Season 3, episode 6
Zunzuncito is a tiny hummingbird. His friend, Monty, is an even smaller frog. The two animals are searching for a magic flower. Zunzuncito hopes that the magic flower will grant his wish to be big. Majá is a Cuban boa. According to Monty, she knows everything. There is just one problem – Zunzuncito is incredibly afraid of snakes and Majá is the biggest snake on the island of Cuba.
This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include scared, forest, lake, snails, near and far.
Chapter 6: The Cuban Boa
Zunzuncito has a mission. His mission is to find the magic flower. He wants to find the magic flower because he wants to be big. Zunzuncito is a small hummingbird. He is the smallest bird of all the birds in the world. He doesn’t like being small. Being small causes problems. It causes problems with other birds, insects, and spiders.
Zunzuncito met Monty when Monty rescued him from a spiderweb. Monty is a frog. He is a very small frog. He is the smallest frog in all of Cuba. Monty is smaller than Zunzuncito!
Monty told Zunzuncito about the magic flower. But there is a problem. Monty doesn’t know where to find the flower. So Monty and Zunzuncito went to the woods to find the smartest of all the animals in Cuba – Majá.
“Hello Majá! How are you today?” Monty fearlessly asks the serpent. Zunzuncito doesn’t understand why Monty is so calm. Majá’s eye is bigger than the little frog!
“I am well, little frog. I heard my name. Do you want sssomething?” the serpent asks Monty and Zunzuncito.
Monty looks at Zunzuncito. Zunzuncito is nervous because he is scared of snakes and Majá is a really big snake. When Monty notices that Zunzuncito doesn’t want to talk, he talks for him.
“My friend wants to suck the nectar from the magic flower. He wants to be a bigger bird,” Monty says.
“Hmmmm. Yesss. He isss a very sssmall bird,” Majá comments.
“Do you know where the flower is?” Monty asks Majá.
“Yesss, but the magic flower isss very far away and you are ssso sssmall,” Majá responds.
“I-I’m n-not s-scared,” Zunzuncito finally says. It is obvious that he is nervous in Majá’s presence.
“No?” Majá moves her head directly in front of Zunzuncito and sticks out her tongue. Zunzuncito is scared, but he says, “N-n-no.”
“Well, to get to the magic flower, you need to crosss the great lake, passs through the land of giantsss and arrive in the valley of sssnails.”
Zunzuncito’s eyes get big. Where is the great lake? Where is the land of giants? Where is the valley of snails? This is an impossible journey!
“Thanks for the information, Majá,” Monty says. “You are very kind.”
“That isn’t all. When you arrive in the valley of sssnails, you need to talk with the flower’s protector. You need to convince the protector of the flower that you will use the magic of the flower for good and not for evil,” Majá says.
“Well, that isn’t a problem. Zunzuncito just wants to use the magic to get big. It isn’t anything bad,” Monty responds. Zunzuncito doesn’t speak, he just moves his head a little. He is still scared of the enormous serpent.
“Great. Well, thanks again for the information, Majá. We have a big adventure ahead of us so it is time to go,” Monty says. Monty starts hopping away, but Zunzuncito doesn’t move. He is paralyzed by his fear of the snake.
Majá looks intensely at Zunzuncito. The head of the snake doesn’t move, but the rest of her body moves closer and closer to Zunzuncito. Her long tail grabs Zunzuncito. Little by little, Majá squeezes Zunzuncito’s small body.
Majá doesn’t squeeze Monty because he is too small. Monty sees that Majá is squeezing Zunzuncito.
“What are you doing?” Monty asks Majá.
“I’m hungry. I need to eat, and this little bird is the perfect snack,” Majá responds and squeezes Zunzuncito more tightly. Majá is a special snake called a boa. Boas squeeze their victims and then they eat them.
Zunzuncito hears Majá’s words. He doesn’t want to die. He doesn’t want to be a snack for Majá.
Majá squeezes more tightly, but there is a problem. Zunzuncito is very small. Zunzuncito is too small for Majá. Majá can’t squeeze Zunzuncito very well.
Zunzuncito is scared, but he is no longer paralyzed. He moves his wings and escapes from Majá’s grasp.
“I am not going to die today!” Zunzuncito announces when he escapes. Then he sticks out his tongue at Majá.
“Onward to adventure!” Monty shouts. Then Zunzuncito flies and Monty hops away from Majá. They need to find the magic flower. They have an adventure ahead!
You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!
Zunzuncito’s Adventure is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.
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