hermano y yo almorzamos juntos. A la hora del almuerzo escuchamos un ruido en el salón. 

Sebastian: Something is going on in the salón, the living room. What is that noise? Julio's mom goes to the living room to check it out. 

Julio: Mamá va al salón.

Y escuchamos un grito.

Sebastian: Oh, no! What's going on? They just heard a grito, a scream, from their mom. So Julio and his brother run to the living room too! 

Julio: Mi hermano y yo corremos al salón. ¡Oh no! ¡Chato y Chebo están en el salón intentando hacer una madriguera en el sofá! 

Sebastian: Well, no wonder his mom screamed! Chato and Chebo got inside the house and are trying to dig a madriguera, a burrow, in the sofa! The mom is very angry, muy enojada. So she gets a broom, escoba, to chase the armadillos! Oh, what a scene! It must be very confusing for poor Chato and Chebo! 

Julio: Nuestra mamá está muy enojada y con una escoba persigue a los armadillos por el salón. 

Sebastian: Julio and his brother are cheering and screaming for the fast and strong armadillos to hurry. The whole commotion finally brings their dad into the living room. 

Julio: En ese momento mi papá también viene al salón. 

Sebastian: Julio cries to his dad for help, ayuda, and tells him how enojada, angry, his mom is. 

Julio: –¡Papá, ayuda! ¡Mamá está enojada con Chato y Chebo! ¡Los armadillos tienen miedo! 

Sebastian: Their mom, however, is not at all sorry for the scared Chato and Chebo. She says that these two beasts destroy the jardín and now the house too. 

Mamá: –¿Tienen miedo? Yo sí que tengo miedo. Estas dos bestias destrozan el jardín y ahora destrozan la casa. 

Julio: –Pero mamá… 

Sebastian: She says that she's preocupada, worried, every day about the jardín because of the armadillos, and now she has to be preocupada, about the house. 

Mamá: –¡Todos los días, estoy preocupada por mi jardín, por culpa de estos armadillos, y ahora también, tengo que estar preocupada por la casa! 

Sebastian: Julio pleads again to his mom, telling her that the armadillos are their mascotas, their pets. However she says that she can't take it anymore, that she's sick and tired of it: ¡estoy harta! 

Julio: –Son solo animales, mamá, son nuestras mascotas… 

Mamá: –No puedo más. ¡Estoy harta! 

Sebastian: Julio's dad is speechless and doesn't say anything,  his mom is more and more estresada, while the armadillos continue running around the living room. 

Julio: Papá no dice nada. Los armadillos corren por el salón y mamá está muy estresada. 

Sebastian: And then the ultimatum comes. The mom looks at the three of them and tells them very seriously that either the armadillos go or she goes! 

Julio: Entonces mamá nos mira a los tres muy seria y nos da un ultimátum. 

Mamá: –¡O los armadillos o yo! 

Sebastian: Por supuesto, of course, they choose their mom. 

Julio: Y por supuesto que elegimos a mamá. 

Sebastian: So the sad moment of saying goodbye to the armadillos arrive. Two hours later, together with his brother and dad, Julio goes to an animal sanctuary, el refugio de animales, where they'll leave the armadillos. Julio and his brother are muy tristes, very sad, to say goodbye to their armadillo friends. However, Chato and Chebo feel very happy, están felices, in their new home. 

Julio: Dos horas más tarde estamos en el refugio de animales. Mi hermano y yo estamos muy tristes porque tenemos que decir adiós a nuestros amigos armadillos. Pero Chato y Chebo están felices en su nuevo hogar. 

Sebastian: Oh man, what a wild day! Julio doesn't recommend having armadillos as pets, he says that it's not a good idea. They are not very sociable and they might destroy too many things. But he will never forget his pets Chato and Chebo: son dos mascotas que no voy a olvidar jamás. 

Julio: No es buena idea tener armadillos como mascota. No son muy sociables y también pueden destrozar muchas cosas, pero Chato y Chebo son dos mascotas que no voy a olvidar jamás. 

Sebastian: Aww, poor Julio and his brother. Sadly they have to let Chato and Chebo go, although I'm sure that these armadillos are going to be very happy in this new home, where they can dig madrigueras wherever they like. And I agree with Julio, it might not be the best animal to keep as a pet, but they surely will be hard to forget, especially for their mom! 

Were you able to catch a lot of the Spanish in this episode? Visit babbel.com/podcasts to follow along with the dynamic transcript, get helpful learning resources, and test your knowledge with the full Spanish story. 

Un día en español is produced by the language experts at Babbel. Whether you're hoping to make new Spanish-speaking friends or explore a new culture, the Babbel app teaches everything you need to understand and use the language. Thanks for listening and ¡Hasta el próximo día!