1 One of the most beautiful buildings in Mexico City is called the House of Tiles. It is not far from the old cathedral of the capital. For many years, only the wealthy and noble people lived in this residence. In the twentieth century, the two Sanborn brothers bought the house. Here, they established a restaurant that serves Mexican as well as American food; it even serves malted milk and hamburgers. This is the legend of the origin of the House of Tiles.
2 In the eighteenth century, young don1 Luis, the second Count of Orizaba, lived with his
wealthy and distinguished family in Mexico City. Luis was not a good son. He was lazy and
selfish. He amused himself by day and night and
never thought of anything serious.
3 Luis’ parents were very sad because of the bad conduct of their son. One day Luis’ father said to lazy Luis, "You’ll never be able to make a house of tiles."2
4 "I don’t care. I only want to have a good time," Luis answered, and left quickly to attend a party.
5 During the following days, Luis thought a lot about what his father had said and he decided to change his behavior.
6 Instead of amusing himself all the time, he would work long hours with great enthusiasm. At the end of a few years, he had amassed a fortune.
7 He bought a large two-story house not far from the cathedral. He and his workmen covered the house with beautiful white, yellow, and blue tiles. When all this work was finished, Luis lived in this elegant house. Afterwards, he spent a lot of time in Europe where he bought elegant and costly furniture.
8 Now, Luis was ready to give a grand party in his magnificent house in honor of his parents. He invited all the wealthy and noble people of the capital.
9 During the party there were songs and dances. Shortly before midnight, Luis noticed that a very costly and ornate clock had disappeared from a table that was below some large windows.
10 Luis thought that there was a thief among the guests. No doubt, the person hid the clock underneath his or her clothes. For that reason, the young man went to the center of the great room and announced aloud, "Ladies and gentlemen, I regret having to interrupt the music, but I am very sad. A valuable clock is no longer on the table below the large windows."
11 "How strange!" many people said.
12 "This clock, mounted with diamonds, is a gift from the king of Spain," Luis continued. "Now it is ten minutes to twelve. Soon the clock will play music before striking twelve. The doors of the house are all locked. No one can leave. Now we are going to turn out the lights of this room for a few minutes. In the dark, the person who has the clock can put it back on the table."
13 After a few moments the servants entered with the lights. Every eye was turned toward the table. There was the clock! It was one minute to twelve.
14 The people impatiently watched the tiny hands of the clock reach twelve and pass it, but the clock didn’t play any music, nor did it strike the hour.
15 Luis, seeing the looks of surprise and curiosity on the faces of the people, said, "The truth of the matter, my friends, is that the clock never plays any music nor strikes the hour. Now, we can go on with our party."
16 Thus ends the legend of Luis and the House of Tiles.
From "Legends of Mexico" by Barlow and Stivers. Used with permission from NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group.
1 A title used before the first name of a Spanish nobleman or gentleman; doña is the feminine equivalent.
2 This saying means "You’ll never amount to anything."
A. wonderful sites and stories found in Mexico City.
B. setting for the legend "The House of Tiles."
C. wealthy and noble people in Mexico City.
D. way Mexican and American foods are served.
A. generous.
B. well-educated.
C. clever.
D. well-mannered.
A. foreshadowing.
B. flashback.
C. satire.
D. suspense.
A. the thief was never identified.
B. the thief was in the room.
C. the thief regularly attended Luis’ parties.
D. the thief had a surprised look on his face.
A. noun
B. verb
C. adjective
D. adverb