La casa más grande del mundo

Every morning the herd has to be taken out to graze in the mountains and then brought home again at night. Every day Rocío, a wistful Mayan girl living in the Guatemalan highlands, accompanies her pregnant mother while she tends the sheep. When her mother goes into premature labour, Rocío has to tend the sheep on her own. She is really too young for the job but there is no other way. As ever, Rocío whiles away the time with a friend, building the largest houses in the world with little stones. And then, all of a sudden it has happened: one sheep – the smallest – is missing. Her friend cannot help in the search for long because she has to take her own animals back home. Left on her own, Rocío guides her flock through the rugged mountains in pursuit of the lost lamb. When she finally finds it, she loses the rest of the herd. Things could not get worse. Night begins to fall. What should she do? As the fog rises she has to make her way over a swaying rope bridge and into unfamiliar territory. Left to fend for herself, Rocío manages to rise above herself and conquer her fears. Poetically, we come full circle, as one girl grows up and another enters the world.