Category: Simple Stories in English

Season 3, episode 8

Zunzuncito and Monty have a three-part journey: cross the great lake, pass through the land of giants, and arrive in the valley of snails. They have found the great lake, but now they need to cross it. Zunzuncito can easily fly over the lake, but it is filled with big fish that want to eat the small Monty. How will they make it across? 

This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include lake, fish, fly, scared, turtle, and don’t move!

Chapter 8: Monty is Scared

Zunzuncito and Monty need to cross the great lake. They need to cross the lake to get to the land of giants and arrive in the valley of snails where they can find the magic flower. They need to find the magic flower because Zunzuncito wants to be big. He doesn’t want to be the smallest bird in the world – he wants to be the biggest bird in the world.

But there is a problem. The great lake is very big and they need to cross it. Zunzuncito can fly to the other side of the lake, but Monty needs to swim to the other side. Monty can swim well, but in the great lake there are big fish. The big fish want to eat Monty. Zunzuncito has an idea. Monty can sit on his head. That way Zunzuncito can fly with Monty to the other side of the lake.

Zunzuncito is small, but Monty is smaller than Zunzuncito. So Monty sits on Zunzuncito’s head. Zunzuncito moves his wings and yells: “Let’s cross the lake!”

Zunzuncito moves his wings and flies. Monty is on his head. Zunzuncito flies very high and Monty is scared. Monty does not like to be up high. He is nervous and scared. Monty moves around on Zunzuncito’s head because he is scared.

“Don’t move!” Zunzuncito shouts.

“Sorry. I’m just nervous,” Monty responds.

“It’s okay, friend. You need to look forward. Focus on the trees on the other side of the great lake,” Zunzuncito recommends.

Monty looks forward. He sees the tall trees on the other side of the great lake. Monty focuses on the trees up ahead and feels calmer. He doesn’t think about the lake, he doesn’t think about the fish. He only thinks about the trees up ahead.

“Feeling better?” Zunzuncito asks Monty.

“Yes. It is really pretty up here in the air,” Monty replies. He is calm now that he is not thinking about the water or the fish.

Suddenly, a fish jumps from the water and Zunzuncito moves. Monty moves too and accidentally looks down. He sees the great lake. He sees the fish jumping in the great lake. Monty is not calm now. He is nervous and he moves his hands around on Zunzuncito’s head.

“Don’t move!” Zunzuncito yells.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Monty says, but he moves more and more because he is nervous. When Monty moves his hands, he accidentally covers Zunzuncito’s eyes. Zunzuncito can’t see! He is frustrated and yells at Monty.

“Move your hands! I can’t see anything!”

“I’m sorry!” Monty shouts and he moves his hands. But he doesn’t move them enough because he is really scared and Zunzuncito still can’t see anything.

Zunzuncito flies erratically in the air because he can’t see anything. He doesn’t know where he is going. He doesn’t know if he is flying up or down. Monty moves a lot because he is nervous. He accidentally touches Zunzuncito’s wings. Zunzuncito can’t fly because Monty is touching his wings.

Zunzuncito falls because he can’t fly with Monty touching his wings. He falls into the water with Monty on his head. Monty squeezes Zunzuncito’s head because he is so scared. Zunzuncito is scared too because he can’t fly and he can’t see.

The two tiny animals fall into the water. When they fall in the water, Monty swims, but Zunzuncito can’t swim. His wings are for flying, not swimming. Monty grabs his friend and tries to swim. It is really difficult because Zunzuncito is bigger than Monty.

There are many fish in the water. The fish look at the small animals and swim towards them. Monty is scared and tries to swim with his friend. Suddenly, the fish swim away because there is another, bigger animal in the water. It is a turtle. The turtle swims directly to Zunzuncito. Monty thinks that the turtle wants to eat his friend and he is scared.

“Don’t eat my friend!” Monty yells at the turtle.

“I don’t want to eat a bird, I want to help,” the turtle replies.

