• last month
by Munro Leaf
illustrated by Robert Lawson
Transcript
00:00The story of Ferdinand, by Monroe Leif, illustrated by Robert Lawson.
00:16Once upon a time in Spain, there was a little bull and his name was Ferdinand.
00:21All the other little bulls he lived with would run and jump and butt their heads together.
00:25But not Ferdinand.
00:27He liked to sit just quietly and smell the flowers.
00:30He had a favorite spot out in the paistro under a cork tree.
00:33It was his favorite tree and he would sit in its shade all day and smell the flowers.
00:38Sometimes his mother who was a cow would worry about him.
00:41She was afraid he would be lonesome all by himself.
00:44Why don't you run and play with the other little bulls and skip and butt your head,
00:48she would say.
00:49But Ferdinand would shake his head.
00:51I like it better here where I can sit just quietly and smell the flowers.
00:55His mother saw that he was not lonesome, and because she was an understanding mother, even
01:00though she was a cow, she let him just sit there and be happy.
01:04As the years went by Ferdinand grew and grew until he was very big and strong.
01:08All the other bulls who had grown up with him in the same pasture would fight each other
01:12all day.
01:13They would butt each other and stick each other with their horns.
01:16What they wanted most of all was to be picked to fight at the bullfights in Madrid.
01:21But not Ferdinand, he still liked to sit just quietly under the cork tree and smell
01:25the flowers.
01:26One day five men came in very funny hats to pick the biggest fastest roughest bull to
01:31fight in the bullfights in Madrid.
01:33All the other bulls ran around snorting and butting leaping and jumping so the men would
01:37think that they were very very strong and fierce and pick them.
01:41Ferdinand knew that they wouldn't pick him and he didn't care.
01:44So he went to his favorite cork tree to sit down.
01:47He didn't look where he was sitting and instead of sitting on the nice cool grass in the shade
01:51he sat on a bumble bee.
01:52Well if you were a bumble bee and a bull sat on you what would you do?
01:56You would sting him.
01:57And that is just what this bee did to Ferdinand.
01:59Wow, did it hurt?
02:01Ferdinand jumped up with a snort.
02:03He ran around puffing and snorting butting and pawing the ground as if he were crazy.
02:08The five men saw him and they all shouted with joy.
02:11Here was the largest and fiercest bull of all.
02:14Just the one for the bullfights in Madrid.
02:16So they took him away for the bullfight day in a cart.
02:19What a day it was.
02:20Flags were flying.
02:22Bands were playing.
02:23And all the lovely ladies had flowers in their hair.
02:26They had a parade into the bull ring.
02:28First came the bandarieros with long sharp pins with ribbons on them to stick in the
02:32bull and make him mad.
02:34Next came the picadors who rode skinny horses and they had long spears to stick in the bull
02:38and make him madder.
02:40Then came the matador, the proudest of all he thought he was very handsome and bowed
02:44to the ladies.
02:45He had a red cape and a sword and was supposed to stick the bull last of all.
02:50Then came the bull and you know who that was don't you?
02:52Ferdinand.
02:53They called him Ferdinand the Fierce and all the bandarieros were afraid of him and the
02:57picadors were afraid of him and the matador was scared stiff.
03:01Ferdinand ran to the middle of the ring and everyone shouted and clapped because they
03:05thought he was going to fight fiercely and butt and snort and stick his horns around.
03:10But not Ferdinand.
03:11When he got to the middle of the ring he saw the flowers in all the lovely ladies' hair
03:15and he just sat down quietly and smelled.
03:18He wouldn't fight and be fierce no matter what they did.
03:21He just sat and smelled.
03:23And the bandarieros were mad and the picadors were madder and the matador was so mad he
03:27cried because he couldn't show off with his cape and sword.
03:30So they had to take Ferdinand home.
03:33And for all I know he is sitting there still under his favorite cork tree, smelling the
03:37flowers just quietly.
03:39He is very happy.
03:40The end.