Canutito ‘quiere cambiar su’ middle name
Eran unos días after Christmas and Canutito was sitting en el suelo de la cocina coloring en sus libro de colorear nuevo that he had received pa’ Crismes .He was sticking his tongue out entre los dientes; he always did that con su lengua cada vez que he was coloring. Suddenly he looked up adónde estaba su grama and he asked her: “Grama, tengo yo un middle name como las otras personas?”
“Of course, m’hijo,” Grama Cuca replied as she peeled las manzana para su apple pie. “Todos los Cristianos tienen un middle name given to them cuando fueron Confirmados.”
“¿Qué es mi middle name,
grama?” Canutito asked her,
sentándose en la silla.
“Tu nombre es Canutito Manuelito, m’hijo,” Grama Cuca said evenly.
“¿Canutito Manuelito? ¿Canutito Manuelito?” he repeated incredulously. “No me gusta ese nombre. “What kind of a name is that? Couldn’t you and grampo have found un nombre mejor? I’m sure
que hay much better names.”
“You were named ‘Manuelito’, m’hijo, porque you were born el primer día de enero and any boy born on the first of January carries the name ‘Manuel’, which means ‘God is with us.’ Anyone named ‘Manuel’ or ‘Manuela’ is serenaded
en ese día.”
“I think que I would have preferred el nombre ‘Teófilo’ or ‘Teodoro’,” Canutito said. Entonces you could have just called me ‘Ted’ for short.”
“El nombre ‘Teófilo’ means ‘lover of God’ y el nombre ‘Teodoro’ means ‘gift from God,” m’hijo,” Grama Cuca said. “Entonces we could have just called you ‘Canutito the lover de Dios’ or ‘Canutito gift of God’. Take your pick; ¿cuál te gusta?”
“I don’t like ninguno de ellos, grama,” Canutito said. “Perhaps I should have been named algo como Canutito Poindexter,” he joked.
“El nombre ‘Poindexter’ means ‘right-handed, m’hijo,” grama said as she put las manzanas en el pie crust. Would you have wanted to be known como ‘Canutito el righthanded’, m’hijo?” she teased him.
“Pues entonces what about changing mi nombre a ‘Canutito Gerónimo’?” he asked.
“El nombre ‘Gerónimo’ means ‘holy name’ just in case que quieras ser known como ‘Canutito del holy name’,” Grama Cuca added mientras que she stuck el pastel de manzana into the oven. “Can you think
de otro nombre that you might like to have?”
“How about ‘Canutito Chewbacca’,” he asked her, nomás being silly.
“¿Qué no es el Chewbacca un hombre-perro peludo de la movie
Star Wars?” grama asked him. “Soon people would change it to ‘Canutito Chupacabra’,” she remarked.
“How about ‘Canutito Bill’ o ‘Canutito George’?” he suggested next.
“I think que esos son los nombres de la canción ‘A Boy named Sue’. Soon tus amigos might start llamándote ‘Canutito Sue’,” Grama Cuca laughed pensando en su sugestión.
“There must be un buen middle name que pueda escoger, grama,” Canutito said. “I always wanted to be known as ‘Ace’ o ‘Flash’.”
“In that case tus amigos en la escuela might start calling you ‘Canutito Ass’ o ‘Canutito Flashlight’,” she teased, sacando el pastel de manzana from the oven.
Canutito listened a todos los argumentos de su grama. “I think que I’m going to keep ‘Canutito Manuelito’.” Grama smiled y le dio un slice de warm apple pie del horno …