The turtle stops just below Zunzuncito. When Zunzuncito is on his shell, the turtle swims to the surface of the water. Monty also swims to the surface of the water.

“Thank you, Ms. Turtle,” Zunzuncito says after taking a big breath of air.

“Your welcome, little bird. Why are you in the middle of this big lake?” the turtle asks Zunzuncito and Monty.

Zunzuncito looks at Monty. He is frustrated with his new friend, but he knows that Monty is a good frog and he doesn’t want to cause problems.

“We had an accident,” Zunzuncito replies. “We need to cross the great lake. Could you help us?

“Of course. Let’s cross the great lake together!” The turtle says.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

Zunzuncito’s Adventure is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work! You can also find me on Venmo and PayPal @Small Town Spanish Teacher!

Season 3, episode 7

Zunzuncito is on a mission to find the magic flower that will grant his wish to be big. He spoke with the wise snake Majá and now he knows where he must go, but how will he get there? Thankfully, he has a small sidekick, the tiny frog Monty, to help him out.

This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include lake, fish, fly, swim, and right.

Chapter 7: The Great Lake

Zunzuncito does not like snakes at all. He is very scared of snakes. He had to talk to the snake Majá because he wants to find the magic flower. He wants to find the magic flower because he wants to be big. He wants to be big because he is the smallest bird in the world and being small causes him problems.

Zunzuncito has a friend named Monty. Monty is a small frog. Monty wants to help Zunzuncito with his adventure. Zunzuncito and Monty learned from Majá that to get to the magic flower they have to cross the great lake, pass through the land of giants, and arrive in the valley of snails.

But there is a problem. They don’t know where to go. They don’t know where the great lake or the land of giants or the valley of snails are. But at least they aren’t with the big snake Majá.

“I never want to see another snake again!” Zunzuncito tells Monty. He is still a little scared of the boa Majá.

“I understand, friend,” Monty responds, “but it is over now. We are going to focus on the future and the adventure.

“Yes, the adventure,” Zunzuncito says. “Where are we going first?”

“To cross the great lake, of course,” Monty replies.

“And where is the great lake?” Zunzuncito asks.

“I have no idea. I only visit little lakes,” Monty responds.

“Ugh! This adventure is impossible,” Zunzuncito comments. He sits on the ground and cries. Monty stops hopping and pats his friend’s back to calm him down. He has an idea.

“It’s okay, friend. I have an idea. You can fly, right? You can fly fast and really high up. You just need to fly up in the air and look for the biggest lake in the forest.”

Zunzuncito looks at Monty. Monty is right. Zunzuncito can fly fast and really high in the air. It is a good idea.

Zunzuncito moves his wings quickly and flies up in the air. He flies very high. When he is higher than the trees, Zunzuncito looks for the biggest lake. He looks to the north and the south. He looks to the east and the west. There are various lakes, but there is one lake in the north that is bigger than the rest.

Zunzuncito flies to Monty and describes the big lake. “I think it is the great lake,” he says.

“I think you’re right,” Monty responds. “Let’s go north!”

The two friends go north to the great lake. Zunzuncito flies and Monty hops. They go very quickly and they arrive at the great lake in thirty minutes.

“We arrived at the great lake! Now we need to cross it,” Zunzuncito exclaims. He is very excited. After crossing the great lake he will be closer to the magic flower.

Monty doesn’t say anything. He sees the great lake and he is scared. Monty typically visits little lakes. He doesn’t like big lakes.

“Let’s go, friend. You can swim and I can fly. Let’s cross the great lake!” Zunzuncito says and he flies over the water. Monty doesn’t move.

While Zunzuncito flies, a huge fish jumps out of the water. The fish tries to eat Zunzuncito! Then another fish jumps out of the water. Zunzuncito is scared and flies back to Monty.

Now Monty really doesn’t want to get in the water. He doesn’t want to be fish food! But if he doesn’t swim, how will he cross the great lake?

