exclaiming over how big Little Linda has gotten. Miguel wonders if dinner will ever be served. It isn’t that he’s hungry, but he wants dinner to be over so that presents will be given out. He has figured out a way to get one more gift from Santa Claus.
“When is dinner, Tía?” he asks the aunt who is Angel’s mother. It turns out to be the most flattering thing he can say. “This boy is a joy to have in the house,” his aunt tells Miguel’s mother. “He’s a good eater. He’s polite. He shakes hands like an Englishman and says, ‘Excuse me’ when he interrupts.” Angel’s mother is looking at Angel as if to say,
You should learn from your
perfect
cousin.
Miguel glances over at his mother, who giveshim her you-andT-know-better grin. He grins back.
The plates are cleared away-The uncles push back their chairs and light up their cigars. Then the doorbell rings.
Standing before them is Santa Claus. He looks different from the American Santa Claus—much more slender, his skin soft brown, his eyes dark and lively. But he still wears a white beard and a bright red suit with a thick black belt and shiny boots.
“Santicló! Santicló!”
The littlest cousins give a shout and rush forward to make their wishes known.
When it is Ángel’s turn, he unfolds a list from his shirt pocket and begins to read.
“Un bate, un guante, una pelota de
—”
“That’s enough, Ángel,” his mother calls out. “Remember. Be polite. Ask for only one thing.”
Out of Santa Claus’s bag come the very bat and glove and ball that Miguel picked out for his cousin at the WahMart in Vermont!
When all his cousins have received their gifts, Miguel steps forward. “My turn,” he says.
“Hey, there, my polite and wonderful son,”his mother calls out-“Remember, you and Juanita already got this trip”
Santa Claus looks at him with dark, dancing eyes-“Yes, Miguel-You already got your gift-”
“But I got it in Vermont, and now I’m in the D-R-And my Tía Lola says that here you can ask for a
ñapa
, a little bit more, after you’ve gotten what you asked for-”
Santa looks thoughtful-“Your aunt has a point-1 do owe you a
ñapa
, dear boy-”
Miguel is grinning-He has been planning this joke on Santa all evening!
But Santa is taking him quite seriously-“Tell me, then, what is it you want?”
Now that his opportunity has come, Miguel cannot think of what to ask for-He really has plenty of video games, and his worn glove is good enough-The vacation itself is turning out to be fun-The day after tomorrow, they will fly to New York, so he and Juanita can spend the rest of the week with their father and old friends-On New Year’s Eve, they’ll go on a special outing to see all the department store windows Papi decorated for Christmas-
As Santa draws him close, Miguel notices the flash of gold hoops in Santa’s pierced ears! Cometo think of it, there is something else he really wants.
“Thank you, Santa, for the great trip,” he begins. “But just one thing. When it’s over, I want Tía Lola to come back home with us-”
Santa winks, “FU see what I can do,”
As Miguel turns to go, Santa catches him by the arm. “You are forgetting something,” Santa reminds MigueL
“Feliz Navidad”
Miguel says, “Merry Christmas!” Then he reaches up and plants a kiss right on the beauty mark on Santa’s cheek.
A Word About the Spanish
(Una palabra sobre el español)
In reading about Tía Lola, some of you who know Spanish might wonder if Tía Lola is really speaking Spanish, After all, you know the word in Spanish for a sweater is
abrigo
, not
suéter.
You might never have heard of a
burén
or a
aguapa
or a potion called
guayuyo.
Or you might have learned that the correct way to say “my son” is
mi hijo, not mi’jo.
First, I want to reassure you that Tía Lola is indeed speaking Spanish. But just as there are many variations in the ways we speak English, people in the Spanish-speaking world have different
“When is dinner, Tía?” he asks the aunt who is Angel’s mother. It turns out to be the most flattering thing he can say. “This boy is a joy to have in the house,” his aunt tells Miguel’s mother. “He’s a good eater. He’s polite. He shakes hands like an Englishman and says, ‘Excuse me’ when he interrupts.” Angel’s mother is looking at Angel as if to say,
You should learn from your
perfect
cousin.
Miguel glances over at his mother, who giveshim her you-andT-know-better grin. He grins back.
The plates are cleared away-The uncles push back their chairs and light up their cigars. Then the doorbell rings.
Standing before them is Santa Claus. He looks different from the American Santa Claus—much more slender, his skin soft brown, his eyes dark and lively. But he still wears a white beard and a bright red suit with a thick black belt and shiny boots.
“Santicló! Santicló!”
The littlest cousins give a shout and rush forward to make their wishes known.
When it is Ángel’s turn, he unfolds a list from his shirt pocket and begins to read.
“Un bate, un guante, una pelota de
—”
“That’s enough, Ángel,” his mother calls out. “Remember. Be polite. Ask for only one thing.”
Out of Santa Claus’s bag come the very bat and glove and ball that Miguel picked out for his cousin at the WahMart in Vermont!
When all his cousins have received their gifts, Miguel steps forward. “My turn,” he says.
“Hey, there, my polite and wonderful son,”his mother calls out-“Remember, you and Juanita already got this trip”
Santa Claus looks at him with dark, dancing eyes-“Yes, Miguel-You already got your gift-”
“But I got it in Vermont, and now I’m in the D-R-And my Tía Lola says that here you can ask for a
ñapa
, a little bit more, after you’ve gotten what you asked for-”
Santa looks thoughtful-“Your aunt has a point-1 do owe you a
ñapa
, dear boy-”
Miguel is grinning-He has been planning this joke on Santa all evening!
But Santa is taking him quite seriously-“Tell me, then, what is it you want?”
Now that his opportunity has come, Miguel cannot think of what to ask for-He really has plenty of video games, and his worn glove is good enough-The vacation itself is turning out to be fun-The day after tomorrow, they will fly to New York, so he and Juanita can spend the rest of the week with their father and old friends-On New Year’s Eve, they’ll go on a special outing to see all the department store windows Papi decorated for Christmas-
As Santa draws him close, Miguel notices the flash of gold hoops in Santa’s pierced ears! Cometo think of it, there is something else he really wants.
“Thank you, Santa, for the great trip,” he begins. “But just one thing. When it’s over, I want Tía Lola to come back home with us-”
Santa winks, “FU see what I can do,”
As Miguel turns to go, Santa catches him by the arm. “You are forgetting something,” Santa reminds MigueL
“Feliz Navidad”
Miguel says, “Merry Christmas!” Then he reaches up and plants a kiss right on the beauty mark on Santa’s cheek.
A Word About the Spanish
(Una palabra sobre el español)
In reading about Tía Lola, some of you who know Spanish might wonder if Tía Lola is really speaking Spanish, After all, you know the word in Spanish for a sweater is
abrigo
, not
suéter.
You might never have heard of a
burén
or a
aguapa
or a potion called
guayuyo.
Or you might have learned that the correct way to say “my son” is
mi hijo, not mi’jo.
First, I want to reassure you that Tía Lola is indeed speaking Spanish. But just as there are many variations in the ways we speak English, people in the Spanish-speaking world have different
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