The Small Grocer
A supermarket opened next to a small grocery store and, to show that they were cheaper, put a poster on the front, advertising butter at forty-nine cents.
The next day, the grocery store put a big sign on the front saying:
Butter: forty-eight cents.
Then, the next day, the supermarket advertised:
Butter, for only forty-seven cents.
However, the grocery store changed its sign to:
Butter: forty-six cents.
This went on for several days until the supermarket was advertising butter for only ten cents and the grocery store for nine.
The supermarket owner was now losing a lot of money and went to the grocery store to see if they could come to an agreement. But the grocery shop owner was not very concerned and did not want to negotiate.
The supermarket owner said, "I cannot understand how you can sell butter so cheap. I pay forty cents for each package and so I am losing thirty cents on each one."
The grocery shop owner said "Oh, I am only losing one cent per package. Basta-me comprá-la a si.I just buy it from you."
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The Plus version of this story
Um supermercado abriu ao lado* de uma pequena mercearia e, para mostrar que* eram mais baratos*, colocou um cartaz na fachada, a anunciar manteiga a quarenta e nove cêntimos.No dia seguinte, a mercearia colocou* um grande cartaz na fachada* a dizer:Manteiga: quarenta e oito cêntimos.Então, no dia seguinte, o supermercado anunciava:Manteiga, por apenas quarenta e sete cêntimos.No entanto*, a mercearia mudou o seu cartaz para:Manteiga: quarenta e seis cêntimos.Isto prolongou-se por vários* dias até que o supermercado estava a anunciar manteiga por apenas dez cêntimos e a mercearia por nove.O dono do supermercado estava agora a perder* muito dinheiro e foi à mercearia para ver se conseguiam chegar a um acordo. Mas a dona da mercearia não estava muito preocupada e não queria negociar. O dono do supermercado disse: "Não consigo entender como pode vender a manteiga tão* barata*. Pago quarenta cêntimos por cada embalagem e por isso estou a perder trinta cêntimos em cada uma."A dona da mercearia disse "Oh, só estou a perder um cêntimo por embalagem. Basta-me comprá-la a si.”A supermarket opened next to a small grocery store and, to show that they were cheaper, put a poster on the front, advertising butter at forty-nine cents.The next day, the grocery store put a big sign on the front saying:Butter: forty-eight cents.Then, the next day, the supermarket advertised:Butter, for only forty-seven centsHowever, the grocery store changed its sign toButter: forty-six cents.This went on for several days until the supermarket was advertising butter for only ten cents and the grocery store for nine.The supermarket owner was now losing a lot of money and went to the grocery store to see if they could come to an agreement. But the grocery shop owner was not very concerned and did not want to negotiate. The supermarket owner said, "I cannot understand how you can sell butter so cheap. I pay forty cents for each package and so I am losing thirty cents on each one."The grocery shop owner said "Oh, I am only losing one cent per package. I just buy it from you.
🔎 Words in this story
✴️ Ao lado (next to)
“Ao” means “by the,” and is the contraction of the preposition “a” (here meaning ”by”) with “o” (the masculine singular form of “the”). “Lado” means “side.”
We also use the similar expression “ao pé de” which literally translates as “by the foot of” and means that something is close by.
✴️ Para mostrar que (to show that)
The verb “mostrar” means “to show.”
There is a Plus version of this story
The same story, taken further, for DailyNata Plus members. This one works on comparisons and superlatives.
- The whole story in Portuguese, and its English
- The words in it, explained, with examples
- 2 interactive exercises
Written for level A2–B1. Every story has its own, anywhere from A1 to B2.