Zunzuncito looks at his friend. They need to cross the great lake, but Monty is frozen in fear. It is obvious that Monty can’t swim in the great lake. Zunzuncito needs to help his friend. He knows that he is not a big animal, but Monty isn’t big either. Zunzuncito has an idea.

“Monty, we need to cross the great lake. I have an idea. You can fly with me,” Zunzuncito tells his frog friend.

“F-fly? H-how?” Monty asks nervously.

“You can sit on my head,” Zunzuncito tells him and he lowers his head.

Monty hops on Zunzuncito’s head. Monty isn’t big – he is only a centimeter long – but Zunzuncito is small too, so Monty seems big on the birds head. When Monty is in position, Zunzuncito moves his wings quickly and flies up in the air.

“Let’s cross the great lake together!” Zunzuncito shouts. 

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

Zunzuncito’s Adventure is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work! You can also find me on Venmo and PayPal @Small Town Spanish Teacher!

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.

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work! You can also find me on Venmo and PayPal @Small Town Spanish Teacher!

Season 3, episode 5

Zunzuncito is done dealing with the small life. He wants to be big. Luckily, his new frog friend Monty knows about a special magic flower that might be able to grant his wish. He just doesn’t know where it is. So, the hummingbird and frog head to the woods in search of the all-knowing Majá. On the way, Zunzuncito learns a few things about his small amphibious friend.

This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include frog, forest, trees, ground, jump and fly.

Chapter 5: Monty

Zunzuncito only wants to live his life and suck sweet nectar from pretty flowers. He doesn’t want to have problems with other animals or insects. But Zunzuncito has had problems. He has had problems because he is small.

First, he had a problem with a bigger hummingbird. Zunzuncito is a hummingbird, but he is the smallest hummingbird in the world. Then, he had a problem with bees. The bees attacked him because they didn’t want to share the flowers. Then he had a problem with a spider. The spider wanted to suck Zunzuncito’s blood for his dinner!

An animal rescued Zunzuncito. He thought it was a big animal, but in reality his rescuer is very, very small. It is a Monte Iberia frog named Monty. Monty is small, but Zunzuncito wants to be big. Monty says that there is a magic flower and that it is possible to be big by sucking the nectar from the flower.

Zunzuncito is very happy that he is no longer trapped in a spider web. He is also excited to have a new friend. He is anxious to drink the magic nectar from the special flower and be big. To do that, Zunzuncito and Monty need to talk to Majá. They want to find the flower with the magic nectar. They don’t know where it is, but Majá knows everything.

“Where is Majá?” Zunzuncito asks Monty.

“She is in the forest. She likes the trees,” Monty replies.

Monty hops in the direction of the forest. Zunzuncito moves his wings to fly. He can’t fly very high in the sky because it is really difficult to see Monty in all the plants.

Zunzuncito flies and Monty hops in the forest. While they go to the forest, they talk about their lives. Zunzuncito learns that Monty is a special type of frog. He is a Monte Iberian frog. The Monte Iberian frog is only one centimeter long and is the smallest frog in Cuba and all of North America. It isn’t the smallest frog in the world, but there are only two frogs smaller than Monty in the rest of the world.

Monty is an amphibian. As an amphibian, he lives in the water and in plants. He likes to swim a lot and he likes to eat little insects. Sometimes he eats little spiders too, that’s why he knows how to break spider webs.

Zunzuncito is fascinated by his new friend. Monty has an interesting life with a lot of adventures. He doesn’t seem frustrated by his small size. But Zunzuncito is frustrated with his small size. He doesn’t like being little. That’s why he needs to talk to Majá and find the magic flower.

But there is a problem. Who is Majá? Zunzuncito doesn’t know.

“Who is Majá?” Zunzuncito asks Monty.

“Majá is the smartest animal in all of Cuba,” Monty responds.

“Yes, I understand that she is the smartest animal. But what kind of animal is she?”

“She is a reptile.”

