Paco and the Giant Chile Plant
Written by Keith Polette, Illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba,
Page 1
"Paco!" called his mother. "We have no food. We have no money. Our money is gone. Take the cow to town and sell it."
"But mama," said Paco, "the cow is all we have. We will have nothing without the cow."
"We have no choice, my dear," said his mother, "Now hurry."
Page 2
Paco led the cow down the dusty road. At a dip in the dusty road, Paco met an old man with bright eyes. The man's eyes twinkled like stars. He held a walking staff and a small bag. The old man said, "Good afternoon, boy. That is a fine cow you have."
"Good afternoon," replied Paco. "Yes, it is a fine cow,
but I must sell her. My mama and I have no money."
Page 3
"My boy," said the old man, his eyes smiling, "if you give me that cow, I will give you this bag." "What is in that bag?" asked Paco. "Chile seeds," said the old man, "magic chile seeds. If you plant them, you'll see something even better than money!" "Let me have them!" said Paco. The old man handed Paco the bag. Paco gave him the cow's leash.
Page 4
In a field behind his house, he planted the chile seeds. He waited. Nothing happened. He waited longer. Nothing happened. He waited even longer. Still, nothing.
Page 5
And then, as he was about to leave, the ground rumbled. The ground grumbled. The ground rolled and shivered and shook. Then the ground cracked open. A chile plant shot into the sky. Paco shouted, "Oh, my!"
Page 6
He grabbed the giant chile plant.
Up, up, up he climbed, hand
over leaf, foot over stem.
He climbed beyond the rooftops.
He climbed above soaring birds.
He even climbed past the setting sun.
Page 7
At the top of the plant, Paco found a bloom of golden chiles. Paco picked a handful of golden chilis and put them into the bag. He jumped off the plant and landed in a world of clouds. In the distance, he saw a great house.
Page 8
Paco walked toward the great house and found it empty
except for a giant table, a giant chair, and a giant bed.
Paco crept past the giant table, the giant chair,
and the giant bed.
Page 9
Suddenly, Paco felt the thump of giant footsteps. They thumped closer and closer. Closer and closer. The ground jounced and lurched and quaked. Then the footsteps stopped. The front door of the great house flew open and then slammed shut. Paco ducked under the giant bed. A thunderous voice bellowed, Suddenly, a giant hand grabbed Paco and dragged him out from under the giant bed.
"FEE, FI, FO, FUM, I SMELL THE BLOOD OF A HUMAN ONE. BE HE THIN OR BE HE FAT, FOR MY TORTILLA, I'LL GRIND HIM FLAT!"
Page 10
Paco stared into the face of a terrible giant. The giant's eyes were darker than the heart of a cave. The giant's nose was as large as a mountain. The giant's teeth were as jagged and gnarled as trees twisted by a terrible tornado.
Page 11
The terrible giant bellowed, "So, little one, you think you can sneak into my house? What do you hope to find?"
"I want to find something to help my mama," said Paco.
"All you will find here is me!" roared the terrible giant, "And I am hungry. You will make a delicious tortilla."
Page 12
"Wait!" shouted Paco. "I have something better!
A bag of golden chiles!" "Golden chiles?"
asked the giant. "Give them to me!" The giant
seized the bag. But the giant's grip was so strong,
that the bag burst, spraying chile juice all over
his face! The giant screamed, "MY EYES, OUCH!
OH NO! TOO SPICY, TOO SPICY!"
The giant dropped Paco and the bag of golden chiles.
Page 13
Two tremendous tears welled up in his eyes. They trickled down his cheeks. Soon there was a flood of tears. With every tear the giant wept, he grew smaller and smaller. Smaller. Smaller. The more he cried,the more he shrank! Soon he was a giant no more,but a normal man.
Page 14
Paco's own eyes grew wide as
he gazed upon him. "Papa?
The giant said, "Yes, I am your papa."
"But papa," Paco said, "how did you become a giant?"
Paco's papa said, "Long ago I found a giant chile plant and climbed it. I wanted to find what I had heard in the old stories: gold coins, a magic harp, and a hen that laid golden eggs. I wanted to be rich! I wanted everything!"
Page 15
"Did you find the treasure?" asked Paco. "No," said Paco's papa. "I found only a few red chiles at the top of the giant plant. I ate one of them, and before I knew it, I ballooned into a terrible giant." "Oh my! That is awful!" said Paco. “Yes,” said Paco's papa. “It was terrible. When I was a giant I didn't know who I was. I didn't even know who you were, my son!”
Page 16
"We must hurry down this
chile plant while we still can."
Paco and his papa scurried down the chile plant.
“Hurry Paco, HURRY!”
Page 17
Paco's papa grabbed an axe and hacked the plant to the ground. He said, "Now no one can climb this plant, and no one will eat a magic red chile and become a terrible giant!" "But papa," said Paco,"since you didn't find a treasure, what will we do?"
Page 18
"My son," said Paco's papa, "we have mama, a wonderful family, a fine house to live in, and work to do. And, we have giant stories to tell. That is more than enough."
Page 19
And they lived happily ever after.
