Bruno’s Story
by Unknown · from Tales of Laughter: A third fairy book
Adapted Version
Hello! I will tell you a very funny story. It has a mouse. It has a crocodile. It has a man. It has a goat. It has a lion.
A little Mouse found a big shoe. The Mouse thought, "Nice trap!" It went inside. It stayed there. It stayed a long time.
Then The Mouse jumped out. It saw the shoe. It belonged to a man. The Mouse took the shoe. It gave it to the man. The Man was very happy!
The Man left his goat. He walked and walked. Oh no! He fell into a deep hole.
The Goat walked around. It moved its tail. It looked at a tree. Then The Goat sang a sad song. Moo! It was very sad.
The Goat ran to find the man. A Crocodile came. It moved funny. The Crocodile ran after The Goat. And The Mouse ran after The Crocodile!
You know, The Crocodile moved very funny. It held its chin up high. It had blankets on! And it looked very grumpy. Its brows were big.
The Man jumped out of the hole. He ran to find his goat. He heard a big sound. Grrr! It was a Lion!
The Lion had a very big mouth. It ran after the man. It wanted to eat him. And guess what? The Mouse ran after The Lion!
The Mouse ran fast! It caught The Crocodile. The Mouse had a small tool. It pulled out a tooth. It was The Crocodile's tooth! So The Crocodile could not bite The Goat.
The Lion jumped at the man. But The Lion moved so slowly. It took a very long time. The Lion moved for three weeks!
While The Lion jumped. The man moved. He went to a new house. He went to a new town. So The Lion landed. It ate a new man! Not our man!
And that was the end of the story! What a silly Lion, you know!
Original Story
Bruno’s Story
[From “Sylvie and Bruno.”]
“Once there were a mouse and a crocodile and a man and a goat and a lion,” said Bruno.
“And the mouse found a shoe, and it thought it were a mouse-trap. So it got right in, and it stayed in ever so long.”
“Why did it stay in?”
“‘Cause it thought it couldn’t get out again,” Bruno explained. “It were a clever mouse. It knew it couldn’t get out of traps.”
“But why did it go in, then?”
“No matter why!” said Bruno decisively; “and it jamp, and it jamp, and at last it got right out again. And it looked at the mark in the shoe. And the man’s name were in it. So it knew it wasn’t its own shoe.
So the mouse gave the man his shoe. And the man were welly glad, ‘cause he hadn’t got but one shoe, and he were hopping to get the other.
And the man took the goat out of the sack.... No, I know oo hasn’t heard of the sack before, and oo won’t again.... And he said to the goat: ‘Oo will walk about here till I comes back.’ And he went and he tumbled into a deep hole. And the goat walked round and round. And it walked under the tree. And it wug its tail. And it looked up in the tree. And it sang a sad little song. Oo never heard such a sad little song!
It singed it right froo. I sawed it singing with its long beard.
And when it had singed all the song, it ran away—for to get along to look for the man, oo know. And the crocodile got along after it—for to bite it, oo know. And the mouse got along after the crocodile.”
“Wasn’t the crocodile running?”
345“He wasn’t running,” said Bruno, “and he wasn’t crawling. He went struggling along like a portmanteau. And he held his chin ever so high in the air——”
“What did he do that for?”
“‘Cause he hadn’t got a toofache!” said Bruno. “Can’t oo make out nuffin wizout I ‘splain it? Why, if he’d had a toofache, a course he’d have held his head down—like this—and he’d have put a lot of warm blankets round it!”
“Did he have any blankets?”
“Course he had blankets,” said Bruno. “Does oo think crocodiles goes walks wisout blankets? And he frowned with his eyebrows. And the goat was welly flightened at his eyebrows.”
“I’d never be afraid of eyebrows.”
“I should think oo would, though, if they’d got a crocodile fastened to them, like these had!”
And so the man jamp, and he jamp, and at last he got right out of the hole.
And he runned away—for to look for the goat, oo know. And he heard the lion grunting.
And its mouth were like a large cupboard. And it had plenty of room in its mouth. And the lion runned after the man—for to eat him, oo know. And the mouse runned after the lion.
“And first he caught the crocodile, and then he didn’t catch the lion. And when he’d caught the crocodile, what does oo think he did—‘cause he’d got pincers in his pocket? Why, he wrenched out that crocodile’s toof!”
“Which tooth?”
“The toof he were going to bite the goat with, a course!”
“And what became of the man?”
“Well, the lion springed at him. But it came so slow, it were three weeks in the air——”
“Did the man wait for it all that time?”
“Course he didn’t. He sold his house, and he packed up his things, while the lion were coming. And he went and he lived in another town. So the lion ate the wrong man.”
Lewis Carroll.
Story DNA
Plot Summary
Bruno tells a nonsensical story about a mouse who mistakes a man's shoe for a trap, then returns it. The man falls into a hole, leaving his goat, who sings a sad song before running to find him. A struggling crocodile pursues the goat, followed by the mouse. The man escapes the hole and is pursued by a lion, again followed by the mouse. The mouse, using pincers, extracts a tooth from the crocodile. Finally, the lion's incredibly slow jump allows the man to sell his house and move, resulting in the lion eating the wrong man.