“What kind of reptile.”

“She is a boa.”

“What is a boa?”

“It’s a…a…snake,” Monty finally says.

“A snake?!” Zunzuncito exclaims. He doesn’t like snakes. He is afraid of snakes.

“Yes, Majá is a snake. But she is intelligent and good. Do you want to find the magic flower?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to be big?”

“Yes.”

“Then you need to talk with Majá,” Monty says.

When they arrive at the forest, Zunzuncito looks for the snake in the trees. He flies high among the trees and looks for Majá. Monty looks for the snake on the ground. He hops among the plants and looks for Majá on the ground.

“Majá! Majá! Where are you?” Monty shouts while he hops.

Zunzuncito doesn’t see anything in the trees. Monty doesn’t see anything on the ground.

“Majá isn’t here, Monty. What do we do now?” Zunzuncito asks his frog friend.

Suddenly, the plants move and Zunzuncito and Monty hear the hiss of an enormous serpent. The two small animals turn around and see the face of Majá.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

Zunzuncito’s Adventure is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work! You can also find me on Venmo and PayPal @Small Town Spanish Teacher!

Season 3, episode 4

It’s not easy being the smallest bird in the world. You have to deal with bigger bully birds, bees that don’t want to share and spiders that want to suck your blood. Zunzuncito is tired of being small. Perhaps if he is big and strong he can save himself from these sticky situations. After all, the animal that saved him from the spiderweb must be big and strong, right?

This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include bird, small, trapped, big, and small.

Chapter 4: I Want to be Big

Zunzuncito, the small bee hummingbird only wants to suck sweet nectar from the prettiest flowers in Cuba, but he has had a lot of problems. First, the bigger hummingbirds blocked the flowers. Then, a group of bees attacked him because they were using the flowers and didn’t want to share. Then he got trapped in a spiderweb. All these problems occurred because Zunzuncito is small. He is the smallest of all the birds. Zunzuncito doesn’t want more problems. He doesn’t want to be small, he wants to be big! 

Zunzuncito looks for the animal that saved him from the spiderweb. He thinks it is a big, fantastic animal because it was able to destroy the spiderweb and free Zunzuncito. Zunzuncito wants to be a big, fantastic animal like his rescuer.

Zunzuncito searches and searches, but he can’t find the animal that freed him. He is very thankful and he wants to express his thanks to his rescuer, but where is he?

“I don’t know where you are, but thanks for saving me,” Zunzuncito yells.

“You’re welcome, friend,” a voice responds.

Zunzuncito hears the voice and looks for an animal, but he doesn’t see anything. He imagines that it is a big animal to have been able to break the spider web and free Zunzuncito.

Suddenly, Zunzuncito is very sad and frustrated. He doesn’t like being small. He has problems with other birds because he is small. He has problems with bees because he is small. He has problems with spiders because he is small. He almost died because he is so small!

Zunzuncito sits on the ground and cries. He cries because he is little and he wants to be big.

“What’s wrong, friend?” the voice asks him.

“I’m small. I’m very small. I don’t want to be small!” Zunzuncito cries.

“Being small is not so bad,” the voice responds.

“You don’t understand because you are probably a big, strong animal. I have a lot of problems because I am small,” Zunzuncito closes his eyes and cries even more.

Two little hands touch Zunzuncito. He opens his eyes and sees a frog. The frog is black with two yellow lines. But the biggest surprise is that the frog is little. The frog is smaller than Zunzuncito.

“It’s okay friend,” the small frog says. When Zunzuncito hears the tiny frog’s voice, he recognizes the voice of his liberator. His liberator isn’t a big animal. He is a small animal. He is a really small animal.

“You aren’t big. You’re small,” Zunzuncito exclaims.

“Being small is not so bad,” the frog repeats himself.

“I don’t like being small. It only causes problems. I want to be big,” Zunzuncito says. Then he explains his problem with the large hummingbird, his problem with the bees and his problem with the spider. The tiny frog listens attentively and thinks about Zunzuncito’s problems. He thinks he has an idea.

