The Goat From the Hills and Mountains

Campoy, F. Isabel and Alma Flor Ada.  "The Goat From the Hills and Mountains."  Tales Our Abuelitas Told:  A Hispanic Folktale Collection.  New York:  Antheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006. Print.

There lived a woman with her husband and a daughter.  One morning the woman sent the daughter to the garden for some vegetables for dinner.  When she arrived to the garden there was a goat standing in the middle eating all the vegetables.  The girl tries to scare the goat away, but the goat is not moved and threatens to eat the girl for dessert.    The mother returns and the goats threatens to eat her.  Next the father, then a solider.  Both are also threatened.  Finally an ant comes along and agrees to get the goat out of the garden for two grains of wheat.  The ant climbs up the goat's leg, bites the goat, and the goat runs away.  Because of the heavy load for the two grains of wheat, the girl helps the ant carry one of the grains to the anthill.

Cultural Origins:

This is a popular story in Spain and throughout Latin America.

Audience:

This is a story that can be enjoyed by an audience of wide age ranges in library and school settings.  I would encourage the audience to participate in the refrain from the goat, "I'm the goat from the hills and mountains, and I love to eat_______."

Adaptations:

I like the story as it is and would not make many adaptations.  The one adaptation that I may choose is gift that the ant chooses, possibly something other than wheat.  Another adaptation may be to incorporate a neighbor in place of the soldier.  However I think the story works well as is.