Garbancito

Garbancito (Spanish: little garbanzo bean) is a Spanish folktale related to the story of Tom Thumb (Spanish: Pulgarcito).[1][2] It is attested in a large number of folklore collections.[2] The equivalent folktale in Catalonia is Patufet.

For the feature-length animated film, see Garbancito de la Mancha.

In the tale, Garbancito is a boy as small as a garbanzo bean. He goes to the store to buy saffron for his mother. So others see him and therefore do not step on him, he sings this song while he walks:

This verse has been cited as an iconic example of rhyming in Spanish folklore.[3]

When Garbancito is out of the house later, it begins to rain, and he takes refuge under a cabbage. After he falls asleep there, he is eaten by an ox. Garbancito's parents go looking for him, and when they call out asking where he is, he responds, "en la barriga del buey, donde ni nieva ni llueve" (in the ox's stomach, where it neither snows nor rains) or another rhyming variant. Garbancito is freed from the ox's stomach in various ways in different tellings of the story, but most commonly his parents feed the ox cabbages, and Garbancito emerges when the ox passes gas.