“Do you really want to be big?” the tiny frog asks Zunzuncito.

“Yes. I don’t want to be little anymore,” Zunzuncito replies.

“I have an idea. There is a special flower. The nectar in the flower is magic. The animals that drink the nectar receive a wish. You can drink the nectar and wish to be big,” the frog says.

Zunzuncito thinks about the plan. He thinks it is a fantastic plan. He wants to suck the nectar from the flower right away.

“Where is the magic flower?” Zunzuncito asks.

“I don’t know where it is,” the frog responds.

“Then how are we going to find the flower?” Zunzuncito exclaims. He is anxious to be big.

“We can talk to Majá.”

“Who is Majá?”

“Majá is the smartest creature in the forest. She knows everything. Let’s go!” the tiny frog explains.

Zunzuncito is surprised. The tiny frog wants to help him. He just met the frog. They are talking about an adventure and he doesn’t even know his name yet.

“My name is Zunzuncito,” he introduces himself. “What’s your name?”

“I am the Monte Iberia frog. My friends just call me Monty.”

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

Zunzuncito’s Adventure is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work! You can also find me on Venmo and PayPal @Small Town Spanish Teacher!

Season 3, episode 3

Zunzuncito, a tiny bee hummingbird, just wants to suck delicious nectar from beautiful flowers. But he is not the only one hunting for food. After being chased away from flowers by a group of bees, Zunzuncito is now trapped in a spiderweb. There are many large spiders in Cuba and some of them do suck the blood of little birds caught in their webs. How will Zunzuncito escape? 

This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include bird, spiderweb, spider, cries, scared, and stuck.

Chapter 3: Trapped!

Zunzuncito is a bee hummingbird – the smallest bird in the world. He lives in Cuba and survives on a diet of nectar and very small insects. It seems easy to fly from flower to flower sucking nectar, but sometimes it is hard. Other birds also suck nectar. There other hummingbirds that are bigger than tiny Zunzuncito and they block the flowers. There are also insects like bees that collect pollen from flowers. Zunzuncito tries to look for flowers, but they are all occupied. The bees are annoyed with Zunzuncito. They form a group and attack the bird. He escapes, but he encounters another problem. He is stuck and can’t move.

Zunzuncito is trapped! He is trapped in a spider web. The spider web is big and strong. Zunzuncito moves and moves, but he can’t escape. Furthermore, when he moves, he gets more trapped.

“This can’t be happening,” Zunzuncito exclaims.

“Are you trapped too?”

Zunzuncito hears a small voice. He moves his head a little and sees an insect trapped in the spider web.

“Yes,” Zunzuncito replies. “I can’t escape. When I try to escape, I only get more trapped.”

“The same thing happens to me. It happens to all the insects in spider webs,” the insect says.

“So what now? Are we trapped in the spider web forever?” Zunzuncito asks the insect.

Suddenly, Zunzuncito hears a sound. Something is walking on the spider web. Zunzuncito sees long, thin legs. The long, thin legs walk towards the trapped insect. Zunzuncito counts the legs – there are eight. It is a spider! Zunzuncito does not like spiders.

“Hello boys,” the spider says. It is black, brown and big. The spider looks at the insect and then at Zunzuncito.

“H-hello,” Zunzuncito replies nervously. Zunzuncito is scared of spiders.

“You are a very small bird,” the spider says. “I think you will make a delicious dinner.”

Zunzuncito is scared. He doesn’t want to be a delicious dinner for an enormous spider! Zunzuncito doesn’t want to be in the spider web, he wants to be in a field of flowers.

“Please don’t eat me, Ms. Spider,” Zunzuncito cries.

“I’m not going to eat you, little bird. I am going to suck your blood,” the spider responds and touches Zunzuncito with one of her long legs.

