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Spanish to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / argentinian folklore
Spanish term or phrase:Diablo venido del fuego, se aleja con la ceniza
a children's story tells about a devil who steals a guitar. The boys whose guitar is stolen believes that the devil comes from a fire he has lit on a shore.
Explanation: That's how the saying is understood here in Aragon. I actually know this saying better as "once bitten, twice shy, but "burned" gets 927,000 hits so it must be recognizable as the same concept. It appears to have been a song by Abba, which may have helped.
I'm not so sure about the devil getting burnt - I've got the feeling that the devil's emergence from the fire could be connected to the fires of hell - an extremely familiar environment in which he does the burning rather than getting burnt. I agree with Steve in that tahlstrom would need to provide further context for us to provide a more precise answer. :O)
@ Moken, my interpretation was based on what I thought to be an explanation from tahlstrom. In the absence of further information, I assumed tahlstrom was looking for an appropriate saying to sum up the story. If you're right and the devil does disappear at the end of the story, this could have been mentioned. We'll have to wait for an answer from tahlstrom or someone more familiar with the story.
@ Jenni, isn't it more likely the saying/moral of the story has more to do with the boy and his actions than with the devil? Or, as moken suggested, to soothe the child's worries?
Hi Moken. My answer started out with a hunch and was confirmed in a "blind test" put to my Spanish husband (who doesn't speak English - a situation that makes him the perfect innocent eye test for some questions) and several other people. His immediate answer was "after the devil was burned (came out of the fire), he wouldn't even get close to (would be shy of even) ashes." I think the connection with the story is the "coming out of the fire" part.
@ Jenni, I wouldn't like to sound rude, but could you provide any references for the Spanish saying? Admittedly, I've never spent anything other than short holidays in Aragón, but I do come from a Spanish family and I've livedd in Spain for over 3 decades, yet I've never heard it. Also, the question states thisi is Argentinian folklore, yet I've noticed we have had any Argentinian colleagues take part in the answers.
You see, what I more or less infer from the Spanish wording suggests is that "the devil leaves when the fire goes out", and although I admit I don't really know what to make of it, it doesn't seem to me to convey the meaning of "once bitten/burnt..." at all - I'd be more inclined to think that the aim is to soothe the child's (potential) worries, that he needn't worry about the devil because he leaves along with the fire.
Steve: have you also heard this saying too, or have you based your suggestion on Jenni's interpretation? Thanks to both of you, Álvaro.
@tahlstrom: couldn't you post a little bit of context to try to understand this expression better. Thanks. :O)
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Answers
28 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +5
once burned, twice shy
Explanation: That's how the saying is understood here in Aragon. I actually know this saying better as "once bitten, twice shy, but "burned" gets 927,000 hits so it must be recognizable as the same concept. It appears to have been a song by Abba, which may have helped.
Jenni Lukac Local time: 04:32 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 35
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +5