Chapter 1. Our story begins with a little man. He is a dwarf who takes care of the garden at the palace. "I am a gardener who is not so big." When he wakes up, he puts on a yellow coat and walks into the park. Then he gets to the forest. There he meets a blackbird. "My name is Chuchuncho. I am so glad to meet you. I like to visit forests, and sing to people. If you want, you can come to my home and see the other birds that are there. I will feed you some delicious food. Come, boy, come!" (The boy is a little man who is not so big.) They have tea together. Then they fly back to the palace. "Well, boy, what do you want? If you want to visit the blackbird's house, you can go, for you know that my work with the palace is done." "Sir, yes sir! I am so glad to go!" He looks forward to the day and goes home. (The boy is not so little, the little man is not so big, and Chuchuncho is a blackbird.) He ties his shoes. He takes a piece of banana bread. He takes a piece of chocolate to give to Chuchuncho. "I will be back at about six o'clock," he says. The forest is dark and the air is dark. He walks with the blackbird all the way. "You see, I was a boy who wanted to be a blackbird." When he comes to the palace, he sees a soldier, a young man with shiny boots, and he salutes him. "May I go into the forest, sir?" The soldier says, "Yes." He goes. He walks into the forest. He feels cold. He likes the cold. He wants to sit down. "How warm you are, Chuchuncho!" He looks up and there is the nest. He knows the blackbird has been there. He looks inside. There is no Chuchuncho. "So, now I am a little man who has forgotten he was a blackbird." Then the soldier comes. "Look, a little blackbird!" The soldier is dressed in red, and he is walking with a stick. He looks like a very important man, a man in charge. "This is an ugly forest. Why are there so many little blackbirds in it? I do not like it, and I do not like you." He hits Chuchuncho with his stick. "It makes me sad to hear his wings flapping." He goes with the little blackbird and throws him into the river. "No! I will not forget it." The bird's eyes look up at him. The little man says, "I will return to you. I will be the big man again. I will be with you." He leaves. In the forest he sees his wife, who is not so big, who is so sad. He holds her hand. "We have a long way to go. But look, the sun is beginning to shine."
CHAPTER 2.
The Bird in the Sky is Blue.
There are people walking on the clouds. They look at the forest and look at the river. They cry, "How long will this war last?" "We do not know." "It is so dark. The sun is not shining here. Our hearts are becoming frozen." "It will be a long winter." "Where are the children? When will they be able to go out? Do they eat at all?" "They do not need food. The children and the mothers are in war with the enemy. And they are the enemy." The people look back at the city and see many children playing. "Well, we can cry together. But there is no one to see us and no one to take notice. Let us just look and cry to our hearts' content." "We hope to go home." "I do not know. I will get old." "I am so tired. If I rest, I will not move again." "As you can see, we are the oldest ones who are left." One man looks at the forest, and he says, "Will you come to the party this year?" The other man says, "Of course!" "Your house is beautiful. I wish you could go to our party." "We would go gladly, but it is such a long way. And it's the big city we live in." "People are running everywhere to get there." "I can hardly walk, but it is worth the trip. I will tell the children that we are coming, for we have to get up early to make it there on time." They walk through the forest and back to their home. "The city is beautiful. The trees are beautiful. The clouds are beautiful. The birds are beautiful. We saw children just outside. I wonder how the battle went. So many soldiers have died. But I am so happy I got to be here. I cannot wait to show you my new jewelry." The bird in the sky is blue.
CHAPTER 3.
The Bird on the Tree.
"There are so many soldiers. I cannot see the sun. I feel so sad. The sun makes everything beautiful. It makes trees happy. It makes me happy." He looks at the blackbird's nest. He says, "The blackbird is not there. But I will never forget him. I will never forget my little friend Chuchuncho." He looks at the dark forest. There are sounds of weeping and sounds of sorrow. "No, I will not forget the children or the women who have been left." He looks up and there are hundreds of people. "They are dying because they are being used as weapons of war." There are faces that are tired and faces that are full of joy. "They are trying to go home. There is a way that is dark and narrow, and the children are looking for a way out." Chuchuncho and the children are waiting. The people look at the moon. They weep. "I want to go home. Why can't I go home? What am I doing in this dark and narrow place?" The little man comes down from the tree. "What a good thing he does. He is getting so big. I cannot see very well. But I will see him and remember him forever."
CHAPTER 4.
The Little Boys.
"I want to go back to the time that I used to be a boy. I want to go back to the time I was a small little man. I want to make my little friend happy. But it is not so easy, for my mind is changing. I cannot remember what I have done. I see him and know that I am his friend, but I cannot remember him. I cannot remember him!" He falls to his knees and cries. "What have I done? How did this happen?" He thinks of Chuchuncho. "Will he ever come back? Is he in the forest somewhere? What can I do? I have to go home." When he gets home, he is so small. "I am so happy, for Chuchuncho and his house are so big." He looks around and sees a bird. "I am the mother of the blackbird." He is too big to be her son. But he holds her hand and says, "Tell me what to do." She takes her hand away and says, "What can you do? Go and buy many balloons." He runs out of the house and goes home. "Buy balloons? Of course!" "Can you give me an idea where to find them?" He buys them and takes them to the boy. "Yes, we will be very happy. You take them and put them in the air." "What a good idea. But how can I do it? I am small and tiny. "Of course! I will do it. I will put it in place and fly. My feathers are long and beautiful."
CHAPTER 5.
The Balloons.
"Why is it always me?" he says. "I am so small. I am so sad. I wish Chuchuncho were there." But he thinks of the blackbird and his nest. He thinks of the man who is big and strong and who took care of him when he was little. "I am small now. I am small now. But I will be big soon. I will be big." The children open their hands and fill them with balloons. "Oh, I am so happy! My mother will be happy! I will tell her to buy more balloons!" The balloons fly up. He runs and catches them. He sends them up to the children. The balloons are beautiful and beautiful. The children get into the air. They are happy. He sends them up even higher. But the man comes along and gets a hold of him. "I hate that man. He is big and strong. I am small and tiny. What can I do?" "What do you mean?" "I cannot do anything. I am so small. I am only small." "What are you talking about?" "I can't remember myself." "What do you mean? You are the man who is so small." "I can't remember myself. I am small." "It is the man who makes us small. It is the man who makes us like this. We are big when we are little." He looks at his long feathers. "Will you do what you said you would?" The man takes a long stick. He wants to hit Chuchunch
