Os dejamos un maravilloso cuento en inglés. Esta es una de las historias del libro “Cuentos diferentes para niños diferentes“, pero en esta ocasión, el texto de María Bautista (ilustrado por Raquel Blázquez) ha sido traducido al inglés por Dani Moore.
The best friend of Beto was his cow Paca. It sounds weird that it was a cow, but Beto lived in a farm surrounded by animals. Even more, Paca the cow had saved his life, and that is a thing you don’t forget…
It occurred when Beto was only 3 years old. He was playing ball next to a den of rabbits when the ball shot toward the road. Beto ran after it right at the moment when a truck filled with bushels of wheat was passing by. Paca the cow, who grazed tranquilly in the next meadow, saw the whole scene, and left running towards the boy.
The driver, who had not seen Beto, so small and fast, was stunned to see this enormous cow running towards the road. And stopped short.
That was the beginning of a very special friendship. Beto spent hours with Paca the cow, he only drank the milk that came from her utters, and sometimes, when he couldn’t sleep, he snuggled with her. At her side he was never scared.
Because of this, no one was surprised to see them always together. They were as thick as thieves, so close that it seemed impossible to tell where ended Beto’s smile and where began the playfully wagging tail of Paca the cow. And so it always was, until Beto grew up and had to go to school.
The school was in the city and was very big. It was full of boys and girls, but didn’t have rabbits, nor meadows, nor horses, and of course no Paca the cow. Why could he not take his friend to school, share a desk and play together at recess?
- Because she is a cow, Beto – Mama told him – cows don’t go to school, nor do they do chores, nor do they trade cards at recess.
But Beto insisted so much that Mama finally agreed. And Beto came the following day mounted on his cow Paca. All the kids wanted to pet her, play with her, drink her milk and climb her back.
But, after a while, Paca the cow tired of grazing that cement meadow and decided to sit. Nothing more occurred than sitting herself right under one of the goals of the soccer field:
- With her as goalie; we will win all the games! – exclaimed an enthusiastic Beto.
But the opposing team quickly tired of playing with Paca the cow.
- This is unfair, we want a goalie our size!
- So wins either…
- This is cheating
So Beto had no choice but to convince Paca the cow to move from the goal.
- It will be better to stay in the hallway – he said – because now I have math class and I can’t stay with you.
Paca the cow obeyed Beto and remained tranquilly lying in the hallway, but after a while, she began to tire of staying there alone and began to call to her friend. The moos of the cow were so strong that the teacher Daniel had to stop the class.
- What is this scandal? We cannot continue the class like this…
And he left for the hallway to see what happened. Paca the cow was very content to finally see someone with whom to talk…she was so bored there alone! So happy was she, that with all her affection, she licked the bald shiny head of the teacher Daniel.
- Aaaaagh. How disgusting! This is a shame. Take this cow home.
And there went Beto and Paca the cow, very rueful for having orchestrated all of this mess. Carmen, the principal, almost had a fit when she saw Paca the cow enter the door to her office.
- What is a cow doing here?
- It’s just that she is my best friend and I wanted to bring her to learn about school, about my other friends, about the professors…
The principal saw how hopeful Beto was, and how embarrassed the poor cow was, that she had an idea.
- Beto, the school is not a place for a cow. Your friend has to stay in our farm while you are in class. But since she has already come here, let’s teach all the kids…
Carmen’s idea was simple: give a class that no alumnus would ever forget again. Paca the cow, Beto and Carmen were passing through all the classes. Carmen taught them all that there was to know about cows and about the animals like her: the mammals. Further, many children milked a cow for the first time, discovered how cows ate, what customs they had and how they lived. It had been the best kind of knowledge of the environment they all had ever had.
When the day ended, Beto and Paca the cow returned to the farm and told all to Mama, who, with the face that mothers always wear when they are about to tell you something important, affirmed:
- I already told you, Beto. Cows don’t go to school.
Claudia
