Read the story.
What Starts with C?
Jason, what are you bringing in for Spanish class tomorrow? asked Akash. Akash’s sister Dhara caught up with them as they left the school.
‘I have no idea,’ answered Jason. ‘It’s too hard to think of anything.’
Each week, they had to bring an object that started with a certain letter. They had to share some interesting facts about it. It all had to be in Spanish. Didn’t Mr Bermudez know they had only just started learning Spanish? It was impossible.
This week, their letter was c.
Jason couldn’t think of a single Spanish word starting with c. The only thing he could do in Spanish was sing. Jason started humming ‘A Mi Burro’. It was a song about a little donkey.
Dhara asked Jason why he looked mad. He rolled his eyes. ‘I’m not mad. I just can’t think of a word that starts with c.‘
‘Silly,’ she said. ‘I know something that starts with c.‘
But before Jason could say anything, she yelled, ‘Chocolate!’
Jason stared. ‘Yeah!’ he said. ‘I even know the Spanish for that. Chocolate. Same spelling, different pronunciation!’
The next morning, Jason brought a big chocolate bar to school. But he’d skipped breakfast, so he was hungry. He peeled off the wrapper and took a quick bite to get him through maths. He could bring half a chocolate bar to Spanish, right? It was still chocolate. One more bite would be fine. But before he knew it, Jason had eaten the whole bar. He had none left to show the class.
Before long, it was time for Spanish. Jason had a funny feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with all of the chocolate.
Starting at the front of the classroom, the students got up to share their objects. Akash showed off his calcetines (socks). Hadi held up a corbata (necktie). Jason’s turn was coming next. He couldn’t sit still. He started humming ‘A Mi Burro’. Suddenly he grinned.
Mr Bermudez said, ‘Jason, it’s your turn. What do you have?’
Jason stood up. He was ready. ‘Canción,’ he said. That was Spanish for ‘song’. And he sang ‘A Mi Burro’, with gusto, for the class. Then he took a bow.