Now Zunzuncito is really scared of the spider. Zunzuncito wants to escape. He wants to fly to the flowers. He wants to fly to his mom’s house. But he can’t. He’s trapped in the spider web.

Suddenly, the spider web moves. A big insect is trapped and moves the spider web. The spider looks at the insect and is annoyed.

“Just a moment. Don’t go anywhere!” the spider says to Zunzuncito as she leaves to inspect the new insect. Once the spider is gone, Zunzuncito starts to cry. He is very scared.

“I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die!” Zunzuncito cries.

“You’re not going to die, friend,” a voice says.

“Who is it? Who’s there?” Zunzuncito asks. He tries to move to see who is talking.

“I am a friend. Don’t move. I’m going to help you,” the voice replies.

Zunzuncito wants to escape from the spider web so he doesn’t move any more. Hands touch Zunzuncito. The hands break the spider web. They break all of the lines of the spider web that are connected to Zunzuncito.

Zunzuncito falls to the ground. He is free from the spider web! He moves his wings to get rid of the rest of the spider web. He is so happy that he sings a little.

The spider looks at Zunzuncito from her spider web. She is really annoyed because her web is destroyed and her dinner escaped.

Zunzuncito sticks his tongue out at the spider and looks for his liberator. He looks through all the plants but he doesn’t see anyone. Who freed Zunzuncito?

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

Zunzuncito’s Adventure is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work! You can also find me on Venmo and PayPal @Small Town Spanish Teacher!

Season 3, episode 2

In this third season, I am sharing chapters from my short novel “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. This week is chapter 2! Zunzuncito, one of the tiniest hummingbirds in the world, flits from flower to flower in search of delicious nectar. However, some flowers are occupied. They are occupied by larger hummingbirds and insects. In this second chapter of “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”, our tiny bee hummingbird finds himself in a battle with his namesake bees.

This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include bird, hummingbird, wings, flies (verb), flowers, bees, and stingers.

Chapter 2: Bees

Zunzuncito is a special hummingbird. He is a bee hummingbird. He is the smallest bird in the whole world. He is only 5 centimeters long! Zunzuncito lives in Cuba. Right now, Zunzuncito is flying from flower to flower looking for nectar. He needs the nectar of more than 1,000 flowers every day to sustain his activities. Zunzuncito is a very small bird, but he needs a lot of nectar. Other birds also suck nectar. There are other hummingbirds that are bigger than tiny Zunzuncito and they block the flowers. Zunzuncito needs to find flowers and he needs to suck their nectar!

Zunzuncito flies high in the air to see all the flowers. He flies quickly, so it doesn’t take much time. There are a lot of flowers in the field, but there is also a lot of competition for the nectar. There are many creatures that need to drink nectar. Hummingbirds drink nectar and many insects also drink nectar.

From his position in the sky, Zunzuncito sees a blue flower. It is a very pretty flower and Zunzuncito is convinced that there is sweet nectar in the blue flower. He quickly flies to the blue flower. Zoom!

The flower is very pretty and smells delicious. Zunzuncito is about to put his beak in the flower to suck the nectar when a bee appears.

“What do you think you are doing?” the bee asks.

“I am going to suck nectar from this flower,” Zunzuncito responds.

“No way! This is my flower!” the bee exclaims. “Look for another flower!”

“I am really hungry, Mr. Bee,” Zunzuncito says. “Please, let me suck the nectar.”

“I said that it is my flower!” the bee yells. The bee isn’t enormous, but compared to Zunzuncito, he is not very small either. Zunzuncito decides to look for another flower.

He sees a flower that is not very far and he flies to the flower. He puts his beak in the flower to suck the nectar, but he doesn’t touch the nectar, he touches a bee.

“Occupied,” the bee announces. “Look for another flower.”

Zunzuncito flies to another flower. When he is close, a bee yells, “Occupied!”

Zunzuncito flies to another flower – zoom! – and another flower – zoom! All of the flowers are occupied. There are bees in all the flowers! Zunzuncito is hungry and frustrated. He needs to find nectar to eat. The bees don’t need all the nectar. They can share, can’t they?

