Patufet

Patufet (Catalan pronunciation: [pətuˈfɛt], also known as Garbancito in Spanish) is the main character of one of the most famous folktales of Catalan tradition.[1]

For the magazine, see En Patufet.

For the feature-length animated film, see Garbancito de la Mancha.

Patufet's monument in Folch i Torres's square of Granollers, Catalonia. Work of Efraïm Rodríguez

Cover of the first issue of En Patufet magazine

It is related to the stories of Tom Thumb, Little Thumb or Thumbling (Catalan: Polzet; Spanish: Pulgarcito).

Description

Patufet is usually represented as a very small child the size of a rice grain or a little garbanzo bean, wearing a big red barretina 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. Since people can't see him because he's so small, he avoids being trodden on by singing,

Original catalan version	Translation
Patim, patam, patum, Homes i dones del cap dret! Patim, patam, patum, No trepitgeu en Patufet!	[nonsense] Men and women who come towards me! [nonsense] Don't tread on Patufet!

Spanish version	Translation
Pachín, pachán, pachón, ¡Mucho cuidado con lo que hacéis! Pachín, pachán, pachón, ¡A Garbancito no piséis!	[nonsense] Be careful with what you're doing! [nonsense] Don't step on Garbancito!

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 this time and 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,

Original catalan version	Translation
Sóc a la panxa del bou, que no hi neva ni plou! Quan el bou farà un pet, sortirà en Patufet!	I'm in the ox's belly, where it doesn't snow or rain! When the ox farts, Patufet will get out!

Spanish version	Translation
¡En la barriga del buey, donde ni nieva ni llueve!	In the ox's belly, where it neither snows nor rains!

After a while they hear Patufet's little voice and his mother feeds the ox with herbs that make it fart faster.

Influences

This tale can be considered as a coming of age symbol.[2]

En Patufet 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.[3]

Today Patufet is a familiar word in Catalan for a very little kid or for a children's publication.

In The Triplets series there was a chapter about "Patufet".

References

1. "En Patufet (in Catalan and Spanish)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2006-07-06.
2. Patufet as coming-of-age symbol (in Catalan) Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
3. L'Any Patufet commemora el centenari de la revista amb dues exposicions