Patufet (, also known as '' Garbancito'' in Spanish) is the main character of one of the most famous folktales of Catalan tradition. It is related to the stories of

Tom Thumb Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first known fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, ...

Little Thumb Little Thumb may refer to: * Little Thumb (Antarctica), a rock tower in Graham Land, Antarctica * Hop-o'-My-Thumb Hop-o'-My-Thumb (or Hop-on-My-Thumb and similar spellings) also known as Little Thumbling, Little Thumb, or Little Poucet (), is o ...

Thumbling "Thumbling," published in German as "Daumesdick" (literally, "Thumb-thick"), is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' in 1819 (KHM 37). The Grimms included another, similar story, "Thumbling's Travels". Bo ...

(Catalan: Polzet; Spanish: ''Pulgarcito'').

Description

Patufet is usually represented as a very small child the size of a

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

grain or a little

garbanzo bean The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram," Bengal gram, garbanzo, garbanzo bean, or Egypti ...

, wearing a big red

barretina A barretina (; plural: ''barretines'', diminutive of ''barret'' "cap") is a traditional hat that was frequently worn by men in parts of the Christian cultures of the Mediterranean Sea such as Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islan ...

so that his parents can better spot him around the place. He is curious and mischievous, until one day he decides to show the world that he's useful and reliable. According to some versions Patufet was good-natured and hard-working from the beginning. The first task he sets about to do is to go to the shop to buy some

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...

. Since people can't see him because he's so small, he avoids being trodden on by singing, The people he meets only see a coin that walks and sings but he manages to accomplish his task. Afterwards he decides to go to the farm fields to take lunch to his father. But Patufet is not lucky: when it starts to rain he takes refuge under a cabbage where he fell asleep; after this he accidentally gets eaten by an ox. His parents go about looking for him, calling ''"Patufeeet, on eeets?"'' (Patufeeet, where are youuu?) and he replies from inside the ox, After a while they hear Patufet's little voice and his parents feeds the ox with cabbages that make it fart faster.

Influences

This tale can be considered as a

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

symbol.

En Patufet ''En Patufet'' was an illustrated children's magazine, written in Catalan, published in Barcelona (Spain), between 1904 and 1938. Later, between 1968 and 1973, it was resumed under the name ''Patufet''. It had a great popularity, to the point tha ...

was also the title of an influential children's magazine in Catalan published from 1904 to 1938, and again from 1968 to 1973. The figure of ''Patufet'' on the magazine was first drawn by Antoni Muntanyola.L'Any Patufet commemora el centenari de la revista amb dues exposicions
/ref> Today ''Patufet'' is a familiar word in Catalan for a very little kid or for a children's publication. In

The Triplets The Triplets (; ) are three fictional characters (Anna, Teresa and Helena) created by Catalan illustrator Roser Capdevila. The Triplets were created in 1983, based on Capdevila's own daughters, three actual triplets born in 1969. The stories we ...

series there was a chapter about "Patufet".

References

Fairy tale stock characters Catalan folklore Catalan symbols {{fict-char-stub es:En Patufet#El cuento popular