The Origin of the
Little Mouse Pérez
More than a century ago, Luis Coloma took Little Mouse Pérez on one of his most famous adventures: the story of the young King Bubi. Here you can discover what Pérez was like, where he lived, the magic of that adventure and how his story connects with Jerez and an extraordinary family of little wine-cellar mice.
DISCOVER PÉREZ →A story to discover without losing the magic
Little Mouse Pérez has been visiting homes for generations whenever a tooth falls out. Luis Coloma wrote one of his most famous adventures for a boy named Bubi, the young Alfonso XIII. In The Origin of the Little Mouse Pérez, the story begins in Jerez, where Coloma meets a very special Pérez family.
At the end there is a +12 expandable section with historical curiosities for older readers and adults. Younger readers can simply enjoy Pérez’s adventure and magic.
This page accompanies The Origin of the Little Mouse Pérez. Here you will discover the Pérez family, their connection with Jerez and the adventure of Luis Coloma and Bubi.
What was Little Mouse Pérez like?
Luis Coloma was the first to leave a detailed and recognisable written description of Pérez.
Coloma presents him as “a very small mouse, with a straw hat, gold spectacles, raw-canvas shoes and a red satchel”.
He then adds that he was a “very worldly mouse”: a little gentleman used to carpets, elegant homes and dealing with all kinds of people.
His hat, spectacles and red satchel make him easy to recognise even before the adventure begins.
Where did Little Mouse Pérez live?
The Pérez family has a tiny home in Madrid, very close to Calle del Arenal.
Arenal 8, Carlos Prast’s confectionery shop
The Pérez family home is at number 8 Calle del Arenal, beside Carlos Prast’s confectionery shop and facing a great pile of Gruyère cheeses.
The whole family lives inside a large Huntley biscuit box: Mrs Pérez, Adelaida, Elvira, Adolfo and, of course, our elegant little mouse.
They have tea, music, good manners and a home full of tiny mouse-sized details.
Yes: Bubi turns into a mouse
Coloma’s story is full of magic and adventures far greater than a simple exchange for a tooth.
When Bubi asks to accompany Pérez, a “wonderful marvel”takes place: after a sneeze caused by Pérez, the young king is transformed into a little mouse.
He can then travel through Madrid’s pipes, visit the Pérez family home and accompany him through a night that will change the way he sees the world.
From the writer from Jerez to the young king
Luis Coloma wrote Pérez’s adventure for the young Alfonso XIII, Bubi.
A writer from Jerez and a very special family
Coloma was born in Jerez de la Frontera. In our story, years before writing for Bubi, he meets an extraordinary family of little wine-cellar mice there.
That meeting links the world of Jerez wine cellars with the adventure the young king will later experience alongside Pérez.
The adventure reaches the Royal Palace
In Coloma’s story, Bubi accompanies Pérez through an extraordinary night and discovers his world from the size of a mouse.
Coloma meets the Pérez family
In The Origin of the Little Mouse Pérez, Luis Coloma meets an extraordinary Pérez family in Jerez, and his story becomes forever linked to these little wine-cellar mice.
The Pérez family is magical: there are impossible doors, incredible journeys and a great family spanning generations.
Years later, when Coloma writes his story for Bubi, that meeting returns to his memory and Pérez’s story continues in a very special way.
The Pérez mice form one great family spread across many places. Each can have a different appearance, personality and customs.
With his straw hat, gold spectacles, light-coloured shoes and red satchel, he accompanies Bubi through an unforgettable night.
What does The Origin of the Little Mouse Pérezexplain?
The story answers many of the questions that arise when a child starts wondering how Pérez’s magic works.
Questions about Little Mouse Pérez
Curiosities about Pérez, his home, his appearance and Bubi’s adventure.
What was the Little Mouse Pérez described by Coloma like?
Very small, elegant and “very worldly”, with a straw hat, gold spectacles, raw-canvas shoes and a red satchel slung across his back.
Where was the Pérez family home?
In Madrid, near Calle del Arenal, inside a large biscuit box where the whole family lives.
Did Bubi really turn into a mouse?
Yes. Thanks to Pérez’s magic, Bubi can accompany him as a little mouse.
What is Pérez’s connection with Jerez?
Luis Coloma was born in Jerez and, in our story, he meets an extraordinary family of little wine-cellar mice there.
Why can different Pérez mice appear?
Because Pérez is a family. There are different members across the generations, and each can have their own personality and customs.
+12 Historical and literary research Old documents, early editions, historical curiosities and author’s notes for older readers.
History, visual recreation and story: three different levels
This section is for adults and older readers. Here we explain what comes from historical sources, what we completed visually and what belongs to The Origin of the Little Mouse Pérez.
We are not trying to fake a historical photograph. We want to show, honestly, how we interpret today the details Coloma left in writing.
Some images are symbolic scenes. For example, showing Coloma writing beside our representation of Pérez helps tell the relationship between author and character visually, but it does not present that scene as a documented historical meeting.
Three levels to keep history and story distinct
What appears in Coloma’s text, the manuscript or reliable historical sources.
