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Printable Edition: Down on the Farm with La Llorona
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On the first Friday after Winter Break, my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Zamora, gave us a special homework assignment. Over the weekend, we were supposed to select a country, any country we wanted, and then we were supposed to draw an outline of the country. Inside the outline, we were supposed to identify the country’s capital, as well as five of the country’s most populated cities.
I, of course, selected Mexico, the country of my ancestors!
Over the weekend, I worked hard on the assignment. I drew a gold star on the map to represent the country’s capital of Mexico City, which in Spanish is spelled, el Ciudad de México. Next, I drew dots where the country’s largest cities were located. These included Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, and Tijuana.
My mother and father, mis padres, saw me coloring my map. They both said I was doing an excellent job!
On Monday, everyone in my class also said that I had done a very good job on my map. Everyone, that is, but Carlos, the class bully. He said it was okay, but his would’ve been much better if he had done the assignment.
About that time Mrs. Zamora called the class to order, and when the time came, later in the day, to turn in our map assignment, Mrs. Zamora smiled when she saw mine. I could tell she liked it.
Everyone, everyone, but Carlos had completed the assignment.
When asked why he hadn’t done his homework, Carlos apologized, saying, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Zamora, but me and my father spent the weekend on my uncle’s farm.”
“Did he need some help?” Mrs. Zamora asked.
“No!” Carlos blurted out, “It was much more serious than that. We had to help him catch La Llorona!”
“La Llorona?” Mrs. Zamora asked, as everyone in class giggled, including me.
“Yes,” Carlos said, “my tío heard her on Friday night so me and my father stayed up all night on Saturday and Sunday to see if she came back.”
“And did she?” Mrs. Zamora asked.
“She did!” Carlos exclaimed, “She did! We heard her crying for her children so me and my father chased her and just when we were about to catch her, she disappeared.”
Mrs. Zamora was a nice teacher. In the end, she decided to give Carlos an extra day to complete the assignment.
After the bell rang at the end of the day, I stopped by Mrs. Zamora’s desk and told her I was pretty sure Carlos was not telling the truth. Mrs. Zamora asked if I had seen him around the barrio over the weekend.
I told her no, because Carlos and his family had gone to visit his uncle’s farm over the weekend.
“Then, why do you think he was lying,” Mrs. Zamora asked.
I pointed to my map on her desk and said, “La Llorona would never haunt the streets of a city, just as she would never haunt a farm on the plains of West Texas.”
“I’m not quite sure I understand,” Mrs. Zamora said.
“Because,” I explained to her, “most cities and most, if not all of the farms of West Texas are missing one thing… one thing that is required for La Llorona to be spotted.”
Mrs. Zamora thought for a moment, and then she said, “Oh, oh, oh…. I get it. Now, I understand!”
Did you figure out how I knew Carlos was lying? Give it some thought, and then go to the Answer’s Page to see if you were right. Good luck!
Click here for the answer.
I, of course, selected Mexico, the country of my ancestors!
Over the weekend, I worked hard on the assignment. I drew a gold star on the map to represent the country’s capital of Mexico City, which in Spanish is spelled, el Ciudad de México. Next, I drew dots where the country’s largest cities were located. These included Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, and Tijuana.
My mother and father, mis padres, saw me coloring my map. They both said I was doing an excellent job!
On Monday, everyone in my class also said that I had done a very good job on my map. Everyone, that is, but Carlos, the class bully. He said it was okay, but his would’ve been much better if he had done the assignment.
About that time Mrs. Zamora called the class to order, and when the time came, later in the day, to turn in our map assignment, Mrs. Zamora smiled when she saw mine. I could tell she liked it.
Everyone, everyone, but Carlos had completed the assignment.
When asked why he hadn’t done his homework, Carlos apologized, saying, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Zamora, but me and my father spent the weekend on my uncle’s farm.”
“Did he need some help?” Mrs. Zamora asked.
“No!” Carlos blurted out, “It was much more serious than that. We had to help him catch La Llorona!”
“La Llorona?” Mrs. Zamora asked, as everyone in class giggled, including me.
“Yes,” Carlos said, “my tío heard her on Friday night so me and my father stayed up all night on Saturday and Sunday to see if she came back.”
“And did she?” Mrs. Zamora asked.
“She did!” Carlos exclaimed, “She did! We heard her crying for her children so me and my father chased her and just when we were about to catch her, she disappeared.”
Mrs. Zamora was a nice teacher. In the end, she decided to give Carlos an extra day to complete the assignment.
After the bell rang at the end of the day, I stopped by Mrs. Zamora’s desk and told her I was pretty sure Carlos was not telling the truth. Mrs. Zamora asked if I had seen him around the barrio over the weekend.
I told her no, because Carlos and his family had gone to visit his uncle’s farm over the weekend.
“Then, why do you think he was lying,” Mrs. Zamora asked.
I pointed to my map on her desk and said, “La Llorona would never haunt the streets of a city, just as she would never haunt a farm on the plains of West Texas.”
“I’m not quite sure I understand,” Mrs. Zamora said.
“Because,” I explained to her, “most cities and most, if not all of the farms of West Texas are missing one thing… one thing that is required for La Llorona to be spotted.”
Mrs. Zamora thought for a moment, and then she said, “Oh, oh, oh…. I get it. Now, I understand!”
Did you figure out how I knew Carlos was lying? Give it some thought, and then go to the Answer’s Page to see if you were right. Good luck!
Click here for the answer.
