Tuca Big Ears

Tuca
Big Ears
A children’s story

Tuca Big Ears was a little indian who
lived behind the Sunset Mountains in
a typical village, full of hexagonal tents
surrounded by small vegetation. There
were some horses and other domestic
animals.

Tuca had a mongrel dog that always
walked with him. Scratched, that's what
the dog was called, it had a big nose
that was bigger than its stature. Tuca
had adopted him when he was still a
puppy, because no one wanted him.
Tuca still hid it, then the whole village
fell in love with dog.

Big Momma was little Tuca's mother.
She was his comfort on nights of rain
and lightning.
Every day she made him get up and
wash his ears in the river near his
house. Scratched took advantage and
launched himself into a dive. When he
surfaced from the water he always
brought something at the tip of his
snout, a frog, a seaweed, an object.
The two of them went back to the tent,
to drink a bowl of milk that had just
been taken from Mimosa's teats, that
was the name of the old cow that was
the family's livelihood.

Barefoot, Tuca's father, was a man
respected in the village, not only for
his deeds, but also for his wisdom. He
was the closest descendant of the
village elder, named Runny Nose, who
had been ill for a long time, with a
severe cold.
Barefoot adored Tuca Big Ears, as he
was his only son, but he was always on
the lookout for Tuca to do his
homework and help her mother.

The village was poor yet the people
lived happily. The Sunset Mountains
separated the village from the rest of
the world, from the hustle and bustle
of the White Men city. Tuca Big Ears,
was forbidden to even think of one day
going to the big city.

Start
The story takes place at a time when
civilization was quite developed, but in
Tuca’s village the clock moved at a
different pace, slower. In the village, wild
boars were still caught, wild fruits were
picked and some goats and cows were
grazed. Chickens and rabbits were also
bred.
There were times of peace, as there were
no longer fights between Indians and
White Men as they used to. The few
horses became lazy and no longer
wanted to race across the fields. It was
also no longer necessary to have your
bags packed to leave. Barefoot
guaranteed the stability of the entire
village.

Plot
Tuca Big Ears and his dog Scratched
played all day, sometimes with the
chickens, chasing them and making them
run, sometimes with the rabbits and
horses that gave bucks and started to
run away.
Tuca also performed small tasks that Big
Momma asked him to do. He didn't like
milking Mimosa at all, because when he
sat on the stool, the cow would look at
him, and sneakily hit him with its tail on
his head and laugh in a tone of delight.
At the end of the day, Tuca loved to hear
the stories his father had to tell him, but
he never told him stories about the city.
He would go to bed early after dinner and
then fall asleep and dream, dream...
clinging to his friend Scratched who
snored and raised his muzzle.

The dream
The clouds were high, Tuca Big Ears and
Scratched on top of one of them looked
down and saw the tiny village, their
parents were no longer visible.
Scratched was leaning against the owner
with his hair ruffled with fear, but Tuca Big
Ears was ecstatic and asked the cloud to
fly faster and thus see the city. The Cloud
was at cruising speed, when a metallic
bird crossed it in the middle, and poof...
the cloud dissolved and Tuca woke up on
the floor beside his bed next to
Scratched, still sleepy.
With great excitement, Tuca told
Scratched that he had dreamed of a trip,
but he couldn't talk about it with Big
Momma and Barefoot nearby.

The kite
Before his mother told him to wash his
ears, Tuca had already gone to the
river with Scratched all excited to
share the dream he had had.
He was washing his face and suddenly
he saw a large paper floating towards
him. It was Scratched that carried it by
the snout. They got out of the water
and opened the entire paper: it was a
wind kite made from a photograph of
the city. Tuca held back a scream. It
was the city beyond the Sunset
Mountains.
After drying the paper, he folded it
carefully and tucked it into his pocket
and made a crossed out sign, finger in
mouth, to be quiet.

The missing
After eating the piece of bread his mother
had given him, he went with Scratched to
the back of the tent and have a closer
look at the photograph. After all, it was a
map that showed the way to reach the
city. Scratched watched, not realizing
anything he was seeing, but wiggled his
tail in agreement.
Barefoot and Big Momma had already
noticed that Tuca Big Ears was
mysterious, he must have been preparing
something!
After everyone was asleep, Tuca and
Scratched tiptoed out with a small bundle
of food and headed for the city.
The village was on the warpath when it
learned that the youngest child in the
land had disappeared. Barefoot did not
want to risk the time of peace that the
Indians lived with the White Men, so he
decided to wait a day before taking
action.

Tuca Big Ears and Scratched arrived in
the city exhausted and sat down in the
shade of a container to eat a bushel,
when suddenly, a white man appeared,
fussing and saying that he didn't want
bandits there.
Frightened, they fled and ended up on a
very high bridge, from where they could
see the entire city, boats and planes.

The city
Tuca and Scratched's eyes looked
everywhere. The hours passed as they
walked.
PHOM! PHOM! It was a close call! A lorry
passed by, running over them. The air in the
city was gray, there were no plants or flowers,
and no birds chirped. Tuca was already
beginning to regret this adventure, it was too
late and he had to return...
He looked at Scratched and decided to
go back. Scratched's muzzle kicked into
action as Tuca was lost. Scratched looked
confident. When at last Scratch found the
trail of his house, night was already high and
Tuca was tired and Scratched hungry. They
ate another bush and rested at the foot of a
junkyard.

Tuca Big Ears wanted to be brave, but the
tears kept coming out of his eyes, he wanted
to be with his mother and father.
He no longer cared about the
punishment.
Full of energy, he decided to continue his
return home, relying on Scratched's skills, his
friend didn't let him down.

The return
When Tuca Big Ears entered the village,
he immediately saw his father, Scratched was
hiding at his feet and was already whining.
Scared, Tuca looked his father in the eyes,
but saw that he could jump up to him and
give him a hug.
Barefoot and Big Momma hugged the puppy
and Scratched jumped up and down with
delight. There was only applause from the
villagers, full of joy, as he was the only boy in
the village. After that hug, it was clear that
Tuca and Scratched would be grounded for a
week.
Tuca never wanted to leave the village again,
as he saw that the city was not as beautiful
as he had dreamed.

The End
Text and illustration by
Ana Almeida
anaalmeida.pt
@anaalmeidaart