Once upon a time in =Spain

there was a little bull and his name was =Ferdinand.

All the other little bulls he lived with would run
and jump and butt their head together,

but not =Ferdinand.
He liked to sit just quietly and smell the flowers.

He had a favorite spot out in the pasture under a cork
tree.

It was his favorite tree and he would sit in its shade all
day and small the flowers.

Sometimes his mother, who was a cow, would worry about him.
She was afraid he would be lonesome all by himself.

"Why don't you run and play with the other little bulls and
skip and butt your head," she would say?
But =Ferdinand would shake his head.  "I like it better here
where I can sit just quietly and smell the flowers."

His mother saw that he was not lonesome, and because she was
an understanding mother, even though she was a cow, she let him
just sit there and be happy.

As the years went by =Ferdinand grew and grew until he was very big and strong.

All the other bulls who had grown up with him in the same pasture
would fight each other all day.  They would butt each other and
stick each other with their horns.  What they wanted most of all
was to be picked to fight at the bull fights in =Madrid.

But not =Ferdinand -- he still liked to sit just quietly under the cork
tree and smell the flowers.

One day five men came in very funny hats to pick the biggest, fastest,
roughest bull to fight in the bull fights in =Madrid.

All the other bulls ran around snorting and butting, leaping and
jumping so the men would think they were very very strong and
fierce and pick them.

=Ferdinand knew that they wouldn't pick him and he didn't care.
So he went out to his favorite cork tree to sit down.

He didn't look where he was sitting and instead of sitting on the
nice cool grass in the shade he sat on a bumble bee.

Well, if you were a bumble bee and a bull sat on you what would you do?
You would sting him.  And that is just what this bee did to =Ferdinand.

Wow!  Did it hurt!  Ferdinand jumped up with a snort.  He ran around puffing
and snorting, butting and pawing the ground as if he were crazy.

The five men saw him and they all shouted with joy.
Here was the largest and fiercest bull of all.
Just the one for the bull fights in =Madrid.

So they took him away for the bull fight day in a cart.

What a day it was!  Flags were flying, bands were playing

and all the lovely ladies had flowers in their hair.

They had a parade into the bull ring.
First came the Banderilleros with long sharp pins with ribbons
on them to stick in the bull and make him mad.

Next came the Picadores who rode skinny horses and they had
long spears to stick in the bull and make him madder.

Then came the Matador, the proudest of all -- he thought he was
very handsome, and bowed to the ladies.  He had a red cape and a
sword and was supposed to stick the bull last of all.

Then came the bull, and you know what that was don't you?
Ferdinand.
They called him =Ferdinand the Fierce and all the Banderilleros
were afraid of him and the Picadores were afraid of him and the
Matador was scared stiff.

=Ferdinand ran to the middle of the ring and everyone shouted and
clapped because they thought he was going to fight fiercely and butt
and snort and stick his horns around.

But not =Ferdinand.
When he got to the middle of the ring he saw the flowers in all the
lovely ladies' hair and he just sat down quietly and smelled.

He wouldn't fight and be fierce no matter what they did.
He just sat and smelled.
And the Banderilleros were mad and the Picadores were madder
and the Matador was so mad he cried because he couldn't show off
with his cape and sword.

So they had to take Ferdinand home.

And for all I know he is sitting there still, under his favorite
cork tree, smelling the flowers just quietly.

He is very happy.

The end.