Zunzuncito flies to a flower. The bee yells, “Occupied!” but Zunzuncito ignores him. Zunzuncito puts his beak in the flower and sucks the nectar.

The bee in the flower is angry with Zunzuncito. The bee doesn’t want to share the nectar with a bird. Zunzuncito is a little bigger than the bee, but the bee has a plan.

The bee flies to the other flowers and talks to the other bees. The bees look at Zunzuncito. They are not happy with the little hummingbird. They are annoyed. They don’t like Zunzuncito. They don’t want to share the nectar from the flowers with a little hummingbird.

The bees are annoyed with Zunzuncito, so they form a group and fly towards Zunzuncito. Zunzuncito sees the group of bees and he is scared. The bees have stingers. They can use their stingers to sting animals and Zunzuncito does not want to be stung by a bee. He is scared of all the bees and their stingers.

The group of bees flies towards Zunzuncito to attack him. Zunzuncito doesn’t think about sweet nectar now, he doesn’t think about the flowers, and he doesn’t think about where he is. He just thinks about all the bees and their stingers. Zunzuncito quickly flies away from the bees.

Suddenly Zunzuncito stops. He tries to fly, but he can’t. He can’t move his wings well. He can’t move his head. Zunzuncito is trapped! How is that possible?

Zunzuncito sees little lines connected to his wings and he understands. He understands that he is trapped in an enormous spider web.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

Zunzuncito’s Adventure is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work! You can also find me on Venmo and PayPal @Small Town Spanish Teacher!

Season 3, episode 1

Zunzuncito is one of the tiniest hummingbirds in the world. Some might think he spends all his time happily sucking nectar from flowers, and they are not wrong. However, sometimes insects and even other hummingbirds get in between Zunzuncito and his dinner.

This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include bird, hummingbird, wings, flies (verb) and flowers. 

Chapter 1: The Smallest Hummingbird

“Nectar, nectar, nectar. I love nectar!” Zunzuncito sings while he flies from flower to flower. 

Zunzuncito sucks the flower’s nectar. The nectar is sweet. Zunzuncito loves nectar! 

Zunzuncito needs to visit one thousand flowers to find all the nectar that he needs in a day. So Zunzuncito flies. He flies from flower to flower looking for sweet nectar.

Zunzuncito is a hummingbird. Hummingbirds are small birds. They are special birds. Hummingbirds are different from other birds. They are very small, they are very fast, and they suck nectar from flowers.

But Zunzuncito is also a special hummingbird. He is the smallest of all the hummingbirds. He is super small. Zunzuncito is only five centimeters long. Not only is he the smallest hummingbird, he is the smallest bird in the whole world!

Zunzuncito moves his wings. He moves his wings so fast that it is impossible to see them. Zunzuncito moves his wings eighty times a second. He moves them quickly to fly from flower to flower.

Zunzuncito sees a red flower. The flower is very pretty.

“There is probably nectar in that red flower,” Zunzuncito thinks and he flies to the red flower with his fast wings. Zoom! 

When Zunzuncito arrives at the red flower, he doesn’t sit on the plant to eat. He doesn’t rest his wings for even one moment. Zunzuncito keeps flying. He moves his wings quickly and sucks nectar from the red flower while flying in the air!

Zunzuncito puts his long beak in the flower. Then he sucks the nectar with his tongue. He has a long, thin tongue. He sucks all the nectar from the flower. Then he looks for another flower. Zunzuncito needs to suck the nectar from at least one thousand flowers. He doesn’t have time to rest. Zunzuncito keeps flying!

Zunzuncito flies very high in the air to see all the flowers. He loves all the bright colors of the flowers. And he loves their sweet nectar.

The small hummingbird sees a yellow flower. It is bright and pretty like the sun. Zunzuncito wants to drink the nectar from the yellow flower and he quickly flies to the flower. Zoom! When he is close to the flower, a big hummingbird moves in front of  Zunzuncito and drinks the nectar.

