The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf was published more than 50 years ago and is one of the bestselling children's books of all time. It's a simple tale of peaceful living that has survived many generations. Ferdinand is a quiet little bull who likes to sit by himself under a cork tree and smell the flowers. The other young bulls jump, snort and head butt in preparation for adult life. As Ferdinand grows he gets physically powerful but he stays peaceful and mellow. Until the day some men come to choose the "biggest, fastest, roughest bull" for a bullfight in Madrid. Unfortunately they came across the field of bulls just after Ferdinand had sat on and been stung by a bee. He wasn't sitting peacefully then, he puffed, snorted and pawed the ground looking like the fierciest bull in the field - and yes poor old Ferdinand was chosen to fight. But not being a fighter he just sat in the bull ring and did nothing. He was taken home to a happy ending under the cork tree smelling flowers. It's a great story book and reminscent of a simpler and more innocent age.
The wonderful black and white drawings by Robert Lawson capture an lost image of Spain in the 1930s when it was first published. I'm convinced, although it doesn't actually say in the story that the field and cork tree of Ferdinand's home was around Cadiz. One of the drawings of his journey to Madrid looks like Ronda.
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