The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily (1945) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Characters/People edit see section history

• King Leander: He is the King of the Bears, the son of a King who in turn had a King as father. He is therefore a bear of most ancient lineage. He is tall, strong, valiant, virtuous, and intelligent too, though not as intelligent as all that. We hope you will like him. His coat is magnificent and he is justly proud of it. Faults? Perhaps he is a little to credulous, and in certain circumstances he will show himself somewhat overambitious. He wears no crown upon his head but may be distinguished from the rest both by his general appearance and by the fact that he carries a great sword suspended from a tricolour scarf. He will live for ever as the leader of his beasts in the invasion of Sicily; at least, he should.
• Tony: King Leander's little son. There is little to be said about him. He was extremely small when two unknown hunters captured him in the mountains and bore him down to the plains. Since that time nothing has been heard of him. Who knows what has happened to him?
• The Grand Duke: Tyrant of all Sicily and sworn enemy of the bears. He is extraordinarily vain, and changes his clothes eight times a day, but in spite of this he never succeeds in looking less hideous than he is. Children laugh at him behind his back because of his large, hooked nose. But woe to them if he ever discovers this.
• Professor Ambrose: A most important personage, whose name you would do well to learn at once. He was Court Astrologer, that is, in plain English, he studied the stars every night (unless it was cloudy), and according to their position foretold things to the Grand Duke before they came to pass; all this by means of very difficult calculations, or so he said. Naturally not all of them were successful; sometimes he hit the mark and sometimes he did not; and then there was trouble. By guessing right he recently put the Grand Duke in a tremendous rage--we shall see why, later--and was expelled from the palace with ignominy. As well as this, Ambrose claims to be a magician and to know how to work spells, but so far he has never worked any. He does in fact own a magic wand which he guards exceedingly jealously and which he has never used. Indeed, it appears that the wand can only be used twice, after which its power is exhausted and it can be thrown away in the dustbin. What does Professor Ambrose look like? He is very tall, and lanky, with a long pointed beard. On his head he wears an enormous top hat, over his shoulders a very old greatcoat, greasy and dirty. Is he a good man? Is he a bad man? That you must judge for yourselves.
• Saltpetre: One of the most eminent bears, and a friend of King Leander. He is very handsome and a great favourite with the she-bears. He is always elegant, is a distinguished orator, and would like to rise to high office in the State. But with what high office can King Leander ever entrust him amid the solitude of the bleak mountains? No, he was not made for a harsh life among the rocks and snows; Saltpetre would feel at home only in the great world, amid receptions balls and banquets!
• Titan: A giant bear, perhaps the biggest of them all. They say he is a whole head taller than King Leander himself, and moreover he is very valiant in war. Without his providential intervention, the invasion of Sicily would have ended in utter disaster on the very first day.
• Theophilus: The wisest bear of them all. Growing old has taught him many things. King Leander frequently asks his advice. In our story he will appear only for a few moments, and then, as you will see, not in flesh and blood. But he is such an excellent bear that it would be wicked not to mention him.
• Merlin: A bear of humble stock but noble disposition, and full of good will. He stands apart from the others, lost in marvellous dreams of battle and renown. Will these every come true? Unless we are much mistaken, more will be heard of him one day.
• Marzipan: A bear of undistinguished appearance, but worthy of admiration for his ingenuity. He spends his time in inventing a quantity of machines and devices which are undoubtedly brilliant; but the necessary materials are lacking in the mountains, so until now he has not been able to put anything remarkable into practice. In the future, however, who knows?
• Dandelion: A bear gifted with rare powers of observation, he can discover things which people more learned than he fail to recognize. One fine day he will become a kind of amateur detective. He is a worthy beast, and one can have complete confidence in him.
• Count Molfetta: A nobleman of some importance, cousin and ally of the Grand Duke. He has at his disposal a truly strange and terrible army, such as no other ruler possesses. At present we will say no more; and it is useless to press us.
• Troll: A wicked old ogre who lives in Three Peak Castle. He feeds preferably on human flesh, the more tender the better, but he eats bears too, of course. Old and solitary as he is, he would probably not succeed in procuring any by himself; but in his service, and charged with this very task, is Marmoset the Cat in person.
• Marmoset the Cat: A fabulous and most ferocious monster. We think it is best not to speak of him at length here. You will be frightened enough when he suddenly appears on the scene. There is no point in being frightened now. "Bad news will keep", as the bear Theophilus said, bless him.
• The Sea Serpent: Another monster still more gigantic and no less perilous. To make up for this, however, he is a great deal cleaner, since he lives in the water all the time. He has the body of a serpent, as his name implies, but with the head and teeth of a dragon.
• Various Apparitions: Ugly but harmless. They are the ghosts of dead men and bears. It is difficult to tell one from the other. In fact, when they are turned into ghosts, bears lose their coats, and their noses get shorter, so that they differ little from human ghosts although the ghosts of bears are a trifle plumper. In our story the very small ghost of an old clock will also appear.
• The Werewolf: A third monster. It is possible that he may not appear in our story. In fact, as far as we know he has never appeared anywhere, but one never knows. He might suddenly appear from one moment to the next, and then how foolish we should look for not having mentioned him.
• The Old Man of the Mountains: A most powerful spirit of the rocks and glaciers, of an irascible temperament. None of us has ever seen him, and nobody knows exactly where he lives, but we may be sure that he exists. For that reason it is always better to speak civilly of him.
• Screech-owl: We shall hear his voice for a moment in Chapter Two. As he is hidden int he depths of the forest, we shallnot be able to see him, the more so as dusk will already have fallen. For that reason the portrait printed here is completely imaginary. The screech-owl will merely give one of his melancholy hoots, as we have said. And that is all.

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Sicily

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Stuart Little, and followed by Lucky Luke: Volume 1.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Dino Buzzati (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Frances Lobb (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

Subjects edit see section history

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