How we visually complete what Coloma did not specify: clothing, spaces, gestures or the composition of certain scenes.
The story created by Juan Manuel Vela Vacas to connect Jerez, Luis Coloma, the wine-cellar tradition and the Pérez family.
This distinction is kept here in the +12 section so that family reading can preserve Pérez’s magic intact.
What if Coloma had met the Pérez family in Jerez?
This is the creative question behind Juan Manuel Vela Vacas’s story.
The starting point
Luis Coloma was born in Jerez and was the first to leave a detailed and recognisable literary description of Pérez. The story takes that real link with the city and poses a fantastic possibility: that, as a young man, Coloma might have met a family of little wine-cellar mice there.
Within The Origin of the Little Mouse Pérez, that meeting later becomes the connection between Coloma, Bubi and the Pérez family.
Two Pérez mice who do not need to be identical
🐭 The Pérez in our story
He belongs to a great magical family, with doors, impossible journeys, different generations and customs of their own.
🎩 The Pérez described by Coloma
He is the elegant mouse with a straw hat, gold spectacles, raw-canvas shoes and a red satchel who accompanies Bubi on his adventure.
The page connects them visually without claiming that a modern illustration is an exact historical reconstruction.
What do we know about Pérez in literature?
Here we enter the more literary side: antecedents of the name, the manuscript, dates and early editions. Here we gather literary and historical information for adults and curious readers without changing the magic with which children experience the tradition.
The name was already in circulation
Spanish literature contains earlier traces. Benito Pérez Galdós uses the expression “ratoncito Pérez” in La de Bringas, written in 1884, several times as a nickname for Francisco Bringas. Studies of popular literature collected by the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes also point to mentions of Ratón Pérez in texts and traditions associated with Fernán Caballero.
For that reason, it is more cautious to say that Coloma took up a pre-existing name and tradition and gave them new narrative life.
Read La de Bringas on Cervantes VirtualColoma’s decisive contribution
The autograph manuscript of Ratón Pérez , preserved by the Real Biblioteca, is dated approximately to around 1894 and contains a dedication to Alfonso XIII. The Real Biblioteca explains that Coloma wrote the story for the young king, whom his mother affectionately called Bubi.
Coloma thus made Pérez into a character with a home, family, personality, adventures and a moral role within a story written for one particular child.
View the manuscript record at the Real BibliotecaFrom Jerez to the story of King Bubi
Four dates help explain the story without confusing the writing of the tale with its later editions.
Luis Coloma is born in Jerez de la Frontera on 9 January.
The Real Biblioteca dates to around this period the autograph manuscript dedicated to Alfonso XIII.
First edition of Ratón Pérez within Nuevas Lecturas.
First edition as an independent work, published by Razón y Fe and illustrated by Mariano Pedrero.
The exact date of composition has been studied and debated; for that reason we use the Real Biblioteca’s approximate dating rather than presenting one exact year as indisputable.
Why I wanted to tell Pérez’s story this way
When I began The Origin of the Little Mouse Pérez I wanted to bring together naturally Jerez, its wine-cellar tradition and Luis Coloma, but I also wanted to offer a simple explanation for the many differences between one family’s customs and another’s.
Coloma was born in Jerez and was the first to leave a detailed and recognisable written description of Pérez. That connection allowed me, in my story, to have the young Coloma meet a family of little wine-cellar mice and make Jerez an important part of the story.
The other fundamental idea was this: Pérez is not a single mouse; Pérez is a family. There are many Pérez mice around the world, and each can have their own customs. That explains why in some homes they leave coins, while in others they may leave sweets, small gifts or other treats.
I did not want the story to suggest that there is only one correct way to experience the tradition. A coin, a sweet or a small gift can all be part of the same magic because each member of the Pérez family works in their own way.
In the story I suggest leaving the tooth in a glass, cup or small container beside the bed. That makes it easy for Pérez to find and means he does not have to search beneath the pillow or get so close to the sleeping child, reducing the chance of waking them.
The intention is not to replace each household’s customs, but to give them a place within the same story. If every Pérez belongs to one great family and each member has their own way of working, all those small differences can coexist while still being part of the tradition.
This explanation stays in the +12 section because it discusses the author’s decisions and how the story was built. The family section keeps Pérez’s story and magic just as children experience them.
Where does the historical information come from?
To distinguish documentation from fiction, we have prioritised the manuscript, the historical edition and institutional bibliographic resources.
View manuscript
View chronology
Open facsimile
Read text
View the work
Carlos Prast or Carlos Prats?
The real owner of the confectionery shop was Carlos Prast. However, in Ratón Pérez Luis Coloma wrote the surname as Prats. That is why both forms can be found when researching the story.
In our illustration and in our story we keep Prast, the confectioner’s real surname, because this is a reconstruction within our own story rather than a literal reproduction of Coloma’s text.
The Origin of the Little Mouse Pérez
Discover the Pérez family, their magical doors, their journeys and their connection with Jerez and Luis Coloma.