Read in English · with Spanish
Read The wheel of earth in English, with Spanish beside it
by Helga Sandburg · 1918–2014
"The wheel of earth" by Helga Sandburg is a novel written in the mid-20th century. Set on a hardscrabble Kentucky farm, it follows sixteen-year-old Ellen Gaddy as she comes of age amid the cycles of work, nature, faith, and desire, caught between a stern father, a withdrawn mother, a favored younger sister, and the disruptive pull of a charming outsider, Christian Ay. Lyrical, sensuous descriptions of land and animals frame a story about longing, constraint, and the costs of awakening. The opening of the novel immerses us in Ellen’s daily farm life: gathering June apples, tending a beloved goat that bears twins, and moving through a household ruled by her rigid father Anton and quiet mother Maria, with music-minded sister Frankie on the margins. A trip to the local store brings a charged first encounter with Christian, followed by a clandestine ride and, later, a circus outing that ends with Anton’s violent punishment when he learns she deceived him. Summer deepens through chores, harvest, and losses—most piercingly the accidental death of one kid—while Ellen and Christian drift between attraction and quarrel, and Anton’s wary intervention heightens the tension. The section culminates when Christian shows Ellen the Brinker farm’s prized stallion, and in the shadow of the stables his advances turn coercive, leaving her struggling as the scene ends.
Summary generated automatically by Project Gutenberg.
- Read time
- 516 min
- Words
- 113,547
- Chapters
- 4
- Paragraphs
- 3,669
- Price
- Free
- Farm life -- Fiction
- Kentucky -- Fiction
- Teenage girls -- Fiction
- Young women -- Fiction
“No, but I call to mind when I was a child and once Ma said I picked at a rhubarb pie from the pantry shelf.
«No, pero recuerdo cuando era niña y una vez mamá dijo que había picado un pastel de ruibarbo del estante de la despensa.
I ne’er knew of it being there.
Nunca supe que estuviera ahí.
Pa cut a hickory, length of his arm, and beat me.
Papá cortó un palo de nogal, de la longitud de su brazo, y me golpeó.
Made me kneel.
Me hizo arrodillarme.
Said I lied.
Dijo que mentía.
I won’t squall and that gets his back up.”
No lloraré y eso le sube la ira».
She rubbed with her finger the area between the black stub horns of Rhodie, veiling her eyes.
Se frotó con el dedo el área entre los cuernos negros y truncos de Rhodie, velando sus ojos.
“Reckon I’d love to visit at your house.”
«Creo que me encantaría visitar tu casa».
“Well, it’s high time.
«Bien, ya es hora.
I’ll throw a party when you come.
Haré una fiesta cuando llegues.
I’ll talk to Anton this afternoon.
Hablaré con Anton esta tarde.
Tell him it’s only logical for you to be first since you’re the oldest.
Dile que es lógico que tú seas la primera ya que eres la mayor.
He’ll let you.
Él te lo permitirá.
You’ll see.”
Ya verás».
He was putting his arm around Ellen.
Se puso el brazo alrededor de Ellen.
She leaned against him with a sigh.
Ella se apoyó en él con un suspiro.
“You’re a sweet girl, hon.”
«Eres una chica dulce, cariño».
He kissed her, lingering on the young mouth.
La besó, deteniéndose en la joven boca.
Ellen decided not to say more to him now.
Ellen decidió no decirle más en ese momento.
I’ll wait till I’m at his house to tell him he must help me.
Esperaré hasta estar en su casa para decirle que debe ayudarme.
Anton wasn’t averse to Ellen’s journey.
Anton no se oponía al viaje de Ellen.
Garland had emphasized how he was making ready for Frankie’s arrival the next year, and he spoke of the money he planned to spend on her.
Garland había enfatizado cómo se estaba preparando para la llegada de Frankie el año siguiente, y hablaba del dinero que planeaba gastar en ella.
About the author
Helga Sandburg1918–2014
Helga Sandburg was an author born in 1918 in Elmhurst and died in 2014 in Cleveland Heights.
The Helga Sandburg page, and where to start →Questions about The wheel of earth
Can I read The wheel of earth in English with Spanish side by side online?
Yes, free. Paralelo shows the English original with a Spanish machine translation beside it, aligned phrase by phrase: hover or tap a phrase and its counterpart lights up in the other column. Anyone can read a passage; a free account opens the whole book.
What level do I need to read The wheel of earth here?
There is no set level. The wheel of earth runs to 113,547 words in 4 chapters, and the translation sits beside it, aligned phrase by phrase, so you can start below the level the original would need on its own and lean on the translation only where you stumble.
Is The wheel of earth really free to read?
Yes. The text is in the public domain, and the translation and alignment are ours to give. A free account opens the whole book; the paid tier is for unlimited explanations.
Can I read The wheel of earth in another language?
Not yet. Each language is its own translation and alignment run, and titles are queued by demand: open the book in that language and press “Ask for priority” to move it up the queue.
How long does The wheel of earth take to read?
About 9 hours at a normal pace, longer if you stop to look at the alignment, which is rather the point.
Book details
- Original language
- English
- Translation
- Spanish, machine translation
- Source text
- Project Gutenberg #78102
- Licence
- Public domain in the United States
Start The wheel of earth today.
Free forever, no card. The whole library opens with an account.
Start reading, it's free