Zunzuncito is hungry and he wants to suck the nectar from the yellow flower, so he decides to talk to the hummingbird.

“Hello Mr. Hummingbird,” Zunzuncito says. “I know that you also need to drink nectar, but this is my yellow flower.” 

The hummingbird doesn’t move, so  Zunzuncito tries to speak louder.

“Hello, Mr. Hummingbird!” Zunzuncito yells. I know that you like nectar, but…

“Who’s talking?” the hummingbird interrupts.

“I’m talking,” Zunzuncito responds and he flies in front of the bird. “You stole my flower.”

The hummingbird looks at Zunzuncito. The hummingbird is not a huge bird, but it is bigger than  Zunzuncito.

“Ha, ha. You are super small,” the hummingbird laughs.

“Please, Mr. Hummingbird, let me pass to drink the nectar from the yellow flower,” Zunzuncito says, but the hummingbird doesn’t listen. He just laughs and keeps drinking the nectar from the yellow flower. Zunzuncito needs to find another flower.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

Zunzuncito’s Adventure is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work! You can also find me on Venmo and PayPal @Small Town Spanish Teacher!

Season 3, introduction

The island nation of Cuba is full of amazing animals. One of the most fascinating is the tiny bee hummingbird, also called the zunzuncito. I was inspired by this little hummingbird and, with some motivation from my students, I wrote a short novel called “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. For this third season of Simple Stories in English, I will be sharing a chapter from the novel each week.

This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include bird, hummingbird, frog, and flower.

Zunzuncito’s Adventure

The island of Cuba is in the Caribbean Sea. It is only 90 miles from the coast of the state of Florida. Cuba is the biggest island in the Caribbean with 42,000 square miles. But it is not very big compared to other countries.

Cuba is very interesting. It has a lot of biodiversity. There are mountains and plains. There are rivers, lakes, and the sea. There is a large variety of animals. There are some animals that only live on the island of Cuba. These are called “endemic” animals.

One of the most special animals in Cuba is the hummingbird. A hummingbird is a small, fast bird. Its wings move very quickly. Hummingbirds suck nectar from flowers. They also eat very small insects.

There is a special kind of hummingbird in Cuba. It is called the bee hummingbird. It has the name bee hummingbird because it is a very small hummingbird. It is as small as a bee. The bee hummingbird also has another name. In Cuba, it is called zunzuncito, which means “little zoom zoom”. The zunzuncito is only two and a half inches long. It is the smallest bird in the whole world!

In my book “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”, there is a bee hummingbird that is tired of being small. Being small causes problems for Zunzuncito. He doesn’t want to be the smallest bird in the world – he wants to be big!

Zunzuncito gets help from a special frog. It is a pygmy frog named Monty. Monty is also small. He is smaller than Zunzuncito. But Monty has an idea. He knows about a magic flower. When an animal or insect sucks the magic flower’s nectar, he receives anything he wishes.

So, Zunzuncito and Monty have an adventure to find the magic flower. Zunzuncito has a wish. He wants to suck the magic flower’s nectar and become big.

On their way to the flower, Zunzuncito and Monty meet several animals from Cuba. They meet Maja, a boa constrictor endemic to Cuba that is 20 feet long! They meet Tocororo, Cuba’s national bird that bears the bright blue, white, and red of the Cuban flag. They meet Polly, a Cuban painted snail, with a multicolored shell. 

Zunzuncito and Monty meet dogs, cats, spiders, insects, and turtles. Some animals help the tiny adventurers and others cause problems.

Zunzuncito has a grand adventure. At the end of his adventure, he needs to decide what his wish really is. Does he really want to be big, or does he want something else?

I am very excited to share chapters of “The Adventure of Zunzuncito” with you in this season of Simple Stories in English!

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

Zunzuncito’s Adventure is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!