Themes
Emotional Arc
amusement throughout
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) was a Victorian author known for his logical absurdities and playful use of language, often exploring the world from a child's perspective.
Plot Beats (12)
- Bruno introduces five characters: a mouse, a crocodile, a man, a goat, and a lion.
- A mouse finds a shoe, mistakes it for a trap, gets in, and stays for a long time.
- The mouse eventually jumps out, reads the man's name in the shoe, and returns it to the grateful man.
- The man leaves his goat (from a previously unmentioned sack) and falls into a deep hole.
- The goat walks around, wags its tail, looks at a tree, and sings a very sad song.
- After singing, the goat runs off to find the man, pursued by a struggling crocodile, which is then pursued by the mouse.
- Bruno explains the crocodile's strange movement and high chin (due to no toothache) and its blankets and frowning eyebrows.
- The man jumps out of the hole and runs to find the goat, hearing a grunting lion.
- The lion, with a large mouth, runs after the man to eat him, and the mouse runs after the lion.
- The mouse catches the crocodile and uses pincers to wrench out the tooth it was going to bite the goat with.
- The lion springs at the man, but moves so slowly it takes three weeks to reach him.
- During the lion's slow descent, the man sells his house, packs his things, moves to another town, and thus the lion eats the wrong man.
Characters
Bruno
A small, perhaps slightly disheveled, young boy. His movements would be energetic and his expressions animated as he tells his story.
Attire: Simple, comfortable clothing suitable for a child of the late 19th century, perhaps a tunic and trousers, or a sailor suit, in muted colors like navy, cream, or brown, made of sturdy fabrics like wool or linen.
Wants: To tell a captivating story and entertain his listener, asserting his understanding of the world within his narrative.
Flaw: Impatience with questions that challenge his story's internal logic, a tendency to make up details on the fly without full consistency.
Remains consistent as a storyteller, his character is defined by his narrative style rather than a personal transformation within this snippet.
Imaginative, decisive, confident, slightly impatient, and very literal in his own logic. He believes completely in the world he creates.
The Mouse
A small, agile field mouse, with soft brown fur and delicate whiskers. It would be quick and observant.
Attire: None, as it is an animal.
Wants: Initially, to find shelter or food; later, to help the man and follow the action.
Flaw: Its small size makes it vulnerable to larger creatures.
Acts as a consistent helper and observer throughout the chaotic narrative.
Clever, cautious, helpful, persistent. It thinks carefully before acting but is determined once it commits.
The Crocodile
A large, powerful crocodile with rough, scaly green-brown skin. It moves in a peculiar, struggling manner, 'like a portmanteau'.
Attire: Described as having 'blankets' wrapped around it, implying a comical, anthropomorphic element, perhaps a small, striped wool blanket draped over its back.
Wants: To bite the goat.
Flaw: Its susceptibility to toothaches (or the fear of them), and its single vulnerable tooth.
Starts as a threat, but is quickly incapacitated by the man.
Menacing, determined (to bite the goat), but also comically vulnerable (to a toothache, and having its tooth pulled). It's a predator with a touch of absurdity.
The Man
An ordinary man, perhaps a bit unlucky, but resourceful. His appearance is not explicitly detailed, suggesting an everyman figure.
Attire: Simple, practical clothing, likely a tunic and trousers in muted colors, suitable for a common person. He is missing one shoe initially.
Wants: To retrieve his missing shoe, to find his goat, and ultimately, to escape danger.
Flaw: Prone to unfortunate accidents (falling into a hole).
Goes from being a victim of circumstance (missing shoe, falling in hole) to a resourceful survivor, ultimately escaping the lion.
Resourceful, grateful (for his shoe), prone to mishaps (falling in a hole), but quick-thinking and determined to survive.
The Goat
A domestic goat with a long beard and a tail it can 'wug'. Its fur would be shaggy and white or light brown.
Attire: None, as it is an animal.
Wants: To obey the man, and later, to find him when he disappears.
Flaw: Easily frightened.
Goes from waiting patiently to actively seeking the man.
Obedient (initially), musical (sings a sad song), easily frightened (by the crocodile's eyebrows), and loyal (runs to look for the man).
The Lion
A large, powerful lion with a mouth 'like a large cupboard'. Its movements are surprisingly slow when 'springing'.
Attire: None, as it is an animal.
Wants: To eat the man.
Flaw: Its extreme slowness when attacking.
Remains a threat but ultimately fails to catch its intended prey.
Predatory, hungry, but comically slow and ultimately ineffective due to its slowness.
Locations
The Man's Dwelling
The man's house, which he eventually sells and packs up his things from.
Mood: Ordinary, domestic, a place of departure
The man sells his house and moves to another town to escape the slow-moving lion.
Deep Hole in the Ground
A deep hole into which the man tumbles, from which he eventually jumps out.
Mood: Trapping, frustrating, eventually liberating
The man falls into the hole and later escapes it by jumping.
Area Around the Tree
An outdoor area where the man leaves the goat, and where the goat walks around and sings under a tree.
Mood: Pastoral, melancholic, later tense and chase-filled
The goat is left here, sings a sad song, and then the chase sequence begins with the crocodile and mouse.
Another Town
A new town where the man moves to escape the lion.
Mood: Safe, anonymous, a place of new beginnings
The man successfully evades the lion by moving to this new location.