I wrote a short novel called “La aventura de Zunzuncito”. I have an artist working on illustrations and hope to have it available in book format shortly. For now, please enjoy listening to each chapter at the tiny hummingbird Zunzuncito and his even smaller friend Monty search for a magic flower in the hills of Cuba.
The links below will bring you to the audio, transcript and video of each of the stories.
Introducción 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 “La aventura de Zunzuncito”. For this fifth season of Simple Stories in Spanish, 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 “pájaro” (bird), “colibrí” (hummingbird), “ranita” (little frog), and “flor” (flower).
Capítulo 1: El colibrí más pequeño 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 “pájaro” (bird), “colibrí” (hummingbird), alas” (wings), “vuela” (flies – verb) and “flores” (flowers).
Capítulo 2: Las abejas Zunzuncito, one of the tiniest hummingbirds in the world, flits from flower to flower in search of delicious nectar. However, some flowers are occupied by larger hummingbirds and insects. In this second chapter of “La aventura de Zunzuncito”, our tiny bee hummingbird finds himself in a battle for nectar with his namesake bees. This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include “pájaro” (bird), “colibrí” (hummingbird), “alas” (wings), “vuela” (flies – verb), “flores” (flowers), “abejas” (bees), and “aguijones” (stingers).
Capítulo 3: ¡Atrapado! 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 “pájaro” (bird), “telaraña” (spiderweb), “araña” (spider), “llora” (cries), “tiene miedo” (is scared) and “patas” (animal feet or hands).
Capítulo 4: Quiero ser grande 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 mostly in the the present tense, with only the first paragraph in the past (to recap the previous chapters). Repeated words and phrases include “salvador” (savior/rescuer), “liberar” (to liberate/free), “llora” (cries) and “patas” (animal feet or hands).
Capítulo 5: Monty 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 mostly in the the present tense, with only the first few paragraphs in the past (to recap the previous chapters). Repeated words and phrases include “rana” (frog), “bosque” (woods/forest), “árboles” (trees) “tierra” (ground, land, earth), “saltar” (to jump) and “volar” (to fly).
Capítulo 6: La boa cubana 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 mostly in the the present tense, with only a few words in the past (to recap the previous chapters). Repeated words and phrases include “miedo” (fear), “bosque” (woods/forest), “lago” (lake) “caracoles” (snails), “apretar” (to squeeze), “lejos” (far) and “cerca” (near).
Capítulo 7: El gran lago 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 “lago” (lake) “pez” (fish), “volar” (to fly), “nadar” (to swim) and “tiene razón” (is right).
Capítulo 8: Monty tiene miedo Zunzuncito and Monty have a three-part journey: cross the grand lake, pass through the land of giants, and arrive in the valley of snails. They have found the grand 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 mostly in the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include “tiene miedo” (is afraid), “lago” (lake), “pez” (fish), “volar” (to fly), “tortuga” (turtle) and “¡No te muevas!” (Don’t move!).
Capítulo 9: La tierra de gigantes Zunzuncito and Monty fell into the grand lake. Thankfully, a turtle came to save them. Once they cross the grand lake, they will reach the second leg of their journey: pass through the land of giants. To the tiny hummingbird and frog, though, everything is a giant! Will they find the land they seek and pass through it safely? This story is told mostly in the the present tense, with only a couple words in the past (to recap the previous chapters). Repeated words and phrases include “tierra” (land/earth), “tortuga” (turtle), “piel” (skin) “casa” (house), and “jaula” (cage).
Capítulo 10: Animales en jaula After crossing the grand lake, Zunzuncito and Monty must pass through the land of giants. The land of giants is fascinating, until Zunzuncito sees something horrible: animals in cages. Seeing the animals in cages makes him think of being trapped in the spiderweb. He has to do something, but what can a tiny bird do? This story is told mostly in the the present tense, with only a couple words in the past (to recap the previous chapters). Repeated words and phrases include “jaula” (cage), “cerradura” (lock), “pico” (beak), “romper” (to break), “abrir” (to open) and “puerta” (door).
Capítulo 11: Impaciente Zunzuncito is getting closer to the magic flower that will grant his wish to be big. He crossed the grand lake and passed through the land of giants. Only one place remains: the valley of snails. Zunzuncito feels so close and yet so far from his goal. He is feeling impatient. This story is told mostly in the the present tense, with only a couple of words in the past (to recap the previous chapters). Repeated words and phrases include “caracoles” (snails), “ojos” (eyes), “saca la lengua” (sticks out his tongue) and “tiene hambre” (is hungry).
Capítulo 12: El deseo de Zunzuncito Zunzuncito is reaching the end of his journey. He crossed the grand lake, passed through the land of giants and arrived at the valley of snails. Now he just needs to suck the nectar and he will be big. Because being big will make him happy, right? This story is told mostly in the the present tense, with a few words in the past (to recap the previous chapters). Repeated words and phrases include “deseo” (wish), “caracol” (snail) and “no podría” (wouldn’t be able to/couldn’t).
No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. Happy listening!