Once upon a time
in sunny 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 heads together.
But not Ferdinand.
He had his favorite spot
out in the pasture,
under a cork tree.
And he would sit just quietly
in its shade all day
and smell the flowers.
Sometimes his mother, who was a cow,
Would worry about him.
She was afraid he would
be lonesome all by himself.
Now, Ferdinand,
why don't you play
with all the other little bulls
and butt your head?
But Ferdinand
would shake his head.
I like it better here,
where I can sit just quietly
and smell the flowers.
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 and grew,
until he was very big and very strong.
All the other bulls
wanted most of all
to fight at the bullfights 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 funny hats
to pick the biggest,
fastest, roughest bull
to fight in the bullfights.
All the other bulls ran around leaping
and huffing and butting their heads,
so the men would think
they were strong and fierce
and pick them.
But not Ferdinand.
He knew they wouldn't pick him
and he didn't care.
So he went out under his
favorite cork tree to sit down,
but he didn't look
where he was sitting,
and he sat on a bumblebee!
Ferdinand ran around puffing
and snorting as if he were crazy.
The five men saw him,
and they all shouted with joy.
"Look at him go!"
- ¡Bravo!
- ¡Excelente!
- ¡Magnífico!
- ¡Espléndido!
This is the one!
Whoopee!
So they took him away
for the bullfight day in a cart.
What a day it was!
Flags were flying,
bands were playing.
They had a parade
into the bullring.
First came
the banderilleros.
Next came the picadors.
Then came the matador,
the proudest of all.
Then came the bull.
And you know who that was,
don't you?
Mm-hmm.
Ferdinand.
Hooray!
They called him
Ferdinand the Fierce,
and all the banderilleros
were afraid of him.
The picadors were afraid of him,
and the matador,
he was scared stiff.
When Ferdinand saw the lovely flowers,
he ran to the middle of the ring.
Everyone shouted, because they
thought he was going to fight fiercely.
When he got to the middle of the ring,
he sat down just quietly…
… and smelled.
The banderilleros were mad,
and the picadors were madder.
But the matador
was the maddest of all.
Come on, fight!
What's the matter?
Be fierce!
Come on, come on!
Boo! Ahhh! Bah!
The matador,
he made very ugly faces.
Wahhh!
Na na na na na na na!
Nyah!
But Ferdinand
just sat and smelled.
The matador, he was furious.
He broke his sword
in little pieces.
He stomped his feet.
He pulled his hair.
But still Ferdinand
sat just quietly…
… and smelled.
He pleaded with Ferdinand.
Please, please!
Stick me, do something.
Do something!
Give it to me!
Whoa. Whoa.
The matador
was so mad he cried,
'cause 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
